Name Nominations: Hartford & Yellowknife
The time has come to start suggesting names for the IceHL's 2012 expansion franchises. Last week it was announced they were awarded to Hartford, Conn. and Yellowknife, NT.
To nominate team names for consideration, simply post them in a comment below. If you see someone before you has suggestd a name you like, say so in your comment. The more popular suggestions are more likely to be among the 25 selected for the voting process. I will base those 25 on whether they are creative, unique, and of course, popular.
Here is a list of locators you may use to precede your team nicknames:
- Hartford
Connecticut | New England - Yellowknife
Northwest Territories | Northwest
You can be creative and suggest other names. The worst that could happen if they're not acceptable is they won't be included in the voting. But so as not to waste anyone's time, don't bother submitting Whalers. It won't be considered.
There are some other important don'ts. You may NOT use the name of any current or past IceHL, NHL or WHA team, nor any current ECHL, AHL, CHL, WHL, QMJHL or OHL team. You may NOT use the name (or any variation thereupon) of any current or past sports franchises in the market or geographical area. And if your suggestion is vulgar, obscene, or in any way inappropriate, it will not be considered.
Only names nominated in the comments of this post will be considered. Do not email or tweet your suggestions if you want them to be included in the voting process.
Submission period ends: Monday, March 26
Voting on eligible name nominees is scheduled to begin on April 6, following the end of the Pacific Division jersey voting. (That begins this Thursday, March 15. Submissions closed on Sunday night.)
Some other upcoming IceHL events: Later this month, I'll start accepting jersey design submissions for the Southeast Division and then we'll hold a poll to determine how the IceHL will be realigned after it expands to 32 teams this year. In April, we'll vote on Southeast Division jerseys after we wrap up the Pacific. We'll also get to some other minor questions that I think the community should decide. Fun year ahead for the IceHL!
Chris
We're barely a day into this, but I feel the need to chime in on these name nominations. I want to encourage you guys to stop trying to hard to find a name that "means something." If you have to try so hard that the name sounds absolutely awful for a hockey team, then it's not worth it.
Ask yourself one question about the names you suggest. Can you imagine chanting them alongside 20,000 other screaming fans without feeling like a dolt? If not, it's probably not worth recommending.
Also, the name Hartford Harpoons or any variation of it or "Whalers" will NOT be accepted for voting. This league is not going to be a rehash of the NHL. We're going to do something original here. There are so many creative people in this community that I know we can do better than simply copying history.
Reader Comments (103)
Hartford Harpoon, Northwest Knife
Hartford Harpooneers
Yellowknife Yetis
Connecticut Blue Bloods
Northwest Snowmen
Here are my suggestions:
Northwest Narwhals (the NT coat of arms features two narwhals)
Northwest Actic Fox
Northwest Caribou
Connecticut Steeds
Hartford Beacons
Hartford Fire and Yellowknife Indians
Yellowknife Blades
I have two for Yellowknife:
Yellowknife Snowkings - derived from the Snowking Winter Festival
Yellowknife Long Johns - derived both from the clothing needed during the cold nights and the new winter festival The Long John Jamboree and of course, the pastry.
Hartford Harpoons
Yellowknife Gold Rush
Yellowknife Aurora
Yellowknife Miners
Yellowknife Freeze
I have four names.
Two for Hartford:
New England Wild Dogs
Connecticut Sea Wolves
(Plenty of wild dogs in New England)
Two for Yellowknife
Yellowknife Chill
Northwest Terrtories Ice Titans
(I don't think I need to explain these two)
Yellowknife Inuksuit (plural of Inukshuk)
Yellowknife Huskies
Yellowknife Auroras
Hartford Atlantics
Hartford Sailors
Hartford Pilgrims
I apologize. I had forgotten that the Alaska team was already named the Huskies. Instead, replace that with the Yellowknife Diamond Miners.
Hartford Harpoons (subtle Whale references aside, it's actually very well-alliterated and can make its own unique identity)
Hartford Flying Dutchmen (old nautical legend, as well as a subtle homage to the Dutch settlers which first inhabited Hartford)
Hartford Stags (reference to "The Hartford")
Hartford Steam (Hartford Steam Boiler)
Connecticut Charters (CT's the Constitution State)
Connecticut Rapids (the CT River's right within Hartford)
Connecticut Cannons (Hartford's home to US Fire Arms)
Connecticut Clippers (maritime history)
Connecticut Destroyers (more "bad-ass" maritime)
Connecticut Captains (who's in charge?)
New England Mutuals (insurance capital of the world)
New England Travelers (Travelers Group)
New England Brawlers (massacres and wars are much of New England's early history)
New England Diplomats (diplomacy is too)
Yellowknife Miners (Yellowknife's been a mining town its entire history-from gold to copper to uranium to silver to diamonds, they've mined it all! Currently with twelve mines-YELLOWKNIFE IS MINING.)
Yellowknife Jewels (the stuff that gets mined...just like gems are mined in the city, so the team can hopefully mine jewels for hockey)
Yellowknife Snow Kings (in honor of a winter festival in the city)
Yellowknife Rockstars (Folk on the Rocks music festival)
Northwest Territories Polar Bears (popular license plate)
Northwest Lights (the Aurora Borealis is visible from Yellowknife and the NWT)
Northwest Great Whites (it doesn't have to be the shark-this is the Great White North, so I'm sure creative ideas can be thought up for the mascot)
Northwest Frostbite (very common)
Northwest Walruses (I don't think any other sports team has that name)
Hope you like...
Right off the bat, I'm looking at alliteration. Too bad there aren't a lot of "Y" nicknames.
YELLOWKNIFE YELLOW JACKETS is quite a mouthful.
YELLOWKNIFE YAKS is a little shorter.
In going with the "N" sound, I noticed the coat of arms for the Northwest Territories has two narwhals on it.
YELLOWKNIFE NARWHALS would get a lot of creative designs.
Lastly, the gold mining industry is history there. But diamond mining is a key operation.
YELLOWKNIFE MINERS
YELLOWKNIFE DIAMONDS
YELLOWKNIFE GEMS
YELLOWKNIFE PROSPECTORS.
Also, one of the oldest buildings and a heritage site is the Wildcat Cafe. So, in honor of it:
YELLOWKNIFE WILDCATS
Yellowknife Miners (since it's mainly known if their gold and diamond mines)
Seeing lots of suggestions for Hartford Harpooners and the like. Just so you know, I'm leaning towards disallowing that name because it's basically just a clever way of getting around Whalers. This league is not going to be a rehash of the NHL. I've said it over and over and over. Be original if you want consideration.
Northwest Auroras
Yellowknife Freeze
Hartford Harpoons
Connecticut Cannons
I would definitely have to agree with suggestions mentioned before; Wildcats and Snowkings because as a resident of Yellowknife, I can surely relate to those.
I would suggest YELLOWKNIFE ICE PILOTS in honour of the TV Show and also the actual ice pilots which are the lifeline to smaller communities around the Territories. Perhaps the NORTHMEN would also work as a name or the team, simply due to the geographical location, although, we are actually pretty far South in relation to the rest of the Artic.
Yellowknife
Miners
Diamonds
Caribou
Hartford
Oaks - after the Charter Oak tree
Colts - He invented and manufactured the revolver there.
Revolvers
Schooners
Underwriters - not really :)
I had been thinking of a few names, but I see a few people already beat me to Yellowknife Miners and Connecticut Captains. So, here's my leftovers:
Yellowknife Rush
Northwest Trappers
Yellowknife Snow Caps
Hartford Foxes
Hartford Travelers
Hartford Fisherman
Hartford Riders