Baby Jets Will Enjoy "IceCaps"

It was possibly one of the worst-kept secrets in the hockey world, but the St. John's AHL franchise, formerly the Manitoba Moose, will now take to the ice as the St. John's IceCaps and will be the primary affiliate of the NHL's Winnipeg Jets.

"I am so pleased to present the St. John’s IceCaps and our new logo to fans, as we begin a new era of professional hockey in the province," Danny Williams, president and chief executive officer, announced today. "The IceCaps is a name that I am confident hockey fans will support as it captures both our rich hockey history with a reference to the Caps, while at the same time capturing a natural element that is iconic for the province, ice. We wanted to ensure that, although the team is based in our capital city, the province as a whole can identify with it and embrace it as their own."

The logo itself is indicative of the harsh climate that Newfoundland and Labrador are known for, and the name harkens back to the days of the senior hockey circuit where the St. John's Caps were one of the elite NAHA senior hockey teams in the 1960s. There are a number of good elements that the logo incorporates if you look closely.

"The beauty of the ice-capped mountains, the outline of Newfoundland and Labrador displayed prominently and the jagged look of the mountains themselves are all indicative of the robust nature of our province," Glenn Stanford, AHL Governor and Chief Operating Officer of the team, explained. "We also expect it to be a staple of our team: hard-working, tough and rock solid.

"It is critical to have a name and logo that fans at home can embrace and fans on the road will remember," Stanford continued. "This name and logo does both. The St. John's IceCaps will be a memorable and easily identifiable team in the league, and I am excited to start promoting it both here at home and abroad."

While some were quick to point out that Tim Hortons restaurants have a cool beverage known as an "iced capp", the team decided on this name for the AHL team amongst others such as "WhiteCaps" and "Regiment". So while there may be some jokes made about the popular frosty coffee beverage at Tim Hortons, Danny Williams is confident that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador will rally behind their new AHL team.

"The secret for us now is the same with any marketing brand — whether it's Apple or Nike with the swoosh — having a brand and having a logo, it's about what you wrap around it, it's about what you make people believe it is and what it stands for," he emphasized.

It seems that getting AHL hockey back is something about which the people of St. John's are already excited. The team has reportedly 4700 season tickets of the 6200 available seats in Mile One Arena. St. John's has always been a particularly strong AHL market as they had great crowds when the St. John's Maple Leafs called Newfoundland home. The team is guaranteeing that 85% of season tickets, or 5100 total, will be sold before the season starts on October 14, and I'd say they are definitely doing a good job in fulfilling that promise.

Personally, I don't see much an issue with this name. It rolls off the tongue very easily, and I like the logo. The colour scheme appears to be that same as the Winnipeg Jets' colour scheme, so expect some sort of light blue-dark blue combination for jerseys and breezers.

Overall, this logo works for me as a legitimate AHL logo. True North has done a good job in incorporating features of the civic entities and landmarks which makes it a solid design. Well done, TNSE, on coming up with a very appropriate St. John's logo!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!