Poor Mikko
Igor Makarov jumps over Finland’s Jonas Enlund during their Channel One Cup hockey match in the Euro Hockey Tour in Moscow on December 15, 2011
Story c/o of Puck Daddy, but introducing your 2012 IIHF World Championship mascot
From the Finnish Ice Hockey Association:
Is it is a plane? No. Is it a bird? Yes. And a crowd pleaser, a team supporter, a tournament promoter, and a character that will be remembered in years to come. The official tournament mascot is many things, and HockeyBird, designed by Toni Kysenius at Rovio Entertainment, the company behind the hit game Angry Birds, is all that.
“For us, getting the Hockey Bird was fantastic. Angry Birds is Finnish, known worldwide, and one of the hottest topics of conversation wherever you go,” says Mika Sulin, general secretary of the Finnish tournament organization.
“For Rovio, being a part of the hockey world championships is something new, and Hockey Bird is the right person to join the party. He’s the first angry bird who gets to break free from the Angry Birds game environment. His job is to bring bird energy to a big sports carnival and basically, be everywhere,” says Kysenius.
