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Look out Puppy Bowl, the ‘Stanley Pup’ is coming — and of course John Tortorella is involved

The Flyers coach is a well-known animal advocate, and does work through his foundation and his “Hockey & Hounds” podcast.

Nathan McKibble — aka Bobber — is representing the Avalanche, but is up for adoption through the Brandywine Valley SPCA.
Nathan McKibble — aka Bobber — is representing the Avalanche, but is up for adoption through the Brandywine Valley SPCA.Read moreNHL / Courtesy
    by Gabriela Carroll
    Updated 
    Published 

The NFL has the Puppy Bowl, and now, the NHL is starting its first Stanley Pup event, a hockey competition featuring rescue dogs named after players from each of the 16 playoff teams — like Connor McDoodle and Sergei Bobruffsky. And of course, noted dog lover John Tortorella will be making an appearance.

The special will be televised at 8 p.m. Friday on NHL Network and ESPN+, and all of the dogs — you can see photos of them and get more information here — are available for adoption, with all 32 teams being represented by a dog at some point during the special. Petco Love, a nonprofit affiliated with pet care store Petco, partnered with local shelters to spotlight the dogs. Several come from local shelters including the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and the Brandywine Valley ASPCA in Newark, Del.

The Flyers will be represented by Baby Girl, who is approximately 1½ years old and is in foster care through PAWS.

The 16 dogs that will represent the NHL’s 2024 playoff teams also got custom playing cards to go along with their fun hockey-themed names.

Here’s a look at all the names.

  1. Melon aka Alex Ofetchkin (Washington Capitals)

  2. Raider aka Roman Yorkie (Nashville Predators)

  3. Tennyson aka Auston Mattchews (Toronto Maple Leafs)

  4. Brittney aka Anders Leash (New York Islanders)

  5. Rainbow aka Connor Yellerpuck (Winnipeg Jets)

  6. Bobber aka Nathan Mackibble (Colorado Avalanche)

  7. Teddy Graham aka Connor McDoodle (Edmonton Oilers)

  8. Chirp aka Anze Kopitarf (L.A. Kings)

  9. Celly aka Brady Sharpei (Carolina Hurricanes)

  10. Flamingo aka Nikita Poocherov (Tampa Bay Lightning)

  11. Spinner aka David Pupstrnak (Boston Bruins)

  12. Giorgio Armani aka Adam Foxhound (New York Rangers)

  13. Koehen aka Sergei Bobruffsky (Florida Panthers)

  14. La Toya aka Quinn Chews (Vancouver Canucks)

  15. Lucinda aka Joe Pawvelski (Dallas Stars)

  16. Tippy Velvet aka Mark Bone (Vegas Golden Knights)

In addition to having incredible names, Bobber (aka Nathan Mackibble), Spinner (David Pupstrnak), and Tippy Velvet (Mark Bone) are all from the Brandywine Valley SPCA. And even some of the dogs who represent non-playoff teams — and thus didn’t get hockey-themed nicknames — have pretty amazing names in their own right, like Miss Eva and Sherlock Bones.

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Tortorella is a longtime dog lover. His Tortorella Family Foundation works with shelters that care for homeless and abused dogs through the Bear’s Angels program, named after Tortorella’s former dog. He also cohosts a podcast, Hockey & Hounds, during the Flyers season on which he discusses the team and animal welfare. The show spotlights adoptable dogs and helps them find forever homes — like Coffee Cake, whom Tortorella helped get adopted after more than a year in a Philly shelter. Since that’s exactly what the Stanley Pup aims to do, Tortorella is a perfect fit.

The Flyers coach is one of a number of NHL guests who’ll make an appearance on the show — but the only one from the Flyers — in addition to other celebrities like Miranda Lambert, Lisa Vanderpump, and Kristen Chenoweth.

For more information on the participating dogs, including how to adopt, you can visit Petco Love’s website.