Week 5: Final Name & Color Voting
Last night, the previous round of naming polls closed as 13 Weeks of R&R continues. Now we just have to make final decisions on the Dallas and Halifax franchises with a couple of run-off polls.
You have until Thursday night to make your voice heard on these options. Happy voting!
Choose ONE name per team.
Original team name in ALL CAPS where available.
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Again, poll results are not visible after you vote. The winning names will be revealed on Friday morning. (This post will be updated later with Color Voting polls and details.)
Chris
The other part of this week's voting deals with color schemes. In past IceHL design contests, color decisions have been left up the logo designers. Unfortunately, that's resulted in quite a lot of blue and not enough overall variation.
While I don't want to take any creative decisions completely out of the hands of the artists, I will try to avoid too many overlapping colors. So in the polls below, we'll be recommending color palettes. Note that it's just a recommendation. The artists might be wise to follow it, but they won't be tied to it if they have a better idea.
Here are out current color palettes for the IceHL teams that aren't changing this year:
And these are the color options we'll be voting on.
There are 21 options but only 11 color schemes need to be chosen. Happy voting!
Choose up to TWO color palettes per team.
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This weekend, we pass it off to the designers! Can't wait to see what they come up with.
Reader Comments (43)
Neither for Halifax. "Atlantics" is honestly a pretty dumb name and "Acadians" doesn't apply because Halifax doesn't have a big Acadian history.
Privateers would be a very fitting name for a Halifax team.
What Robb said is perfect.
Although I thought Arsenal would've been great to transition over.
I was pulling for Halifax Arsenal which was a good name, but in these two remaining choices gotta go with Atlantics. A seaman or longshoreman logo would work nicely with that name. Sorry to whoever picked it, but Halifax Acadians is a nonsensical name because Halifax was established by the British to thwart the French (Acadians) in the region. In the end, Halifax's success led to the expulsion of the Acadian francophiles who landed as refugees in Louisiana and Quebec.
SO GLAD to see the SteelCats name remain. I was worried that we'd a) lose our team to Toronto, or b) get stuck with a really bad name. I'm glad we got to keep the SteelCats in Hamilton.
Is there any chance we might see merchandise other than jerseys? I wouldn't mind seeing just a t-shirt available for each team. It would allow GMs and fans to show their team pride, and would give the IceHL some extra notice, as people would ask about the shirts.
@Glen Cuthbert. Also, they would be cheaper if you didnt want to spend a full $100, but still wanted to support the IceHL
Halifax Arsenal would work better because there is a major Canadian air force base in Nova Scotia by Halifax. Canadian Forces Base Greenwood is in Kingson NS about a half hour from Halifax
I think that The Chargers should really go with a different color pallet than black red and grey, they aren't the motorheads anymore and blue black and red isn't a very "electric" or "charged" color palette. Oh well just my opinion.
How come the Minnesota Mammoths are not being rebranded? They were voted 45% for major changes.
I'm satisfied with most of the results of the team names. However, I don't like either finalist name options for the Halifax franchise. I was rather quite disappointed that there was a lack of quality name choices in last weeks naming polls, which made me vote for the current names instead. I was really hoping to see major changes with this rebranding project, as I'm sure many were as well. I will be looking forward to seeing what all the great artists out there can design for these teams.
It's a shame that Option #27 was proposed for (IMO) the wrong teams. It was on the poll with Dallas, Montreal, and Vancouver, three teams whose names don't lend themselves well to that palette, and yet for Halifax, where it felt quite natural (and better to me than any of the four Halifax choices) it was absent. I get neither an "Acadian" nor "Atlantic" feel from any of those four choices, but #27 would have gone quite nicely. Not much I can do, though.
On colors, I counted up the primary jersey colors, and after doing so... I believe the IceHL could definitely use a lot less navy blue.
Navy Blue: 15
Black: 4
Green: 4
Red: 2
Gray: 1
Teal Green: 1
Light Blue: 1
Violet/Purple: 1
Maroon: 1
Brown: 1
Blue: 1
Missing:
Orange
Yellow/Gold
Dark Green
Dark Violet/Purple
Need more, I think:
Red
Blue (Royal, not Navy)
Need less:
Navy Blue (looking at you Boston, Calgary, Montreal, Washington)
On the comments re: the Halifax names, I'm actually with you guys. I'm contemplating a vote on whether to start over with this team. Very disappointed how it's turned out so far.
