Introducing the Utica Comets
Friday · Jun 14 · 2013 | 12:57 PM PDT
Canucks' AHL affiliate unveils name, logo and uniforms
The AHL's Peoria Rivermen have been searching for a new home over the last several weeks after the Vancouver Canucks purchased the franchise and announced it would be leaving Illinois. This afternoon at a press conference in Utica, N.Y., the team officially became the Utica Comets.
The new logo was first to be unveiled. Its shield design gives it an almost soccer-like quality. But the flying puck leaves no doubt this is New York's newest hockey team. The crest is styled after the look of the Canucks, the club's owner and NHL affiliate. Which is good because the jerseys belong to Vancouver too.
Utica Comets home, road and alternate jerseys (via Canucks website)
Comets to wear modified Canucks sweaters
Also unveiled at today's news conference were the new home and road uniforms, which are essentially Canucks jerseys with a different crest. And rather than using the Canucks' primary logo on the shoulders, it's the secondary mark — the stick in the rink.
This has naturally led to questions from readers about whether it "means something" for the Canucks' future. I think it has more to do with aesthetics (the orca logo doesn't have any green) than anything else. And they're actually not alone. The Worcester Sharks wear on their shoulders the same shield logo the San Jose Sharks wear on their pants.
I like the simple carryover from the Canucks on the home and road designs. But that third jersey doesn't do it for me. There's clearly an effor there to call back to a Comets jersey from an earlier era, but text and numbers on the front rarely find favor with me.
Comets announce name, logos and uniforms at press conference (via Facebook)
New name a nod to the region's hockey history
Today's announcement marks the return of AHL hockey to Utica. The city had previously been home to the Utica Devils (who are now, somewhat ironically, the Abbotsford Heat) but that was 20 years ago. The franchise left town in 1993.
The name Comets has a long history in the area. Nearby Clinton, N.Y. was home to the Clinton Comets starting way back in 1927 — though they didn't pick up the Comets moniker until 1949. The team played in a number of leagues over the years but they made their name after joining the Eastern Hockey League in 1954. Can you name the other EHL team that's now a member of the AHL? It's the Charlotte Checkers.
The Canucks posted a neat infographic on their website that delves into the history a bit. It explains how the new logo was inspired by the old Clinton Comets logo. The mixture of Canucks elements really brings it all together if you ask me.
It's a great, simple design that accomplishes everything it needs to as far as establishing an AHL franchise in a new city. Sure we'll hear complaints about the text in the logo, the puck, and probably even cracks about the lack of creativity in the jerseys themselves. But consider the amount of time the organization had to put this all together.
The Canucks bought the Rivermen franchise in April. That's just two months to get logos designed and approved and put jerseys and other merchandise into production. That's a very fast turnaround for something like this. And it's rather impressive to see what the end result was.
Comets to begin play in Utica this fall
The Comets will hit the ice in October and have this inaugural season logo to mark the occasion. Looks familiar, right? Like the Canucks' 40th anniversary logo from a couple years ago? Certainly a logo design time-saver if I ever saw one. That said, it's well executed.
For more on the new Utica Comets...
There was a lot put on the web today about the Comets, especially through official channels. So if you want to learn more, how about a nice link dump?
- Official website of the Utica Comets
- Comets' official Twitter and Facebook accounts
- Canucks' announcement of AHL affiliate rebranding
- Online gallery of new Comets logos and uniforms (via Canucks)
- Instagram photos from the press conference from Utica Observer-Dispatch writer Anne Giles Delaney
After you get your fill, drop back by and share your thoughts on the new Utica Comets.
Reader Comments (27)
Not half bad actually. I like the logo being designed as a shield looking pretty good on both the home/road uniforms. I'm not too sure I like the script "Comets" logo on their 3rd with the player's number below it on the front. Overall, pretty good.
I really like the new logo. It'd be nice if the jerseys were a bit more unique, but oh well, the crest looks really nice on them.
Why is there an NHL logo in the collar?
Any idea why Vancouver would purchase an AHL team that's 2000 miles away (when their current AHL team was also about 2000 miles away) and move it 3000 miles away? Seems like a pit stop to me, just saying.
Interesting note. The jersey sketches that are seen on the Canucks website still have the NHL logo insert on the collar, when i would assume that the actual AHL jerseys would not have this feature.
@David - They are on the jerseys the kids are wearing too.
Horrible in my eyes. This looks as the story states; rushed and from what I can gather, kinda amateur. Like a 'band-aid' stop before they pull up for good in Abbotsford? I get the instantaneous timing needed to pull this together, but a cheap logo on the parent jersey? The beauty of minor league sports is the ability to market on the zany side and carve your own path.....this just reaffirms the short stay in my eyes.
I really like the logo design, especially how they incorporated elements from the Canucks brand into it. Merging the Canucks heritage with the Comets heritage is great! The shield in the same style as the Stick-in-rink logo, the 'comet tail' uses the same motif as the 'cracking ice' in the Canucks primary logo and the 'stars' in the Comets logo are formed with the same art as the orca's dorsal fin in the Canucks' logo. Subtle features that connect the two brands.
Another tidbit is that the Canucks in-house creative team came up with new jersey designs that will not be used. Unfortunately, because the team affiliation deal was struck so late, the Reebok deadline was missed for new jerseys. I have a friend with the Canucks that said this, "Apparently we missed the deadline with Reebok to introduce new jerseys, so the base jersey is exactly the same." As you can see, the same base jerseys the Canucks wear are used for the home, away and alternate uniforms. I doubt we will ever see those new jersey designs.
As a Canucks fan, I look forward to chanting "U-TI-CA! U-TI-CA! U-TI-CA!" like Michael and Dwight in that one Office episode.
