Jump to content

Seattle NHL Brand Discussion


Toronto206

Recommended Posts

5 hours ago, Mingjai said:

 

Interesting. I would never have thought Seattle generates more revenue than London, though that makes the TSN $5M figure seem strange. 

I can kind of understand it. While the team may bring in more money, there may be other factors involved in their worth. One thing right away I can think of is that London can host a Memorial Cup while Seattle will likely never be able to. Lease agreements, community impact, media coverage, etc., might also play a role.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 2.6k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Ultimately? Sure, the Thunderbirds' ownership could sell the rights to the NHL ownership group. Anything's possible if there's a large enough cheque.

The thing is that, as @Brian in Boston has stated, the Thunderbirds have no intention of moving. Despite a NHL team coming into the market. So think about it. You're the Thunderbirds. The NHL just moved in. Are you going to make things harder on yourselves by ditching the brand you've built up over thirty-three years? Continuing to draw despite the sport's top flight league coming into the market will be challenging enough. I happen to think the Thunderbirds are one of the teams that can pull it off, but the strength of the brand is a huge reason why.

 

Again, it could happen if the cheque is big enough. I'm just not sure it's going to be, given the cash the Seattle NHL ownership group will already be handing over for the expansion fee in the first place.

 

I mean yeah. The Thunderbirds have a cool, NHL-level identity. Still? The stars just aren't aligned for the incoming NHL team to have it. Every attempt to explain how it could happen is just an exercise in mental gymnastics. Often fuelled by ignorance regarding the nature of the relationship between the NHL and the CHL junior leagues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The obsession with the Thunderbirds' identity going to the NHL is another CCSLC trope I don't understand. The logo looks similar to the old Seahawks, the striping is reminiscent of the Whalers, not to mention the questionable idea that an established team would want to dump its look. To me, the whole concept seems like a non-starter, but what do I know?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, I think it's because people can't come up with a good name, so they pull one from the past, like Totems and Metropolitians, even though those are terrible names.  Or, Thunderbirds, which is a solid name, but one that belongs to a long established junior team.  To me, it makes a whole lot more sense to start completely fresh with no ties to the past.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Ice_Cap said:

I mean yeah. The Thunderbirds have a cool, NHL-level identity. Still? The stars just aren't aligned for the incoming NHL team to have it. Every attempt to explain how it could happen is just an exercise in mental gymnastics. Often fuelled by ignorance regarding the nature of the relationship between the NHL and the CHL junior leagues.

 

That's pretty much been my entire point. There's absolutely no comparison to be made between this NHL expansion team and the Sounders situation and anybody who thinks there is, is misinformed. If the Thunderbirds were some historic team who folded in the '70s or something and the name had been dormant since then, sure maybe resurrect the name. However in this current situation, there is absolutely no way the NHL team will be called the Thunderbirds. There's no way the WHL team would want to give up their current branding and I don't know if the NHL team would even want to ape an existing brand.

 

There's also precedent now in the modern era with the Calgary Hitmen, Edmonton Oil Kings and Vancouver Giants that NHL teams and CHL teams can coexist, because there was a time when they couldn't, and the junior teams can do well for themselves. I think the Thunderbirds situation is going to be most similar to the Giants because they are owned by different groups and play in a different in a different place, Langley for the Giants and Kent for the Thunderbirds, while the Hitmen and Oil Kings are both owned by the NHL teams and play in the NHL arena.

IEI5Tg1.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't forget the Everett SIlvertips up the road, too. I'm not sure the market can do two juniors and an NHL. I think I'd like to see one move to Wenatchee.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Ice_Cap said:

Ultimately? Sure, the Thunderbirds' ownership could sell the rights to the NHL ownership group. Anything's possible if there's a large enough cheque.

The thing is that, as @Brian in Boston has stated, the Thunderbirds have no intention of moving. Despite a NHL team coming into the market. So think about it. You're the Thunderbirds. The NHL just moved in. Are you going to make things harder on yourselves by ditching the brand you've built up over thirty-three years? Continuing to draw despite the sport's top flight league coming into the market will be challenging enough. I happen to think the Thunderbirds are one of the teams that can pull it off, but the strength of the brand is a huge reason why.

