Nearly four months.
That’s how long Flyers star Scott Hartnell grew his beard starting just before the NHL Lockout began on Sept. 15, 2012.
“It’s kind of grown on me,” joked Hartnell Friday. “It’s getting bigger and bigger and bushier and bushier.
“Kind of figured that it would only be a few weeks but it wound up being over 110 days.”
Hartsy’s wild look got plenty of attention when he showed up to practice with teammates after the long lockout can to an end.
The All-Star’s red facial hair drew comparisons to all sorts of bearded people from Tom Hanks’ character in Castaway to Paul Bunyan to, as pointed out by the NBC10 sports team, Yukon Cornelius from Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
“I take a lot of pride in that,” Hartnell -- who was recently named (along with former Flyers Jeff Carter and Jaromir Jagr) to Cosmopolitan’s list of the The Hottest Players in the NHL -- said of the Cornelius comparison.
Well, the "Lockout Beard" is no more. With NBC10 cameras rolling, Hartnell shaved it all off Friday. (Tune in before the Flyers opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. for “NBC10’s Finally Flyered Up” special to see Hartnell say goodbye to his beard).
The question remains, though, which Hartnell do you like better, the bearded lumberjack look or the suave clean-shaven look?
