The Minor League Report

Because I'm pretty awful at keeping up with minor league news, things tend to pile up. When that happens, I usually end up with a patchwork post featuring a wide variety of items. Such as this one.

Everblades jersey history on a poster

Everblades jersey history posterWhile working an event today at Germain Arena, home of the ECHL's Florida Everblades, I noticed the team was handing out a neat new poster (right).

It's the History of the Everblades Jersey — not that it's a very long one. The Blades hit the ice in 1998 and only changed their uniform once in their first decade, after a run to the Kelly Cup Finals in 2004. They wore special 10th anniversary sweaters throughout the 2007-08 season, my first year living in Southwest Florida.

Since then, I haven't seen this team wear the same uniform for more than a single season. So it makes me wonder whether they'll bring back last season's sweaters for 2010-11 or come up with something new again and end up expanding this poster. I guess I'll let you know in October.

Crunch unveil new uniforms

Syracuse Crunch get new sweatersIn case you missed the mention on Twitter this week, the AHL's Syracuse Crunch unveiled their new uniforms for 2010-11 on Thursday. They now feature the team's new colors — those of their NHL parent club, the Anaheim Ducks.

The Crunch were previously linked up with the Blue Jackets and as such, wore their colors. This season they'll be orange, bronze and black. And the sweaters are pretty sharp, considering. All right, in all fairness I never thought the Ducks had a bad color scheme, just a bad logo.

Which brings me to the shoulder patch on the new Crunch jerseys. It's just further evidence the webbed "D" is awesome on its own. No one likes the "UCKS" part anyway. Disney's out of the picture — no more "Mighty" — we get it!

Hopefully this is something the Ducks have realized and will take advantage of this season when they launch their new third jersey. Of course, it would also be nice to see an entirely new logo that a little more... ducky?

If you're craving more pictures of the new sweaters — including a juxtaposition with the Ducks' threads — and the ladies who modeled them, take a trip to the Crunch's Facebook page.

Fighting Falcons unveil new logo, take two

After enduring a haranguing from Icethetics readers, the NAHL's Port Huron Fighting Falcons thought it best to go in another direction with the branding of their team.

This new logo pays tribute more to the team's hometown than its moniker and is far more appropriate. It allows the nickname to be just that and instead celebrate Port Huron in its identity.

The mark appeared on the Fighting Falcons' website this week without a lot of fanfare. It doesn't specify who's behind the design. But it is a pretty solid one.

Thanks to Mike B. for the tip!

Remparts add third jersey?

Remparts add a black sweaterThis one must've slipped under my radar. Back in June, the QMJHL's Quebec Remparts handed out a new jersey to their newest player at the draft.

It's essentially a Chicago Blackhawks' alternate with the Remparts' logo. For the record, the team previously had two jerseys — one red and the other beige.

While there's been nothing posted on their website about adding a third jersey for 2010-11, it seems there is one on the way for the Remparts, as seen on draft day.

Thanks to those loyal Icethetics readers who emailed in this info! (And sorry for the delay in getting it posted.)

Aug. 4: Heritage Classic News

The NHL will make an official announcement about the 2011 Heritage Classic, the other outdoor game, next Wednesday at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, according to a posting on the Flames' official Twitter account.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of information outside of that micro-blog update, which you can see here:

NHLFlames #flames and #canadiens and #NHL to hold news conference re Heritage Classic Aug. 4 at McMahon at 3pm MT

For those who don't speak Tweet, I'll translate: The Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens and the NHL will hold a news conference regarding the 2011 Heritage Classic on August 4 at McMahon Stadium at 3 PM (Mountain Time). That's 5 PM for those of us on the east coast, 2 if you find yourself near the Pacific.

That's really the only official source I can cite, not that there's any reason to doubt it. I've added the date to the calendar and I'll be keeping an eye out for further details. One would assume this press conference will be a lot like the Winter Classic event earlier this week. We'll likely get a look at how the rink will be positioned in the football stadium and possibly retro logos, if any will be used.

And just like the W.C., we'll probably have to wait on the jerseys. Last month, Flames president Ken King said the team would have a specially-designed sweater for the event. And despite having a decent arsenal of throwbacks stemming from their 100th anniversary celebrations, if I know the Canadiens, they'll probably just wear their standard road jersey.

Kansas City Islanders?

KCTV news report on NHL in KCDon't bet on it. But in the last couple of weeks, some interesting rumors have circulated out of Long Island, including the Islanders relocating to Kansas City, Missouri. I was just wondering what you guys thought about it.

