Entries in las vegas wranglers (9)

Thursday
Jul052012

Las Vegas Wranglers Launch New Logos

We may be light on new NHL logos and uniforms this summer, but the same can't be said for the minors. Today, the ECHL's Las Vegas Wranglers unveiled a brand new set of logos.

The Wranglers are celebrating their 10th anniversary in Sin City and have decided a revamped look is in order. Gone is the shadowy cowboy and his bull. In its place, well, what the team is still calling a cowboy — wearing an old time hockey mask.

Have to be honest. His head covering looks a lot more like a fedora than a Stetson. Combined with the creepy mask, that's almost unquestionably a Freddy/Jason hybrid depicted in that logo. And overall, it does feel like a downgrade from the Wranglers' previous visual identity.

Las Vegas joined the ECHL's ranks as an expansion member in 2003. So 2013 marks a decade in action. And while I may not be able to offer a glowing review for the new primary mark, I absolutely love the creativity behind the 10th anniversary mark — fives on a pair of dice. When have we ever seen an anniversary logo do anything so outside the box?

The two secondary wordmark-infused logos show us that the Wranglers are retaining a portion of their original identity. Basically, the font's not changing.

So how is the team spinning their new look?

“It’s a simple and bold new look to celebrate a terrific ten-year run in one of the greatest cities in the world,” said Wranglers president and COO Billy Johnson.

“We have always striven to bring a major league caliber experience to Las Vegas through sights, sounds and entertainment, and the new branding is the next step up.”

I don't know if a couple of logos can really do that, unless they think people are less likely to buy a ticket with John Wayne on it.

So it is certainly a simple design and that always wins points in my book. I just wish it looked a little more like a cowboy. What's your take on the new look?

Saturday
Dec252010

Merry Christmas!

Time to get off the bench. I've had a couple of weeks to get comfortable in my new city and new job so it's about time to liven things up again around here. I'm declaring my moving hiatus officially over today. That doesn't mean daily updates, but certainly more frequent than they have been over the last month.

Appropriately, we'll start with some hilarious specialty sweaters from the minors.

Wranglers sport Santa suitsThe ECHL's Las Vegas Wranglers hit the ice last weekend decked out in Santa Claus-themed jerseys.

They were totally ridiculous. In a good way.

The Wranglers announced their intention to spread holiday cheer on their website, Dec. 10. The jerseys were worn Dec. 18 and 19, then subsequently auctioned off, as is standard with these things.

The key feature of the gaudy red sweaters is a big white beard that descends from the collar down to the belly. Sound familiar? The Santa suit imitation is topped off by Wranglers logos around the belt.

Santa celebrates a goal!This is the kind of thing we've become accustomed to seeing over the years in minor league hockey and there's nothing wrong with that.

Plus, it makes for a fun post on my return.

To be fair, Puck Daddy picked up this story first. I must say I'm thrilled to see the continued uptick in jersey-related posts over there. It's cool to see our favorite nerdy subject matter on a mainstream hockey blog.

I'll do my best to get to all of the news of the past few weeks as I wade through rivers of email. In the meantime, drop me a line if you notice any glaring oversights on my part. Good to be back!

Friday
Mar192010

Back to the Minors

It's once again times to revisit our friends in the minor leagues. They've always got unique jerseys for us.

Wranglers girl scout jerseysUp first, the ECHL's Las Vegas Wranglers spent last Friday dressed up as girl scouts. Remember that?

Now we get to see them in action and it's an absolute riot. I'm as fascinated as anyone by the special auctionable jerseys the minors have become known for, but sometimes I can't help but laugh.

This photo (right) comes from the Las Vegas Sun, which has a bunch more pictures, I know you're dying to see.

There's yet another on the Wranglers' official website along with a write-up of the game, which they won 5-4. How do the Condors feel about getting beaten by a bunch of girls?


Mudbugs "go green" jerseysOne team I can always count on for a crazy specialty jersey is the Central Hockey League's Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs. And just this week they decided to "go green."

And by that I mean they wore jerseys depicting and open field and wind turbines. So let's waste resources by manufacturing yet another new hockey jersey. Makes sense. If they were smart, they would've worn jerseys made out of recycled plastic bags or something. (Now that I'd like to see!)

If you find yourself in need of a Mudbugs "go green" jersey, auction details can be found here. And for the record, the Mudbugs are actually a pretty good hockey team. They wore these jerseys on Sunday, winning 5-4, and again on Tuesday with a 5-1 win that catapulted them past the first round of the CHL playoffs.


Monsters go pinkAnd lastly, the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters will hold Pink the Rink Night this evening.

As the graphic (right) says, the ice will be painted pink and the team will wear special pink jerseys to be auctioned off following the game.

I will try to track down photos after the game to share here in this post so check back tomorrow for that.

