USHL Logo Map
Sunday · Aug 8 · 2010 | 9:28 AM PDT
View USHL Map in a larger map
Having covered a fair share of Canadian junior hockey leagues, I thought we might sneak in an American one. The United States Hockey League has 16 teams packed tightly into the Midwest, from Ohio to Nebraska. Even Fargo, North Dakota has a team!
We'd have to call Iowa the dominant state in the USHL as it has five teams, plus two more in bordering cities. But don't forget Nebraska also has three. These areas aren't loaded down with pro teams so it's cool to see they at least have some solid junior hockey.
And for those unfamiliar with the USHL, you might look at the Youngstown Phantoms logo and immediately accuse them of stealing it from the fireworks company. Ah, but that would be silly as the CEO of Phantom Fireworks also owns this team. Synergy.
For the record, some really nice logos in this league. Definitely need to do a tournament sooner than later if you ask me. As far as maps, what would you like to see next? KHL seems like a popular request. Any others?
Reader Comments (25)
Sweden? Finland?
I think you should do the NAHL pretty spread out and some interesting logos
i don't know if a logo tourney for the USHL is worth it, Dubuque has it in the bag. My votes for next maps/logo tournaments are NAHL, KHL, the German DEL, the Finnish SM-Liiga, the Swedish SEL, and the Swiss NLA. I agree with Lucas that the NAHL would be cool because of how spread out it is. The Euro leagues would be awesome because of how many NHL players have come and gone from those clubs.
How about a map of NCAA DI teams? Should be interesting to see the layout there given how many teams there are.
Drew, as I've said before, I'm not opposed to doing college hockey in the future. But for now I'd like to stick with traditional hockey league maps. By trying to attempt a massive NCAA map, all we'd really end up with is a map of where various colleges are located. Almost every city has a big school. That's not interesting to me, personally.
Ah sorry, I hadn't seen you say that before. Only suggested it in that it is a big place for prospects to develop in recent decades. I hear ya though, it's a lot to map out even sticking to the the Division I conferences with the more traditional powerhouses. Outside of that, I think KHL and NAHL would be my top two choices.
On the topic of USHL, man, looks like Fargo has it the worst as far as travel goes--which isn't saying much compared to the other leagues we've been looking at--and a slick logo too. Loving this series, thanks and keep up the good work!
You should do one for all of the Canadian Jr A leagues together.
European leagues. Definitely. Swedish, Finnish, KHL.
Sweet, glad to hear that you're thinking about doing one for the KHL.
If you're looking for suggestions on future maps, how about a map of former top-tier hockey leagues? Like the WHA, the WHL, and the PCHA? Even though it might be somewhat difficult to do considering how unstable many of the teams in those leagues were and the fact that not all of the teams played all the seasons, but it might be an interesting thing to see.
KHL is a good idea. How about the Australian Ice Hockey League?
Sadly my hometown Bucs have the worst logo in the league. The old one was pretty weak too, but the current one has late 90s/early2000s trendiness all over it. At one point we had a sixth team in the state - Mason City/Northern Iowa had a team (Huskies I think) when I was in high school. There was even a team in Minnesota then too.
It's utterly bizarre how the USHL has manage to completely avoid Minnesota in it's entirety. Rumor has it hockey is slightly more popular in Minnesota than Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin.
NAHL!!
How about the Elite Hockey League? I was going to say the AAHL but there's what? 5 teams? KHL would be interesting I think as well. How about the defunct National Womens Hockey League maybe? Might sound crazy but I think it ran from 1999-2007 and was in both Canada and the USA. Just trying to feed you ideas. Love this website man.
Think the Euro maps would make particularly interesting viewing, espcially the KHL where I think you have 20+ teams in a league that spans over 5-6 different time zones (one team being located in the same time zone as China
The league also has 3 teams located outside of Russia.
I follow pretty much most of the big seven European leagues and so would be glad if you decided on some euro league maps Chris.
As a lifelong USHL fan, I smiled nice and wide when I saw the USHL logo map come out. Waterloo's logo is by far my favorite (not a surprise considering it's my favorite team)...but their logo is just classic, and goes back in some form almost 50 years. Des Moines' old logo was great (simple, lots of subtleties, would look bad if a DM native didn't give the DM logo of his childhood some props), but the new logo looks like a comic-book cover. A couple of curiosities about the current logos: Dubuque's original logo (with the original team that left in 2001) was almost identical to that of the WHA's Minnesota Fighting Saints, and the GB logo is a bobcat due to the first USHL team that played in GB being called the Bobcats. Sometimes makes me wonder if they'll revert to the Bobcats name at some point...the only "gambling" reference left in that logo is a playing card hidden near the cat's paw.
