Every Seattle Kraken bobblehead tells a story. Not literally. After all, no matter how skilled they are in nonverbal communication, bobbleheads are still just polyresin dolls with their heads held on by springs. But figuratively? Most definitely. Nicole Shabaz wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Shabaz, who goes by Shabz, works on in-game entertainment and runs promotions for the Kraken. She’s something of a perfectionist—which means she’s been very up close and personal with every bobblehead the Kraken have released in their short history.

And they really do all tell a story. Shabz shepherds each Kraken bobblehead from conception all the way to distribution: a painstaking and highly detailed process that often includes a dozen revisions and some uncomfortably close examinations of players’ physical features. Bobbleheads might be silly, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be made with love. “If someone’s going to have this on their shelf for the rest of their lives, I want to at least make it look good.”

Shabz and the Kraken partner with a locally based merchandiser called BDA to produce their bobbleheads. It’s a collaborative process, in which Shabz and her team work with BDA artists to get everything just right, from the texture of a player’s beard to the materials used for packaging. (They try to avoid plastic; it turns out Climate Pledge is more than just the name of their arena.) And it’s not over until the 10,000 dolls the team distributes for each promotion have been unloaded from their pallets and handed out to anxious fans. No detail is too small, Shabz says. “They are all my children.”

The Kraken's first bobblehead giveaway of the 2025–26 season will come December 10 against the Los Angeles Kings. 

The process starts with a photo, then—after a rendering or two—moves to a clay prototype before, finally, paint. This Vince Dunn bobblehead went through 17 revisions. 

It was instantly apparent that the helmet didn’t work, Shabz says. Dunn’s hair is one of his best features, and she wanted it on the final product. But the first sans-helmet rendering didn’t get it right. 

Shabz works closely with lead graphic designer Katie Spence, poring over media-day photos and ensuring that each detail is accurate. In this case the lips, chin, and hair didn’t look right.

On this one, the artists overcompensated on the skin color. And the goatee is gone, but Dunn is still missing his usual five-o’clock shadow. 

There’s an element of “spot the differences” here moving through the progression. This is the closest Seattle Met will ever come to Highlights magazine. 

It’s easy to get completely lost in detail, says Shabz. “You have to also think these…they’re seven inches. When I’m on a computer screen, I sometimes forget. BDA will sometimes remind me.”

A finishing touch? Adding the signature in clay to the base of each bobblehead. 

Turbo Time

Former Kraken forward Brandon Tanev immediately endeared himself to fans with his outgoing personality and propensity for taking off-the-wall official portraits looking like he’d just seen a ghost. This bobblehead captured “Turbo” in all his weirdo essence.