0044: Redeeming the Whale
Yesterday, we got a little taste. Today, the full meal. This morning's double-feature marks the start of Minor League Week. For the next few days we'll be enjoying concepts for minor pro teams, which often tend to get overshadowed by the NHL on this page.
As you can see, we're kicking things off with the Connecticut Whale, one of the teams most in need of a complete redesign. Their current look is an absolute joke and I cannot say it enough. And as jokes go, you realize just how not-funny it is when you see what Mike Ivall has come up with. His identity is the perfect mix between the old Hartford Whalers and the Whale's previous identity — the Wolf Pack. Overall, this is one of my all-time favorite concepts.
Now, then. I'm an adult and I realize it's unreasonable to think the Whale would simply scrap entirely the new brand they're trying to establish. Maybe something a little less dramatic would get the job done. To that end, may I recommend Ryan Haslett's concept? I can't say I'm a fan of the logo or the striping, but at least it aspires to better days in Hartford.
Mike Ivall& Ryan Haslett 
Reader Comments (11)
Sorry, but whenever I see the abbreviation "CTW," Sesame Street comes to mind.
This post was brought to you by the letter I.
This is amazing, Ivall you always impress me!!!
Not a fan of these.
I love Ryan's one. Perfect balance between the current identity and the Hartford Whalers.
Can't say that I like this one so much. The angled Whale logo doesn't have a sense of purpose here.
Ted Noakes: The angled whale logo is actually a angled C with a W in the negative space. It is just twisted the other way.
I don't like the angled logo, but I love the CTW. It is a great logo that establishes a new identity with a nod to the past. Looks like it uses the bottom of the Liberty head logo as well.
Yeah that angled logo doesn't work for me at all. and the jersey design itself is lacking.
I like how the CTW logo resembles the Lady Liberty logo of the Rangers. Fitting because of the affiliation.
I'd be all for these, considering the current Whale jerseys are trash.
I don't know if you've seen the more updated version of the Whale set but it is certainly not trash. I admit, when the logo was introduced, I hated it. It looked like an "S". It was childish. But it was supposed to be kid friendly, it's a minor league team. This doesn't mean that the jersey/logo must be poor and immature but it also doesn't mean it has to be perfect, refined, and classic. This is not the NHL (there are worse jerseys IN the NHL, have you seen a Stars game lately?). But I got used to the logo. It's not the best but not the worst and I've grown to love my team's symbol. The initial jersey set looked pretty bad with the strange collar and the pointless light blue. But the new collars look clean, the light blue accents have been replaced with green on the whites, and in all honesty, I love my team's green away sweater. The whites aren't anything to hate either. They're simple and ... don't have light blue. The wavy striping was never my cup of tea despite it being a fitting detail but now I've grown used to it with a greater appreciation for the fact that the whale has water in which to swim. It's almost like the lighting bolt on TB's pants except a bolt is way cooler then odd striping. Look, the jerseys and the logo could be better and there are no greater shoes to fill than in Hartford. But the Whale are not the Whalers, the AHL is not the NHL, and you know what? After enough times jumping out of your seat when the horn sounds and Brass Bonanza is cranked as you see your boys celebrating, dressed in one man's "trash", it really is your treasure.
The way that the positive-W-negative-H has been flipped to positive-C-negative-W is wonderfully creative as is the effort to tilt it diagonally to make the C and W both readable. That process deserves a standing ovation. Unfortunately, it just does not look good. People, please stop brutalizing the greatest logo on the planet. If it weren't diagonal, which I understand isn't really an option, it'd be alright but I am so sick of seeing people bend and spin this logo into an eyesore. It just. Doesn't. Work. Don't beat yourself up over it though, the way that this one was made is so damn cool regardless. Also, this towering CTW logo that I keep seeing is very strange. It looks cool but I wouldn't use it for a sports logo, too busy I suppose. On the Haslet, thank you for putting the logo on a silver background, I've wanted that so bad on the real jerseys. I think there's too many layers in the classic whaler striping to pull off the wave look. Maybe it'd look better in real life rather than as a digital image. I love that you explored the option though. I would die to have this as a men's league jersey.