On Friday, the Mascots Hall of Fame unveiled its class of 2026. Only five of the 11 finalists made the cut: the University of South Carolina’s Cocky, the Denver Broncos’ Miles, the University of Minnesota’s Goldy Gopher, the New York Mets’ Mrs. Mets, and Brigham Young University’s Cosmo. Which means that the Vancouver Canucks’ Fin was denied entry after a worldwide fan vote.
This means that the NHL still has only three mascots who have been inducted: the Chicago Blackhawks‘ Tommy Hawk, part of the 2017 class; the Montreal Canadiens‘ Youppi!, inducted in 2019; and the San Jose Sharks‘ S.J. Sharky, inducted last year.
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The fact that Youppi! is one of the three NHL members who got in is hardly surprising. The Mascott has been with the Canadiens since 2005, but it served as the Montreal Expos’ mascot from 1979 to 2004. To this day, it remains the only mascot to have transferred from one professional league to another, and it was also the first one to be ejected from an MLB game. During a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1989, manager Tommy Lasorda complained about the noise the mascot was making in the visitors’ dugout, which resulted in Youppi!’s ejection.
Ever since he joined the Canadiens in 2005, Youppi! has been very popular with the young fans and poses for numerous photos at every game. This past season, Youppi! was an integral part of the Habs’ tribute to Rodger Brulotte, the Expos’ play-by-play man who also helped bring the mascot to life, after his passing.
Back in 2022, the Canadiens introduced a second mascot, named Metal! He was part of the marketing campaign for the second edition of the Retro Reverse NHL jersey. In October 2023, the Habs announced that Metal! was retiring, but that turned out not to be true, since the power blue mascot is still used on occasion and was part of the Canadiens’ pre-game ceremonies in the playoffs last season.
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