How Benny the Mascot found his way home to the Winnipeg Jets

With the return of NHL hockey the Jets brought their AHL mascot Mick. E Moose along for the ride.

Prior to Mick. E. Moose the mascot for the first incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets was Benny.  Fans who followed the 80s and 90s Jets team know that Benny was named after team owner Ben Hatskin.  Of course when the Jets left for Arizona in 1996 Benny the Mascot disappeared as well.

So where did he go?  That was a question that some fans have had for over twenty years since he hasn’t been seen anywhere in our fair city since April of 1996.

Which brings us to this Heritage Classic weekend.  With the return of the original Winnipeg Jets alumni there was a familiar face in the crowd of fans at IG Field as Benny accompanied by Elton John’s song Bennie and The Jets made his way through the sea of folks in the stadium.

But how?  Where did he come from?

I approached Senior Director of Game Production & Broadcast Services Kyle Balharry to see if he had any insight as to how Benny made this seemingly miraculous return for the Heritage Classic weekend.  Kyle grinned when I asked him the question and then shared these details with me.  He had been approached about five years ago when the Jets return was announced by someone who said they had the Benny mascot and wanted to give it back to the team.  It sat in storage until this year when it was updated (given a Heritage Classic 5 times XL uniform, received some more customization to the head) and unveiled to the crowd.

As you can expect from fans who were already in nostalgia heaven the return of Benny was very well received.

So there you have it.  Kyle also told me that fans can expect to see Benny the Mascot at both Jets games (January 9th against Calgary and March 19th versus Minnesota) where the team will be wearing their Heritage Classic uniforms.