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.

2013 Stanley Cup Playoff Logos

Here's something fun to look at. Last month when the AHL's Calder Cup Playoffs began, we saw each individual team's version of the 2013 Calder Cup logo. Little did we know the NHL would be doing the same thing for the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

These are the 16 individual team logos in use this postseason*.

*As you can see, for the bottom four I had to guess at the design as I couldn't find them anywhere on the web. If you've seen them, let me know so I can update this graphic. Unfortunately, all four teams have been eliminated so it's unlikely they'll turn up if they haven't already.

Meantime, I hope you're enjoying the playoffs as the Conference Semifinals get underway!

Third Jerseys in the 2013 Playoffs

There's been a lot of chatter on Twitter this week regarding the trio of teams that have opted to wear their third jerseys during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. For those of you not on Twitter, I present this brief blog post.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild are all sporting their alternate uniforms when they play at home this postseason. It's certainly nothing as many teams have done it in recent years — the Sharks included. And the BlackArmor has served them well this year as they swept the Canucks.

For the Wild it was their first time in the playoffs since 2008. I say "was" because they were eliminated by the Blackhawks last night. And by the way, 2008 the only season since 1996 where no NHL team has had a third jersey. That was the inaugural season of Reebok Edge.

The Maple Leafs, I believe, have made a habit of sporting their thirds for the playoffs in recent years. Well, not "recent" as the last time they qualified was 2004. But between 1999 and 2004, their old white alternate got an extra workout in the postseason.

Should we read anything into these decisions? The Kings wore their black thirds in the 2010 and 2011 playoffs before making them their home uniform in 2011-12. But I wouldn't call that typical. The Sharks are supposedly making some changes in the fall but I doubt they'd drop the teal. And Minnesota is only looking at a new road sweater for now.

That said, I'm fairly sure the NHL only permits teams to use two jerseys during the playoffs. So if the Sharks were to win the Cup, they'd only be able to do so wearing black or white.

What's your take? Do you like seeing third jerseys in the playoffs? Or should they be reserved for the regular season only?

Send Icethetics to Dallas!

Last Friday, the Dallas Stars announced via special invitations a big event to take place June 4 — an event that can only be the unveiling of their long-awaited new logo and uniforms.

Icethetics will have live coverage of unveiling

Yours truly was on the invitation list. But I originanly said I wouldn't be able to attend given the distance between Seattle and Dallas. In the last few days, circumstances have changed. Now, I will in fact be going. I've RSVPed and everything.

That means for the first time in Icethetics history — original live reporting of a major unveiling event!

Help offset the costs and be the first to see it

Flying roundtrip between Washington and Texas isn't exactly cheap, of course, but I have booked a flight. One reader suggested that a way to offset the costs of this trip — for which I'm not really getting anything in return — would be to accept donations from the Icethetics community.

Let me start by saying I have no expectations here. This news will be all over the web on June 4, we all know that. Icethetics would be one of many sources. So why would you ever bother donating money to send me to Dallas? If that's your mindset, you probably shouldn't donate. Your money would be better spent elsewhere.

But if you're a longtime reader who's excited about the prospect of some original reporting and live coverage from Icethetics — and don't mind helping me out — this might be for you. And heck, if you donate at least $10 to help me offset travel costs, you will be among the first to see the new look of the Dallas Stars.

What a $10 donation gets you

Anyone who donates $10 or more, will get photos sent direct from the event to your inbox — before I post it on Twitter or icethetics.info. It's that simple. If you want to do something nice for the site, I want to do something nice for you.

Remember, this is NOT about buying access to Icethetics coverage. I still intend to live tweet and post extensively about the event. If you're making a donation, it's because you want to support Icethetics. In return for that support, I'll give you early access to my reporting. So instead of refreshing your Twitter feed every other minute — you'll get photos sent straight to your email.

Icethetics will be in Dallas no matter what

Whether or not any donations are made, I will be in Dallas for this event. So don't worry about whether a certain goal has to be reached to make a donation worth it. The only reason I'm accepting donations is to help offset travel costs — airfare, hotel, cabs and the like. It's a lot of money out of my own pocket so it'd be nice for a little help from the community as a whole. I'd be immensely grateful.

If you do choose to donate, you can spend any amount you'd like. But $10 is the magic number to get you "insider access" from me ahead of everyone else. Just please don't let that be your only reason for donating. If the logo or uniforms were to leak prior to the event, there would not be any refunds.

Believe me, I feel weird asking for any money at all, but the only reason I'm going is for this community. So I figure if ever there was anyone interested in helping to offset costs, it would be you guys. Thanks in advance!

To donate via PayPal, use the link in at the top of the page on the right.

Update on Wednesday · May 29 · 2013 | 1:21 PM PDT by Chris

First of all, I have to extend a huge thanks to everyone who has donated even just a few bucks. It goes a long way! Wanted to let you guys know that I've come pretty close to my goal so I'll be taking down the donation button on Friday. So if you want to make a donation and get your email on the list, do it in the next couple of days.

And thank you all again!