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***39alaska39*** · 01-07-2019, 07:13 PM

Since all media in the SHL is cyclical, whether we are copying each other’s ideas, writing about what our player thinks, or yet another press conference, I’m going to straight up give credit (for the idea, do not pay him) to @majesiu for this article’s idea as well as the quite large graphic at the start. When he wrote his article about the SHL’s possible expansion destinations given the upcoming expansion there, I decided to take a look at the potential options around the United States and Canada that could support an SMJHL team if the expansion there becomes permanent. Obviously this is operating on the belief that if expansion in the SMJHL became permanent that HO would entertain actual bids for the new teams rather than just keeping Lethbridge and Anaheim as the new teams for the league.

One of the things I love about minor league hockey is the fact that it generally works in cities and towns that wouldn’t be able to support a full NHL (or in this case SHL) organization. When I was growing up in the variety of places I did, I was able to experience that first hand in Anchorage, Alaska with the Aces of the ECHL, in Odessa, Texas with the Jackalopes of the NAHL, San Angelo, Texas with the Saints of the CHL, and even in Memphis, Tennessee with the Mississippi RiverKings of the CHL/SPHL. When you look at the locations represented in the USHL, NAHL, WHL, OHL, QMJHL, CHL and other leagues, majority of them are smaller towns and locales, or even smaller big cities. With this ability to bring hockey to places outside of the locations with NHL hockey teams, these different leagues are able spread the game of hockey to those less common places and grow the game on a whole. As such, unlike how Maj put together a list that was mostly large markets without an organization, we’re going to be taking a look at smaller markets that could be a good location for a team.
First things first, here’s the map with the locations of all the current SMJHL and SHL teams minus Lethbridge and Anaheim.

[Image: J9Nu210.png]

Obviously there are some pretty substantial gaps where there aren’t any teams at all, so we’re going to start with those options.

The Fill in the Gaps

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Cedar Rapids finds itself located about halfway between St. Louis and Minneapolis-St. Paul which means that it is about halfway between an SHL franchise in the Chiefs and an SMJHL franchise in the Scarecrows. It fits nicely in what is a plains state gap that should see high attendance given the fact that there is nothing else to do in Iowa rather than go to sporting events. There is currently an USHL team there in the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, which further speaks to the viability of putting an organization in Cedar Rapids.

Color wise and branding wise, it’s not an easy one to fill. The state flag of Iowa is red, white, and blue, and the RoughRiders are green and white in their color scheme. The University of Iowa uses yellow and black for its primary colors and Iowa State University uses red, yellow and black for their primary colors as well. An actual mascot and brand might be a little difficult. The state of Iowa isn’t really known for much, and even the things it’s known for doesn’t really work well. Hawkeye State is already being used by the University of Iowa, being in Tornado Alley is already being used by Iowa State, and as such, the branding would need to get a bit creative. Color options abound though, I would go with one of the color schemes already in use in the state. Yellow and black, red, yellow and black, as well as green, black and white all work well and provide a variety of combination options as well.
[Image: CedarRapids_Black.jpg]

Grand Forks, North Dakota

Grand Forks may seem like an odd choice, but it also fits in the prairie state gap where there isn’t anything currently in the SHL or SMJHL. The gap between Colorado, Minnesota, Winnipeg, and Calgary is the second largest gap in the current teams other than the space between Texas, St. Louis, Manhattan, and West Kendall (which we will be addressing later). Luckily, Grand Forks and North Dakota on a whole have had an impressive relationship with hockey over the years. With the University of North Dakota having one of the most prolific hockey programs in the NCAA, a professional team in the area would fit in well. The biggest downside to Grand Forks would be the population. They rank in the 600s in terms of US population ranks and that wouldn’t be great for the overall sustaining of the organization, but fits well with the goal of filling smaller cities with junior teams.

Color choices would be easy of the organization as University of North Dakota and North Dakota State both use green as a primary color and white as one of their secondary colors. The downside with the color scheme is that it is similar to both the Chiefs and the Stampede, but there aren’t a lot of unused color schemes in the SHL/SMJHL. Mascot wise, something winter based or animal based would be my thought process there. Between those two, there are a significant amount of options that would work well for a team mascot.

[Image: productmain_378_1_zoom.jpg]

Louisville, Kentucky

Did you know that Louisville had an AHL team for two years? Between 1999 and 2001, the Louisville Panthers were the affiliate of the Florida Panthers, featuring legitimate players such as Roberto Luongo and Dan Boyle in their short existence. As such, having a hockey history is a big benefit to the existence of a Louisville franchise in the SMJHL. Louisville does have a good sports history with the University of Louisville being an extensive player in both the basketball and football world, as well as being the location of the Kentucky Derby each year.

Because of the connection to the Derby, the obvious answer for branding would be something related to horses, perhaps the Thoroughbreds (although that is the name of a chorus based out of Louisville). Color options are pretty boring, Kentucky uses a lot of blue across their sports teams and Louisville uses red and black. Red and blue is a color scheme that isn’t currently used in the SMJHL, so by combining the two, you would have a unique option compared to what is already in use. Logo options, if the Thoroughbred name was used, are quite obvious. Horseshoes and running horses are both good options that would work well on the front of a hockey jersey, with the other being used as a shoulder patch or third logo.

[Image: 8528305565_06ae668352_b.jpg]

New Orleans, Louisiana

One of the biggest cities on this list, New Orleans is a city with a rich history of supporting their sports franchises. The Saints have experienced extremely high levels of fan support in the last decade (95% attendance or higher, including several years over 100%), and the Pelicans, while mostly being terrible, have averaged a low to mid 90% attendance over the last decade. This speaks to the levels of support that a junior hockey team would be able to expect if they were to come into existence in New Orleans.