Glen Cuthbert: Yes, there is some potential for future IceHL merchandise. I'll talk about that more later in the summer.
Matt McElroy: The good news is that these color palettes will only be recommendations. Designers will be able to use their best judgment. (Though I will discourage anymore navy blue. Enough is enough, right?)
Jacobs.S: As discussed earlier, the Mammoths were saved from rebranding by their 2013 IceHL EAST championship victory.
Dilbert719: You make a good point, and it's worth mentioning because I will encourage designers not just to look at the poll results but these comments as well. As I've said, these are just recommendations so if they see another color palette might work better, they'll be free to go in that direction.
March: I did some counting myself when coming up with the new color palettes. Didn't think to post it. Thanks for your post!
Let' s go 213!!! We really don' t need five team colors. Heck, we should go the Red Wings and Maple Leafs route and have teams with only one color. Green and white? Purple and white? Just don't go Brooklyn Nets and have black and white (or...let's do it)
Philadelphia Patriots has to end up as option 601 (red, white, and blue). It makes the most sense with that name.
Wow! What fun. I found the IceHL after the league had been formed. Chris, this site is really cool. Despite your critics, keep up the great work. I am really looking forward to the rebrand, whatever way the names and colors go!
Colonials- keep it
Stallions- keep it plus the logo
Outlaws- Black, Forest green, Neon green
Chargers- Columbia blue, Orange, Black, Silver
Halifax SHAMROCKS- Kelly green, Silver, Athletic gold (if we need a new name, dont know how we didnt think of this before)
Steelcats- keep it
Olympiques- keep it
Patriots- Teal, Purple, Black, Orange
Sharpshooters- Yellow, Black
Lumberjacks- Maroon, Black, Vegas Gold
Sentinels- keep it
@Chris are you talking about starting over with the relocation or just the name? Because personally I think our city has loads of potential for a great name, but like you said the choices have been dissapointing so far.
Option 213 for Hamilton!!
I'd like to see some simple color schemes like Simon mentioned. There is really not enough of that. Purple and white would look great, for one. Also, some of these color combinations are just weird. #903? What is that? No surprise it is dead last in all the polls it is in.
Also IceHL t-shirts would be cool.
@Chris
I think a majority of us would back a restart on the Halifax rebranding. Probably half of everyone voted to keep the existing name from Atlanta (because the alternatives weren't great) and then the other half split between Acadians/Atlantics.
Seems ARSENAL would beat the other two names in a true 3-way poll, but there were many other suggestions made that didn't get an opportunity to be voted on:
HALIFAX (ICE)BREAKERS
HALIFAX COASTERS
HALIFAX DESTROYERS
HALIFAX HARBOURMEN
HALIFAX KINGFISHERS
HALIFAX VOYAGERS
With that said maybe Halifax Arsenal is just the best fit for the city and its background. Since Acadians and Atlantics aren't that similar I think a vote for one of them is not a vote for both and neither beats Arsenal head-to-head. Maybe I'm off base here though so I'd love to get your insight.
Boston's colors should be Red/White/Black. That's what the revolutionaries wore during the American Revolution because it was the three colors of the nations fighting against England. England was Red, France was White, and Spain was Black. The colonists were English, hence England vs. England, and france and Spain assisted the colonists during the war.
I'd definitely be up for re-voting Halifax and also Vancouver. Lumberjacks is truly terrible and should not even be an option going forward. So bad..
bring on the t-shirts. as for disappointing outcomes, i really hoped the lumberjacks name would vanish.
I really hope designers don't stick to Palette #365 for both Detroit and Calgary...
Personally, I think Chris should get final say on some things, as creator, Commissioner and Emperor for Life of icethetics and the IceHL, sometimes you deserve to just get what you want.
As far as Halifax and to some extent Vancouver, I think you should just tell people what the changes are. I'm all for democracy, but as we can see, in some cases the masses are wrong/ill-informed/downright stupid. Based on the voting all the teams would be illiterative and have red/black/grey in some shape or form.
