‘Gritty’ Flyers mascot

The Philadelphia Flyers unveiled their new mascot Monday, and as one would expect of the team that gave us the “Broad Street Bullies,” he’s far from cuddly.

“Gritty” is a hulking Neanderthal-like figure with a pot belly, an orange mountainman beard and two huge, lidless googly eyes.

The intense, even frightening figure flies in the face of the NHL’s more kid-friendly mascots, like Toronto’s good-natured polar bear “Carlton” or Calgary’s lovable “Harvey the Hound.”

According to a release form the Flyers, “Gritty” was forced out of a hermitlike existence when construction at the Wells Fargo Center disturbed his secret hideout.

His bio also describes him as “the ultimate Flyers fan” and “loyal but mischievous,” with a penchant for eating snow left behind by the Zamboni icecleaning machine.

Social media reception to the Flyers’ new mascot came swiftly, with the rival Pittsburgh Penguins simply tweeting “lol ok.”

“Gritty” is just the second mascot in Flyers history after the short-lived “Slapshot” in 1976.

Several media members took to Twitter to denounce the new Flyers’ mascot.

From CBSSports.com’s Pete Blackburn: “Meet the Philadelphia Flyers’ new mascot, ‘Flaming Hot Cheetos soaked in acid.’ “

From Bleacher Report: “The Flyers’ new mascot is absolutely terrifying.”

From Flyers beat reporter David Isaac at the Courier-Post in New Jersey: “For all the slack Gritty is getting today as the new mascot, the official press release says he has ‘the ability to blow smoke out of his ears,’ so he’s already got a lot in common with Flyers fans.”