By Pikawil (own work)
[CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)].
via Flickr
Stinger
(Columbus Blue Jackets): The 6’9” tall mascot is a yellow jacket wasp. He wears
the number 00 (shortened from 2000, for the year the Blue Jackets were
founded). He is mostly bright green in color rather than the completely black
and yellow look that is typical for his species. The Blue Jackets also had a
second mascot, Boomer, but he was short lived. He was intended to look like a cannon,
but many fans complained that he resembled something more phallic. He was both
debuted and retired in 2014.
Stormy
(Carolina
Hurricanes): This pig wears the number 97 (the Hartford Whalers moved to North
Carolina in 1997). Before a pre-season game in September of 1997, the
Hurricanes had planned an exciting debut for Stormy. Phil Madren donned the pig
costume and he was then stuffed inside a Zamboni which was filled with dry ice.
The Zamboni was taken out to center ice, where it was opened to reveal the pig’s
feet sticking out and shaking uncontrollably. Madren had suffered a seizure due
to lack of oxygen caused by the dry ice in the Zamboni.
Thunderbug
(Tampa Bay Lightning): The black and yellow lightning bug wears the number 00.
Thunderbug was involved in a controversy after an incident at a January 17th,
2012 game. Kelly Frank (the woman inside the costume) sprayed a Bruins fan with
Silly String. The fan then pushed her down. Frank was let go after this and the
Lightning stated that this incident wasn’t the only factor in that decision. As it turned out,
that was not the only time she had been fired as a mascot. The Tampa Bay Rays
dismissed her in 2008.
Tommy
Hawk (Chicago Blackhawks): This hawk sports some
feathers on his head as well as a Blackhawks jersey. Tommy Hawk is one tough
bird, as evidenced by the beating he took from fellow mascot Nordy (Minnesota
Wild). During his birthday celebration on January 12th, 2017, Nordy was
blindfolded and given a bat to swing at a piñata held by Tommy Hawk. To the
dismay of the crowd, Nordy completely missed the piñata and instead repeatedly
struck Tommy Hawk, while being encouraged by the announcer to keep swinging.
The Wild later issued a public apology for the violent display.
Victor
E. Green (Dallas Stars): A furry green alien
with hockey stick antennae. He was introduced on September 13th, 2014. He is
the Stars first mascot. His name was chosen due to the team’s color being
Victory Green as well as a tribute to former owner Norman Green.
Wildwing (Anaheim Ducks): This duck has been the mascot for Anaheim since their inaugural season
in 1993. He wears the number 93. Wildwing is known to be a bit accident prone.
He can often be seen descending from the rafters of the arena to make his
entrance to the game. During one of these entrances, he became trapped and was
left hanging 50 feet in the air for several minutes. In another incident, he
set himself ablaze when he tripped while trying to jump over a wall of fire.
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