Chris, exercise your power, and then let the votes sort the details.
My $.02
I don't think the Lumberjacks is THAT bad of a name...I just think a new logo is needed. I LOVED one of the logo finalists they had which was basically a green, wood and silver scheme with a "Lumber Jacks" script...
As for Halifax, the Acadians could open up plenty of possibilities. Imagine a crowd shouting "LET'S GO CADES!" innundating the MetroCentre...
I like Halifax Voyagers or Privateers but I really like the name Explosion I just don't know if it would be insensitive to people feelings. It's been a long time if it is to insensitive for Halifax, I do really like the name for any sports franchise in any city.
Here in Florida there is a high school with teams named the Dreadnoughts, I think that would be a cool name for Halifax's team considering the importance of Halifax in both world wars(It was the marshaling point for convoys headed to Europe)
Halifax Pirates or Fleet or Highlanders
I would like Caps and shirts I would buy a bunch and were them to school
Mr. Chargers GM, I like the way you think!
@Chris - If you're considering pulling the veto card like DetChrgrsIceHL suggested, you should just go ahead and name the Halifax team the Highlanders. That name has received more nominations from the IceThetics community than any other proposed name for Halifax. That'd be my top name preference. It sounds good as well as it makes sense for that city.
As for Vancouver, Voyagers or Wolverines would be my top preferences.
Chris,
Speaking as someone living in the Vancouver area, please if you choose to flex your Commissioner powers, please opt to push change on the Vancouver franchise.
As long as the Giants maintain their current identity, even with a redesign and new palette, there will be ties if the Lumberjack moniker remains.
You live in the Pacific NorthWest, so you know there is more in the identity of this region let alone the City of Vancouver and the associated Lower Mainland community, and that the IceHL can do better than this.
If I can make a proposal for the Halifax situation that could be applied to Vancouver as well. From your (and the GM's) knowledge of the IceHL followers, select a small committee (6-12) of people who live or have an association with these cities, to each provide one or two thought out options that can be voted on by said committees. Of course you and the affected GM would/should have final say on the committees selection. But hey.. that's just my nickel. (i'd had given only my 2 cents, but the Canadian Mint took that option away from us :P )
Don't lose site of the fact that the democratic process Chris has championed has been responsible for more good than bad in this IceHL experiment, but also yeah a good dose of leadership is in order like with forcing the two teams in Texas to diverge color schemes or breaking up two teams in Saskatchewan. Some of these situations just happen without foresight and require the commish's executive authority to fix.
I see a difference in the situations of Halifax/Philadelphia vs. Vancouver. I don't have a problem with the LUMBERJACKS because its a unique name (both within the league and from the NHL) and everyone has had years to form an opinion on it, suggest better names, and vote on it. The problem with the franchise isn't the name its the Canucks color palette and thats what we mostly want to see changed.
With Halifax and Philadelphia recently being voted in via relocation everyone hasn't had the same time and opportunity to evaluate the identites of these teams. It's tough to think up a winning identity for a new city in a couple of days and thats why everyone was disappointed during the voting process and alternative suggestions keep coming in.
Halifax should remain the Arsenal, with its war history and still holding a major Canadian Army base in the vicinity , The Arsenal is in my opinion the best name that you can use. Just because a team moves doesn't mean it should lose all of its former identity. Worked for the Calgary flames, the St Louis Rams, and the Brooklyn Nets.
Hamilton the name Steelcats go with the city but the colors can use a upgrade.... and that has to be black and yellow (gold). The NHA/NHL Tigers were Black and yellow, The CFL Ti-cats are black and yellow and the old AHL Hamilton Canucks wore the black and yellow.
CHRIS ROSINSKI:
I have no desire to greatly change or impact the democratic basis that has, agreeably been both good and bad, for the IceHL. Nor would I wish to be seen as some punk who has just shown up (while i have followed for a while i have only recently chosen to start posting) expecting special treatment. I simply see something that I feel could improve the league so i have commented on it, and when Chris expressed a possibility of making a change, I proposed one way that could be done while maintaining a certain democratic level.
