New Sweaters with Ties to Tampa

With no Tampa Bay Lightning hockey to follow at this point in the fall, I'm a little lost and turning to the minors for comfort. And it just so happens the Bolts' AHL and ECHL affiliates are sporting new uniforms this season. So let's have a look.

Photos from Rochester Americans and Syracuse Crunch official websites

It happened with the Norfolk Admirals a few years ago and now it's happening to the Syracuse Crunch, who opened their season last night wearing not quite what you'd expect. For a team that just unveiled a very blue logo this summer, I'm surprised to still see so much orange in their uniforms.

But who knows what goes on behind the scenes with these teams? It could very well be that the rebrand happened too late in the game to get the uniforms completely overhauled. (Plus, they probably still have a lot of orange gear leftover that they need to sell, right?)

What's cool: The lightning bolt down the pants. Crunch players are actually wearing the same pants as their NHL affiliate. (You can even see the NHL shield on them in the photo above.) This is useful for two reasons. For one thing, it ties the branding of the two teams together. But more practically, players who are getting called up already have a key piece of their gear in tow.

What's not cool: The white Lightning logo over orange on the right shoulder. Someone at SME has to be shaking their head over that. I would've at least used the blue bolt if the shoulders had to be orange. Which brings me to my other point: Why not make the shoulders blue? These are obviously not recycled jerseys. They're new, with the blue piping added all over the place. Fix it.

That's all I have to say on Syracuse for now. Their home opener is tonight so I assume we'll get to see the other jerseys. I'll add photos as an update to this post later on.

Photo from Florida Everblades (Facebook)

Also this season, the ECHL's Florida Everblades are celebrating their 15th anniversary along with their 2012 Kelly Cup championship. You can see both represented in the photo above as the team hit the ice in their new green anniversary sweaters and raised a special banner last night.

By the way, that Blades game was also the first time that expansion team Orlando Solar Bears hit the ice. You can see what their uniforms looked like in action for the first time on their Facebook page. The Orlando Sentinel also has a neat side-by-side shot of both teams' uniforms.

Interestingly, both of these games required extra time to decide. The Everblades won on a goal 26 seconds into overtime while the Crunch fell to the Rochester Americans in a shootout.

Update on Sunday · Oct 14 · 2012 | 1:28 AM PDT by Chris

Turns out, the Crunch were just wearing an alternate jersey on Friday night. We know that because on Saturday night, they unveiled their actual home and road jerseys. They look like this.

Photo by Jeremy Houghtaling (@JGHoughtaling on Twitter)

You'll note that the alternate jersey in this photo is the opposite of the white jersey the Crunch actually wore on Friday. That means they actually have four different uniforms in their arsenal this season. Seems a bit excessive. Is the attachment to orange all to do with the university?

I'll leave you with a look at the new white jersey in action.

Photo by Scott Thomas Photography

Two sidebars. 1) Check out the 75th anniversary jersey the Hershey Bears are wearing! (That means four jerseys for them too, because they unveiled home, road and alternate sweaters with their rebrand over the summer.) And 2) Does anyone know what the standard is for AHL uniforms? Do they usually wear white at home or on the road? And does it switch midseason like it does in the ECHL?

Syracuse Crunch Unveil New Logo

The AHL's Syracuse Crunch unveiled their new logo today. And this is it.

As rumored on Wednesday, it's a reboot of the club's original superhero mark from 1994 with the colors of its new NHL affiliate, the Tampa Bay Lightning. (Hey, by the way, are those lightning bolts on his helmet?)

For an upgrade, it's not bad. I would've liked to have seen the CRUNCH font get a bit of a modernization as well, but that might be too much to ask. Of course it is the thing that ties the team's various identities together. It hasn't changed since 1994.

New uniforms will be unveiled in October when the AHL season gets underway. And for those of us who didn't know, Syracuse's superhero dude is named Crunchman. He replaces Al, the (world's only) Ice Gorilla who has reigned as the team mascot since 1999.

Honestly, I don't have much more to say about it. It's underwhelming even if I can't say it's terrible. Though many readers tend to react to new logos in hyperbole so I'm sure we'll see that in the comments. Beyond that, what are your thoughts?

