NHL Unveils Classic Logos!

The NHL released its 2010-11 schedule today and, in a graphic posted to NHL.com (above), also unveiled some new event logos for the season. You can see the Ovechkin and Crosby staring deep into each other's eyes with only the 2011 Winter Classic logo between them on the top right. And bottom left, it's Mike Cammalleri facing off against Jarome Iginla on either side of the new 2011 Heritage Classic mark.

Also included in this graphic are the NHL Premiere logos for the games taking place in Helsinki, Prague and Stockholm to open the season. They're nothing more than carryovers from previous European Premiere events. You may also note that one block of the image features only a Carolina Hurricanes jersey, implying that the 2011 NHL All-Star Game logo isn't yet ready for public consumption.

But that's not the only thing I wanted to mention this afternoon. Friday is the NHL Entry Draft, but it's also a day for parties and jersey and logo unveilings.

Islanders to unveil new road jersey

Isles unveiling new sweaterThe New York Islanders will officially unveil their new road sweaters at a draft day party on Friday at 5:30 PM Eastern.

An ad appearing on their website (right) serves as a pre-order form for fans not wanting to wait for theirs. Season ticket holders get 15% off.

I don't think it's any secret that this new jersey will be a white version of their royal blue third jersey — which is expected to become the new home uniform this year.

All will be revealed Friday night. But wait, do you see that in the draft party ad? Is that a logo for the 2010 New York Islanders Draft Party? Join me in the next story...

Draft Party logos? Really?

Islanders 2010 draft party logoYes, it seems at least three teams have kept their graphic artists busy at season's end, designing official draft party logos.

As seen above, the Islanders are all about it. Maybe its intent is to carry over the excitement from last year's draft when they had the first overall pick and everyone went crazy over John Tavares. They're down to 5th this year. All I'm saying is I'm just not sure people are going to be buying their 2010 Draft Party t-shirts in droves or anything.

Rangers and Oilers draft party logosBut as I said, the Isles weren't alone in this. Both the New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers are also promoting their draft parties with special logos.

The Rangers came up with something very open and simple. The Oilers pretty much based theirs off of the NHL Entry Draft logo — at least the text part of it.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it and none of these teams made the playoffs, so it's not like the designers have had anything else to worry about since April, but I just found it a little strange.

Other teams hosting draft parties include the Blue Jackets, Predators, Thrashers, Sabres, Blues, Hurricanes, and Coyotes. And of course the Kings are hosting the biggest draft party of the year — the draft itself.

Anyway, that's not all that's going down on Friday...

Greenville to unveil newest ECHL team

The ECHL's newest member, based in Greenville, S.C. finally reveal all on Friday when they unveil the team's name, colors and logo!

The team accepted name submissions from fans but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. This team, formerly the Johnstown Chiefs, was relocated to South Carolina this summer and will begin play in the ECHL's 19-team 2010-11 season. They'll take on my Florida Everblades in their home opener on Oct. 21.

You can of course count on Icethetics for full coverage of the unveilings both on Long Island and in Greenville. So check back for all that late on Friday.

Around the Hockeyverse

Been following a variety of news around the Hockeyverse these days. Thought I'd take a moment to share a bit of what's been going on. (Because apparently, I can only write new posts really late at night now.)

Wild officially unveil 10th birthday logo

Since the Minnesota Wild are not in the playoffs, the big news on their website this week was the unveiling of the 10th anniversary logo.

It's not the first time we've seen it, by the way. We got a preview on a few weeks ago when it started showing up in season ticket ads on the Wild's website. Despite that, the "official" unveiling was Thursday.

The following details were included in the online press release:

The Wild's 10th anniversary mark will be worn on the right chest at all games next season except for the two contests in Finland, where it will be replaced by the NHL Premiere patch.

The mark uses a stylized Roman numeral “X” to represent the ten years of the Wild in Minnesota. The “X” has an added touch of the crossed hockey stick look connecting it back to the State of Hockey.

The mark incorporates the team colors of Minnesota Wheat, Iron Range Red and Forest Green and was developed in partnership with SME in New York.

Wild fans won't be able to miss it next season. By the way, the release also points out the the 10th anniversary celebration culminates with the club hosting the 2011 NHL Entry Draft next June.

Blue Jackets' red-and-yellow mystery

The other team ready to celebrate ten years is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who joined the NHL in 2000 with Minnesota. And like the Wild, they will be opening their 10th season overseas. And we already have a jersey mystery brewing.

Columbus Dispatch beat writer Aaron Portzline regularly updates a CBJ blog called Puck-Rakers and a recent post about a preseason game in Sweden has some of us scratching our heads.

He wrote the following last Friday (April 23):

The Blue Jackets and the Malmo/Rogle club will wear custom designed red and yellow uniforms, the colors of the province of Skane, where the game will be played.

That sort of gratuitous use of specialty jerseys sounds like something out of the minor leagues. Ah, but wait. Is that even true? The release on the Jackets' own website tells another story. Here's an excerpt from that:

The Blue Jackets will play a unified team comprised of two Swedish hockey teams – the Malmo Redhawks, who in 2009-10 played in HockeyAllsvenksan, and Rogle BK from Angelholm, who played the 2009-10 season in the Swedish elite league Eliteserien.

