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Thelastheraclid · 07-11-2020, 03:30 AM

In the interest of increasing the wonderful game of ice hockey worldwide I am proposing an SHL developmental league located in Asia dubbed the Pan Asia Simulation Hockey League or PASHL. We already have a certain multi-continental hockey league with its meat hooks in China along with some other central Asian countries which we will have to think about when planning the league.

Since we don’t want to be creating any international incidents between the SHL and the league that shall not be named we will unfortunately keep the PASHL out of China. Now admittedly that is a large loss considering the sheer number of people in China but I believe the league can still be very successful in the countries I will propose.

For the PASHL I propose an 8 team league from 4 countries: South Korea, Japan, Mongolia, and Taiwan. I have selected these countries as members of the PASHL after taking into account either financial or environmental factors. Both South Korea and Japan have climates that are suitable to hockey which will make ice maintenance not too much of a hassle and both are well enough off financially to support the teams. Taiwan’s climate will make ice maintenance a bit more difficult but being ranked the 7th largest economy in Asia they should be able to handle a team. Mongolia is the opposite of Taiwan. Their climate is much more suitable to sustaining a ice hockey team but they have by far the weakest economy of the four countries. However developing a popular sports franchise in Mongolia could be a big gamble that pays out huge.

But why not country X or Y? With China off the list of potential countries to host a team or multiple teams a huge swath of land is gone and with it most of the land that has a climate suitable for housing an ice hockey team. Vietnam for example is growing rapidly and would be a very exciting place to have a team but at the moment with its climate and infrastructure would be quite difficult. India would be another excellent choice for a team just going by the size of their population. I did not include them only because of the cost and length of travel time that would be needed. Who knew Asia was so big? As it stands with the four countries put forward is at most around a 6 or 7 hour flight with the average being between 3 and 4 hours which is far better than some of the flights they need to take in the SMJHL.

Each season will consist of 50 games following in the footsteps of the SHL. Each team will play 25 home games and 25 away games trying to balance the schedule so that each team plays each other as evenly as possible. For playoffs all teams will qualify with the 1st place team playing the 8th place team, 2nd the 7th, 3rd the 6th, and 4th the 5th. From there the winner of the 1-8 matchup plays the winner of the 4-5 and the winner of the 2-7 matchup plays the 3-6 winner. If more teams are introduced into the league the playoff format may have to be changed but as it stands I would like to keep each team playing as long as possible each season.

Given that both South Korea and Japan have the best balance of climate and economy as well as an established low level hockey league that has been able to support multiple teams and established SHL players have come from both countries I have decided to give them the lion’s share of the teams with 3 in each country. Mongolia and Taiwan will both be the home to one team, at least until we see how the teams do in each country.

When it comes to team names and jerseys caution needs to be used. Some of these countries have rather unpleasant military history with each other, some far in the past and others within the lifetimes of living family members. In an effort to keep every country cool headed it has been decided that there will be a naming theme of local wildlife for each team in order to prevent any controversy. Furthermore specific designs associated with past events such as the Japanese Imperial flag will be banned from the league. It is the hope that as much as the league will bring ice hockey and the SHL brand into the spotlight in these countries that it will also help bring some knowledge back to the SHL and its viewers about the teams’ home countries and their cultures. Each team will have a primary logo, and two shoulder patch logos. One shoulder will be the PASHL patch and the other the logo of the home city of the team. The PASHL logo will be simple text of PASHL with hockey sticks above and below said text to represent the travel around Asia teams will do. Please note: I am not a graphic designer and I can barely make money doing sigs. This is just a rough mock up. Just imagine it done by a professional.

PASHL Logo: [Image: WleUGlH.png]

Also to note in regard to team names is sponsorship of the teams by major corporations. In South Korean baseball for example every team gets its name from its parent company. For example: Lotte Giants, Kia Tigers, or SK Wyverns. Since this is a developmental league in a new market corporate sponsorship will be necessary in order to keep the league afloat at least until the league gains steam. So, we will be asking for a corporate sponsor for each team from their respective countries but will follow the SHL naming guidelines of City Team Name. To make up for the loss of the team name each arena will be named after its sponsor and future copious ad space on the ice.

Now the moment you have been waiting for. Here are the proposals for the first eight teams to be a part of the Pan Asia Simulation Hockey League. Once again I am no graphic designer I’m just spitballing ideas here. Use your imagination.