One of my favorite websites for tracking sports franchise news is Dan Krieger's Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report at OurSports Central. He posted the following report last Monday (July 19):

The town of Hempstead on Long Island (NY) has limited the scope of a proposed development around Nassau Coliseum, home to the NHL's New York Islanders. This could put an end to planned renovations for the arena, so there has been speculation the Islanders' owner will consider relocating to Kansas City, Las Vegas, Seattle, or a new arena planned for Brooklyn.

This "speculation" was actually backed up by a local TV station in Kansas City, who made the graphic above. They also spoke with NYI Point Blank blogger and former Isles media relations VP Chris Botta by phone. Without hesitation, he says it's not going to happen. Not even a little bit.

Despite a "70% hack of [Charles] Wang's county-approved vision for the property surrounded the [Nassau Veterans Memorial] Coliseum," Botta writes on his blog, the owners "want to keep the Islanders in Nassau."

Of course the Islanders haven't said anything publicly about it, nor will they, but I thought it was an interesting notion to see a 38-year-old, 4-time Stanley Cup champion team at the hands of such a rumor. I think it'd be nice to see hockey back in Kansas City. I'm sure even Las Vegas would be a great draw. But what still shocks me is the lack of pro hockey in the Pacific Northwest — namely, Portland and Seattle.

And if the Islanders were to move to Brooklyn, would it come with a name change — say, to Americans? All I know is it seems there's very little chance the Isles will actually leave Long Island. But it's always interesting to think about.

CHL Logo Map

View CHL Map in a larger map

The Central Hockey League, the other CHL, grew this summer when it merged with the flailing International Hockey League. The CHL added five IHL teams while losing two of its own — in Amarillo and Corpus Christi. There will be 18 teams competing in the CHL in 2010-11, as seen in this map.

What's funny about this league is most obvious when you layer it with the ECHL map. (Save both to My Maps in your Google account to view them together.) The CHL perfectly fills in the ECHL's geographical gaps across the United States. It's actually quite something.

Compared with similar minor hockey leagues, the CHL is rather spread out. It's stretches from the Dakotas to the north all the way to the Mexican border, and from Arizona to Ohio. No wonder the league has been so unstable for years. Travel must be a nightmare.

I'm thinking the SPHL may be the next logo map. That or the USHL. Also have the NAHL and BCHL on the short list. Stay tuned.

Winter Classic Logos Unveiled!

At a press conference this afternoon, the NHL unveiled the logo for the 2011 Winter Classic along with the retro logos to be used by the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins.

The outdoor game will take place on New Year's Day at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The logos were revealed on giant digital screens at the football stadium, which is normally home to the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.

Unlike past Winter Classic logos, which have typically used a neutral color palette, the 2011 mark seems to feature only the colors likely to be found on the Penguins' Winter Classic throwback uniforms. To be fair, though, these are the colors most associated with the city of Pittsburgh itself.

And based on the news conference, it seems everyone in Pittsburgh is very excited to be playing in the NHL's most publicized regular season game for the second time since 2008 — though this is Crosby & Co.'s first time hosting.

A staple of the Winter Classic since its inception has been retro logos and uniforms. Every team involved has looked into its past for something special to wear. This year will be no exception.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will call back to their inaugural season, 1967-68 — for the logo at least. The uniforms won't be revealed for either team until the fall. The mark features the original skating penguin wearing a scarf, all set on a "vintage" white.

The use of this logo suggests the Penguins will also wear their inaugural uniforms, which were light blue with PITTSBURGH in diagonal text across the front. Again, we'll have to wait for the fall, but this is probably a fair assumption.

The Washington Capitals will also look back to their inaugural season, 1974-75. The logo is the original script mark used from the team's inception until 1996. The Caps' current logo, in use since 2007, is call back to this mark.

With the expection of the first Winter Classic in 2008, the host team typically wears the dark uniforms, with the visitors in white — as is standard in the regular season these days. That means the Capitals will likely wear their original white sweaters.

Of course talk about Winter Classic uniforms is speculative and premature, it's easy to make educated guesses based on history. I'd really be surprised if we get anything different — though I was definitely surprised by the Bruins last year!

The Capitals will officially unveil their Winter Classic uniforms on Oct. 2 at the Capitals Convention. The Penguins have said theirs will also be unveiled some time in the fall — no specific date just yet. You can read more about today's event at NHL.com.