NHL Team Mascots Part 4

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 17^th, 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 12^th, 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 13^th, 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.

Youppi! (Montreal Canadiens): This hairy orange fella became the Canadiens first mascot in 2005. He was previously the mascot for the Montreal Expos baseball team from 1979-2004. He was the first mascot to switch between two major sports leagues.