I know little about these teams individually and was more interested in the design concepts of each and how they executed their logos. There's nothing against anyone or any team directly.
Atlanta Infernos: This logo reminds me of when my friend had me guess all of the NHL logos without context where I guessed the Calgary Flames as the Calgary Inferno. I think this is a phenomenal logo with a clear and unique design that can be clearly seen at any size.
Baltimore Platoon: You can barely get more patriotic for the birthplace of America’s national anthem. This is a clean and concise logo that would feel at home under any American sports team. My only qualms is that the blue and red are too dark and it may server to make one lighter to show a better separation of the logo’s shape.
Buffalo Stampede: This logo almost looks at home on some commemorative coins at one of the Stampede’s home games. While I don’t personally like the colour combination, analogous colours can often work together coherently like in this logo. I almost wish to see something more unique in the font style of the logo though.
Calgary Dragons: Calgary’s (Dungeons &) Dragons logo is distinct for sure and I adore how it looks. It’s the only logo that has a foreboding stance within its own logo and commands power. Colours used don’t matter as the focus is more on what the logo represents. I feel this logo has one weakness though, and it comes from recognizability on a small scale. I can recognize it, but only because of the sweeping wing on the side as the details of the logo are quickly muddled into a silhouette.
Chigaco Syndicate: I love this logo, but I also have a weak spot for stark contrast in images. Like the STL Scarecrow logo in the SMJHL, the Syndicate logo truly does use shadows and distinct visuals to its advantage. It doesn’t get caught up in the eyes, and is clearly the Syndicate logo when the logo is small. The diamond behind is what I’m mainly confused about. It works to frame the logo, but almost doesn’t match what it’s attached to.
Edmonton Blizzard: I had to stare at this bad boy for a few hours because HFFO decided he wanted a sig. I honestly adore this logo, and the blizzard representation on the name and the use of an arctic fox helps to represent a concept that’s difficult to display on its own in a logo (The blizzard). This is a bit biased due to my love of foxes though. There is one main concern that comes up with this logo for me. The Blizzard and Steelhawks logo feel the same from a design perspective. Fierce looking animals looking to the right with similar style and everything.
Hamilton Steelhawks: The Steelhawks have a decent logo that represents the team well, from the unpolished steel look, to how it frames itself with the small crest. Past that, it does feel almost generic like if you were to look up a stock image of a hockey logo design. It lacks personality. That is more personal belief though, since I adore more flamboyant designs anyways.
Los Angeles Panthers: You always need accurate skylines if you incorporate them into a logo, which this logo does. It’s a good integration of where the team is located without simply writing like other logos tend to do. Past that, this logo really does represent the team name, and the eye representation from the star is incredibly creative. The spotlights feel out of place though, and feels out of place within the design.
Manhattan Rage: This logo is definitely unmistakable at any size. When it’s small, the contrasted black shadow and white outline will define the shape. When the logo is larger, it’s a clear concept of a bull with the unintrusive Empire State integration at the bottom. The lighter shadows are cleverly placed to create definition in the piece that doesn’t feel intrusive to me.
Minnesota Monarchs: Looking at this logo, we have a crown, stylistic M that represents a butterfly, and a crest/shield. From what I’ve pieced together, this represents a caricature of a Monarch butterfly, but it doesn’t do this well. The colours don’t match a monarch butterfly, and put off an Irish vibe more. It took a bit too long to make the monarch-butterfly association without knowing context. It’s a creative concept, but to better represent a monarch butterfly, the Minnesota/Monarch M, and more, colour changes and logo redesign could help round out the logo more.
New England Wolfpack: This logo is really fun. The wolf biting on the hockey stick is like someone was “fed to the wolves”. It gives an otherwise simple logo some genuine personality. I wish there was more integration of the secondary logo colour across the logo though.
Montreal Patriotes: The fleur-de-lys and maple leaf do an effective job at telling the viewer this team is from Quebec at the very least. It’s difficult to represent a human concept like “patriots” in a logo so a human head does well to tie it further that it’s an abstract concept at least. This isn’t a personal favourite logo of mine, but it’s generally okay.
New Orleans Specters: I have no context to this logo or its team, but from a design perspective, the neon style is creative and something I didn’t expect to see. This logo does lose its distinctiveness when small, looking like “clubs” from a deck of cards instead.