 

Again, it could happen if the cheque is big enough. I'm just not sure it's going to be, given the cash the Seattle NHL ownership group will already be handing over for the expansion fee in the first place.

 

I mean yeah. The Thunderbirds have a cool, NHL-level identity. Still? The stars just aren't aligned for the incoming NHL team to have it. Every attempt to explain how it could happen is just an exercise in mental gymnastics. Often fuelled by ignorance regarding the nature of the relationship between the NHL and the CHL junior leagues.

 

Not to mention the fact that it would be pretty tone-deaf to hang up anything Thunder-related in the former (and maybe future) home of the Supersonics.

I still don't have a website, but I have a dribbble now! http://dribbble.com/andyharry

[The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the position, strategy or opinions of adidas and/or its brands.]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, the admiral said:

Don't forget the Everett SIlvertips up the road, too. I'm not sure the market can do two juniors and an NHL. I think I'd like to see one move to Wenatchee.

 

Wenatchee's already got a Jr. A team in the BCHL, so I don't know if Wenatchee is on the WHL radar.

IEI5Tg1.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, monkeypower said:

 

Wenatchee's already got a Jr. A team in the BCHL, so I don't know if Wenatchee is on the WHL radar.

 

And they are a pretty good team. They won the BCHL title last year and lost the semi final of the RBC Cup to the Wellington Dukes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, kiwi_canadian said:

 

And they are a pretty good team. They won the BCHL title last year and lost the semi final of the RBC Cup to the Wellington Dukes.

And a small-ish rink, to boot. Right size for the BCHL, would be smallest by a mile in the US Division of the WHL. Only thing it has going for it besides fan support is location.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, BJ Sands said:

It's really good players won't be naming the team.

 

Oshie's got the best suggestion here by far, which I'm going to attribute to the rich and meaningful education he received during his brief period at the University of North Dakota. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, gosioux76 said:

Oshie's got the best suggestion here by far, which I'm going to attribute to the rich and meaningful education he received during his brief period at the University of North Dakota. :)

Or him spending the first 16 years of his life in the Seattle area but don't let that get in the way of college bragging rights ?

VmWIn6B.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I think Zdeno Chara had the best advice, which was to demand that your agent work virtually for free. It's a really savvy move, wonder how well it works when you aren't Zdeno Chara.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Thunderbirds and Silvertips don't have much brand cachet in Seattle proper. They don't advertise in town and you never see their gear around the city. I think the market for people who want to watch teenagers play pro hockey won't change when the NHL comes to town; cheap hockey and 16-year-old Canadian boys checking each other into boards will always be exciting to a certain audience.

 

Sockeyes is a pretty bad name. Totems won't fly in 2018, but it's either that or Metropolitans that I've heard locals mention as the best options. It's really not that dissimilar from when the MLS team was forced to change its name from Alliance or Seattle FC to Sounders. The people want what they want.

 

1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said:

and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why wouldn't the "Totems" name fly? It's not like it is derogatory like "Red Skins". I think if they do go with that name and if they do it right by going through the proper channels, then I don't believe there would be an issue with it. Kind of like what the Edmonton Eskimos did with their name. They talked to the Inuit community and the majority of the community didn't actually mind the name and actually found it an honor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, DG_Now said:

I think the market for people who want to watch teenagers play pro hockey won't change when the NHL comes to town; cheap hockey and 16-year-old Canadian boys checking each other into boards will always be exciting to a certain audience.

Just say white trash if you wanna so bad.

 

Totems is an okay name, but the Canucks are still mostly committed to totem pole artwork, so you can't really use it.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, the admiral said:

Just say white trash if you wanna so bad. 

  

Totems is an okay name, but the Canucks are still mostly committed to totem pole artwork, so you can't really use it. 

 

To be clear, I think it's less white trash and more a strand of the same fandom I can't understand that goes with unattached watching of high school football or AAU basketball. Sometimes it's exciting to watch the future of pro sports in a professional setting, but then you look around and you realize adults are cheering for children to fight each other.

1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said:

and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.




×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.