Polls: Expansion Team Names

The IceHL Project is growing. Our crowd-sourced fantasy hockey league is expanding from 30 to 32 teams for the 2012-13 season. And it's now time to choose the names for the newcomers.

Last month, your vote decided that Hartford, Conn. and Yellowknife, N.T. will join the IceHL ranks in 2012. Then over the next few weeks, you made suggestions for what we should call the teams. Now, once again, your vote will make the final call.

More than a hundred names were suggested. I've narrowed the list down to 25 for each team. You may choose as many as 5 to vote for below. (Vote only for the names you like. Don't pick five just to fill a quota if you only like three of them. Otherwise, you may not like the results.)

Choose up to 5 names per team. Polls close Sunday, April 15.

I need to clarify something. A few weeks ago, I wrote that an upcoming poll would deal with realignment of the league. I've decided to hold off on that because there's a chance some teams could be relocated this summer. As always, your vote will make that determination. We'll begin the relocation and rebranding discussion in June. If any teams are selected to be relocated/rebranded, the process will run until early September. We'll start the search for new GMs after that time. I, for one, am excited about another season of IceHL fantasy hockey!

Note: If you have questions about how the names listed above were chosen from all those that were suggested, please feel free to email me. (There's a red Gmail button at the top of the page.) Comments on this post are deactivated so as not to taint the voting.

IceHL Jersey Contest: Southeast

I'm now accepting entries for the next division in the IceHL Jersey Design Contest.

First, if you want more information about the IceHL Project, download the IceHL 2011 Yearbook, which is now available through Icethetics.info. You can also scan through previous posts in this section to catch up on everything we've done so far.

Entering the Jersey Design Contest

There are three rules:

• Design 2 jerseys (light and dark) using team colors and logos only. You may not alter the colors or logos.
• Assemble your final design on the PNG template provided and submit it to icethetics@gmail.com.
• Include your first and last name and email address in the graphic where designated as well as in your submission email. (Your real name will not be displayed during voting and your email will never be displayed.)

IceHL Jersey Design Kit - Southeast version (.zip/359 KB)

PLEASE NOTE THE NEW TEMPLATE. Do not use the template from previous Design Kits. The new one is a PNG file provided in the Design Kit above. It is built to be compatible with just about any graphics software out there from Microsoft Paint to Adobe Photoshop. (For beginners: PNG is the file type required. Please do not submit a JPG or any other type of file. For experts: Please avoid using color profiles.)

Recommended link: Paint Users Paradise at SportsLogos.net

To assist you in your designs, feel free to implement aspects of existing hockey uniform templates. There are hundreds available at at the link above. The copy and paste functions are your friends in this case and make designing a great jersey so much easier. But feel free to experiment on your own too.

The template includes the front and back of a jersey as well as gear like socks and pants. All you have to do is design the jerseys. Designing the gear is up to you. I'd also request that you include a full alphabet and number set as seen in the Design Kit sample. You may choose to leave out any of the elements, but keep in mind that if you do, I reserve the right to design those elements myself.

Last thing. Simply submitting your jersey design doesn't guarantee it will be included in the voting process. If it doesn't meet a certain level of quality, I'll give you the opportunity to try again as long as you meet the deadline. But rest assured, I plan to accept far more than I reject — as you saw with the last two divisions.

Part 5: Southeast Division

We're continuing with the Southeast Division. The Design Kit contains the primary and secondary logos for each of the five teams in that division. You may only use those logo graphics for this project. Do not use them for any other reason without permission.

Here are the Southeast Division teams and the players you may use to customize your jerseys:

• Atlanta Arsenal (7 Carter, 8 Burns, 12 Marleau, 35 Rinne)
• Baltimore Blue Crabs (3 Yandle, 9 Parise, 87 Crosby, 91 Tavares)
• North Carolina Nighthawks (7 Seabrook, 12 Staal, 14 Benn, 30 Brodeur)
• Tampa Bay Barracudas (4 Lecavalier, 26 St. Louis, 22 Boyle, 32 Quick)
• Washington Sentinels (29 Howard, 39 Couture, 53 Skinner, 91 Stamkos)

The players listed have been selected by the GMs operating each fantasy team.

Remember, when you design your jerseys, stick to the official team colors and logos. The Southeast Division RGB Color Guide is included in the Design Kit for your convenience. You may also sample the colors in the logo graphics using an eyedropper or similar tool in your chosen graphics software.

One last note about your jersey designs. Do something creative and original. Don't copy existing jersey designs. We want IceHL teams to stand out and be unique. But for what it's worth, you might want to consult the NHL Uniform Ranking to get an idea of what types of designs Icethetics readers tend to like. Just don't let it stifle your creativity.

Deadline: Tuesday, April 10

You have three weeks to design and submit your work. I will not be accepting submissions for the next division until the deadline for this one passes. If you have any questions, please ask!

Good luck to everyone!

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!

Update on Tuesday · Mar 13 · 2012 | 12:53 PM PDT by 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.

IceHL Expands to Two Cities

The polls are closed and the votes have been counted! The IceHL is expanding by two teams in 2012 and Icethetics readers have decided they will be in Hartford and Yellowknife.

Hartford garnered 35% of the vote on the IceHL EAST side while Yellowknife picked up 34%. Ottawa and San Francisco were the runners up. However, that doesn't mean these two cities won't get IceHL teams. There's still the possibility of relocation for a handful of teams this summer. More on that to come.

Hartford, Conn. was once home to the Whalers of the NHL and WHA. To my knowledge, Yellowknife (of Canada's Northwest Territories) has never had a professional hockey team. In other words, lots of hockey history to draw on in one city, almost none in the other.

By the way, as far as votes go, people did not want to see Phoenix get an IceHL team while it's struggling to keep its NHL club. The city earned a mere 3% of the western vote. The least-voted city in the east was Miami with 8%. If you click the link above, you can see how 10 cities did.

You'll notice the comments are disabled for this post. This is just an announcement of the winning cities. Hold your ideas. On Monday, I'll open the floor to name suggestions, so start doing some research and thinking about what these teams should be named. (Obviously, Hartford/New England Whalers is not an option.) Get creative!

When the naming submission post goes up on Monday, I'll explain how the process will work.

IceHL Team Logos

Tomorrow, new polls open that will determine which two North American cities will add IceHL franchises for 2012-13. That's right, expansion is nearly upon us and that's only the first of many changes we could see to our fantasy league this year.

To prepare, I thought it would be helpful to add a post that shows all of our current teams.

Pacific Division

South Division

North Division

Northeast Division

Central Division

Southeast Division

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Last September, I put togther a logo map that shows where all of our teams are based.

Click here to check out the interactive version. And be sure to pan over to Alaska so you don't miss the Huskies.

I think the league spread out pretty well, but in order to maximize the schedule and enjoyment of our GMs in the ESPN fantasy league, we need to add one more team to each conference.

With 32 teams, the IceHL will be at capacity this fall. But there's more beyond expansion. In the coming weeks, you'll be voting on which existing teams should be relocated or rebranded.

We could be designing and redesigning logos and uniforms this offseason for as many as 12 teams — or just 2. It'll come down to your vote in the end.