Fixing the Whale Fail

In a recent blog post about the miserable failure that is the branding of the AHL's Connecticut Whale, I put out the call for Icethetics concept artists to improve it. Here's what they came up with.

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Jayde Garrow In a concept first posted back in September after we learned what the team's new name would be, Jayde Garrow took the best if not most obvious route with his design. Quite simply, bring back the classic Hartford Whalers logo but with a unique spin.

Christian Ryder Working on the same theme as Jayde, Christian Ryder elaborated with new style for the tale and a pair of uniforms. Thought the use of the Canucks font for the wordmark was an interesting choice, but I guess the teams do share the same color scheme.

Cale Putnam Do you see a pattern forming here? The clearest solution seems to be play on the old Whalers logo. And it's not as though it's never been done. The Binghamton Whalers merely turned the Hartford logo on its side back in the day. But I digress. Cale Putnam brings us a full uniform set with his concept. Perhaps the best part is the Whalers-inspired striping on the green alternate sweater. And overall, I have absolutely nothing to complain about here.

Joshua Heckman It appears Joshua Heckman was on the same track as most everyone else. But I can't help but feel like he took a wrong turn in getting there. I understand the use of the Whalers' W, but I'm not sure about the protrusion beneath it. Don't know what that's supposed to be.

Peter Debay And finally, for something entirely different, Peter has gone with an entirely new approach that is a little ironic. His symbol for a team called the Whale is a harpoon — the very item used to kill whales. Hmm. Still, it's clear he's taking his inspiration from the old New England team from the WHA, as he points out himself. I'm just not sure it would be received any better than what the team actually used. But I'm often wrong.

What do the rest of you think? Are any of these the way to go or is the Whale better off with what they have? Weigh in, and if you have a concept of your own, email it in and I'll add it to this post.

Update on Saturday · Jan 8 · 2011 | 11:25 PM PST by Chris

Still taking Connecticut Whale concept art if you've got any improvements.

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Benoit Lacaille Benoit sent in his own fix. It's got originality and bright colors. How can hockey fans not like it? He's brought a unique look with an homage to the past, a description that might also apply to the real Whale logo, but the difference is his actually looks good. And the two-tone green jersey? Yes, please!

Ryan Haslett Ryan took the Hartford Whalers concept and customized it a big for Connecticut. Then he went a step further by fusing it with the logo of the Whale's NHL affiliate, the New York Rangers. The result is actually pretty cool. Added Jan. 10 at 1:01 AM

Again, keep the concepts coming. I'll have more posted soon.

Quebec, Conceptually

Last week, fans rallied to bring the NHL back to Quebec City. So let's look at some Quebec Nordiques concept art this afternoon.

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Brendan Anderson	Brendan kicks things off with a rather traditional blast from the past. That is, until you get to the alternate jersey. The Nordiques missed the NHL Third Jersey Program by a year but I'm not sure they would've gone with a number on the front. Still, I don't think anybody in Quebec would complain if it meant getting their team back.
Peter Debay	We get a completely new direction from Peter. Rather than the classic logo with its subtle NQ, we here's a lowercase q made out of a distorted hockey stick. The one I really like, however, is the vintage design with its retro striping and crest design. That would be a nice looking hockey sweater — even with the red helmet and pants.
Scot McCormack	Scot also tried his hand at new Nordiques logos. The jersey remains mostly unchanged. Personally, I'm not as big a fan of this set as the previous one and I think that's because of the difference in creativity levels. I think if fans had their pick, they'd go with more of a retro style to the uniforms.
Jack Martineau	And just for the heck of it, I thought we'd toss in an Avalanche concept. After all, they used to be the Nordiques. With his design, Jack is bringing back the abstract mountain at the base of the jersey. Personally, I'd love to see the mountain range that used to be on the sleeves. I think more than any other team, the Avs were ruined by Reebok. This helps, but it's just not what it could be.

Email in your concept art and it may well find its way onto this very page.

Predicting the Future

Hey, looks like it's time again for our monthly concept post. Really sorry about that, but as I've said, the blog and logo tournaments come first because that's what most people seem to be interested in — though I recognize there's a core group here that just can't get enough concept art. This one's for you.

Today's theme deals with the future — our designers taking a stab in the dark at what could be. Bookmark this page. We'll see how close they get.

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Brian Brideau	First up, Brian sent in this concept based on a description I wrote of the Anaheim Ducks' new third jersey. Based on what I saw, it's pretty darn close. There are some minor dissimilarities, but for the most part, he's got it. This image I put together (right) is a better example of what I think the shoulder patch looks like. It was small in the image I saw so it's difficult to be sure. But it's the best we have to go on at the moment. The Ducks will sport their new alternate sweater for the first time on Nov. 26 against the Blackhawks. That's probably the first time we'll get to see it legitimately.
Jayde Garrow	The other day, the Hartford Wolf Pack announced Howard Baldwin is taking over business operations and his first act will be changing the team's name to the Connecticut Whale at midseason. So Jayde took a stab at a possible logo. Very nice tribute to the classic Hartford Whalers mark and very simple.
Stephen Griesmer	Yesterday, it was announced the newest ECHL team will be named the Chicago Express. Logos were unveiled but jerseys are still under wraps. Here's one idea from Stephen for home, road and alternate sweaters. The team doesn't begin play until the 2011-12 season.
Mike Wytrykus	The next two aren't really future jerseys — but I suppose they could be, right? Mike's rendition of a throwback-inspired Red Wings jersey is, well, inspired. This is one example of a jersey that in no way takes away from the team's long history. In fact, it plays it up. Count me a fan.
Sean Ryan Cooley	And lastly, Sean tried his hand a rebrand for the Panthers. As I told him, I feel like the colors don't work together that well, but I like the direction and the logo designs are solid. I think the Panthers have one of the best logos in hockey, but they're certainly working toward something simpler as evidence by last year's third jersey.

Until next time... (which I do hope to be sooner than a month from now.)