The best 10 skaters and one goaltender from Rogle BK will join forces with the top 10 skaters and one goalie from Malmo to square off against the Blue Jackets. Coaches from each side will lead the team. The players will be outfitted in custom-designed red and yellow uniforms, the official colors of the province of Skane.

That says that ONLY the unified Swedish team (comprised of the two aforementioned clubs) will wear custom-designed red and yellow uniforms. Obviously they couldn't wear their own jerseys as there would appear to be three separate teams on the ice.

If indeed the Blue Jackets were also meant to be wearing specially-designed jerseys for that game — and why would they? — I would expect the release to be more specific about it. But it begs the question, why would local fans want to see an American hockey team dressed in their home colors? You want to pay homage, wear a special patch.

That's my take on it. I've emailed Portzline for clarification on the subject. I'll let you know when/if I hear back. But at the moment, I would presume a miscommunication on the part of the newspaper and that the Blue Jackets will NOT be wearing anything but their own uniforms in Sweden in September.

Name Greenville's new hockey team

Name the ECHL's new Greenville teamThe new and yet unnamed Greenville ECHL hockey team, the relocated Johnstown Chiefs, is holding a name-the-team contest at HockeyGreenville.com right now. If your name is selected, you win a pair of season tickets for life. Pretty sweet deal.

Here's the actual form to fill out if you have an awesome name to submit. Entries will be accepted until Friday, May 28. And even if you don't submit your suggestions, feel free to share them here in the comments.

Greenville News says the name suggestions will be "presented to a selection committee made up of team owners, as well as area dignitaries, for final determination of the team's new name."  The newspaper also confirms that the new name, colors and logo will be unveiled on Friday, June 25.

We are tracking one other relocated minor league team this summer. The Edmonton Oilers' AHL franchise begins play once again this fall, now in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoman has a web page set up with "ongoing coverage" of hockey's return to OKC.

I'll keep an eye on it, but so far there's nothing new. No name. No colors. No logo. All we know is that there will be a hockey team in the fall. A naming contest ran Feb. 9-20 but no official announcement has been made yet.

However, some industrious fans at Copper & Blue have discovered a handful of web domains recently purchased by Prodigal Hockey, the company that will operate the new Oklahoma City AHL team. They include names like OKC Oilers, Oil Kings, Oil Barons, 89ers, Hawks, and even Roadrunners. Others that have cropped up: Tornadoes, Bison, Wildcatters, and Roughnecks.

ECHL Unveils All-Star Logo

ECHL 2011 All-Star logo unveiledThe ECHL has unveiled the logo for the 2011 All-Star Classic, which will be hosted by the Bakersfield Condors on January 26.

Details regarding the design of the logo were made available in a press release posted on the Condors' official website on Tuesday.

The logo features a condor, with its wings partially spread, perched atop the iconic Bakersfield sign, saved by Buck Owens, and displayed above the boulevard bearing his name.

The words "2011 ECHL All-Star Classic" are built within it. Stars adorn both the sign and are mixed in with the text, and the logo was constructed using the Condors maroon, cool grey, black and tan color combination.

The logo was designed by The Joe Bosack Graphic Design Company in conjunction with the ECHL and Condors offices.

You can see more of Joe Bosack's work on his company's website. The Joe Bosack Graphic Design Company is also responsible for last year's ECHL all-star logo as well as the Colorado Avalanche's primary logo.

This is the first time the ECHL all-star event has been held in Bakersfield, California. More details are available in the league press release at ECHL.com.

Minor League Notes, No Joke

I have a big JerseyWatch update coming tomorrow. Not posting it today for obvious reasons. No one would believe me. Instead, just a few minor minor league notes. First, a new logo was unveiled yesterday!

The AHL's Syracuse Crunch officially unveiled their new colors just a week after announcing a new affiliation agreement with the Anaheim Ducks. The Crunch's tweaked logo now matches their new parent club.

The revised logo features the club’s classic moniker depicting the face of an ice gorilla biting through a hockey stick with the word ‘CRUNCH’ emblazoned in ice block letters above him and showcases the new team colors of black, ice blue, metallic gold and burnt orange.

In addition, the Crunch will unveil a brand new uniform design that includes the new team colors in the upcoming weeks.

What the team doesn't mention in that release is the color in the gloves of the ice gorilla, which are neither metallic gold nor burnt orange. Looks to be some kind of brownish gray.

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When the ECHL's Johnstown Chiefs franchise makes the move to Greenville, S.C. this summer, the team will allow fans to pick the new name.

Team owner and GM Neil Smith said the Chiefs name will be staying in Johnstown and a name-the-team contest will be held, according to the Greenville News. The newspaper also said "the horrendous moniker Grrrowl will not be back." We can all breathe easy now.

Greenville is hopeful that hockey will be a success again as it once was. After all, they've seen the Kelly Cup in that town. And everybody likes a winner.

