Week 4: Team Name Nominations

It's hard to believe we're so far into this project already. We've made a lot of decisions and will make many more before summer's over. Next though, we need to work out new names for the teams we'll be rebranding.

First, a note of housekeeping. I'm making a chance to the original plan for 13 Weeks of R&R. Instead of splitting up name nominations into separate weeks — which I'm sure would be overkill — Weeks 4 and 5 will play out a little differently. Here are the first three phases:

• Nominations (today thru Tue 5/7) — Suggestions for team names will be accepted in the usual fashion, via comments on this post only. Details below.
• Finalist Selections (Wed 5/8 thru Fri 5/10) — Polls will be held for each team featuring the top eligible name nominations. The purpose will be to determine three finalists for the next phase. (This may include team's original name in case voters just want new logos and/or uniforms.)
• Final Voting (Sat 5/11 thru Tue 5/14) — A final set of polls for each will feature the top three finalists and ultimately determine the team's official name.

These polls will each be open for a shorter period than normal, but previous voting has demonstrated that a week is usually more than necessary to come to a consensus. Now, you may have noticed that only gets us halfway through Week 5. We'll finish with a new one — Color Voting.

• Color Voting (Wed 5/15 thru Sat 5/18) — Unlike in the past, logo designers will not be at liberty to create a team's color palette. The voters will do that before we send the designers to work. The goal here is to prevent too much overlap in color schemes and to help guide each team to unique identities.

I'll outline more details on all of that as the time comes, but for now...

Submit team names below!

This part is very easy. Submit your ideas for what the IceHL teams in the following cities should be named. You must use the locator that was chosen in last week's polls. (Dallas was the only team where there was no majority consensus so you may submit names for Dallas or Texas.) Submit as many names as you want.

When it comes time to vote, all teams except Detroit* will have the option to keep their current name, so there's no need to include it in your nominations. (*-During Week 2 of voting, it was decided that Detroit must undergo a full rebrand.)

For the Finalist Selections, I'll be choosing what appear to be the best and most popular names from this post. If you see a name you like, endorse it in your comment to help me gauge popularity. (But don't bother re-posting it under a different alias. I'm not as dumb as I look.)

I'd like to reserve the comments of this post for name nominations ONLY. So if you have any questions, please ask via email or by commenting on another relevant blog post.

Restrictions: This should be obvious, but I'll say it anyway. Names will NOT be accepted if they are currently used for any NHL, AHL or ECHL franchise or any pro sports team in the city in question. Other names may be disallowed on a case-by-case basis. My advice: BE ORIGINAL!

Week 3: IceHL 2013 City Polls

The voting continues! This week's series of IceHL polls in 13 Weeks of R&R focuses on changing cities. But if we just looked at our two relocating teams, it'd be a pretty dull week. In addition to those, you'll also get to rethink the location names for the teams facing rebranding this summer.

Take a look at our standard pre-voting bullet points for details:

• Relocation: As I explained in last week's voting results, you'll get to choose from the top four cities selected as relocation destinations. They are Halifax, Toronto, Philadelphia and Ottawa. What happens if the same city wins both polls? Whichever team gets the highest percentage will get that city. (The other team will have to go with its runner up.)
• Rebranding: Nine teams were selected for rebranding last week. This week, you will vote on whether to change their location name. (For instance, should the Lumberjacks franchise be renamed for B.C. instead of Vancouver?)
• Toronto is available in multiple places here, but only one team will be able to claim it. Priority goes to the relocating teams. If the Arsenal or Renegades move to Toronto, the Steelcats may not be renamed for it.
• There's also a bonus poll at the bottom when you finish!

As always, happy voting!

Relocation

Rebranding

Existing location designation noted in ALL CAPS.

Bonus Poll

One more question for you, unrelated to any relocation or rebranding. Every IceHL team has dark and light jerseys, but we've never decided on "home and road" designations.

Poll results will remain visible so you can check back throughout the week. Feel free to start a social media campaign to get your friends and followers to join in the voting. The more, the merrier!

Thanks for taking the time to vote! And if you have any questions, just ask.

