My Thoughts: April's Headlines

When I first started this blog I wanted to use it as a place to post my thoughts about various things to do with hockey logos and jersey, and not just as a place to post my concepts.  I haven't really been doing that yet, but I've decided to start.  This post will be my thoughts on some of the headlines this month.

The biggest story lately is the multiple outdoor games the NHL has reportedly planned for next year.  I'm actually a fan of this decision, it will give lots of fans the chance to experience an outdoor game.  Some people are saying that the novelty of an outdoor game will wear off, but personally the latest Winter Classic's haven't been that special to me, so I guess the novelty has already worn off for me.  The first two outdoor games were amazing, they used true throwback jerseys, were in cold places, and weren't in back to back years.  Since then the NHL has turned the games into a cash-grab, which is understandable, but in the process the games have become less special.  So I guess my opinion is that since the magic of the first two outdoor games are gone, the NHL should give as may teams as possible the chance to play outdoors, and make as much money as they can.

Earlier this week we found out that the Minnesota Wild were moving their AHL affiliate to Iowa and renaming them the Wild.  Like a lot of people, I hate the fact that they have the same name as their NHL franchise.  It seems so lazy, and it makes the AHL seem so minor league (I know they are a minor league) that some of their teams are copies of NHL teams.  I don't mind AHL teams using the same colour scheme as their NHL partner, or getting branded similar (like the Flames and Heat), but they should have a different name.  They also should be able to come up with their own logos and jersey.  This whole situation with the Iowa Wild just seems lazy and rushed.

In better AHL new, it looks like the Connecticut Whale will go back to their old Hartford Wolf Pack name.  Which is great because the whole Whale brand was terrible.  Their logo sucked, their jerseys sucked, and they were trying to ride on the coattails of one the best looks in NHL history (the Hartford Whalers).  The Wolf Pack on the other hand have a unique identity, a cool history behind their name, and they still had some ties to their parent club.  Hopefully they'll look as good next year as they did before they were rebranded in 2010.

Finally in some local (to me) news, the Abbotsford Heat are staying in Abbotsford for at least one more season.  Obviously most people around here were hoping for the Canucks AHL affiliate to move to Abbotsford, but the Calgary Flames really have no reason to move the Heat.  Abbotsford is relatively close to Calgary compared to other AHL franchises, and the City of Abbotsford signed a deal (when the heat first moved here) which will cover any financial losses of the Heat.  The City of Abbotsford should never have agreed to that deal, but they did, and that is why the Canucks farm team won't be moving here next year.


Those are my thoughts on this month's top hockey logo/uniform stories.  Feel free to comment if you agree or disagree with me.  Thanks for visiting.