Philadelphia Forge: I adore this design. The perspective shift implies that we’re looking at a shield and hammer laid down on a table, but the integration of the P in the hammer is well done, and it’s hard to ignore this design for sure. The P is also distinctive enough that if this logo had to be shrank down, it’s still front and center.
Seattle Argonauts: Ah, a reference to the Argonautica epic. I adore this logo in concept, and mostly in execution. The “Argonauts” name stays clearly visible when small, and the fantastical ship logo is mostly well executed. I do dislike how detailed the waves are compared to the rest of the logo though, and feel the shading shouldn’t have been as detailed.
San Fransisco Pride: This logo legitimately reminds me of my high school mascot. This logo is distinctive, relies on the team colours to pull the weight on details, and doesn’t rely on detail to flesh out the logo’s concept. Once again decently representing an abstract concept, the lion ties to the team’s name “Pride” pretty well.
Tampa Bay Barracuda: If my colourblind eyes aren’t lying to me, this is a rather monotone logo. That isn’t inherently bad as long as the design focuses on style and contrast, which I don’t feel this logo does. It’s text design echoes other logos, and is pretty simple. There’s nothing wrong with that, and this logo is decent. The tilted triangle helps keep this logo recognisable when reduced in size even. I just feel it could have more.
Texas Renegades: What this logo lacks in colour makes up for in contrast. It’s clear this logo is of a hockey team, and doesn’t shy away from prominently displaying Texas across the top. I feel this logo has too much grey, but overall like it.
Toranto North Stars: This logo does so much well. It doesn’t need to tell the viewer where it’s from as one of the most dominant buildings in Toronto’s skyline is in full display. The negative space of a star is glorious as well, and the compass frame scratches all the right spots for me. I feel this logo is incredibly well done.
Winnipeg Aurora: Okay, I like space a bit too much. This logo does little to say it’s from Winnipeg directly, and the aurora that the team is named feels like an afterthought for the logo in place of the polar bear/constellation. From a strictly design perspective, I adore this but feel tweaks can be done to represent the team.
Revontulete
Atlanta Infernos: This logo reminds me of when my friend had me guess all of the NHL logos without context where I guessed the Calgary Flames as the Calgary Inferno. I think this is a phenomenal logo with a clear and unique design that can be clearly seen at any size.
Baltimore Platoon: You can barely get more patriotic for the birthplace of America’s national anthem. This is a clean and concise logo that would feel at home under any American sports team. My only qualms is that the blue and red are too dark and it may server to make one lighter to show a better separation of the logo’s shape.
Buffalo Stampede: This logo almost looks at home on some commemorative coins at one of the Stampede’s home games. While I don’t personally like the colour combination, analogous colours can often work together coherently like in this logo. I almost wish to see something more unique in the font style of the logo though.
Calgary Dragons: Calgary’s (Dungeons &) Dragons logo is distinct for sure and I adore how it looks. It’s the only logo that has a foreboding stance within its own logo and commands power. Colours used don’t matter as the focus is more on what the logo represents. I feel this logo has one weakness though, and it comes from recognizability on a small scale. I can recognize it, but only because of the sweeping wing on the side as the details of the logo are quickly muddled into a silhouette.
Chigaco Syndicate: I love this logo, but I also have a weak spot for stark contrast in images. Like the STL Scarecrow logo in the SMJHL, the Syndicate logo truly does use shadows and distinct visuals to its advantage. It doesn’t get caught up in the eyes, and is clearly the Syndicate logo when the logo is small. The diamond behind is what I’m mainly confused about. It works to frame the logo, but almost doesn’t match what it’s attached to.
Edmonton Blizzard: I had to stare at this bad boy for a few hours because HFFO decided he wanted a sig. I honestly adore this logo, and the blizzard representation on the name and the use of an arctic fox helps to represent a concept that’s difficult to display on its own in a logo (The blizzard). This is a bit biased due to my love of foxes though. There is one main concern that comes up with this logo for me. The Blizzard and Steelhawks logo feel the same from a design perspective. Fierce looking animals looking to the right with similar style and everything.
