Seattle NHL Brand Discussion

[Brian in Boston 2,545]

1) Seattle Totems
2) Seattle Sockeyes

3) Seattle Sea Lions or Seattle Seals

[WSU151 9,540]

2 hours ago, Thaumatrope said:

Interestingly enough, Eagles is the mascot of Eastern Washington State, and while they're nowhere near as big a deal as WSU, the same arguments apply. 

 

Just Eastern Washington.

 

 

I like Totems the best.  Seals and sea lions get eaten by sharks and whales...too many jokes will be made by journalists who strive for low-hanging fruit.

[Thaumatrope 370]

1 minute ago, WSU151 said:

 

Just Eastern Washington.

 

 

I like Totems the best.  Seals and sea lions get eaten by sharks and whales...too many jokes will be made by journalists who strive for low-hanging fruit.

 

Thanks for the correction.

 

I think Sea Lions could work if the team opted to be a bit more creative with the interpretation...ie lions of the sea. I realize the discussion has primarily been about the names the team has registered, but I feel like Sea Wolves could have checked a lot of boxes. I know it's already in use by the University of Alaska Anchorage, but in light of all the other suggestions it doesn't seem like they're concerned about pre-existing trademarks (are they putting something in the water at the NHL council offices?).

[WSU151 9,540]

7 minutes ago, Thaumatrope said:

 

Thanks for the correction.

 

I think Sea Lions could work if the team opted to be a bit more creative with the interpretation...ie lions of the sea. I realize the discussion has primarily been about the names the team has registered, but I feel like Sea Wolves could have checked a lot of boxes. I know it's already in use by the University of Alaska Anchorage, but in light of all the other suggestions it doesn't seem like they're concerned about pre-existing trademarks (are they putting something in the water at the NHL council offices?).

 

That's actually a good idea.  Plus they could do some marketing speak about how lions are "kings" and Seattle is in King County, thus "Sea Lions" connects all the dots...

 

Alaska-Anchorage does use Sea Wolves, but the Hartford Wolf Pack also use the wolves-of-the-sea idea.

[TaylorMade 713]

3 hours ago, Thaumatrope said:

 

Thanks for the correction.

 

I think Sea Lions could work if the team opted to be a bit more creative with the interpretation...ie lions of the sea. I realize the discussion has primarily been about the names the team has registered, but I feel like Sea Wolves could have checked a lot of boxes. I know it's already in use by the University of Alaska Anchorage, but in light of all the other suggestions it doesn't seem like they're concerned about pre-existing trademarks (are they putting something in the water at the NHL council offices?).

 

SeaWolves is the name of Seattle's new Major League Rugby team.

 

http://www.seattleseawolves.com/

 

As for Sea Lions, there are already 2 NHL teams with lion mascots. Not sure a third is needed.

[Thaumatrope 370]

1 hour ago, TaylorMade said:

As for Sea Lions, there are already 2 NHL teams with lion mascots. Not sure a third is needed.

 

Not to split hairs, but the only felines in the league are the Florida Panthers (puma concolor couguar) and the Nashville Predators (smilodon populator)...neither of which are actually lions (penthera leo). More importantly, none of these teams would be playing in the same division, which I generally consider to be more of issue.

 

That being said, there are no pinnipeds in any of the major leagues, so that could be a valuable branding distinction for the team if they choose to go with a more realistic representation.

[Cosmic 6,421]

4 hours ago, TaylorMade said:

As for Sea Lions, there are already 2 NHL teams with lion mascots. Not sure a third is needed.

What does a lion have to do with a sea lion, though?

[DG_ThenNowForever 15,460]

9 hours ago, Thaumatrope said:

All in all, it feels like the Seattle organization generated these names via a focus group of casual sports fans who happened to be really high. I'm pretty sure if you found the notes you'd see Seahawks written down and crossed out several times along with Mariners and Ice Sonics. 

 

I think I like that the best.

[Thaumatrope 370]

1 minute ago, DG_Now said:

 

I think I like that the best.

 

The more I think about Ice Sonics, the more I wonder if there might be some unexpected synergy...

 

 

...or a lawsuit. It could really go either way.