Note that the Lumberjack issue goes beyond just the Canucks colors. There are two teams of note in Vancouver, The Canucks are obvious but the WHL Vancouver Giants are also quite well known and followed in this area, and have produced players like Milan Lucic, Andrew Ladd, Evander Kane, Michal Repik, Mark Fistric and others currently in the NHL. Heck they even play in the Canuck old home, the Pacific Coliseum. http://www.vancouvergiants.com/
The Lumberjack logo itself is a stylized variation on the Giants logo, and their mascot Jack is a lumberjack on skates. As far as the basis of the Lumberjacks, it is a decent name with a number of possibilities that could work in a few markets, and while I understand that a Junior Team may not be as large a consideration for not using them, the fact that the Giants exist, and their whole design aesthetic is based on a lumberjack , makes the usage as a name and design in the IceHL for the Vancouver franchise to diminish the "reality" that is being attempted for this league. That is (in my opinion) why the Lumberjacks should be changed.
I'm seeing a lot of people being vocal about not liking the Halifax names, but I think things worked out okay for them. I like the Atlantics name and I don't mind the Acadians name. They're unique and flexible to interpretation. In my opinion they're a lot better than the generic names some teams came out of the rebrands with (NFL names), or almost came out of this with (FREEDOM. UGH.)
@Rob
I didn't see your last post since we posted about the same time so mine was not directed at you at all, but to a couple others particularly. Sorry that it appeared that way as I've read many posts of yours and respect your input. Probably one of the people who prompted me to start investing the time to participate in this grand scheme instead of being "too busy."
I understand the discomfort with the Lumberjacks logo as well being too close to VAN Giants. I left that out, but agree that the colors and logo each suffer from their own similarity problem. It is possible to have a different name for the jacks and still end up with a logo based off the city's initial or a guy with a hockey stick. With that in mind, it seems like a design issue more than a name issue, but what you said in the last paragraph paints a fair case for ditching the name as well. I can see some pluses to your committee idea to get more input from locals. The short nomination periods didn't do justice for cities like Halifax as I can't imagine many Haligonians endorsing Acadians (and is anyone really psyched about Atlantics...). As a Van City native what names do you like better for the jacks?
@BryanDyck
I also feel the same in that do we always have to rename a team when it relocates? There is something to be said about carrying on some tradition especially when the name works. Basketball leans heavily towards the continuation side for better and for really bad, but hockey almost always wants to erase the former identity of a relocated franchise.
Oh, I just thought of a cool concept for Halifax if, Chris, you decide to put the Acadians/Atlantics poll out of its misery.
The HALIFAX SEA DRAGONS or more simply HALIFAX DRAGONS because early explorers and settlers of the New World really believed in sea monsters and claimed many sightings in the North Atlantic.
Thanks Chris R.
Back during the submission phase I put in:
~Beach Combers. After a classic Canadian TV show filmed in the area just north of the city, would allow the team to be shorted down to Vancouver BC.
~Exposition. Vancouver has hosted a number of large events, while the 2010 Winter Games were the most recent, The World Expo in 1986 was a huge event that help shape many ways the city has evoled since the early 80's.
~Salmon. An animal that is actually seen in this region, unlike many of the animal name submissions.
~Longboats. A native boat more common to local tribes than canoes
~Terminal. Vancouver has long been referred to as Terminal City. Based on being the end of the rail lines
~SnowSurfers. A common positive phase in these parts is that the mountains and water are so close you can ski in the morning and surf later the same day.
I also added Film Crew from someone elses submission of 'Film'
I'm not about to say any of these would be better, they just happened to be ones I considered during the process. However I would love to see what the artists could do with SnowSurfers and Film Crew.
Beach Combers would be awesome. I just want to be Relic. You know you're Canadian, and old when...
I think it should just be Halifax Armada. It had a great sound to it from the start
Hi Chris,
Just go with Halifax H.C. and let the designers come up with a theme.
"Halifax" is one of those cool city names that sound great on its own (I'd include "Brooklyn" in that bracket).
Go Hals Go!
Keep up the great work. I really enjoy the site.
Rob in Cascadia:
Vancouver Laughing Men (you know why)
I like the name Acadians and its potential. What if we changed it to the Nova Scotia Acadians and base the team in Halifax still?? I think that would be really cool and although Halifax doesn't have that much of an Acadian history, the whole province of Nova Scotia does.