Did Dallas Leak Their Own Logos?

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Screen shots from Zach Hutchison (via Stars iOS app)

Never-before-seen logos appear on Stars' mobile app

The Dallas Stars may have leaked their own logos tonight. Oops!

The logos aren't scheduled to be unveiled officially until June 4. But it appears the Stars themselves are responsible for an accidental leak, by way of the Wallpapers section of their own iOS mobile app. The images have since been removed, of course.

A user on the HFBoards web forum named "Zrhutch" posted what he says are screen shots from the app. Zrhutch is Zach Hutchison, who emailed me tonight to confirm he was among the first to spot and post these images. He made sure to grab them for us all to see.

Screen shots from Zach Hutchison (via Stars iOS app)

Now that you've seen them, what do you think? It's hard for me to doubt they're the real deal considering they showed up on the team's own mobile app. Are you surprised? Impressed or disappointed? Personally, I'm still formulating an opinion. Gut reaction is good though.

By the way, I would've had this news on the site sooner, but see there was this little breaking news event in my neck of the woods that kept me at work all night. (My contribution to our coverage tonight if you're interested.)

Hurricanes Ready for "New Storm"

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Carolina will unveil overhauled uniforms on June 4

The Carolina Hurricanes just officially joined this summer's new uniform fray — as reported in our NHL JerseyWatch series. The club confirmed today it will have completely new home and road uniforms next season and announced plans to slowly reveal teasers every morning over the next 10 days beginning tomorrow.

They did release this image this morning.

Hurricanes reveal first sneak peek at new uniforms (via Instagram)

Already I like it. If that's the new font and the collar is solid black, these are steps in the right direction.

Preview photos to be revealed every morning

Ten days. That gets us from now until Sat., June 1. Then the Hurricanes will unveil the whole kit at an event on Tues., June 4 at noon. Wait, that date sounds familiar, doesn't it? I seem to think there's something else going on in Dallas.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the Hurricanes are just trying to stress me out now. The Dallas Stars have already scheduled their logo/uniform unveiling for the evening of June 4 and I'll be on an airplane headed that way just as the Canes do their big reveal. If ever there was a reason to pull my hair out.

So while I'll be able to share one unveiling with you guys live, for the other, I'll have to be very late to the party. According to Carolina's Twitter feed, this scheduling is a "coincidence."

"New Storm" unveiling requires special invitation

In their press release, the Hurricanes said an invitation is required to attend the June 4 event at PNC Arena but that you can enter for a chance to win an invite.

They're referring to the redesigned uniforms as "New Storm" which is on the same level as "BlackArmor." Here's what they're saying about it right now:

This marks the first significant uniform alteration — from the home and road sweaters to the pants to the socks — in the team's 15-year North Carolina history. The team's primary logo and colors will remain intact. Beginning Friday, May 24, teaser swatches of the new uniforms will be posted each day. Follow the team on Instagram for a first look at each day's teaser image.

If you're not on Instagram, bookmark this page for the next 10 days to keep an eye on the updates. Of course I'll have them here on Icethetics as well.

New look questions answered via Twitter

Following this morning's announcement, the team took some time to answer fan questions on Twitter. I'll do a quick rundown of all the details of this unveiling, including those Twitter answers.

  • New uniforms will be unveiled on Tues., June 4 at 12pm ET. 
  • The logos will NOT change.
  • It's not just the sweaters. The whole uniform is changing — including socks and pants.
  • Teaser images will be posted to Instagram every morning at 10am leading up to the unveiling.
  • The jerseys will be available to purchase in September.
  • Sharing the June 4 date with Dallas is a "coincidence" and not the result of the NHL or Reebok meddling. 
  • Apparently, the new look is "a whole lot of awesome." 

Time for you to chime in. Are you excited about the Hurricanes' plans to overhaul their entire uniform?

Stars CEO Previews New Look

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Dallas announces official unveiling date of June 4

On Tuesday, the Dallas Stars publicly announced the date for their new uniform and logo unveiling. It's June 4. And as I said two weeks ago, I will be there. (And thank you to everyone who has donated a few bucks here and there to help me with the cost of the trip.)

In the press release, the Stars' CEO spilled a few details about the new look. All right, well not really.

The Dallas Stars announced today that the team will unveil its new uniform and logo on Tuesday, June 4th at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas at 6:00 p.m. Owner and Governor Tom Gaglardi, President and CEO Jim Lites, General Manager Jim Nill, Executive Advisor and Alternate Governor Mike Modano and Stars forward Jamie Benn will all be a part of the special event.

"Since Tom Gaglardi took over as owner, we have been working diligently on a rebrand that is classic, simple and true-to-hockey," said Lites. "This event will showcase the results of that process to our loyal fans and will also provide us with an opportunity to announce several new developments about the future of our franchise."

Aside from unveiling the new logo and uniform, the team will also address the current state of the franchise and will make a significant announcement regarding the 2013-14 season.

Classic, simple and true to hockey. Let's hope they live up to those words.

I'm excited about the trip. But more than that, I'm thrilled to bring some original reporting to Icethetics for a change. By the way, if you were thinking of making a donation, it's not too late to chip in. You have until June 2 — unless 100% of the costs are covered before then.