[TaylorMade 713]

16 minutes ago, Cosmic said:

What does a lion have to do with a sea lion, though?

 

Read the post I was responding to.

 

2 hours ago, Thaumatrope said:

 

Not to split hairs, but the only felines in the league are the Florida Panthers (puma concolor couguar) and the Nashville Predators (smilodon populator)...neither of which are actually lions (penthera leo). More importantly, none of these teams would be playing in the same division, which I generally consider to be more of issue.

 

That being said, there are no pinnipeds in any of the major leagues, so that could be a valuable branding distinction for the team if they choose to go with a more realistic representation.

 

Yes, but the LA Kings and Ottawa Senators both have lions as mascots (Bailey and Sparatacat, respectively)

[Thaumatrope 370]

4 minutes ago, Cosmic said:

What does a lion have to do with a sea lion, though?

 

This is from the same great minds who thought manatees were mermaids. Which is to say that European maritime culture is full of sea dogs, sea hogs, and sea cows. For whatever reason sea lion stuck as a name for an actual animal. Personally I think sea lions look more like dogs, but I'm not a 17th century sailor...so what do I know. 

 

Meanwhile, just for grins, here's a handy guide on what makes seals and sea lions different:

 

Think of the sea lion as Zdeno Chara and the seal as Phil Kessel.

[IceCap 21,986]

2 minutes ago, TaylorMade said:

Yes, but the LA Kings and Ottawa Senators both have lions as mascots (Bailey and Sparatacat, respectively)

Yes, but the “Seattle Sea Lions” likely wouldn’t have a lion as a mascot. 

[Thaumatrope 370]

2 minutes ago, TaylorMade said:

 

Read the post I was responding to.

 

 

Yes, but the LA Kings and Ottawa Senators both have lions as mascots (Bailey and Sparatacat, respectively)

 

That's fair, although I feel like mascot-mascots are less of an obstacle as logo-mascots. After all the Buffalo Sabres' mascot is a sabertooth tiger, but there was no issue with Nashville having one too...which when you think about it is even more bizarre. How many extinct mammal mascots do other league's have?

[TaylorMade 713]

1 minute ago, Ice_Cap said:

Yes, but the “Seattle Sea Lions” likely wouldn’t have a lion as a mascot. 

 

They most likely would if, like @Thaumatrope suggested, their branding was "lions of the sea."

[Thaumatrope 370]

2 minutes ago, Ice_Cap said:

Yes, but the “Seattle Sea Lions” likely wouldn’t have a lion as a mascot. 

 

I think you might need to take a minute to go back and look over some of the earlier exchange. I've been advocating for a "lion of the sea" approach to the name. Kinda like this, but you know...good.

[Cosmic 6,421]

Having Sea Lions, but with a cat lion would be extremely weird. SeaWolves, IceHogs, etc. are different because those animals don't actually exist. I wouldn't expect the Seattle Seahorses to have Mister Ed on water skis as their logo (but I would buy a hat).

[IceCap 21,986]

31 minutes ago, TaylorMade said:

 

They most likely would if, like @Thaumatrope suggested, their branding was "lions of the sea."

I get it, but that’s not happening. If they do end up going with “Sea Lions”? They’ll likely use an actual sea lion. 

[4_tattoos 1,453]

53 minutes ago, Thaumatrope said:

 

The more I think about Ice Sonics, the more I wonder if there might be some unexpected synergy...

 

 

...or a lawsuit. It could really go either way.

OT: I now hope for a day when Sonic becomes the jersey sponsor of the Seattle Sounders.

[Chromatic 2,420]

1 hour ago, Cosmic said:

Having Sea Lions, but with a cat lion would be extremely weird. SeaWolves, IceHogs, etc. are different because those animals don't actually exist. 

I mean, if we’re arguing over semantics, “Sea Wolves” is just a nickname for Orcas, like “Killer Whale” and “Ice Hogs” are just pigs with the “Ice” qualifier added because a lot of hockey teams are cheesy and insist on having “Ice” or other cold related terms in their nicknames

[VancouverFan69 677]

Although Totems is the best choice, I don't know how "Breakers" didn't make the list. That was the Thunderbirds' original name.