ECHL Adds Chicago Franchise
Friday · Jul 2 · 2010 | 11:30 AM PDT
Chicago will complete its hockey trifecta when a new ECHL team begins play in fall 2011. The league announced the new franchise awarded to C&S Family Sports last week.
The Windy City is currently home to the NHL's 2010 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks as well as the AHL's Chicago Wolves. It's also home to the USHL's Chicago Steel, the AAHL's Chi-Town Shooters and the brand new Chicago Hitmen of the NAHL.
It begs the question, where does Detroit get off calling itself Hockeytown?
Anyway, the new ECHL club doesn't have a name yet, as you might've guessed. Just like the Greenville team, the owners are holding a name the team contest, which can be conveniently found at www.nameyourhockeyteam.com. The contest runs until July 21.
A feature of the website usually lists the Top 5 names being voted on. Unfortunately, it seems to be down at the time I'm writing this. At last check, Chicago Icehawks was in the lead. Hopefully they can do better in the next few weeks.
Reader Comments (20)
Detroit is called Hockeytown because it's a trademarked slogan the marketing department came up with some years ago. That's the ONLY reason it's called Hockeytown. It's embarrassing how many people do not know this.
Chicago Hitmen of the NAHL? Sounds like someone's been following the IceHL
Phil, yeah, I think most people understand that, I was just taking a dig at them.
And Glen, I was going to draw the same comparison. Unfortunately, their Hitmen logo doesn't measure up to any of the IceHL entries. Says great things about our Icethetics artists!
OH. In that case, Chris, keep on taking digs. I'm right there with ya :D
Hoffman Hammers? Please tell me Hoffman is an area of Chicago. I like the Chicago Express
Chicago Talon! Wouldn't that be appropriate :)
Maybe the Wind Talkers? Even though that would be a cheesy reference to that not so great movie.
Chicago Barnstormers!
How cool would the logo be - an old bi-plane flying out of a hockey arena instead of a barn.
Do you think the Blackhawks will snare the affiliation rights to have their AA affiliate next door? This ownership group had a UHL team at that arena for 1 season back in '07 called the Chicago Hounds. They couldn't negotiate a fair lease with the arena's ownership at the time and went under.
Watermelon, this team will not play in chicago, it will play in a suberb northwest of chicago...and the city that the arena resides in is Hoffman Estates
Whoa whoa whoa... the Icehawks is lame??? I'm from Louisville, my friend, and we still speak fondly of when we had an ECHL franchise known as the Icehawks.
They should be called the Hoffman Hoffs, and have David Hasselhoff's head as their logo.
I second Spider1's idea.
The website updated their leaderboards. As of right now, the top five are.....
1. Hoffman Hammers
2. Chicago Blizzard
3. Chicago Cobras
4. Chicago Express
5. Chicago Jets
I'm hoping that none of those win in the long run....
I just submitted "Chicago Brigade", named after the fire brigades that fought the Great Chicago Fire.
Quantity does not equal quality :)
I submitted the Chicago Soldiers in honour of both the US military and as a tribute to another Chicago sporting icon, Soldier Field.
i submitted the chicago hot dogs, but it never made the list. i thought a good slogan could be " because we don't play catch-up." it didnt make the list.
i agree with most of the posts here. many of the names that are listed are either lame, unoriginal, stolen from other teams/ leagues, or make no sense at all.
currently, i am voting for the hammers, though. the team will play at the sears centre (yes, spelled 're') and chicago is a blue collar city, so it kind of makes sense. i hope they dont call it the hoffman hammers, though. chicago hammers sounds much less like a pee-wee team.
I submitted the Windy City Wildcats, based off the plane that Butch O'Hare (Think O'Hare airport) flew in WWII, for which he would win the Medal of Honor. I thought that was a good way to incorporate a good hockey team name and something Chicagoans can recognze with. I don't if it will make it yet.
I just posted Chicago Zephyrs. It's probably too late. Zephyr is a wind reference that isn't too cheesy. Also, there was an old streamlined 30s "bullet train" that ran out of Chicago called the Pioneer Zephyr. You can still see it today in the Museum of Science and Industry in Hyde Park.
I submitted Chicago Beef...didn't get too far. But it would rule to have a skating hot dog as their logo.