Mariners Takeover Climate Pledge Arena During Kraken Preseason Finale
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - It’s not a new development for Seattle’s sports teams to show each other love, as the hashtag #SeattleLove has been used often over the last few years to showcase teams supporting each other, whether that’s rocking apparel to their own games, showing up in person to attend games, or other different displays of support. That Seattle love was taken to another level tonight, as the Kraken hosted the Edmonton Oilers in their preseason finale. A large contingent of Mariners players and staff made the trip to Climate Pledge Arena following their scrimmage this afternoon, in preparation for games one and two of the ALDS this weekend at T-Mobile Park, and there were a few notable instances of involvement from the Mariners in this Kraken game. Here’s a breakdown of it all, including photos from our photographer on assignment Eric Hiller.
Kraken walk ins
The night of festivities involving the two teams started back in player walk ins for the Kraken, as forward Matty Beniers and goaltender Joey Daccord were seen wearing Mariners home white jerseys, posted by the Kraken social media team. Naturally, considering that they’ve exchanged gifts before and have shown mutual respect on a few occasions, the jersey that Daccord was seen wearing was nonother than catcher Cal Raleigh’s #29, as he went on to share it on his Instagram story with an encouraging message to the “Big Dumper” and the rest of the Mariners.
Team introduction draws a strong response
The team was shown on “The Twins” at Climate Pledge Arena at the 11:21 mark left in the first period, with a large number of players and coaching staff seen across about three suites. The Mariners being shown on the arenas video boards obviously got quite the reaction from the fans in attendance at tonight’s game, but it also got an acknowledgement from Kraken starting goaltender Joey Daccord, who was seen tapping his stick on the ice after looking up to watch the players being shown. Based on the video we captured and Instagram stories from the players, here’s who we know was in attendance.
Julio Rodríguez
Gabe Speier
Luke Raley
Josh Naylor
Emerson Hancock
Logan Gilbert
Matt Brash
Trent Thornton
George Kirby
Justin Novak
Mitch Garver
Ryan Bliss
Dominic Canzone
J.P. Crawford
Colt Emerson
Cole Young
Leo Rivas
Eric Young Jr.
Bobby Magallanes
Tony Arnerich
Kristopher Negrón
Danny Farquhar
Josh Naylor gets a special welcome
It’s no secret that Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor is a hockey fan, seen sporting his own custom Mariners style hockey jersey during early batting practice and pregame field work and previously seen wearing other jerseys during his time with the Arizona Diamondbacks that includes an Edmonton Oilers sweater. Naylor, a Washington Capitals fan due to his fandom of Alexander Ovechkin, was gifted a customized version of the Kraken’s all-black third jersey and has been seen wearing it often in the Mariners clubhouse, and it’s displayed prominently in his locker for all to see when he isn’t donning it. Many fans noticed that Josh’s smile when shown on “The Twins” was the biggest they’ve seen it during his time in Seattle, naturally coming in a hockey rink. It seems that the Kraken truly rolled out the red carpet for the Mariners star first baseman, and perhaps did the cities baseball team a favor as they hope to re-sign him this offseason, by bringing him into the locker room at some point during the night.
Dan Wilson puts a headset on
The involvement of the Mariners continued with a fun situation in the Kraken Hockey Network, as manager Dan Wilson slipped into a role he’s familiar with (Having previously worked as an on-air talent with ROOT Sports before being named Seattle’s manager following the firing of Scott Servais), putting a headset on late into the second period. Wilson joined Kraken Hockey Network broadcasters John Forslund and Eddie Olczyk in the booth, talking about what’s the teams bye week has been like after clinching the second seed in the American League, the excitement for ALDS games one and two this weekend, and some hockey history involving Wilson himself. Olczyk brought up that Wilson was a goaltender back in the day when he played hockey, which makes sense that he has some ties to the sport considering that he was born in Illinois and attended the University of Minnesota.
Wilson shared thoughts on the teams season, as organist Benny Drawbars played “Mr. Rager” by Kid Cudi in the background, expressing his excitement for the weekend and the crowd that will be in attendance for games one and two on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Olczyk asked about the preparation for the Mariners over the bye week, and Wilson shared that while they have watched the Guardians-Tigers series that will determine their ALDS opponent closely, Seattle is doing what they can to prepare in the meantime while they don’t know who they’re facing. Between the benches, J.T. Brown literally raised his hand to ask Wilson a question, asking Wilson to reflect on Cal Raleigh’s historic season.
Lastly, Wilson was able to share that he’s been able to enjoy a “lot” of Kraken hockey during the teams existence so far, continuing to share his appreciation for Seattle’s NHL team inviting the Mariners out to share this evening together as a group. Wilson shared, after questioning by Edzo, that he grew up idolizing Tony Esposito, famous Chicago Blackhawks goaltender who played from 1967-1984. To end his team in the booth, that lasted from the 6:02 mark left in the period to 30 seconds left, Dan shared his appreciation for the Kraken Hockey Network broadcast crew as he mentioned that he tunes into games regularly and enjoys the production that is put together.
“This place gets really loud too, so it’s fun to be part of that.”
Seattle Mariners centerfielder Julio Rodríguez was on one of the Zamboni’s during the second intermission of the Seattle Kraken preseason home win over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, October 1st, 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)
Julio gets a Zamboni ride
The last instance of Kraken-Mariners crossover came during the second intermission, when star centerfielder Julio Rodríguez was shown on one of the two Zamboni’s as he was loudly cheered by the fans in attendance at Climate Pledge Arena. Given Julio’s fun loving nature and natural joy, it’s no surprise that the 24-year-old outfielder looked like a kid at heart as he took a ride on the Zamboni.
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