Top ten: Scariest NHL mascots

Halloween may be over, but THN is still in the spirit of Hallow's Eve as we give you the top ten scariest mascots in the NHL.

The crew at the THN office recently discussed making a list of the scariest NHL mascots to get into the Halloween spirit and this assignment fell on my desk, so today we'll take a look at just that, the top ten scariest NHL mascots.

The criteria could have contained a number of things from the ferocity of the animal character to its name to the mascots origin, but what was used in this piece was the actual look of the outfit the mascot wears. Is there something about the way this mascot looks that just doesn't sit well with you? Would your kid start to cry if this mascot came to say hello? Here are the scariest mascots stumbled upon, in no particular order:

Harvey the Hound – Calgary Flames

Harvey is the OG mascot of the NHL. It's been around the league since 1983 and has even dipped its long, slippery tongue in the CFL as the mascot for the Stampeders. Speaking of his tongue, this is what makes it scary. The long, dark red fabric hanging out of its mouth is pretty gross and seems out of place. It looks strange and the mascot could do without it. Add in it's eyes, which give it a dead doll look and Harvey has scary features that you may not have noticed unless you looked closely.

Iceburgh – Pittsburgh Penguins

Iceburgh the penguin is supposed to a cheery flightless bird, but there's something scary about the odd smile Iceburgh carries around. It looks mischievous, dopey and at some angles eerie. Add in eyes that are far too close together and this penguin doesn't look cute, but more like something out of a nightmare.

Mick E. Moose – Winnipeg Jets

Let's be straight. Mick E. Moose looks like a maniac. It looks like it should be wielding a cleaver ready to disassemble unsuspecting guests similar to Jason Voorhees. If this moose came a rushin', I'd be a runnin'.

NJ Devil – New Jersey Devils

The Devil is not a good thing. It's meant to be scary and New Jersey hit the nail on the head when they created their mascot. How can you trust a smiling devil? Especially one with out of place eyebrows, horns and a curiously suspicious moustache. The Devil is not to be trusted, so stay away.

Sparky the Dragon – New York Islanders

No matter what the How to Train Your Dragon films have shown, dragons are mythical creatures who are supposed to be scary and evil. They breathe fire, eat humans and want the world to burn. Sparky the Dragon has evil in its eyes, despite a big, happy smile. Also, why do the Islanders have a dragon as their mascot? What do dragons have to do with Long Island? The answer is that Sparky is also the mascot for the New York Dragons arena football team and due to its popularity in the region it was brought over to help pump up the crowd at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Spartacat – Ottawa Senators

Spartacat has to be one of the scariest looking mascots in all of sports. It resembles a mental patient, who badly needs a haircut and a shower. Not sure how this mascot passed through focus groups as a good thing to have around children, but if this thing approached my kids, we'd be walking in the other direction.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWo8QcwlL5A[/embed]

Stinger – Columbus Blue Jackets

It's the mouth, it's the eyes, it's the radioactive skin. Whoever designed the Stinger costume went overboard. A lime green tinted bug with scary red eyes and a mean looking mouth that looks like it swallows children whole. Not a fun-loving costume at all. This bug fits the team's name well, but it doesn't look family friendly.

Thunderbug – Tampa Bay Lightning

Another bug, another weird looking creation. Thunderbug has red and white fur growing out of its eyeballs, which is weird. Its smile goes from eyeball to eyeball which is creepy and there has always been something gross about bug antennae. Thunderbug has features that will give you the jitters, especially if you woke up with it crawling all over you.

Victor E. Green – Dallas Stars

Not quite sure where the Stars were going with this selection. Maybe they were looking for a design similar to the Philly Phanatic, but Victor looks like a giant blob of green slime. It resembles Slimer, the creepy ghost from Ghostbusters, and there is something eerie about a mascot that has no mouth.

Youppi! - Montreal Canadiens

Youppi! is an incredibly popular mascot in sports. It's had it's time with the Canadiens and the Expos when they were members of MLB, but let's face it, Youppi! looks weird, scary weird. So much hair, so much orange, and what are you supposed to be? No one knows, but Youppi! has been around since 1979 and was the first mascot to ever work in two professional sports leagues. Youppi was also the first mascot to legitimately be tossed out of a game, getting ejected from an Expos, Dodgers game in 1989.