Denver Cutthroats Unveil Logo

After losing the Colorado Eagles to the ECHL last season, the Central Hockey League is expanding back into the Centennial State in 2012 with the addition of the Denver Cutthroats.

The CHL made the announcement about an expansion team in Denver last month, but the team officially unveiled its name, colors and logo today. Interestingly, the new look was created by Denver-based Adrenalin, the same agency also responsible for the Colorado Avalanche and Phoenix Coyotes logos in the NHL.

So it's troubling to see them really miss the mark on this logo. But let's face it, this is a CHL team so I'm assuming they didn't exactly put their "best people" on it. They probably have bigger fish.

So it's a trout in a D with mountains and river rapids. Not a bad idea, but for some reason it ended up looking like it was drawn by an amateur for a logo contest you might find here on Icethetics.

That critique may have been a little harsh, so I'll balance it out. I love the color scheme. Nobody in hockey really uses that shade of green and I don't understand why not. I like that the blue is muted but not necessarily navy. And together with those two colors, the red accent really pops off the screen.

Here's some extra stuff from the team's press release:

“We wanted to be sure the logo included elements and colors that depict the state of Colorado and the city of Denver,” said Adrenalin President Dan Price. “The trout maintains a position between white mountain peaks and river rapids, and breaks through a forward moving ‘D’ — representative of Denver's progressive population.”

The Cutthroat Trout was named Colorado's state fish in 1994.

Jersey designs will probably be unveiled later this summer, but no specific mention was made in the press release.

For more about the team, check out their Facebook page, Twitter feed and official website.

Meantime, what do you think of the logo? Am I being too critical or does it deserve to be fileted? (Sorry, that was the last pun.)

Denver Adds New CHL Team

Last week, the Central Hockey League got a little bit bigger. The minor league will welcome its 15th team for 2012-13 after Denver, Colo. was granted a new franchise.

This news comes only a year after the Centennial State lost its previous CHL team to the ECHL. The Colorado Eagles graduated this past season and are already set to host the next ECHL All-Star Game in 2013.

The CHL's new Denver team will play home games at the Denver Coliseum. According to a league press release, the venue has a quite a history with hockey.

The Denver Coliseum opened in 1952 and is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year and is owned and operated by Arts & Venues Denver, a division of the City and County of Denver.  In its past, the Denver Coliseum has hosted the International Hockey League’s Denver Mavericks (1958-59), the Western Hockey League’s Denver Invaders (1963-64), the Western Hockey League’s Denver Spurs (1968-76) and the International Hockey League’s Denver Rangers (1987-89).

“Hockey has been a part of the Coliseum’s history almost since the beginning and we’re excited to see it return,” said Kent Rice, Arts & Venues Denver Executive Director. “The CHL is putting its trust and assets into this community and we’re extremely proud.”

The team's name, colors and logos have not yet been unveiled. But it's safe to say we'll see them before the summer is out. The team takes the ice for the first time this fall.

Update on Thursday · Apr 19 · 2012 | 10:11 AM PDT by Chris

Looks like Colorado's new CHL team will be named the Denver Cutthroats. According to Denver Post writer Adrian Dater, says the city council mentioned the name and that it references Colorado's official state fish, the greenback cutthroat troat. You can find photos of what that fish looks like here.

Earlier this week, the Denver Business Journal revealed that the team has hired Adrenalin to develop its branding and marketing campaign. That's very good news for logo junkies. Adrenalin is responsible for the Colorado Avalanche logo as well as the 2003-refreshed Phoenix Coyotes logo. You can see more of their work on their website.

The Journal also confirmed the team name, citing documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Though apparently Mile High Magic, Denver Gold Miners, and Denver Storm were in the running or at least liked by fans.

Might as well continue the link dump. We can keep an eye on the team's development via their official website. And on Facebook, they're holding a Guess Our Name contest.

So, Denver Cutthroats. We'll look forward to seeing what Adrenalin comes up with this summer.