Loose Threads: New in the Minors

Been a bit slow news wise, lately. But there have been a few new jerseys introduced around the minor leagues I thought you guys might want to talk about. One of the best alternates in the minors has to be this one.

The ECHL's Toledo Walleye have long been mocked for their joke of a '90s-style logo — a toothless fish angrily wielding a hockey stick. (Not really helped by the addition of a Santa hat, currently seen on their website.) But I think they nailed it with this new alternate sweater. Great use of their colors and a classic design inspired by everyone's all-time favorite — the Chicago Blackhawks, who are also their NHL affiliate.

Over in the AHL, former Icethetics concept contributor Aaron Masik designed this specialty jersey for the San Antonio Rampage.

As the team's designer, Masik designs a lot of the Rampage's specialty sweaters. This one (right) was for the club's 8th annual Salute to the Badges Night.

It was worn Sat., Dec. 10 against the Peoria Rivermen, a game which San Antonio won 2-1.

Elsewhere, following the NHL Winter Classic between the Flyers and Rangers (really enjoying this season's installment of 24/7 on HBO, by the way), the sheet of ice at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia will be used once more by the AHL.

The Adirondack Phantoms and Hershey Bears will meet on Jan. 6 for an outdoor game. According to the Phantoms' website, both teams will wear special jerseys to mark the occasion.

The Bears unveiled theirs last week. You can see a rendering on their Facebook page. As for the Phantoms, I haven't been able to track down anything yet. Feel free to share a link if you've got one.

It's Official: Solar Bears are Back!

Photo by @Kaleta_DiceRoll via TwitterThe Orlando Solar Bears are making their return to pro hockey next fall, this time in the ECHL.

The announcement was made today at the home of the new franchise, the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla, in front of media and fans — one of which was kind enough to share this photo with us (right).

Whie the club is sticking with the name that brought the city hockey success during its brief existence in the International Hockey League, which folded in 2001, there will be a new logo and uniforms.

The team will unveil its team logos and jersey designs, announce its NHL and AHL affiliations, and introduce its coaching staff over the next 6-8 months.

The team has retained The Joe Bosack Graphic Design Company (joebosack.com) to design its primary and secondary logos along with new jersey designs and wordmarks. Joe Bosack designed the Colorado Avalanche logo and a number of current ECHL team marks.

Good news there because I don't think Joe Bosack's company has ever produced a bad logo. Can't wait to see what they come up with for the Solar Bears.

Orlando won't join the ECHL until next year, but they're getting a jump on marketing — with the slogan "Out of Hibernation!" — in order to sell season tickets and create awareness. They don't want to catch central Florida hockey fans by surprise when the team hits the ice in October 2012.

RIP old logo 1995—2001The Solar Bears will be the first in-state rival for the Florida Everblades since the Pensacola Ice Pilots went away a few years ago. (They have since been replaced by the semi-pro Ice Flyers of the SPHL.)

The Solar Bears will share their home with the Orlando Magic, and given the current state of the NBA, it's a shame they couldn't start play sooner. The Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League, also call the Amway Center home — which accounts for the gridiron in the above photo.

What do you think of today's announcement? Happy to see the Solar Bears name coming back? Sad to see that the rather colorful logo (left) is not?

And northerners, before you bemoan the addition of another hockey team to the south, remember that your retired parents live in Florida and still like hockey too.

Orlando Naming ECHL Team Tomorrow

Orlando's new ECHL team will unveil its name to fans tomorrow, according to an email distributed to fans yesterday.

A copy of the invitation that was sent out is to the right. Here's the pertinent text from it:

The City of Orlando, Orlando Magic, and Orlando Pro Hockey Operations LP cordially invite you to a special reception to formally introduce Orlando's new professional hockey team.

Join Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orlando Venues and the Orlando Magic as they welcome Orlando Hockey Operations LP parters and unveil the team name at the Amway Center (Jernigan's Restaurant).

Date: Wednesday, November 16
Time: 1:30 PM
Place: Amway Center

It's believed the new club will be named the Orlando Solar Bears, after the team that played in the International Hockey League from 1995 to 2001.

