NHL Mascots

After this first post on this new blog, I'm going to provide a list of my overall favorite mascots and give reasons as to why. For now, I'm going to focus on my overall rankings for the mascots of the National Hockey League, one of my favorite sports as well.
I accumulated this list based on my own personal evaluations/bias, along with appearance, connection to the team name, and other minor reasons.
I have placed the mascots in either three categories: Lame, Okay, and Cool. Since I obviously want to save the best for last, we'll start with the lame ones and work our way up.

LAME
25. Stormy the Pig (Carolina)
Gag me with a spoon. Why the heck a pig, let alone an "ice hog" in the Carolinas? When I think Carolinas, I think beaches, ocean, and the Tar Heels and the Gamecocks, NOT pigs. Plus, last I checked, the team name is the HURRICANES. Why not a giant eye? Maybe a walking flag? Not even a big 'ol hurricane? Or would all those be too scary for the kids? A pig isn't exactly great right now either due to a certain flu...

24. Al the Octopus (Detroit)
Slightly biased because I despise the Red Wings with a passion, but C'MON MAN. It's an inflatable octopus that's only used for the playoffs. I don't think of octopi when I think of Detroit, and for the last time, Detroit is NOT Hockeytown. I have dreams where I simply take a can of black spray paint and just wipe that out on the ice surface. Hockeytown is Toronto, where the Hall of Fame is, end of story.

23. Nordy (Minnesota)
Name is lame, don't know what the heck it is, everything about this THING equals lame.

22. Spartacat (Ottawa)
Boy, someone must have been stoned when they came up with this. Did he borrow his wig from Animal of the Muppets?

21. Youppi (Montreal)
Couldn't come up with anything on your own, could ya? Had to borrow from the Expos. Although Canadiens is kinda tough to make a mascot for...so you borrow a big orange blob. Wow, way to represent Montreal.

20. Carlton the Bear (Toronto)
No WONDER teams walk all over the Leafs; this bear certainly won't get in your way he'll just want to give you a hug.

19. Thunderbug (Tampa Bay)
He looks like a bug that's ready to explode, he's so huge. Lightningbug would have been more fitting, since last I checked they were the LIGHTNING, not the Thunder...the Thunder are in Wichita and share the same color scheme, that would work...

18. Stanley C. Panther (Florida)
Have the Panthers really ever contended for the Cup that their mascot is named after?

17. Harvey the Hound (Calgary)
Dogs and flames don't mix unless you're a dalmatian, and Harvey is not. That tongue incident was way too funny, and in my opinion, he deserved it. Stay away from the bench and do your job.

16. NJ Devil (New Jersey)
Devils aren't supposed to smile. However, I will admit the SportsCenter commercial with the elevator is pretty funny.

OKAY
15. Blades the Bruin (Boston)
I dig the name, but otherwise there really isn't anything unique about him. He's just an okay brown bear.

14. Gnash (Nashville)
The only knock I have on Gnash is the color. What do you call that? Pale blue? Bluish-gray? And I understand they're the Predators, but a Predator can be so many things. The closest thing I can think of is that he's some type of cougar.

13. Wildwing (Anaheim)
He was cool when the Ducks were still Mighty, because he was the face of the logo, the TV series, the third jersey (I know, most hate it, but I would have worn it). Now, not so much with all the changes.

12. Louie the Bear (St. Louis)
The name works, going along with the city, and he "suits" the St. Louis style (get it, because sometimes he wears a suit). But seriously, did we have to get another bear? Don't we have enough?

11. Sparky the Dragon (New York Islanders)
I'm a sucker for dragons also, so Sparky's a'ight. Plus, he works for two teams and changes colors, depending on the team he's representing. When he's working the Isles games, his tail is in the shape of a hockey stick. That's too awesome.

COOL
10. Bailey the Lion (Los Angeles)
Los Angeles is the Kings, and the lion is the king, so that definitely is a perfect connection. Also, it was really nice to name it after their talent scout who died on 9/11.

9. Stinger (Columbus)
A green insect with big red eyes is pretty sweet. It screams alien also, but what's cool is the team is technically named after a war uniform - but the mascot is A BUG! THAT'S AWESOME!

8. Fin the Whale (Vancouver)
He's tough, yet classy, like Chuck Norris in the commercial. Plus, he emits steam from his blowhole. How cool is that?

7. Howler the Coyote (Phoenix)
Looks a lot cooler than Wile E., that's for sure. And I saw this one photo where he was wearing shades. That is too cool. But he's in Phoenix, where it's always hot, so it also makes sense.

6. Sabretooth (Buffalo)
C'mon, who else's colors change when the team's uniform and logo changes?

5. Slapshot (Washington)
One, he's a bald eagle, the symbol of our country. Two, he rocks the team uniform, which I definitely respect. And three, he did parodies of Jackass! Check them out on YouTube, they are pretty sweet.

4. Thrash (Atlanta)
This bird is all business and all cool. Plus, his jersey number isn't just 0, it's 0 with the little degree symbol next to it. Now, if only the hockey team was better and as tough as him...

3. Tommyhawk (Chicago)
The name works (get it, it's a play on Tomahawk), he rocks the 4 feathers in the logo, and he just looks awesome.

2. IceBurgh (Pittsburgh)
Slight bias because I am a Penguins fan, but c'mon, he's been in a movie and he's so outgoing! Plus, you can follow him on Twitter!

1. SJ Sharkie (San Jose)
The ABSOLUTE coolest and why I became a Sharks fan in the first place. Someday, I'd love to go to a Sharks game and have him gnaw on my head.

Next Post: My overall favorite mascots and the reasons why.