Where did NY Islanders mascot Sparky The Dragon land in latest rankings?

New York Islanders mascot "Sparky The Dragon" may be No. 1 in the hearts of young Isles fans across Long Island, but he was further down the list of a Casino.ca study that polled 10,000 fans across five sports to rank the best sports mascots.

Sparky, who for years pulled double-duty for the New York Dragons Arena Football League (AFL) team and the Isles starting when Charles Wang was the owner, finished tied for 52nd on the list. Amongst all NHL mascots, Sparky ranked 15th, tied with "Sharkie" from San Jose.

Sparky has strong showing among professional sports mascots

Mr. Met, the lovable longtime mascot of the New York Mets, finished eighth with a score, a top-10 showing that we would expect from the big-headed baseball fixture at Mets games for over 50 years. However, two of Sparky's NHL rivals finished even better, cracking the top five.

The mascot of the New Jersey Devils, cleverly named "NJ Devil" finished fifth in the voting, with an overall score of 4.8. Two Chicago Bulls, yes, two, Benny the Bull and Benji finished in the top spots, followed by the Phillie Phanatic and Gritty, the popular Philadelphia Flyers mascot who first debuted his distinct, orange and hair look in 2018.

Fans in each sport were surveyed to examine their attitudes toward mascots, ranking them from worst to best with a rating from 1 to 5. Whne surveyed what fans liked most about mascots, 60% said that it was the entertainment factor, while 20% said it boosted team morale. 10% thought mascots were "cute" while a small percentage found them scary or simply don't like them at all.

For the full rankings, click here.