The Solar Bears name and logo trademarks were registered in September by the ECHL and one of the members of the team's ownership group currently owns the web domain solarbearshockey.com.

If the owners do go with Solar Bears as the team name, it's possible they'll bring back the old logo and announce it at the same time. At least one Icethetics reader will be in attendance on Wednesday and has promised to provide information and photos to us from the event.

Loose Threads: Looking Over October

I admit it. I failed October. It's not fair to say there was no Icethetics-related news in the tenth month of 2011. It is fair to say I was too busy to write about it. When I wasn't at work I was on vacation or watching hockey games (best excuse for this crowd, probably) or otherwise preoccupied. It was good to have that little break, but it's time to get back and update everyone on what's been going on.

Pittsburgh to Host 2012 Entry Draft

In a press conference held on Oct. 27, the NHL announced the Pittsburgh Penguins and their new CONSOL Energy Center would host the 2012 NHL Entry Draft this summer. And more pertinent to Icethetics readers, the league unveiled the event logo as well.

The logo is sticking to the same format first introduced in 2010 in Los Angeles which was followed up by the 2011 draft in Minnesota. Same font design and overall layout with some tweaks to customize the mark for the host city in some way.

Seems like the only way the NHL has to indicate the city of Pittsburgh graphically is with its bridges. The 2011 Winter Classic logo featured a stylized version of the Fort Pitt Bridge. It appears the 2012 draft logo is depicting one of the Three Sisters, or at least the tower design they all share. (Pittsburghers, correct me if I'm wrong.) Of course the skyline makes an appearance here as well.

I believe next summer's draft will be held June 22-23. Pittsburgh last hosted the NHL Draft in 1997.

Team Canada Goes Retro Again

Team Canada alums Jeff Shantz, Martin Gelinas and Gord Sherven model the new third jersey

Canada's 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship team will be sporting throwback jerseys for at least one game when the tournament kicks off in a couple months. The alternate sweater is a refined version of one worn by the team between 1982 and 1994 and was unveiled on Oct. 25.

Here's the word from Hockey Canada:

The three maple leafs on the front of the jersey represent the three steps of the Program of Excellence, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year — the regional under-17 program, National Men’s Under-18 Team and National Junior Team.

In addition, the bottom trim includes a graphic that incorporates the logos from each of the 15 IIHF World Junior Championships that Canada has won since 1982, and the current Hockey Canada logo appears on each shoulder.

I especially like the detail in the bottom trim. Wish I had a better picture of that to share.

Canadians, do you approve?

ECHL Expands to Orlando

Now we go back south of the border. Way south. Back to my home state, which has just been approved for another ECHL franchise. Orlando — home to Disney World and, at one time, the IHL's Solar Bears — will join the minor pro hockey ranks once again.

On Tuesday, the league's Board of Governors approved the Orlando expansion giving Estero's Florida Everblades their first in-state rival since the Pensacola Ice Pilots went away a few years ago. The club will play home games starting next fall at the Amway Center, which they'll share with the NBA's Orlando Magic should they solve their differences by then.

The Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Louis Blues met for a preseason tilt at the Amway Center and I recall the Lightning broadcasters gushing about the building and how perfect it is for hockey.

At the moment, the new team doesn't have a name or logo, but their new website is decked out in Orlando Solar Bears colors. That team played their first season in 1995 and disappeared when the old International Hockey League did in 2001.

The Solar Bears had such a kooky name and logo. A polar bear wearing sunglasses? You can't beat that. Plus the color scheme seemed intent on irritating hockey traditionalists of every stripe — as if it weren't already bad enough they had to deal with hockey in Mickey Mouse land. And by the way, those colors had names like Solar Eclipse Black, Solar Purple and Sunset Orange. How can it not leave you with a silly grin? But it's certainly not the mid-90s anymore, so I'll expect something a bit tamer when the time comes.

Along with Orlando, you'll recall San Francisco will be entering the ECHL stage as well next fall. In September it was announced that the San Francisco Bulls will hit the ice for the 2012-13 season.

