The organizers of the Hockey World Championships in Sweden and Finland have presented the official mascot of the next year’s event.
The Hockey Bird, developed by the designers of the world famous Angry Birds computer game, has become the main star of the ceremony held in the Finish capital, Helsinki.
“For us, getting the Hockey Bird was fantastic,” Mika Sulin, general secretary of the Finnish tournament organization, told the IIHF official website. “Angry Birds is Finnish, known worldwide, and one of the hottest topics of conversation wherever you go.”
The mascot’s designer, Toni Kysenius, said that creating Hockey Bird was challenging, but very exiting experience for him.
“He’s the first angry bird who gets to break free from the Angry Birds game environment,” he explained. “His job is to bring bird energy to a big sports carnival and basically, be everywhere.”
The organizers have also revealed the full factfile on the hockey world championship’s symbol:
Name: HockeyBird
Born: Yes, other details unknown
Position: Left defenceman (a scout’s evaluation)
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 108 kg
Favorite food: Fish sticks, waffles and strawberry jam
Favorite music: Hard rock
Motto: Puck sweet puck
The 76th IIHF World Championship will take place at the arenas in Helsinki and Stockholm between May 4 – 20, 2012.