South Korea

Team: Incheon Cranes
Sponsor: SK Telecom
Explanation: Incheon is the 3rd largest city in South Korea. It is the home to South Korea’s largest international airport and has been an international port since 1883. This plays into the name Cranes. The red-crowned crane is one of the endangered wildlife that calls Korea home. Incheon is an important harbor in South Korea which is dotted with, you guessed it, cranes. The logo is set to feature the harbor as a backdrop for a swooping crane in the forefront. The sponsor, SK Telecom, is the largest wireless provider in Korea and one of the largest corporations. It is also already the sponsor company of Incheon’s baseball team and there is an existing ice hockey arena a ten minute walk from the baseball stadium. Also working with a large telecom company could prove useful in setting up distribution on TV and such.

Logo: [Image: DeC7Nue.png]

Team: Busan Squid
Sponsor: Air Busan
Explanation: Busan is the 2nd largest city in Korea and home to a smaller airport. Busan is another port city on the southeast tip of the peninsula. Busan is quite famous for its seafood and fish markets. Being right on the water and squid being a popular food make it a great fit for the team name. The logo will feature a squid in front of a crossed hockey stick and parasol which is a reference to the most popular beach in Busan, Haeundae. Busan is known for their insane baseball fans. They are some of the most die hard fans in the country. The hope is that the Squid will gain a following in the same vein. Air Busan is a great sponsor for the obvious deals it could provide in travel costs.

Logo: [Image: YU7pFbA.png]

Team: Seoul Ice Tigers
Sponsor: Samsung
Explanation:Seoul is the capital and largest city in Korea. It is an international hub for business and much like the other two Korean cities has an incredible public transportation infrastructure that makes it easy for fans to get to games. The tiger is Korea’s national animal and has been used as Olympic mascots in the past. Seeing that it is the capital it makes the most sense to associate the team with Korea’s national identity. Samsung is one of the largest companies in the world. It’s association with the PASHL will lend serious credibility to the new league and maybe we can get some cool new gadgets.

Logo: [Image: dndx84J.png]

Japan

Team: Tokyo Green Pheasants
Sponsor: Square Enix
Explanation: Tokyo is the largest city in Japan with more than nine million residents and the largest metropolitan area in the world with more than 37 million residents. Placing a team here is playing the numbers as far as fans go. Tokyo is also a very tourist destination which could help entice SHL fans to make a dream vacation trip over to catch a game as part of their trip. Tokyo is where Japan’s government is located and the green pheasant is the national bird so it was an easy pick for a name. Square Enix is a massively popular video game developer. Since video games are so popular in Japan the idea is that the SHL could work with the developers to create a crossover game to help introduce Japan to the league and game.

Logo: [Image: IvtUWZL.png]

Team: Osaka Pufferfish
Sponsor: Suntory Beverage & Food Limited
Explanation: Osaka is the 3rd largest city in Japan with about 2.6 million people residing there and almost 20 million in the metro area. Osaka is often called the “nation’s kitchen” and is a popular spot for food. No food is as infamous in Japanese cuisine as fugu or as it is known in English, pufferfish. Suntory is an excellent sponsor because they can provide food and drink options to the league being such a large distillery and brewery in Japan.

Logo: [Image: OwW0FYa.png]

Team: Sapporo Snow Monkeys
Sponsor: Air Do
Explanation: Sapporo is the 5th largest city in Japan. It is located in the snowy northern island of Hokkaido so it is probably the best fit of the three to house an ice hockey arena. Hokkaido is already a popular destination for other winter sports like skiing so it stands to reason that there will be some crossover from being heading north for a weekend getaway. Air Do is a local airline that works with other Japanese airlines in providing access to the island. Working with them, much like Air Busan in Korea, will help ease issues of travel for teams.

Logo: [Image: FZA3haU.png]

Shoulder patch:

Mongolia

Team: Ulaanbaatar Mazalaai
Sponsor: Mongolian National Broadcaster
Explanation: Mazalaai is the Mongolian word for the Gobi bear. This is the only team to not feature an English name. There are two reasons for this. One, Mongolia is most likely the most obscure culture to many fans so I like the idea of keeping the Mongolian name for the animal. Two, Mazalaai sounds way cooler than Gobi bear. Ulaanbaatar is the capital of Mongolia and contains almost half of the country’s population. Mongolian National Broadcaster is the state broadcast channel of Mongolia. Working with the MNB will hopefully help spread the word quickly about the team and league and garner support as fast as possible.

Logo: [Image: uMopQrw.png]

Taiwan

Team: Taipei Magpies
Sponsor: Hong Ying Animation
Explanation: Taipei is the capital of Taiwan and like with the capitals of Korea and Japan a national animal was chosen as the logo, in this instance the blue magpie. Hong Ying Animation has worked on animated shows like Gargoyles and Phineas and Ferb. We hope that we can work with the company to create an animated show to help grow the youth market throughout Taiwan and the other three countries.

Logo: [Image: ABb2xnC.png]