Rivermen, Raiders Unveil New Logos

Peoria's new SPHL team reveals logo, uniforms

On Saturday, the latest incarnation of the Peoria Rivermen franchise — now a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League — officially unveiled its logo and uniforms.

Peoria Rivermen new uniform designs (via Facebook)

I briefly went over the history of the Rivermen in Friday's post. The new look came just a day later via the club's new Facebook page, where they also posted the progression of Rivermen logos over the years.

Rivermen logo progression, 1984—present (via Facebook)

The branding efforts are an attempt to capture history and tradition of the Rivermen franchise which has existed in some form for nearly 30 years. That's quite a run. For a deeper look, I recommend this article from Dave Eminian of the Peoria Journal Star. The write-up mentions that the logo and uniforms were designed by Carie Hanawalt.

The old Rivermen franchise of the AHL was recently purchased by the Vancouver Canucks and will no longer play in Peoria. So there will be a new name and a new location for the team at some point but nothing has been announced yet.

WHL's Prince Albert Raiders start "green movement"

The other big logo unveiling last week happened in the Western Hockey League. The Prince Albert Raiders decided to highlight their green and introduce all new logos and uniforms.

New jerseys modeled at Raiders unveiling (via Facebook)

Take a good look at those jerseys. They're Reebok Edge, but a brand new template we've ever seen. Factor in the colors, and what are the odds we're looking at the next Dallas Stars uniform with a different logo on the front? It was an IceHL GM, Mike Kelly, who first mentioned this via Twitter. And I have to agree.

Then again, it would be surprising for a couple of reasons. First, if Reebok is going to go out of its way to generate an entirely new sweater template, why would they do it for a junior league team. It's more likely that it'd be for an NHL club — like Dallas. But then if all that is true, why allow the junior team to hold its unveiling first — three weeks before the NHL club?

It could be a simple solution, like maybe Reebok works up new templates every year — some of which may or may not end up in use in the NHL. It could just be a way of expanding their own product line. In any case, it's something worth talking about.

What's your take? Both on the Raiders' new look as well as the possibility that they're a preview of the Stars' redesign. And how about the new Rivermen?

May Minor League Report

All this work on the IceHL's 13 Weeks of R&R project has kept from doing my real job on Icethetics — updating the blog with actual news. In other words, there's a lot to catch up on.

Hartford Wolf Pack officially return to AHL

Well that didn't take long. After playing parts of three seasons as the Connecticut Whale, the Hartford Wolf Pack identity has made a glorious comeback — thanks to their NHL parent club, the New York Rangers.

The Wolf Pack were established in 1997 when the Binghamton Rangers moved to Hartford. Then in 2010, Howard Baldwin happened. His effort to recapture Hartford Whalers failed miserably with the rebranding of the franchise as the Connecticut Whale.

Connecticut Whale, 2010—2013

We applauded the judicious use of green but not the name or the terrible logo. Within two years, Baldwin was gone — which probably says more about his management style than his taste in sports branding. But we're all grateful nonetheless that the Pack is back.

And not for nothing, but the New York Rangers' AHL affiliate is now operated by the parent company of the Philadelphia Flyers, is it not? Global Spectrum is running things these days and it would seem they have two masters. Interesting.

The Rivermen are dead, long live the Rivermen

Speaking of the AHL, some craziness took place on Monday. The Vancouver Canucks who recently acquired the Peoria Rivermen franchise from the St. Louis Blues, announced the team would not operate out of Illinois next season. They don't know where exactly yet. Just not Peoria.

So it seemed the end of a brand that has existed for nearly 30 years. But the Rivermen are plucky. They won't go quietly. After 12 years in the IHL between 1984 and 1996, the franchise transferred to the ECHL for about a decade. Then in 2005, they got the upgrade to the AHL. In 2013, they move down — way down — to the SPHL, that's the Southern Professional Hockey League. (It exists!)

The SPHL is home to teams like the equally plucky Columbus Cottonmouths and the Pensacola Ice Flyers. And now it's also home to...

Bloomington Blaze switch from CHL to SPHL

The Bloomington Blaze are jumping the sinking ship that is the Central Hockey League for the equally crummy SPHL. A lateral move at best. But one they apparently feel is necessary.

The Blaze were founded just two years ago after the folding of the IHL's Bloomington PrairieThunder. (All these minor leagues you've probably never heard of.) They begin play in their new league this fall.

Now that we're on the CHL, we might as well talk about their newest expansion team.

Brampton gets Beast to replace lost OHL team

Earlier this year when we learned the OHL's Brampton Battalion were moving to North Bay, Ontario, it seemed like the good people of Brampton would be without a team. But that's when the Central Hockey League jumped in, expanding into Canada for the first time.

On April 27, the Brampton Beast were revealed to the world. Along with a very vanilla CHL-like logo. I won't pass judgment too hard since somebody was obviously trying. (I just don't know what they were trying for.) In any case, the Beast begin play in the fall. Like Peoria, hockey fans of Brampton won't miss a beat.

For the record, the North Bay Battlion also begin play in the OHL this fall. They will keep the same logo they had in Brampton.

Pensacola Ice Flyers Get Revamped!

For three years, they were the team with — unquestionably — the worst logo and uniforms in all of professional hockey. That all changed on Thursday.

The Pensacola Ice Flyers unveiled a brand new identity that's millions of miles beyond the monstrosity they entered into the world upon joining the Southern Professional Hockey League in 2009.