New Look Coming for Crunch

Say goodbye to this logo. The AHL's Syracuse Crunch will unveil a completely new look on Monday, July 2, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard.

The rebranding efforts apparently come as part of the Crunch's new affiliation agreement with the Tampa Bay Lightning. So presumably, the Crunch will start wearing blue next season and my tongue-in-cheek recolor from the weekend is looking less ridiculous.

Specifically, the article says, "The Lightning deal allows Syracuse to rebrand its look, starting with a new logo and colors it will unveil on July 2." Meaning along with the new colors, we will see a new primary mark. That's probably the best news of all.

But then it may not be all that new. I'm told the Crunch could be looking at something from their history. The franchise began life as the Hamilton Canucks in 1992, moving to Syracuse, New York in 1994. At that point, they introduced the comic book-style logo seen here in purple, gold and green.

Obviously, my crudely recolored version of that logo won't be what we get. But it will probably be the basis. I imagine the new look will be a modern update that looks less like it came off the pen of a cartoonist. But I'm just guessing. I've also been told the new colors are blue, white and silver.

Now the history lesson. I've already mentioned Hamilton and the 1994 relocation to New York. Five years after that, on Sept. 30, 1999, the Crunch entered into an affiliation agreement with the Columbus Blue Jackets and changed their logo and colors to match their new parent club — a full season before the Jackets would ever hit the ice, by the way. That was also the introduction of the abominable snowman ice gorilla.

In 2010, the Crunch hooked up with the Anaheim Ducks and changed their colors again. So this rebranding shouldn't surprise us. The Crunch have a track record of taking on the look of their NHL affiliate. 

Elsewhere in the AHL, the Hershey Bears are apparently getting new uniforms with a redesigned logo. Can't tell you much about the source of this info, so take it for what it's worth. Also expecting a new third jersey for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (no surprise there), so we should certainly keep an eye on these teams throughout the summer for any news.

Lightning, Ducks Swap AHL Affiliates

Earlier this week, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced a new AHL affiliation agreement with the Syracuse Crunch. That will lead the Anaheim Ducks to align with the Bolts' former affiliate and 2012 Calder Cup champion Norfolk Admirals in the fall.

I've since gotten a lot of questions about whether either of the Crunch or Admirals will redesign their jerseys to match their new NHL affiliates. The short answer is: I don't know. The funny answer is this...

Obviously, I just made this graphic for fun. I have no reason to believe either team will change their colors. If they were to do any sort of redesign, I don't see it happening this season. But I'll keep an eye on it, of course.

Meantime, what do you think about the new color treatments I gave the Crunch and Ads?

AHL: 75 Years of Identity Issues

Over the past two weekends, the AHL has been celebrating its 75th anniversary by calling on its six oldest teams — sort of — to sport special throwback uniforms. Some for the better, others not so much. 

For those of you that enjoy Icethetics history lessons, boy do I have a doozy, but first let's review what these six teams looked like in their retro threads.

Springfield Indians vs Providence Reds

Why is it the Peoria Rivermen should've played as the Indians, instead of the Springfield Falcons? And do the Connecticut Whale really have a better claim to the Reds than the Providence Bruins?

Syracuse Stars vs Cleveland Barons

Plus, are the Buffalo Sabres responsible for killing the Syracuse Stars? And are the Worcester Sharks more worthy of skating as the Barons than the Lake Erie Monsters?

Hershey Bears vs Rochester Americans

And finally, two teams just the same as they've ever been for more than a half-century. What more could you need to know?

All of these questions will be answered. It's time for that history lesson.

When the AHL was formed in 1936, known then as the International-American Hockey League, eight cities were represented, six of which have teams today that took part in the anniversary festivities: Springfield, Providence, Syracuse and Cleveland. Hershey and Rochester joined later but most of the other teams are suffering through an identity crisis of some kind. Let's break this down.