By the way, as I do my best to keep my thumb on the pulse of minor league hockey jerseys, I'm always looking for more. I know we've got a lot of readers in minor league towns, so feel free to drop me a line when your team is up to something.

Sunday
Jan242010

Jersey News You Can Use

We're going to continue our run of weird minor league jersey news in just a minute — and trust me when I tell you this one's a doozy — but first I have a few NHL items to get to.

The Boston Bruins wore their Winter Classic jerseys yesterday afternoon (January 23) in front of the indoor home crowd as they faced the Ottawa Senators.

Bergeron #37 and Alfredsson #11Interestingly, going into that game the Bruins hadn't won a home game since the Winter Classic itself when Marco Sturm netted the overtime winner. Yesterday, the jersey did not, in fact, bring good luck and simply extended the Bs' losing streak.

Anyway, watching this game only cemented the notion in my head that these gold sweaters need to Boston's third next season. They look incredible — especially when compared with the current black alternates.

They have what may well be the best home/road jerseys in the NHL. To have such an awful third is just below them. Fingers crossed, Bruins fans!


The Flyers also wore their Winter Classic jerseys in front of their fans in Philadelphia when they hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 6.

Schenn #2 and Hartnell #19They looked great as well but I think it's a foregone conclusion that these will be given regular use as the club's road jersey beginning next season. Hopefully then we'll get to see it without the Winter Classic patch.

It's strange they wore that patch for a normal regular season game but it may just have been to indicate to fans that this was a special sweater, and isn't yet ready for full-time use.

And if it is used on the road next year, I sincerely hope they fix the nameplate. It works on the orange ones, but not the white ones.


As part of their 100th anniversary celebrations, which have been going on since the beginning of the 2008-09 season, the Montreal Canadiens are scheduled to wear historic jerseys every so often throughout the year.

According to a Special Events calendar handed out to fans at the beginning of this season, last night was a scheduled Centennial Jersey Game. The Habs should've worn their red 1910-11 jersey against the Rangers. But they did not! (I posted the schedule back in October.)

I'm a little confused as to why this change was made. I haven't read anything about it, but if there are any Habs fans out there who have, please fill us in. Meantime, we'll just have to keep an eye on them and see if they make up for missing this one.

For the record, I've got a few jersey galleries in the pipeline for the Habs' centennial sweaters. Expect to start seeing them this week.


Now onto the minors. Two things.

What in the world is going on in Las Vegas?! The ECHL's Wranglers have become notorious for bizarre specialty jerseys and that streak will continue when they dress like — that's right — girl scouts!

Wranglers' girl scout jerseyAccording to the ECHL's web site, the Wranglers will wear these (right) Girl Scouts-themed sweaters on March 12 when they host the Bakersfield Condors.

Looks like they've earned their wrangling badge.

To be fair, there will be a silent auction and a portion of proceeds will benefit the local Girl Scouts organization. But isn't there some kind of line these men have crossed by agreeing to wear these to a professional hockey game?

Now normally I'd go into more detail with something like this, but Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy has already taken the liberty. He's got details from the Girl Scouts and even a television commercial about Girl Scout Night at Orleans Arena. But my favorite part is when Greg refers to the puck as a "thin mint." Do read it.

My thanks to Jeff for pointing this story out to us.


And finally, Mark writes in regarding his hometown Albany River Rats of the AHL. There could be some drama here ripe for JerseyWatch 2010.

I'll let him tell you rather than trying to paraphrase.

While I have not seen anything online about this, word is that the Albany River Rats have been sold and will be moving to Carolina next season. Seeing as how I have never seen them over 50% capacity, I can see why.

So that's an interesting development. The River Rats have been in upstate New York for two decades. They were the Capital District Islanders from 1990 to 1993.

But here's the real deal as far as what's been reported by more legitimate media outlets. The News & Observer in Raleigh says that the River Rats currently have a four-year deal in place in Albany. It ends after this season. The report goes on to say the following:

Hurricanes management in the past has expressed a desire to have an AHL team closer to Raleigh and in North Carolina, if possible. 

Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said Thursday [January 21] that he would neither confirm nor deny that the move to Charlotte will be made.

Rats owner Walter Rabb has said he would be willing to sell the AHL team but only if the franchise remained in Albany. But it appears the franchise will be sold and moved to Charlotte.

If this happens, it'll be interesting to see what it means for the ECHL's Charlotte Checkers. Canes Country reports that Checkers owner Michael Kahn may well purchase the River Rats in order to bring them to Charlotte, but does not go on to say what would become of the ECHL franchise.

The Charlotte AHL team could be named the Checkers if that franchise is disbanded or sold. If you trust Wikipedia — and I don't know why anyone wouldn't (wink, wink) — another name being considered is the Charlotte Beach Rats.

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