Monday's P.M. Hot Clicks: Strange and Unusual Hockey Mascots

Author:
Andy Gray
Publish date:
Oct 20, 2014

Bizarre Hockey Mascots

Weirdest Hockey Mascots

Harvey: Calgary Flames

You'd think a team with a name like the Flames would employ a fire-themed mascot like the ill-fated Scorch (inset), but Harvey the Hound has been Calgary's alpha dog since 1984. His droopy tongue is the oddest thing about him, and it made an inviting target for Oilers coach Craig MacTavish, who ripped it out of Harvey's mouth during a 2003 game.

Stinger: Columbus Blue Jackets

David E. Klutho/SI; Michael Miller via Wikipedia

The Blue Jackets' Civil War connection is not always immediately recognized, so it was fitting that Boomer the Cannon (inset) was often mistaken for a bong, mustachioed male genitalia, or a sausage between two pizza wheels after his introduction in 2010. His plug was quickly pulled, leaving the team with its original mascot, Stinger, who seems to be a play on a yellow jacket except that he's green.

HockeyBird: NHL

NHL-mascot-HockeyBird-X157809-TK1_0142-groucho-marx.jpg — David E. Klutho/SI

Introduced for the league's 2014 Stadium Series of outdoor games, it's an odd hybrid of a puck and an Angry Bird topped with Groucho Marx eyebrows. All it needs is a cigar and some Marxist zingers like, "Bettman, you have the brain of a four-year-old boy and I bet he was glad to get rid of it."

Max: Manchester Monarchs (AHL)

Clearly a kin of Bailey, the L.A. Kings' lion mascot, Max's purple snout summons Marxist images of Groucho's greasepaint mustache. Like HockeyBird, he could also use a nice big cheroot in the corner of his mouth.

Fin: Vancouver Canucks

We get that he's supposed to be an orca like the one on the team's crest, but Fin's uncanny resemblance to the malevolent creature in the Alien movies is a bit unnerving. And he's often seen biting people's heads.

Twister: Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL)

Whatever it is, it's the stuff of bad dreams ... or an Alien prequel.

Victor E. Green: Dallas Stars

The NHL's newest mascot is an alien with hockey sticks for antennas. The outer space thing does make sense for a team called the Stars, and his name either refers to the club's official colors or, as some have speculated, Norman Green, the former owner who spirited the franchise away from Minnesota in 1993.

Audie: Utica Comets (AHL)

A cross between a big little green man and actor Eugene Levy?

Youppi!: Montreal Canadiens

What is he? The former mascot of the Montreal Expos. Youppi! (French for "Yippee!") was taken in by the storied Habs after the MLB team relocated to Washington for the 2005 season and left him on his own.

Sparky: New York Islanders

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Google Images

What hath a dragon to do with the Islanders? Like Montreal's Youppi!, Sparky was once employed by a team in another sport (in this case Charles Wang's NY Dragons of the Arena Football League). After Wang bought the Isles in 2000, Sparky replaced the shabby, vaguely creepy Nyisles (inset), who was supposed to be seafarer like the fisherman on the team's infamous crest of mid-90s.

Badaboum: Quebec Nordiques

I am the Walrus? The Nordiques' mascot, which must have a sibling named Badabing, was abandoned when the team moved to Colorado, became the Avalanche, and upgraded to Howler the Yeti.

Bernie: Colorado Avalanche

In 2009, the Avs replaced the somewhat scurvy Howler the Yeti (inset), who'd been spotted in the Pepsi Center stands for two years, with Bernie, a St. Bernard with a cask (or is it a football?) attached to its chin.

Spike: Toledo Walleye (ECHL)

toledo-walley-mascot-spike-creature-from-the-black-lagoon.jpg — Courtesy of the Toledo Walleye

A cousin of the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Obviously works for scale.

Stormy: Carolina Hurricanes

Granted, finding a suitable mascot for a team named after a meteorological maelstrom is a challenge, but Stormy gives one paws, er, pause. If you're not from the Tar Heel State, you're probably unaware that he's an homage to North Carolina's many hog farms and that Ice Hogs was considered as a name for the former Whalers after they relocated from Hartford in 1997.