That's all I've got. If I've missed something, shoot me an email. (By the way, I know I said I'd get to Jacob Barrette's interview today, but I'm going to put that off until Friday in lieu of today's blog update.)

Update on Friday · Nov 4 · 2011 | 10:19 AM PDT by Chris

One more thing on the new ECHL club in Orlando. A reader named Justin pointed out in the comments that the domain solarbearshockey.com was bought by the new owners in September. More specifically, the buyer was The Bold Marketing Group, whose president is Bob Ohrablo, one of three partners in the group that owns the Orlando franchise. (For what it's worth, his bio says he previously worked with Howard Baldwin and the AHL's Connecticut Whale. So there's that.)

Yesterday I thought I'd follow up with a trademark search. And as luck would have it...

Filed on September 13, 2011, the ECHL now owns the Orlando Solar Bears trademark and logo. So maybe my wish to see the Solar Bears make a comeback wasn't so outlandish. Hey, they brought back the Trenton Titans. Granted, the Solar Bears haven't existed in 10 years, but I'm sure there are still plenty of fans that remember them fondly.

Unfortunately, I can't offer you a direct link to the page seen in the above screenshot, as that's not how the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) works. But a quick search will get you there.

IceCaps Unveil Familiar Uniforms

IceCaps jerseys unveiled / Dave SalterThe AHL's St. John's IceCaps officially unveiled their uniforms today. It should surprise no one that they are identical to those of their NHL parent club, the Winnipeg Jets.

IceCaps owner Danny Williams and player Jason King were on hand this morning to model the new sweaters for cameras. And for an AHL team, they look incredibly good.

Now a moment ago I said "identical," but obviously that would be silly. The IceCaps have their own primary logo on the front and the Jets' logo on the shoulders. Add in an advertisement or two and that's it as far as differences.

Here's how the new look was described in a press release on the AHL's website:

The jerseys, which are modeled after the parent Winnipeg Jets uniforms, consist largely of two shades of blue. The primary navy blue base of the home dark jerseys is referred to as Polar Night Blue. The lighter, secondary blue is called Aviator Blue. Each jersey includes sleeve piping, accenting the colors. 

The IceCaps will wear the white jerseys at home and the blue jerseys for road games. 

“I could not be more pleased with the final product we are unveiling today which will be the signature look of the St. John’s IceCaps,” said Mr. Williams. “These are incredibly sharp looking jerseys that are sure to catch the eye throughout the league.”

If you haven't been following along this summer, the IceCaps were known as the Manitoba Moose until that club was displaced by the purchase and relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg. The team, still owned by True North along with the Jets, moved to St. John's, Newfoundland and unveiled their logo on July 29.

As I said yesterday, I like the Jets' new uniforms, so naturally I like the IceCaps' as well. I almost like them better because I like their primary logo better. But despite my understanding that advertising is necessary to the business aspect of an AHL franchise, I've never liked it on the uniforms. Otherwise, solid look.

IceCaps uniforms nearly identical to Jets / AHL

But wait, there's more minor league news...

San Francisco Bulls joining ECHL in 2012

San Francisco Bulls joining ECHLYesterday, the ECHL Board of Governors approved the membership of a new franchise to begin play in the 2012-13 season. They're called the San Francisco Bulls and appropriately, they'll play at the Cow Palace.

But before you get too excited, the logo being used to represent the new California club on the ECHL's website is absolutely atrocious. It's not design. It's just a sad mess.

The bull head looks like some sort of futuristic, metallic thing while the font couldn't look more dated. And the crossed hockey sticks look like a tacked-on afterthought. Painful is what it is.

I'm hoping that by the time next summer rolls around, they'll have a real logo to show us. And maybe a revised color scheme? Who thought gold, red and black used in this way was a good idea? The 49ers do it right. This doesn't.

In any case, next year the ECHL celebrates its 25th anniversary and it's cool to see them adding new teams in west coast markets after so many have come and gone in the recent past. Heck, if the Florida Everblades were to visit, I might even fly down to see a game.