It's an acceptable AHL look on a deadline, but I honestly don't see this team existing in 5 years; the reason the Canucks purchased a farm team was to move them to an appropriate location (i.e. closer to Van and out of the market of a major rival). I suspect the limited lead time prevented them from kicking the Heat out of Abbotsford or securing an arena deal anywhere else in the west. I expect they'll end up in Abby fairly soon (it doesn't make business sense to keep the Baby Flames in the heart of Canucks Country anyways), and failing that they'll line something up in Washington, Oregon, or California.
Answering APPLECLOCK's question. Up until they bought the Rivermen the Canucks hadn't owned their minor-leauge affiliate. So when they bought the Rivermen in April, they did so with the intention of bringing the team closer to Vancouver. The Flames farm club - the Heat - play in Abbottsford which is about an hour outside of Vancouver, and the Canucks were trying to work out a deal where the Flames would relocate their team so the Comets could play in Abbottsford. Unfortunately they weren't able to resolve the situation, and the Comets needed some place to play, so they ended up going to Utica because it was available.
Dum move, dumb logo, even dumber name... :/
This all came together rather astonishingly quick, wouldn't you say Chris? The relocation was only approved last night, and it wasn't until this morning about an hour before the press conference unveiling where the name of the new team was leaked, followed by the logo. I certainly wasn't expecting this today. Quite a nice surprise.
@APPLECLOCK - The Canucks have never owned their own AHL affiliate. The main reason for the Canucks purchase of the Peoria Rivermen was so that the Canucks could have full control over their prospects development, and not have to contend with an AHL affiliates owners and management over their prospects playing time.
cant these AHL teams come up with unique jerseys? why do they have to copy their NHL affiliates to the T? i mean i understand using the same colors, but how about some originality?
Really hope those crests aren't going to be that disproportionately big on the adult-sized jerseys...
I also hate the lettermark 3rds but maybe they're an attempt to draw some Ranger fans. Even if Buffalo might have more fans there, that's a harder trademark to getaway infringing on.
I absolutely despise how AHL teams nowadays use pretty much identical uniforms to their NHL counterpart but these uniforms actually look pretty good. The nice logos at least partially make up for the severe lack of creativity.
I really dig the logo. from the pics of the kids wearing the jerseys, it looks like the logo is a little too big, but it might look better on an actual player.
If what Craig says about the jerseys is true, and they do get their own unique jerseys, i feel the Comets can be an overall solid AHL brand. So much better than the Heat, IceHogs, Ice Caps, etc with stupid names, boring/goofy logos.
Can they draw enough support in UTICA ? Upstate NY has less & less jobs every year . Less people live there today than 5-10 years ago . Plenty of Rivals , lots of close teams
How has the checkers fallen through the cracks here. Granted they are basically the same as the hurricanes but the red uni has a small change that makes a huge difference.
I really like this logo. Only minor problem I noticed was I first saw it was it does make think of MLS soccer.
Probably should jump in here and reiterate that the designers behind the Comets' look pretty much pulled off a miracle. The team was only sold back in April, and even if the name was decided on at that point — which I seriously doubt — that's just two months to get new logos and uniforms designed, approved and manufactured.
So the idea that there's a lack of creativity in the jerseys here is as thoughtless as it is juvenile. If what Craig is saying is true — and it sounds perfectly reasonable to me — maybe cut this team a break. The Canucks' design department performed the improbable by creating a new brand on short notice. And railing against a general lack of creativity in minor hockey is completely irrelevant to the conversation about this team given its circumstances.
I understand this is the Internet and opinions often form without regard to facts — and Icethetics is not immune from such comments — but I figured offering a little context might help temper the more rancorous ramblings. Which is not to say you have to like the designs above. Just be informed so you don't look ridiculous complaining about the wrong thing.
Finally, @NeilB: Nothing's fallen through the cracks. My Checkers post was coming today until this Utica news broke. And I don't like to post multiple stories a day when I can avoid it. This weekend I'll have posts on Charlotte (AHL) and Lethbridge (WHL). Both unveiled interesting new looks this week. For the most immediate updates, I recommend keeping an eye on my Twitter feed.
@KevinD "Cant these AHL teams come up with unique jerseys? why do they have to copy their NHL affiliates to the T? i mean i understand using the same colors, but how about some originality?"
Considering more and more AHL teams are o&o by their NHL affiliate, I think it's harder to expect that level of uniqueness.
For those wondering the benefits of Utica sharing the same team colours with the Canucks- I'm pretty sure it's done with intention of saving money when someone is called up- they'll be able to wear their regular gloves or pads, etc. Makes sense on a lot of levels.
i have never understood why nhl teams decide to have their ahl farm teams so far away, makes absolutely no sense to me. and utica's jerseys are ok, but nothing special.
Kris is right when it comes to the gloves/equipment being the same color.
I think it's a really cool logo and the color scheme is great. Not sure about the convenience of having Vancouver's farm team in Utica, but that's for a different conversation. They did a good job in the short time they had.
I wonder what division they will be in? Hope there with Hershey. Would be great addition to powerhouse division with 4 of 5 teams making it to this years playoffs,{ Syracuse, Wilkes-Barre, Binghamton, and Hershey}.
The Canucks used to hae their affiliate in Syracuse NY back in the 90s until Columbus took them over. Utica's only about an hour or so east of Cuse. I like when teams have their AHL teams away from their NHL city. It could help reach the brand out, but I do agree travel wise its a %^$&*!
The Stick 'n Rink 'C' is also for the Comets as well as for the Canucks. I love the fact that the crest's border and colours are similar to the Stick and Johnny Canuck V logos and not the orca.