Thunderbug: Tampa Bay Lightning

He's a lightning bug (aka a firefly), and that's all well and good. We like him, actually, but he appears to be related to Pac-man.

MeLVin: Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL)

Yogi Bear as conceived on an acid trip.

Roscoe: Milwaukee Admirals (AHL)

Aye, and a scurvy vision he be with that somewhat macabre jersey.

Hat Trick: Norfolk Admirals (AHL)

Oh, that demented grin.

In honor of short-lived Adirondack Flames mascot Scorch, we've compiled hockey's most bizarre and unusual mascots into one handy gallery.

A-Rod Visits Alabama

By now you've seen Alex Rodriguez nearly get trampled by Tony Romobefore the Cowboys-Giants game. It turns out that was the end of a busy weekend for A-Rod, who took in the Alabama-Texas A&M game in Tuscaloosa after a night at the bars and a morning of tailgating with random fraternities.

Skip Bayless Did Not Just Say That!

The First Take panelist claimed that after Kobe Bryant's 2003 rape trial, he was able to sell more sneakers because the incident gave him more "sizzle." The best part isn't the somewhat stunned reactions of host Cari Champion and Stephen A. Smith but you can tell Bayless knows he shouldn't be saying what he's saying as the words leave his mouth.

Lovely Lady Round-Up

Every so often, our friends at SwimDaily drop a bunch of untouched Polaroids from a model's swimsuit fitting. Such was the case on Friday with these shots of Nina Agdal's suits from her 2014 Cook Islands shoot. I also put together this non-Polaroid gallery of Nina. Enjoy ... Hottest WAGs of the 2014 World Series ... Lily Aldridge's 2014 Cook Islands outtakes.

Hot Clicks Giveaway: Wilson "The Duke" Footballs

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and if you've watched an NFL game this month, you've noticed that all Wilson "The Duke" game balls for the month sport the pink NFL Shield ribbon in place of the traditional gold NFL Shield. But did you know that the good people at Wilson donate $250,000 annually to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, dedicated to preventing breast cancer and finding a cure in our lifetime by funding clinical and translational research worldwide. You can get more more information about BCRF at bcrfcure.org and you can also view Wilson's complete line of pink products at Wilson.com. Now that we have that out of the way, Wilson has given me three of "The Duke" footballs to give away. I'll send to the 25th, 50th and 75th person to email me (andy_gray@simail.com) the name of the mustached player featured in the Vault photo of this morning's Hot Clicks. Please make the subject line "Wilson."

Update (8:37 p.m.): Contest is closed. More giveaways coming this week. Thanks!

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Odds & Ends

Jim Boeheim entered Syracuse's Orange Madness in a Humvee ... Sidney Crosby dressed up as Rocky Balboa for Halloween ... The Wall Street Journal has a good piece on how J.J. Watt's success on the field hasn't led to wins for the Texans ... Capitals players held puppies for the team's 2015 calendar ... The case for drinking as much coffee as you want ... Jude Law is expecting his fifth child, from a third woman ... More proof that Kim Kardashian is the worst person ever ... It's the year of the "Sexy Lobster" Halloween costume ... This Price is Right contestant was really excited about his spin.

Tom Brady and His Dog

This makes me want to stop everything I'm doing and buy Uggs.

[youtube:http://youtu.be/GykETjdGwvs]

Slovenian Basketball League Highlight of the Day

This is the best shot you'll see all week. And I know it's just Monday, but I am confident nothing will beat it.

NHL Fights of the Week

Clayton Stoner (Anaheim) and Zach Sill (Pittsburgh) headline last week's Top 5 fights.

Time Lapse Video of the Day

The New Jersey Devils on-ice projection show as seen on opening night.

Music Video of the Day

In honor of Tom Petty's 64th birthday, here's a look at how The Waiting came together.

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