Springfield Falcons

The Springfield Falcons were founded in 1994 so they certainly aren't among the AHL's oldest franchises. But last weekend, they played as the Springfield Indians, who were. In fact, the current Falcons team has no ties to that original franchise, which now exists as the Peoria Rivermen. So how did that happen?

  

The city of Springfield, Mass. has had pro hockey since before the AHL formed. The Springfield Indians were founded in 1926 and played in the Can-Am, or Canadian-American Hockey League, under that name until 1951 when they were renamed the Warriors. That lasted only three years before the club reverted to Indians moniker.

In 1967, the name was changed again, this time to the Springfield Kings. But a classic name dies hard and this time seven years passed before the Indians name was brought back once more. Then finally, in 1994 the franchise was relocated to Worcester, Mass. and dubbed the IceCats. Because it was the '90s and minor league teams did that sort of thing. Not willing to go down without a fight, ex-Indian players were granted a new franchise, now named the Falcons.

The IceCats moved to Peoria, Ill. in 2005 and so goes the story of the Indians franchise. However, the league couldn't very well dress the Rivermen in their old Indians uniforms while hockey was still going strong in Springfield. So the Falcons paid tribute to their city's past in style.

Providence Bruins

The Providence Bruins franchise was founded in 1987 but has only been playing in Rhode Island since 1992. Again, it's definitely not one of the league's original teams. Actually, just like Springfield, this city had pro hockey long before the AHL in the form of the Providence Reds, who are now about to become the Connecticut Whale. What?

  

Just like Springfield's story, it all began in 1926 in the Can-Am. The Providence Reds were one of the eight teams that joined the new International-American Hockey League in 1936. They were successful and stuck around a long time. But when they affiliated with the New York Rangers in 1972, things were changing. And it started with a new arena.

Then in 1976, the team name was changed to Rhode Island Reds. But that would be the team's final season in the Union's smallest state. When the North American Hockey League folded in 1977, the owners of a Binghamton, N.Y.-based franchise, called the Broome Dusters (not kidding), bought the Reds and shifted them about 300 miles west and appropriated their own name for the club.

The Binghamton Dusters became the Binghamton Whalers in 1980. Then a decade later, they were named after their NHL affiliate, the Rangers. In 1997, the team became the Hartford Wolf Pack, and later this year, Howard Baldwin will officially rename them the Connecticut Whale. What a lineage. Ouch.

Once again, the Providence Bruins will only wear Reds jerseys as a tribute to their town rather than their own team heritage — a team which began life in 1987 as the second incarnation of the Maine Mariners and relocated in 1992.

Syracuse Crunch

The identity crises don't end in Providence. The Syracuse Crunch is a franchise only slightly older than the Falcons, having been established in 1992. And would you believe this? The team once known as the Syracuse Stars was actually killed by the Buffalo Sabres in 1970.

  

The Stars' story is long, but not all that complicated. Founded in 1930 as a member of the International Hockey League, the team from Syracuse, N.Y. hooked up with the I-AHL in 1936. By 1940, they were on the move, however, to Buffalo. Renamed the Bisons, the new team was a replacement for the club of the same name which disbanded in 1936 when its arena collapsed.

The Buffalo Bisons were effectively sent to slaughter in 1970 at the announcement of the Buffalo Sabres NHL franchise. They vacated the Memorial Auditorium for the new major league team and that's the end of their story.

Meanwhile, the Syracuse Crunch were founded as the Hamilton Canucks in 1992. After just two seasons in Ontario, the club relocated to New York. Just like the Falcons and Bruins, they don Stars attire not as a tribute to their own past but to their city's and that of the AHL.

Lake Erie Monsters

Once again, we have a club still in its teens masquerading as one of hockey's oldest. The Lake Erie Monsters franchise was founded in 1994 but only moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 2007. The actual Cleveland Barons were founded in 1929 and the lineage of that name can be quite confusing as you're about to learn.

  

The Cleveland Indians were a member of the International Hockey League from 1929 until 1936. However, they were known as the Cleveland Falcons for the last two years in the IHL and in their first season as a charter member of the I-AHL.