IceHL 2013 Rebranding Polls

We're now in Week 2 of our 13 Weeks of R&R project. This set of polls will determine which teams will be rebranded this summer. Before you vote, please read the following important notes:

• Each poll has three options: Yes (major changes), yes (minor changes) and no. It must garner at least 51% of combined "yes" vote to move on (unrounded, so 50.9% won't do the job).
• IMPORTANT: The two "yes" options will be tallied together. Example results: 32% yes (major), 27% yes (minor), and 41% no. It would appear the "no" vote wins, but the combined "yes" vote is 59%. 
• The "yes" options are split up only to give would-be designers some direction from the voters. 
• Remember, a "no" vote means no identity change/update at all this year.

Happy voting!

Just like last week, all poll results will remain visible so you can keep checking back with the progress throughout the week. You're also free to start social media campaigns to get your friends and followers to join in the voting. The more, the merrier!

Thanks for taking the time to vote! And if you have any questions at all, please ask.

IceHL 2013 Relocation Polls

It's April 13, 2013 — the official start of 13 Weeks of R&R, the IceHL's summer rebranding and relocation project. If this is the first you're hearing of it, read up on the details. Then vote!

In this week's polls, you're selecting which teams you want to see "moved" to a new city within North America — the jurisdiction of the IceHL. It's simple. Should the team move? Yes or no. Here are some important caveats to this series of polls:

• In order for a team to relocate, it must receive at least 60% in the affirmative vote.
• Don't vote based on conference or division. If a team is relocated outside of its current conference, the league will simply be realigned to accommodate.
• Don't vote based on team nicknames or logos. Just because a team relocates doesn't mean it can't keep its name and logo in its new city. All that would have to change is the city.
• On the Hamilton/Toronto question, due to popular request, Toronto will be included among eligible relocation cities even if voters elect NOT to rebrand the Hamilton Steelcats.
• As a trade-off for Hamilton/Toronto, one of the Saskatchewan teams must be relocated this year. If one or both reach the requisite 60% affirmative vote, no problem. If neither does, the team with the higher affirmative vote will relocate automatically.
• Be aware that Atlanta, Calgary, Dallas, Detroit, Regina, Saskatoon and Washington, D.C. will not be eligible relocation cities should any of these teams be moved this summer. They could, however, be considered in future relocation efforts after this year.

Enough housekeeping. Let's do some voting!

See that? I threw in a bonus poll. We'll pick the 7 potential destination cities this week too. In a couple weeks we'll figure out which teams will go to which cities. There are only 12 cities listed, but there is a 13th option (to keep with our theme). Vote for any unlisted city with the "other" box. The cities with the most votes will get a relocated IceHL team this summer.

Unlike in previous votes here on Icethetics, all poll results will remain visible so you can keep checking back with the progress throughout the week. You're also free to start social media campaigns to get your friends and followers to join in the voting. The more, the merrier!

Finally, if you have any questions at all about the process, please ask! I've thought a lot of this through but I'm sure there are things I haven't considered. Speak up so nothing gets overlooked.

Update on Saturday · Apr 13 · 2013 | 12:17 PM PDT by Chris

In looking at the "other" votes cast in the destination cities poll, I've noticed a lot of people are wasting their vote by suggesting cities that already have teams. I've seen Vancouver, Tampa, Seattle and Salt Lake City in the results.

Do a little research before you vote and don't waste your "other" selection. The IceHL 2012 Yearbook has everything you need to know about the league.

Update on Saturday · Apr 13 · 2013 | 3:50 PM PDT by Chris

Another update. For those wondering, it is too soon to start suggesting new team names. That's Week 4 territory. I know it seems obvious where the vote is going, but it hasn't even been a full day yet. (Part of the reason I used to conceal the results until the polls closed.) Let's wait and see how things develop before we start nailing coffins.

Let's Make Another IceHL Jersey! Part 4

Icethetics recently launched a new partnership with RinkGear.com — a partnership which led to the production of the Milwaukee Lagers IceHL jersey! Now the guys at RinkGear are ready to produce a second design from the IceHL fantasy hockey league!

We're now conducting a series of polls to determine which team will be done next. The most popular design will become a reality — just like the Lagers jersey did.

Start voting now! This is it.

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One more question! RinkGear is considering taking more orders for the Milwaukee Lagers jersey and they want your feedback.