Not Those Islanders

I was doing a search for something on the New York Islanders tonight, and I came across this logo. This looks like it might be for a beer league or amateur team, but this was an actual professional hockey logo for two nights in 2014. It's pretty clear that the logo is based on that of the New York Islanders, so who would have worn this logo six years ago? We'll have to jump to the ECHL for this story, but the Rough & Ready Islanders played two games in place of the Stockton Thunder in February 2014, and they looked an awful lot like the New York Islanders in doing so. So what's the story with this logo? Let's find out.

Back in 2014, the ECHL began holding Hockey Heritage Weekend where two teams would meet in an ECHL to celebrate the history of the teams and their affiliates along with the official induction ceremony for the seventh class of the ECHL Hall of Fame. Alaska was chosen as the host for the 2014 weekend after winning the Brabham Cup as top team in the ECHL regular season from 2011-2013, becoming the first team in the ECHL's 25-year history to three-peat as the best team.

The Stockton Thunder were named as the Aces' opponents for the February 7 and 8 games in Alaska at Sullivan Arena, and the ECHL added that the teams would "wear unique jerseys celebrating their affiliations during the two games". Alaska, in 2014, was affiliated with the NHL's Calgary Flames and AHL's Abbotsford Heat while the Stockton Thunder were affiliated with the NHL's New York Islanders and the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Things are starting to make a little more sense, but "Rough & Ready Islanders"? Where did that name come from and why are the Thunder wearing it when they already have a name?

According to this article, it was the brainchild of Stockton Thunder President Brain Sandy.

"The first time I visited Stockton, I was greeted by the sign, 'Port of Stockton - Rough & Ready Island' which intrigued me," explains Team President Brian Sandy. "When I learned that we were selected to be a part of the Heritage Games, I thought of how great it would be to become the Rough & Ready Islanders, as that name pays tribute not only to the history and importance of Stockton, California, but also the importance of our NHL Affiliate, the New York Islanders."

There you have it, folks. The Rough & Ready Islanders might be the first and last team name with an ampersand in it, but the Thunder did play in two games that weekend plus one more in 2014 as the Rough & Ready Islanders!

You might be asking what the uniforms looked like for both the Alaska Aces and the Stockton Thunder Rough & Ready Islanders on that historic February weekend. Here they are in their full glories, and I have to say they stayed pretty true to the NHL affiliates!

I like how Alaska used the flames on the left side of the polar bear logo in the same way that the Calgary Flames use on their logo. The Aces wore uniforms similar to what the Flames wore in 1988 when they won their Stanley Cup, and they get the details right on the colours and striping. You could easily swap "McKelvie" for "McInnis" and not even notice a difference!

The same thing holds true for the Rough & Ready Islanders as they have the exact details of the New York Islanders' jerseys on their uniforms. The font and three-coloured numbers are a perfect match to the Islanders' font, and the striping is perfect. While I'm less of a fan of the "Stockton" in block letters on the hem of the jersey, I can understand why they put it there when people ask "who are the Rough & Ready Islanders?"

If you're wondering, the games were decided in favour of the Alaska Aces as they won the Friday, February 7, 2014 game by a 4-2 score where Alaska's Nick Mazzolini scored the game-winning goal at 6:44 of the second period, and Saturday, February 8, 2014 game also went Alaska's way by a 5-2 count after Alaska jumped ahead 3-1 in the first period and never looked back. Stockton was 0-2 in these uniforms until March 22, 2014 when Stockton exacted a little revenge with a 5-4 overtime win at home over Alaska where Lee Baldwin scored the OT winner at 2:46 of the extra frame! At the end of the season, the Rough & Ready Islanders were officially 1-2 on the ECHL season!

If you see this logo, you now know the story behind it! Admittedly, it caught me off-guard when I saw it, but I'm glad I went down this rabbit hole to find out a pretty cool story about a logo that I almost dismissed as a goofy knock-off logo!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!