And once again I have to thank you guys for the incredible generosity!

Rivermen, Raiders Unveil New Logos

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Peoria's new SPHL team reveals logo, uniforms

On Saturday, the latest incarnation of the Peoria Rivermen franchise — now a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League — officially unveiled its logo and uniforms.

Peoria Rivermen new uniform designs (via Facebook)

I briefly went over the history of the Rivermen in Friday's post. The new look came just a day later via the club's new Facebook page, where they also posted the progression of Rivermen logos over the years.

Rivermen logo progression, 1984—present (via Facebook)

The branding efforts are an attempt to capture history and tradition of the Rivermen franchise which has existed in some form for nearly 30 years. That's quite a run. For a deeper look, I recommend this article from Dave Eminian of the Peoria Journal Star. The write-up mentions that the logo and uniforms were designed by Carie Hanawalt.

The old Rivermen franchise of the AHL was recently purchased by the Vancouver Canucks and will no longer play in Peoria. So there will be a new name and a new location for the team at some point but nothing has been announced yet.

WHL's Prince Albert Raiders start "green movement"

The other big logo unveiling last week happened in the Western Hockey League. The Prince Albert Raiders decided to highlight their green and introduce all new logos and uniforms.

New jerseys modeled at Raiders unveiling (via Facebook)

Take a good look at those jerseys. They're Reebok Edge, but a brand new template we've ever seen. Factor in the colors, and what are the odds we're looking at the next Dallas Stars uniform with a different logo on the front? It was an IceHL GM, Mike Kelly, who first mentioned this via Twitter. And I have to agree.

Then again, it would be surprising for a couple of reasons. First, if Reebok is going to go out of its way to generate an entirely new sweater template, why would they do it for a junior league team. It's more likely that it'd be for an NHL club — like Dallas. But then if all that is true, why allow the junior team to hold its unveiling first — three weeks before the NHL club?

It could be a simple solution, like maybe Reebok works up new templates every year — some of which may or may not end up in use in the NHL. It could just be a way of expanding their own product line. In any case, it's something worth talking about.

What's your take? Both on the Raiders' new look as well as the possibility that they're a preview of the Stars' redesign. And how about the new Rivermen?

May Minor League Report

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All this work on the IceHL's 13 Weeks of R&R project has kept from doing my real job on Icethetics — updating the blog with actual news. In other words, there's a lot to catch up on.

Hartford Wolf Pack officially return to AHL

Well that didn't take long. After playing parts of three seasons as the Connecticut Whale, the Hartford Wolf Pack identity has made a glorious comeback — thanks to their NHL parent club, the New York Rangers.

The Wolf Pack were established in 1997 when the Binghamton Rangers moved to Hartford. Then in 2010, Howard Baldwin happened. His effort to recapture Hartford Whalers failed miserably with the rebranding of the franchise as the Connecticut Whale.

Connecticut Whale, 2010—2013

We applauded the judicious use of green but not the name or the terrible logo. Within two years, Baldwin was gone — which probably says more about his management style than his taste in sports branding. But we're all grateful nonetheless that the Pack is back.

And not for nothing, but the New York Rangers' AHL affiliate is now operated by the parent company of the Philadelphia Flyers, is it not? Global Spectrum is running things these days and it would seem they have two masters. Interesting.

The Rivermen are dead, long live the Rivermen

Speaking of the AHL, some craziness took place on Monday. The Vancouver Canucks who recently acquired the Peoria Rivermen franchise from the St. Louis Blues, announced the team would not operate out of Illinois next season. They don't know where exactly yet. Just not Peoria.

So it seemed the end of a brand that has existed for nearly 30 years. But the Rivermen are plucky. They won't go quietly. After 12 years in the IHL between 1984 and 1996, the franchise transferred to the ECHL for about a decade. Then in 2005, they got the upgrade to the AHL. In 2013, they move down — way down — to the SPHL, that's the Southern Professional Hockey League. (It exists!)

The SPHL is home to teams like the equally plucky Columbus Cottonmouths and the Pensacola Ice Flyers. And now it's also home to...

Bloomington Blaze switch from CHL to SPHL

The Bloomington Blaze are jumping the sinking ship that is the Central Hockey League for the equally crummy SPHL. A lateral move at best. But one they apparently feel is necessary.

The Blaze were founded just two years ago after the folding of the IHL's Bloomington PrairieThunder. (All these minor leagues you've probably never heard of.) They begin play in their new league this fall.

Now that we're on the CHL, we might as well talk about their newest expansion team.

Brampton gets Beast to replace lost OHL team

Earlier this year when we learned the OHL's Brampton Battalion were moving to North Bay, Ontario, it seemed like the good people of Brampton would be without a team. But that's when the Central Hockey League jumped in, expanding into Canada for the first time.

On April 27, the Brampton Beast were revealed to the world. Along with a very vanilla CHL-like logo. I won't pass judgment too hard since somebody was obviously trying. (I just don't know what they were trying for.) In any case, the Beast begin play in the fall. Like Peoria, hockey fans of Brampton won't miss a beat.

For the record, the North Bay Battlion also begin play in the OHL this fall. They will keep the same logo they had in Brampton.