Hamilton Steelhawks: The Steelhawks have a decent logo that represents the team well, from the unpolished steel look, to how it frames itself with the small crest. Past that, it does feel almost generic like if you were to look up a stock image of a hockey logo design. It lacks personality. That is more personal belief though, since I adore more flamboyant designs anyways.
Los Angeles Panthers: You always need accurate skylines if you incorporate them into a logo, which this logo does. It’s a good integration of where the team is located without simply writing like other logos tend to do. Past that, this logo really does represent the team name, and the eye representation from the star is incredibly creative. The spotlights feel out of place though, and feels out of place within the design.
Manhattan Rage: This logo is definitely unmistakable at any size. When it’s small, the contrasted black shadow and white outline will define the shape. When the logo is larger, it’s a clear concept of a bull with the unintrusive Empire State integration at the bottom. The lighter shadows are cleverly placed to create definition in the piece that doesn’t feel intrusive to me.
Minnesota Monarchs: Looking at this logo, we have a crown, stylistic M that represents a butterfly, and a crest/shield. From what I’ve pieced together, this represents a caricature of a Monarch butterfly, but it doesn’t do this well. The colours don’t match a monarch butterfly, and put off an Irish vibe more. It took a bit too long to make the monarch-butterfly association without knowing context. It’s a creative concept, but to better represent a monarch butterfly, the Minnesota/Monarch M, and more, colour changes and logo redesign could help round out the logo more.
New England Wolfpack: This logo is really fun. The wolf biting on the hockey stick is like someone was “fed to the wolves”. It gives an otherwise simple logo some genuine personality. I wish there was more integration of the secondary logo colour across the logo though.
Montreal Patriotes: The fleur-de-lys and maple leaf do an effective job at telling the viewer this team is from Quebec at the very least. It’s difficult to represent a human concept like “patriots” in a logo so a human head does well to tie it further that it’s an abstract concept at least. This isn’t a personal favourite logo of mine, but it’s generally okay.
New Orleans Specters: I have no context to this logo or its team, but from a design perspective, the neon style is creative and something I didn’t expect to see. This logo does lose its distinctiveness when small, looking like “clubs” from a deck of cards instead.
Philadelphia Forge: I adore this design. The perspective shift implies that we’re looking at a shield and hammer laid down on a table, but the integration of the P in the hammer is well done, and it’s hard to ignore this design for sure. The P is also distinctive enough that if this logo had to be shrank down, it’s still front and center.
Seattle Argonauts: Ah, a reference to the Argonautica epic. I adore this logo in concept, and mostly in execution. The “Argonauts” name stays clearly visible when small, and the fantastical ship logo is mostly well executed. I do dislike how detailed the waves are compared to the rest of the logo though, and feel the shading shouldn’t have been as detailed.
San Fransisco Pride: This logo legitimately reminds me of my high school mascot. This logo is distinctive, relies on the team colours to pull the weight on details, and doesn’t rely on detail to flesh out the logo’s concept. Once again decently representing an abstract concept, the lion ties to the team’s name “Pride” pretty well.
Tampa Bay Barracuda: If my colourblind eyes aren’t lying to me, this is a rather monotone logo. That isn’t inherently bad as long as the design focuses on style and contrast, which I don’t feel this logo does. It’s text design echoes other logos, and is pretty simple. There’s nothing wrong with that, and this logo is decent. The tilted triangle helps keep this logo recognisable when reduced in size even. I just feel it could have more.
Texas Renegades: What this logo lacks in colour makes up for in contrast. It’s clear this logo is of a hockey team, and doesn’t shy away from prominently displaying Texas across the top. I feel this logo has too much grey, but overall like it.
Toranto North Stars: This logo does so much well. It doesn’t need to tell the viewer where it’s from as one of the most dominant buildings in Toronto’s skyline is in full display. The negative space of a star is glorious as well, and the compass frame scratches all the right spots for me. I feel this logo is incredibly well done.
Winnipeg Aurora: Okay, I like space a bit too much. This logo does little to say it’s from Winnipeg directly, and the aurora that the team is named feels like an afterthought for the logo in place of the polar bear/constellation. From a strictly design perspective, I adore this but feel tweaks can be done to represent the team.
![[Image: CptSquall.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/CptSquall.gif)