The rich history of New Orleans itself would also lend well to branding opportunities. As expected, the primary colors for the sake of this conversation would be gold and black (as seen at the bottom of this picture) with a wide variety of options in terms of mascot/branding opportunities. If it were up to me, which it is in this case, I would look to embrace New Orleans’ Creole heritage as well as the French side that has made it so famous. A name and branding that would go towards either of those options would be best in my opinion, so for this, I’d be looking at a name like the New Orleans Vaudou. Vaudou being the French word for voodoo which would allow for several cool logo opportunities including skulls/skeletons.
[Image: 0909-davidparkinson-nfc-south.png]

[Image: 0909-davidparkinson-nfc-south.png]

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is another fill in the gap team. They have a bit of a mixed history with hockey teams, the Hurricanes struggling regularly to draw a significant crowd in their time since moving from Hartford. With the exception of the season after they won the Stanley Cup (2006-2007 season), Carolina has yet to draw more than 90% attendance in any season in the last decade. If you are a hockey purist (read: grumpy old man) ala Brian Burke, you also hate what the Hurricanes are doing this season in terms of postgame celebrations and one would assume that a Carolina/Raleigh SMJHL team would also do things like that. Beneficially, given that the team is a minor league team, they would probably be more widely supported for the fun and crowd pleasing actions in a way that the Hurricanes aren’t.

As for selecting the organization’s colors or branding options, the two most famous teams/groups in North Carolina are Duke University and the University of North Carolina. Both have similar color schemes with a blue and white, just with differing shades of blue. As such, I would recommend the organization go in that direction with their branding. As for a team name/logo, I would look to do something in the realm of a military honoring name and logo. With Ft. Bragg located in North Carolina and being the largest military installation in the world, as well as being the home of famous groups such as the headquarters of US Army Special Operations Command, as well as US Air Force Special Operations units and the Air Force Combat Controller school, the creation of a Carolina/Raleigh SMJHL team would allow for a tremendous opportunity to honor these men and women that sacrifice daily in the defense of freedom around the world.
[Image: Vintage-UNC-North-Carolina-TAR-HEELS-Hockey-Jersey.jpg]

[Image: Vintage-UNC-North-Carolina-TAR-HEELS-Hockey-Jersey.jpg]

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is a city with an extensive historical presence in the United States, but one that doesn’t have the sports presence that many of the other cities on this list have. The state of Virginia, however, does have a pretty significant history of sports success. Virginia itself is the most populous state in the United States without a professional sports franchise and while adding an SMJHL team would not change that fact, it would give hockey a foothold in a state that currently only being tapped by the Washington Capitals. Additionally, Richmond has an above average population at over 1,000,000 in the metro area, which is more than enough to support a professional sports team.

Color options are easy with the University of Virginia using orange and blue which is a scheme that would be unique in the SMJHL and SHL. Blue is also present on the Virginia state flag and as such, allows for a further connection to the state. With logos and mascots, I would recommend going with a historical based option. Something to do with the American Revolution would be my first choice, but anything to do with the history that the city of Richmond holds (with the exception of Confederate States related materials) would be the best way to have a legitimate connection to the city and honoring its history.
[Image: darien-031017voigttuz.jpg]

This is just the first part of what will be a small series looking at a variety of options in terms of SMJHL expansion options if the league decides to permanently expand after the large influx of new players this season.

@"luketd" you wanted to be pinged so here it is!

Word Count: 2116

Alex Winters (retired)
Matej Winters (retired)
Dominik Winters
S45 Jesster Trophy Winner
Challenge Cup Winning Goal Club: S52

***hhh81*** · 01-07-2019, 08:09 PM

I FREAKING LOVE THIS.

Fun fact, my first ever hockey game was a Louisville Panthers game. I'd love for my old Kentucky home to get a team. That'd be so cool! Maybe the Kentucky Colonels/Louisville Colonels, to act on the ABA franchise history/freaking KFC?

Also, I've expressed how much I want an SMJHL expansion team in Cedar Rapids. Cedar Rapids Crunchberries or bust!

Blastmeaway · 01-07-2019, 08:42 PM

@Dude kek “Raleigh”

Shout out to ml002, schultzy, slashacm, tedward!
[Image: blastmeaway.gif]

I

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09-05-2018, 10:04 PMBeaver Wrote: Wow look what the PT affiliation has done to our pristine league.

12-19-2018, 12:31 AMBeaver Wrote: I personally blame the PT affiliation for handing out massive amounts of free TPE to all these players, inflating the TPE they're at when they get called up.

[Image: Capture21.PNG?width=400&height=90]

Dude · 01-07-2019, 08:56 PM

01-07-2019, 08:42 PMBlastmeaway Wrote: @Dude kek “Raleigh”

Another team stealing my name. Ok.

Clint Eastwood, Jun 10 2018, 09:36 AM Wrote:Can't buy love, but love can buy a lot.

Leoben · 01-07-2019, 09:34 PM

Richmond used to have a team in the ECHL called the Renegades. Their colors were teal, black, and purple.

**.bojo** · 01-07-2019, 09:43 PM

@ztevans do we get the pitchforks

Troy_McClure03 · 01-07-2019, 10:36 PM

Let's pitchfolk him!

SlashACM · 01-07-2019, 11:52 PM

I thought SMJHL already expanded

majesiu · 01-08-2019, 07:14 AM

01-07-2019, 07:13 PM39alaska39 Wrote: Since all media in the SHL is cyclical, whether we are copying each other’s ideas, writing about what our player thinks, or yet another press conference, I’m going to straight up give credit (for the idea, do not pay him) to @majesiu for this article’s idea as well as the quite large graphic at the start.

You cheapskate!

Jk, nice read!

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