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Finally, Icethetics reader Chip pointed me toward Dan Krieger's Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report at OurSportsCentral. Krieger keeps tabs on all the goings-on with the often on-the-move minor league clubs. A couple of things stood out in his reports from the last couple of weeks.

With the Albany River Rats moving to Charlotte at the end of the season, it looks as if the Lowell Devils could replace them — returning the New Jersey Devils-owned affiliate to New York's capital city.

Krieger had the following in his report:

Now that the AHL's Portland Pirates have ended negotiations about a move to Albany (NY) for next season, Albany is reported to be negotiating with the Lowell (MA) Devils, the AHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils in the National Hockey League.

The Devils had their AHL affiliate in Albany operating as the River Rats for 13 seasons before moving it to Lowell and purchasing the Lock Monsters for the 2006-07 season. The Albany River Rats have been affiliated with the Carolina Hurricanes since 2006, but Carolina is moving its AHL affiliate to Charlotte next season.

If that happens, the name would likely change to Albany Devils. However, I'm not sure if they'd bother changing the logo, despite the fairly obvious L it forms. We'll have to wait and see how it all pans out.

Krieger also reported that one group was attempting to bring back the ECHL's Charlotte Checkers franchise as the San Diego Gulls for the 2010-11 season. Evidently, those plans have fallen through.

The Checkers' name and logo will be appropriated to the AHL's River Rats when they move to Charlotte next season. That means the ECHL team will likely be disbanded this summer.

The Gulls played one season in the ECHL after it merged with the West Coast Hockey League.

Chiefs Relocating & Other Notes

The ECHL's Johnstown Chiefs will be moving to Greenville, South Carolina beginning in the 2010-11 season. This must've slipped past our collective radar when it was announced and approved by the league last month. But I just read an interesting article yesterday on ESPN.

Basically, the Chiefs, named by fans after the iconic team from the film Slap Shot — which was shot locally — have been on their last legs. Nobody is going to games and the team is piling up losses in more than just the standings.

Now the club will head to a former ECHL city which lost its original team, the Greenville Grrrowl (yes, that's three Rs in Grrrowl), when it folded in 2006. Not sure why hockey's expected to be a better draw four years later, but that's not a question for me to ask.

The reason this is relevant to Icethetics is it means we'll be following the rebranding of a franchise. Former Chiefs minority owner Ned Nakles is retaining the name and logo which means the ECHL will add a new team name and logo next season. (Hoping it's not Grrrowl.)

Chiefs' Marine jerseyAnd finally, the Chiefs wore what will probably be their last specialty sweater over this past weekend.

The jerseys are a tribute to the U.S. Marine Corps and the design is based on their dress uniforms. The Chiefs first wore them on Friday, grabbing their first W in two weeks with a 7-4 victory of the Toledo Walleye.

Unfortunately I can't seem to track down any photos of the jersey in action. Seems the Chiefs' web guys have pretty much given up this season too. They're just recycling photos in their game recaps.

Anyway, I noticed the numbers come straight from their NHL affiliate's white jerseys — the Minnesota Wild. Anyone know if the Wild will retain their affiliation agreement with the new Greenville team?

Rivermen Revert to the Past

Rivermen dress as PrancersThe AHL's Peoria Rivermen pranced out in Peoria Prancers jerseys over the weekend, paying tribute to the 1980s.

The Prancers were founded in the International Hockey League in 1982 and became the Peoria Rivermen two years later. Then in 1996, the franchise moved to San Antonio, Texas and were renamed the Dragons.

That same year an ECHL franchise was created with the Peoria Rivermen name. No one would've noticed except that all the players and management would've changed. Same logo and colors otherwise.

Then in 2005, that team went away and the AHL's Worcester IceCats moved to Peoria — becoming the third franchise to use that Rivermen moniker. I only offer the history lesson to point out that this isn't a tribute to franchise's past so much as the town's hockey past.

Looking at this jersey, I can't imagine why they ever changed their name in 1984. If you can't get enough of it either, Central Illinois Sports Photography has posted a huge gallery from the game — which Peoria won 4-1 (video included).

Thanks to Joe for the tip on this story.

Heated Tirade

Usually my hobby (hockey blogger) and my job (TV promotions producer) never intersect. I work at a news station in Florida and hockey isn't a popular topic here for obvious reasons. But last night was the exception.

Every night, I write/produce/edit a :30 promo for our 11 PM newscast to run during primetime. And in last night's newscast, our producer included video of Jim Playfair's freak-out behind the Abbotsford Heat bench over the weekend. Naturally I had to include it in the promo. And I thought I'd share it with you guys too.

Caps vs. Pens for 2011 Winter Classic?

Canada's National Post is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins will host the Washington Capitals for the next Winter Classic in 2011. Word is they would use Heinz Field — home of the NFL's Steelers. But the Post doesn't cite a source for the report.

The NHL has yet to make an official statement on which teams will be involved in the next outdoor game. The Pens participated in the inaugural event in 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium against the Buffalo Sabres.