Which NHL mascot would you want with you in a bar fight?
By Dane Quinn
17. Harvey the Hound (Calgary Flames)
Ladies and hentlemen, this is what the NHL’s first mascot looks like. Harvey the Hound’s bark has echoed in the city of Calgary since 1983. The gray canine has seen it all. He’s seen many goals, assists and fights for over three decades. He’s also made some enemies over the course of his long tenure as the Calgary Flames’ mascot.
In a 2003 Western Conference matchup between the Flames and Oilers, Harvey found himself in a pickle. The Flames were skating circles around Craig MacTavish’s Edmonton Oilers. Harvey strolled over toward the Oilers coach and reminded him that his squad was getting hammered. The infuriated MacTavish had heard enough and ripped Harvey’s tongue out of his mouth. Harvey’s face never changed. Most people would cry and plead that someone call for an ambulance. Harvey is cut from a different cloth.
No one can debate Harvey the Hound’s toughness. He has made Jarome Iginla and Lanny McDonald extremely proud. The city of Calgary loves its hound.
Harvey has aged over the past few years. He’s well into his two hundreds in juman years. No one is quite sure whether Harvey still holds a grudge against the man who ripped his tongue out of his mouth or not. Down the road in Edmonton, the No. 16 mascot has Harvey’s old foe preparing him for a potential bar fight in the very near future.