Josh Naylor ‘Loved Every Moment’ of Kraken Experience
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - It’s no secret that Seattle Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor is a big hockey fan. His warmup attire before games includes a customized hockey style jersey, featuring a large Mariners logo on the with stripes that comes in Northwest Green and road Grey, and he’s been seen wearing an array of different hockey sweaters throughout his career. For now, it appears that the peak of Josh’s fandom of the sport has come during his time in the Pacific Northwest. Naylor and his Mariners teammates were invited out to the Seattle Kraken’s preseason finale against the Edmonton Oilers at Climate Pledge Arena on Wednesday, and many fans noticed that the 28-year-old was grinning from ear to ear throughout the night. We caught up with him to recount the experience.
“It was dope. I think it was my first time ever in an NHL locker room. It was unbelievable, itt was so much fun. It’s kind of like my childhood Christmas or dream come true. I loved every moment of it.”
Hockey is Naylor’s first love, having played it growing up with his brothers, Bo and Myles. Born in Mississauga, Canada, Josh and his family were just a quick drive away from Toronto, but he doesn’t consider himself a fan of the Maple Leafs. When winter came for the Naylor brothers, the skates and sticks came out like second nature. Josh played the sport regularly until he was 13 years old, and states that the sport actually helped his the progression of his baseball career. The hand-eye coordination is something that Naylor cited as critical in the sport that easily translates to baseball, mentioning that his fast-twitch muscles are thanks to the winter sport. The fast paced nature of the game, requiring quick thinking, adjusting to situations fast, and moving on the fly are all things that Josh attributes to hockey. He’s mentioned previously that baseball players from Canada play with an extra edge, which Dan Wilson has given him credit for, and that it comes from being surrounded by the game of hockey.
“That was my first sport I ever played. Very thankful that my dad put me in it. It taught me, honestly, so much within baseball. I don’t think I’d be the baseball player without playing hockey first.”
With two younger brothers, a Naylor forward line could exist, hypothetically. Josh states he’d be on the left wing, Bo (Noah) would play down the middle, and Myles would play on the right wing. While it didn’t happen when the boys were growing up due to differing age groups, (Josh is 28, Bo is 25, Myles is 20), the two older brothers could have potentially played together but that never came to fruition. It’s a fun idea to imagine the Naylor’s all on their own line, and if the Kraken injury woes continue, Seattle may need them to take some shifts together this winter.
In addition to the aforementioned Mariners themed hockey jerseys that he’s used as a warmup top, something he had in Arizona as well in Diamondbacks colors, Naylor has a strong collection of jerseys. He’s publicly been seen wearing jerseys from the Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Saskatoon Blades, and most recently our Seattle Kraken’s all-black third jersey that’s customized with his last name and number. Naylor came into T-Mobile Park today wearing a 1974-75 to 1994-95 era Washington Capitals jersey of Alex Ovechkin, his favorite player and the reason his favorite team is the Caps.
While hockey remains his first love, don’t expect Naylor to partake in a stick and puck session anytime soon. Josh says the risk of a potential injury on skates isn’t worth it as he helps the Mariners pursue their first World Series title in franchise history, but it is potentially something he’d love to do later in his career. It’s safe to say that Naylor is more than happy enjoying hockey from the stands, hopefully at Climate Pledge Arena, for years to come.
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