Maybe if his bountiful crimson curls weren’t pulled back in a ponytail, they would have recognized him.

Or perhaps if he was chirping, “Suck it, Phaneuf!” his face would ring a bell.

Such was not the case, however, Monday night at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, when Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Hartnell’s Q Score suffered a setback.

“Why you gotta embarrass me like this on camera?” Hartnell said to the ACC security agent, who refused the player entrance into Monday’s preseason game until he properly identified himself.

Sportsnet’s cameras were following Hartnell into the building and caught the incident on tape.

“I play for the Flyers, but I’m not playing tonight,” Hartnell told the employee. Which, in her defence, does sound a little suspicious. Especially if you don’t fully comprehend the meaninglessness of exhibition games.

Even after it’s explained that Hartnell is indeed a professional hockey player — hence the fancy shoulder-mounted camera filming his stroll into the arena — Hartnell must still dig out his identification.

He takes the whole thing in stride, hiding his no doubt damaged ego with a smile.