QMJHL: Sherbrooke Rises from the Ashes

Sherbrooke Phoenix jerseys unveiledThe QMJHL's only U.S.-based team shut down over the summer, but a new one will be resurrected in that franchise's old home next fall as the Lewiston MAINEiacs give way to the Sherbrooke Phoenix.

The club's new name, logos and uniforms were unveiled at a press conference today, according to this release written in French (translated). Click here for more photos from the event.

As you may have read in the (incomplete) Icethetics Season Preview, the league bought out the floudering franchise after last season and ceased operations.

At the same time, it announced an expansion franchise had been awarded to Sherbrooke, Quebec and an ownership group led by ex-NHLer Jocelyn Thibault to begin play in the 2012-13 season. I find it a little weird. Why end the lineage of one of the league's oldest franchises? Why not simply transfer the franchise? (In the end, I'm sure it all comes down to money.) As I wrote in the Season Preview post...

The franchise itself is actually one of the QMJHL's oldest. The Trois-Rivieres Ducs were a founding member of the Q in 1969. They were renamed the Draveurs in 1973. In 1992, the club relocated to Sherbrooke and became the Faucons for six seasons. In 1998, the name was changed to Sherbrooke Castors. The club moved across the border into Maine in 2003.

There had been speculation that one of the previous Sherbrooke monikers would make a comeback, specifically Castors or Faucons. But as it turns out, they went the more literal route for a team that's "rising from the ashes." Of course this will be confusing for folks in Quebec if the Phoenix Coyotes end up moving there. (Kidding!)

Here are the other logos that were on display at today's unveiling.

Sherbrooke Phoenix secondary logos

Brilliant logos and a fantastic overall look for this team. I'm impressed. But are you noticing a trend? Two other Q teams, the Armada and Olympiques, introduced monochromatic logos this season, just like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Los Angeles Kings. Seems like a trend toward less color. If so, I'm not sure that's a good thing.

But when you look at Sherbrooke's jerseys and logos, it's clear they're still a three-color team: dark blue, powder blue, and yes, that's the trendy vintage white rather than actual white. Don't get me wrong. I think these colors look great together, but they tick all the boxes in terms of what's "in" right now.

A local creative agency called Lubie designed the new brand (with an awesome video), which appears to have been influenced by the municipal coat of arms of the city of Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Anyway, what do you think? How is this not a great look for a hockey team?

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.

AHL: New Thirds for Bears, Stars

While I was away on vacation last week a couple of AHL teams unveiled new third jerseys.

The Hershey Bears announced they are bringing back another retro look as their new alternate sweater for the 2011-12 season. It will make its game debut on Saturday, Oct. 15 for the club's home opener as they host the Norfolk Admirals.

On Wednesday, the Bears tweeted a graphic that showed the design, though an actual photo of the jersey itself has yet to surface. It features the "skating bear" logo that's been seen on a number of sweaters throughout the club's long history.

The Bears previously wore a maroon version of this jersey as their alternate. Presumably they're switching to white to make it easier to wear at home. In the AHL, teams wear dark uniforms on the road, so if a club wants to don a dark alternate on their home ice, they need to work out logistics with the visitor in advance.

Lately, it seems whenever a new Reebok Edge jersey is introduced, the game we play is which NHL team's template is it based on? I'll give you a minute. If you came up with the Buffalo Sabres home/road jerseys, you got it. The colors may be different, but the design is the same.

AHL Stars' new jersey and logoThe Texas Stars are also introducing a new white third jersey this season. 

Like the Bears, the Stars unveiled their new sweater online on Wednesday. But just over a week earlier, they first showed the new alternate logo seen on the shoulder. It's a wordmark that reads TEXAS with a star replacing the X.

Though this week's press release doesn't mention a specific date for the new sweater's debut, it does reference tonight's home opener a number of times. I'll keep an eye out for game photos.

Now a couple of pull quotes. Here's what the team says about the new secondary logo:

The new design was developed in coordination with the Texas Stars marketing department and the official jersey provider, Reebok. The new design will feature a centered two-tone gold star as the ‘X’ in Texas and will be comprised of the team’s existing colors with the addition of a new dark gold. 

“We are excited to unveil the new secondary logo for the Texas Stars,” said Texas Stars President Rick McLaughlin. “The new design is important to our team’s branding and establishing a new way to identify us. The new design looks great and will help us stand out in the league.”

And the new jersey:

The alternate jerseys are primarily white and dark green, with gold accents. The Texas Stars primary logo serves as the jersey crest, while the Stars new alternate logo (unveiled earlier in the off-season) serves as the shoulder patch on the new jerseys. The nameplates will consist of dark green lettering on the backs of the jersey.

The numbers on the sleeves and the backs of the sweater will be dark green with gold trim. The Stars will wear black pants, black gloves and white helmets with their new alternate jerseys.

“We are excited to unveil the new alternate jersey for the Texas Stars,” said Texas Stars President Rick McLaughlin. “The new jersey is an important extension of our brand in central Texas, using a combination of our original logo and our new secondary logo. Fans will be able to identify us in a whole new way.”

This one uses the template of the Phoenix Coyotes' third jersey. It's not a bad look and I like that they're using their actual logo on the front of this one rather than the text they use on their home and road sweaters much like the Dallas Stars.

UPDATE (9:05 PM): The Stars did not debut their third jersey during tonight's 7-0 blowout of the Oklahoma City Barons. Guess we'll have to keep an eye on them over the coming weeks to get a glimpse of it in action. Their next home game is Friday, Oct. 14.

Any AHL fans reading? What do you think of these new thirds?