Harvey the Hound is the mascot of the National Hockey League

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

's Calgary Flames

Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...

. Introduced in 1983, Harvey was the first mascot in the NHL. Harvey is described by the Flames as being 6'6" and 200 lbs. He was acquired as the Flames "first pound draft pick" in 1983.

History

Created, owned and performed by Grant Kelba, Harvey made his debut in 1983 serving as the mascot of the Flames and later as a second mascot for the Calgary Stampeders

Calgary Stampeders

The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...

 of the Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

. His popularity with the Flames was such that many teams contacted Kelba about making mascots for their own teams.

His first game, February 16, 1984 was a Flames rout over the Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...

, 10 – 3 at the Pengrowth Saddledome

Pengrowth Saddledome

The Scotiabank Saddledome is the primary indoor arena of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It has a seating capacity of 19,289 people.Located on the Stampede Grounds, on the east end of downtown Calgary, the Saddledome was built in 1983 to replace the Stampede Corral as the home of the Calgary Flames of...

. Both Lanny McDonald

Lanny McDonald

Lanny King McDonald is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies and Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League . He played over 1,100 games during a 16-year NHL career in which he scored 500 goals and over 1,000 points...

 and Doug Risebrough

Doug Risebrough

Douglas John Risebrough is a former player, coach, and general manager in the National Hockey League. In his 31 years in the NHL, he has been involved with the Stanley Cup Playoffs 25 times...

 scored hat tricks and ever since Harvey has been a fixture with the Flames. Harvey has remained a mainstay at Flames games, and at many events throughout Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

 and southern Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 ever since.

Under Kelba's management, Harvey was invited by the NHL to attend 7 All Star Games and tour Japan to promote the NHL over there. Kelba sold Harvey to the Flames in 1996 and stayed on performing until his retirement in 1999. After a 15 year career, Kelba has moved onto other creative ventures and left a legacy of mascot performances that still solidify his reputation for a quality performance without creating controversy or problems. "Kelba's act was just good clean fun". Kelba was long since retired by the time of the tongue incident.

Tongue Incident

Harvey gained widespread publicity on January 20, 2003, following an incident with the Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....

 head coach, Craig MacTavish

Craig MacTavish

Craig "MacT" MacTavish is the current head coach of the American Hockey League Chicago Wolves and a former ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League. He played centre for 19 NHL seasons with the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis...

. With the Flames leading 4–0, Harvey was taunting the Oilers behind their bench. The Oilers squirted him and eventually a frustrated coach reached up and ripped Harvey's signature red tongue out of his mouth, tossing it into the crowd. The incident seemed to spark the Oilers, who scored three goals shortly after, though the Flames held on to win 4–3. During the post-game, MacTavish preceded with a comment on the incident. The incident made headlines throughout North America, and led to many jokes, including having many other NHL team mascots arrive at the 2003 All-Star Game

53rd National Hockey League All-Star Game

The 53rd National Hockey League All-Star Game was held during the 2002–03 NHL season, and took place at the Office Depot Center in Sunrise, Florida, the home of the Florida Panthers, on February 2, 2003...

 with their tongues hanging out.

Harvey also had a long-running, good-natured feud with TSN

NHL on TSN

The NHL on TSN is TSN's broadcast of National Hockey League games. The show's current incarnation debuted in 2002. The channel has exclusive local rights to the Montreal Canadiens and the Winnipeg Jets.-Coverage overview:...

 broadcaster Gary Green

Gary Green (ice hockey)

Gary Green is a former head coach of the Washington Capitals and hockey analyst for the NHL on TSN. He was previously head coach and GM of the OHA Peterborough Petes and coach of the AHL Hershey Bears . He won the Coach of the Year award in 1979...

, which began in the late eighties when Green was broadcasting for the rival Winnipeg Jets. Whenever Green worked a game at the Saddledome, Harvey would display a sign that mocked the broadcaster in some way, prompting an on-air response from Green that feigned contempt.

External links

• Harvey's Corner at calgaryflames.com