Adamedg, you're right about the team in Mason City -- they were the old North Iowa Huskies...wasn't a great place for a Tier I team, but Tier II teams haven't fared too badly in Mason City. Minnesota has had problems keeping Tier I teams around though...there's almost too much hockey saturation in Minnesota for a Tier I team to survive, and the community facilities aren't exactly Tier I quality...would be kind of interesting to see a team at Ridder Arena at the U of M though. That's a definite Tier I level facility, and it's about the right size too.
Omaha has a great logo too, and Tri-City's logo is pretty good (though they recently thought about adding red and gold to the logo...just about made me puke trying to look at it). Indiana's Yeti logo is a pretty creative touch. Des Moines, Sioux City and Cedar Rapids' logos are just abominable though.
you should definatly do the Elitserien and for that matter just any major european league (finland, germany, switzerland, etc)
NHL map from the 1929-1930 season.
Haven't paid much attention to the USHL since the teams from Thunder Bay (Twins and Flyers) have played in it. Travel is always a problem for Thunder Bay teams no matter what league they are in - not much close by.
Interesting to see all the logos and to see where all the teams are located now.
Like the idea for a KHL map, or a WHA map - could possibly include minor league farm teams for the WHA teams.
Junior hockey is continuing to grow in the United States I would love to see these cities get a USHL franchise!
1. Kansas City Metropolitan Area [2 Million]
2. Greeley, Colorado [80,000]
3. Quincy, Illinois [47,000]
4. Eau Claire, Wisconsin [65,000]
4. Burnsville, Minnesota [61,000]
I do believe that Minnesota could have a USHL team even with High school league and the Junior league. But if that doesn't work, Eau Claire could support a team too.
After that I think we could support divisions,
West Conference
Western
1. Lincoln Stars
2. Tri-City Storm
3. Kansas City [New]
4. Greeley [New]
5. Omaha Lancers
Great Plains
1. Eau Claire or Burnsville [New]
2. Fargo Force
3. Sioux City Musketeers
4. Sioux Falls Stampede
5. Des Moines Buccaneers
Eastern Conference
Central
1. Quincy [New]
2. Waterloo Black Hawks
3. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
4. Dubuque Fighting Saints
5. Chicago Steel
Great Lakes
1. Green Bay Gamblers
2. Indiana Ice
3. Youngstown Phantoms
4. Muskegon Lumberjacks
5. USA NTDP
It would be pretty cool if we had a logo/team name competition for these new teams. :)
Sometimes when I read blogs or articles like this one I wonder what we're doing wrong here in the UK. I am not even sure we have a hockey team. I use to watch the games on TV at a bar I use to go to in Manhattan called Scruffy Duffy which was on 46st and 11ave it use to be fun.
PEHS --
I dunno that any of those cities would really work for the USHL, unfortunately -- Kansas City has a thriving CHL team now, which will probably disappear if KC ever gets the NHL back, Quincy's not big enough for a USHL team (and probably doesn't have a good arena for Tier I hockey either), and Greeley's just pushing the footprint even farther west. Burnsville is STILL in Minnesota...though Eau Claire might work. I keep saying La Crosse needs a team in their downtown arena, though they just got an NAHL team in one of the suburbs.
I keep saying Missouri has been ignored for too long...Columbia MO would be a GREAT place for a team, if only they had a good arena, and St Joseph would be a decent place for a team too...at least an NAHL team...and St. Charles still has a pretty good arena, last I checked. The St Louis market might be a little hockey-saturated yet though. Topeka WILL be back...just give it about 5 years. Their attendance is only going to grow, and they'll pull a Dubuque and come back. :-)
And Mark...if I ever wound up living full-time in the UK, it would have to involve hockey as a full-time job!
The reason the Gamblers have the name Gamblers is because the Potawatomi Casino is one of the top sponsors. They blended their past and present in the new bobcat logo. Kind of like the Green Bay Packers logo, name is the packers, but logo has nothing to do with "Packers".
A USHL logo tournament would be cool. Some logo concepts would be awesome! The arrival of the Tri-City Storm in Kearney, Nebraska, in 2000 is what first turned me on to hockey, and I've been a fan ever since! Now in Omaha, I see the Storm, Stars, and Lancers logos regularly during the season, and while I like them, it would be fun to see what new ideas could be tossed about.
On a side note... while nothing like Minnesota, don't think of Nebraska, or more specifically Omaha, as a place that lacks passion for hockey. Significant Minnesota transplants living in Omaha combined with a top notch junior hockey team and the D-I UNO Mavericks joining the WCHA, its a hockey town on the plains!
Norpac! When are you doing maps again anyhow?