The following season, in 1937, the Cleveland Barons were born. And that's where things get interesting. Everything was fine until 1972 when the WHA and the Cleveland Crusaders came along. This spelled instant death for the minor league franchise, which was forced to relocate midway through the 1972-73 season. Unfortunately, they moved to Jacksonville, Fla. so they only got in one more full season before folding. The bloodline ends there.

As a side note, the Cleveland Barons name was revived in 1976 when the NHL's California Golden Seals relocated to Cleveland, forcing the Crusaders to St. Paul, Minn. But the Barons lasted only two seasons in the NHL before disappearing again. Ironically, the players from the disbanded team went to the Minnesota North Stars.

One more attempt was made to revitalize the Cleveland Barons moniker when the AHL's Kentucky Thoroughblades were bought by the San Jose Sharks in 2001 and relocated. Five years later, the Sharks moved the club to Massachusetts and renamed it after themselves. So technically, the only existing team that came claim the Cleveland Barons name in their heritage is the Worcester Sharks.

Yet the Lake Erie Monsters, founded in 1994 as the Denver Grizzlies, donned Barons duds last weekend. The Grizzlies played in Colorado only one season before the Quebec Nordiques announced they were to move there. So the Grizzlies went to Salt Lake City, Utah for the next 10 years.

The club suspended operations for two years while it looked for a new owner, who would then put the club in the home of the departing Cleveland Barons. By the way, don't confuse these Utah Grizzlies with the ECHL club of the same name. They have a long history of name changes and relocations but actually began life as a charter member of the East Coast Hockey League.

Hershey Bears

At last, a true original AHL franchise. Almost. The Hershey Bears joined the I-AHL in 1938, two years after its founding. End of story, right? Not quite.

  

The Bears were actually founded in 1932 as the Hershey B'ars. Then it was changed the following season to Hershey Chocolate B'ars in case the original name was too subtle for you. Then back to Hershey B'ars once again in 1934.

The Bears nickname actually came about by way of New York sportswriters who thought the B'ars name was overtly commercial. Gee, you think? In 1936, it stuck. Officially. And though the Hershey Bears have endured minor uniform, logo and color alterations over the last 72 years, the name has remained the same. 

Rochester Americans

The Rochester Americans didn't join the American Hockey League until 1956, but at least they're not masquerading as some other team just to celebrate an anniversary.

  

Now in their 55th season, the Amerks, like the Bears, have been through logo and uniform changes over the years but have always kept the name. It's refreshing to see that some teams can exist over long periods of time like this. We could all wish for more of them, but that would just make for a much duller history lesson, wouldn't it?

Hope you enjoyed this post, by the way. Spent over two hours working on it this afternoon. But it was rather fascinating.

Update on Sunday · Oct 17 · 2010 | 5:04 PM PDT by Chris

Just did a quick bit of research after posting this. Clearly, not all of the teams wearing throwback jerseys for the 75th anniversary are the oldest members of the league. In fact, that's a rather different list. So who are the oldest six teams in the AHL?

• They got it right with the Hershey Bears (1932) and Rochester Americans (1956).
• The Peoria Rivermen, as stated above were founded in 1926 as the Springfield Indians/Warriors/Kings. They were the Worcester IceCats from 1994 to 2005.
• The Hartford Wolf Pack/Connecticut Whale were the Providence Reds in 1926. Between 1977 and 1997, they were the Binghamton Dusters, Whalers and Rangers.
• The current incarnation of the Hamilton Bulldogs were founded in 1969 as the Montreal Voyagers. They were the Nova Scotia Voyagers from 1971 to 1984 and the Sherbrooke and Fredericton Canadiens between 1984 and 1999. From then until 2002, they were the Quebec Citadelles.
• The Milwaukee Admirals were founded as an amateur club in 1970. The didn't become a pro team until 1977 when they joined the IHL, so if you only want to count pro seasons...
• In 1972, the Binghamton Senators were founded as the New Haven Nighthawks. They changed their name to Senators in 1992 when Ottawa joined the NHL then moved to Prince Edward Island the following year. They shut down in 1996 and were resurrected in 2002 in New York.

Seems like I need to put together a history section for Icethetics pretty soon.