If you're struggling to remember said monstrosity, allow me to remind you. It was terrible. Objectively terrible, if that's even possible. I'm not sure that thing could actually be considered "design" as we know it. But now it is no more, I'm happy to report.

The Florida panhandle team still has a pretty awful name, but it has meaning to the people of Pensacola and, heck, these phenomenal logos just make the "Ice Flyers" moniker look cooler, if nothing else. This is a definite win in the minor league logo design department. And it may well be the best logo in the SPHL at this point — which, to be fair, isn't exactly saying much.

I'm very excited to see this team recognize the need for a revamp and hire a pro to make it happen. Incidentally, I haven't been able to track down the name of the designer or creative firm. If anyone knows, I'd love to be able to add a link to this post.

Here's a look at the new secondary marks designed for the Ice Flyers.

Certainly playing up the Top Gun theme. I sense some specialty jersey nights in the seasons ahead. All of these elements just look great — at least in comparison to their predecessor.

Anyway, enough gushing from me. Time for you to weigh in. While you put your thoughts together on this new look, I'll leave you with Pensacola's new set of sweaters.

New Minor League Jerseys

We're taking another stab at the Icethetics Season Preview with a look at a variety of mostly horrendous minor league jerseys for 2009-10. We'll begin with the bigger leagues.

In the AHL, the Rochester Americans will be pulling out an old classic to be worn as a third jersey.

Rochester Americans' 3rd jersey

I don't know if it's better or worse than what Montreal did to us last season. As mentioned previously on Twitter, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers will take to the ice looking like the old Islanders all year.

Bridgeport Sound Tigers' new uniforms

Their new home and road jerseys are modeled after the Isles' new throwback third. Hopefully the big league club will join them soon.

In the ECHL, the Stockton Thunder recently unveiled their new third jersey.

 

Yeah, if that's not bad enough, the lightning bolt motif is even making its way into the SPHL. The Mississippi Surge will wear these this year.

Mississippi Surge uniforms

The Dayton Gems have also released designs for four different jerseys that will be used for 2009-10. There are home, road, alternate and retros. For a league that probably plays four games a year, it's probably a little much. But wait until you see them.

I'd be embarrassed to wear that in front of the home crowd. At least black road jersey has some interesting striping. That yellow jersey is just horrible. 

Here's the third to the left. Very reminiscent of our favorite Reebok Edge designs, what with the interrupted striping, curvy tails and the team name printed across the ass.

The retro's not that much better.

 

They've hidden most of the logo in the picture anyway.

I have to finish up by going back to the AHL. I saved this one intentionally. I've seen teams wear patches to commemorate a championship victory. But I have never seen an entire sweater dedicated to blatantly bragging about it.

Way to go, Hershey Bears, for being the first.

That is all I have to say on that. Feel free to share your opinions below.

Ice Flyers Unveil Logo... Ugh!

At my hands journalism takes a beating tonight, but I have to editorialize. Rarely do I feel the need to opinionize (new word), yet evil happens when good men sit idly by. And even when they don't, evidently.

The Pensacola Ice Flyers shocked probably no one but me when they unveiled their new logo earlier tonight. They did so before a small gathering of North Florida hockey fans and supporters celebrating the return of the sport to their town.

The Southern Professional Hockey League is expanding this season by adding the Ice Flyers along with the Mississippi Surge. They shouldn't have bothered. The following symbol will represent this team.

Ice Flyers' new logo

All right, by now you get my outrage, so I'll get back to my journalistic roots now.

Coach Todd Gordon and owner Tim Kerr (photo: Ben Twingley)

The Pensacola News Journal was there with Ben Twingley providing photographic evidence. Team owner and former Philadelphia Flyer Tim Kerr chatted to fans at the event alongside head coach Todd Gordon. Gordon wore the snazzy new shirt but Kerr did not. SPHL commissioner Jim Combs was also in attendance.

Two questions. 1) What did they do? 2) Why are they so happy about it? Damn, I switched back into editorial mode. All right, I know the answers. They sold enough ticket packages to bring hockey back this season and they're hockey fans so they're very excited about that. But honestly, I can't get over the logo.

Two weeks ago, the News Journal posted a poll which I wrote about here on Icethetics. It asked readers which of four logos they preferred. You can see the results here to the left. For reference, "Logo 1" is what's been plastered on the above shirts.

It finished with about 440 out of 3,011 votes. I know the poll was meant "for entertainment purposes only" but Kerr can't take a hint. Two of the logos each grabbed more than a third of the vote and they've been discarded. To see all four logos, click on the graphic.

Once again my strong feelings have emerged. So why do I feel this way? I think it's important that what represents hockey represents it well. This logo does not accomplish that. It was a missed opportunity. I feel bad for Six Zero and the other designers whose superior work was overlooked.

If the gradients, pedestrian typeface, and all-around clip-art feel of the design weren't bad enough, it seems they can't even decide how to properly symbolize the name Ice Flyers. Is it the Blue Angels or an eagle? They clash. Pick one.

I eagerly await the uniform unveiling to see what they're going to do. I literally couldn't begin to guess. It sounds crass, but it wouldn't surprise me to see them print up 20 of these logos on their ink-jets and glue them to jerseys.

Again, a missed opportunity here if you ask me. Anyone agree? Anyone disagree? The floor is yours.