NHL’s New Seattle Kraken Announce Name & Logos

[Guest darkpiranha]

4 minutes ago, Buc said:

So I've now gotten caught up on things and...

 

- Its apparent to me that some of y'all need to live life just a little while longer and you'll come to find that there are just some things that really ain't worth the emotional energy or investment to get worked up about--such as whether team names should end in "s" or not. Shoot, just peel back and enjoy the ride--you'll experience much more joy that way. (And I say this at the ripe ol' age of 38.)

 

- I always wondered whether we'd see a sports identity based around a squid, and now here we are. Wouldn't surprise me to see folk (& I'll probably be the first, starting right now) nickname-reference the Kraken in shorthand as the "Squids". Why not?

 

- I'm not paying $300-something for no clothes, anywhere--but if I had the dispensable funds, I'd cop one of those navy sweaters pronto. If the hats come with the seafoam-color brims, I may just have to snag one...and speaking of that...

 

- I love everything about this. As said, I'm not from Seattle (but I've been there twice), nor the Pacific northwest (though I go out there often), and until the Seattle NHL rumor mill started up two years back (?), I'd never even heard of a kraken. (I've also never seen Pirates of the Caribbean OR Clash of the Titans, so there.) That said, I have no real dog in that fight--and no one out that way cares what some random trucker dude out in the toenail of South Dakota has to say about it anyway--but I'm fine with the nickname. That visual identity, though...WOWZA. That is instantly one of the top brands in North American pro sports, from a uniqueness perspective. Who'd have though modified blackletter would've been the way the Seattle expansion team would go? (I see the connection to Seagram's gin, though--somebody got creative with that inspiration for sure.) I bet my boy Harry got down on those numbers...and I'm sure the other Andy had a steady hand to play in this too (you know who you are).  I do like how the dark navy allows the more distinctive seafoam blues to "pop" (and let that be a lesson in color theory to you aspiring designers, as the Tennessee Titans employed this same approach before Nike convinced them to cosplay as...whatever the heck they are now, but anyway: a darker, more neutral base can be preferable for letting more unique colors shine.) 

 

I really can't find anything about this I don't like, so...9.8/10.

 

I agree with this post 9.9/10 (I'm twelve years older than you, otherwise, we are simpatico).  And it's fun arguing about this stuff in safe areas like this, where we are going to be hyper-nitpicky and opinionated about stuff that 99% of the rest of the world doesn't notice or care about.  We all have aspects of this element of sports branding that we are passionate about, or care about more than others, but I love how in spite of that, no one cow-tows to groupthink or peer pressure.  The "this is dumb" opinions are just as valid as the "this is awesome" (or as I call it, the "correct") opinions.  This is all fun, even the heated discussions.  

[MEANS]

2 hours ago, FiddySicks said:

The NHL objectively has the worst logos in the major 4. I’d say MLS is worse, but not for long. 

What? The NHL is rubbing elbows with the NFL and is right there with the MLB, maybe even better as of late. The NBA is much further behind.

[Guest darkpiranha]

2 minutes ago, selgy said:

He said if Cubs were to become a team today

 

Yes, Cubs would 100% be laughed at as a cutesy "Brandiose" name.    

[Dynasty]

4 hours ago, Gothamite said:

 

The largest Octopus on Earth lives off the Washington coast.  Pretty sure they have folklore around giant mythical cephalopods.  Nitpicking about the type seems a little petty. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Pacific_octopus

 

2 hours ago, andrewharrington said:

 

Too easy, man.

 

 

This is what happens when I don't do research before making a claim. 

 

Not sure if that was the primary reason for the name, but at least there's some significance?

[El Scorcho]

28 minutes ago, IceCap said:

Hornets isn't quirky. Try again. Hell, they took the name from an old minor league baseball team! And they got from a British officer's quote about Revolutionary War-era Charlotte being a "hornet's nest." "Hornets" is as traditional as it gets for a North Carolina sports team name. The only name you've listed that's quirky is "Raptors," which was almost changed at once point and still has people calling for its removal today.

To say that the name "Raptors" has resonated more than any other team name you listed is, to be frank, an absurd assertion to make.

 

I, like most people around the world, wasn't aware of a minor league baseball side though. It's certainly quirky in the way that it was branded with a cartoon Hornet in unusual for the time sports colours. I can appreciate the historical context now that i'm aware of it but I don't think the Revolutionary War quote has much to do with the popularity of that late 80s and 90s Hornets branding.

 

Maybe it's different in North America, but from an Australian perspective, the Raptors have always been a pretty popular team, certainly more popular than the other expansion teams I listed. I agree that winning (or in the case of Basketball, simply having a star player) trumps everything else.

[DCarp1231]

Good lord I missed A LOT happening in this thread...

 

I don’t mind the Kraken name. However, I think they could’ve gotten away with “Seabeasts”.

 

I also think the branding is way better than what Vegas unveiled a couple years ago.

[Guest darkpiranha]

8 minutes ago, El Scorcho said:

 

I, like most people around the world, wasn't aware of a minor league baseball side though. It's certainly quirky in the way that it was branded with a cartoon Hornet in unusual for the time sports colours. I can appreciate the historical context now that i'm aware of it but I don't think the Revolutionary War quote has much to do with the popularity of that late 80s and 90s Hornets branding.

 

Maybe it's different in North America, but from an Australian perspective, the Raptors have always been a pretty popular team, certainly more popular than the other expansion teams I listed. I agree that winning (or in the case of Basketball, simply having a star player) trumps everything else.

 

I'm American, and 50 years old, and love the American Revolution, and today is the first time in my life I've ever heard about the Revolutionary War connections to the team's "Hornets" name.  At no point in the history of the team has any connection to historical hornets ever been pushed.  As you said, it was a cartoon-y hornet from day one, with "hot" colors at the time.  Lots of hexagon and hive imagery.   Raptors, though, WERE corny from day one, with a VERY cartoon-y basketball-dribbling raptor logo.  But the Raptor name and concept was cool in spite of how much it was clearly playing off of Jurassic Park's popularity.  

[lahaye7]

Kraken is fine, I like the colors enough. Nothing wrong with trying something different, especially for a coastal team. The anchor logo is pretty great. The S is ok. The wordmark is solid, even with the beveling. 

[IceCap]

10 minutes ago, El Scorcho said:

I, like most people around the world, wasn't aware of a minor league baseball side though. It's certainly quirky in the way that it was branded with a cartoon Hornet in unusual for the time sports colours. I can appreciate the historical context now that i'm aware of it but I don't think the Revolutionary War quote has much to do with the popularity of that late 80s and 90s Hornets branding.

I doubt the minor league baseball history or the Revolutionary War connotations had much, if anything, to do with the team's success. My point was merely that the name "Hornets" wasn't an out there name for a team from Charlotte at the time. It was likely that the city's first pro team, regardless of sport, would have been named "Hornets" just due to how ingrained the name was in the city's sports culture up to that point.

[JerseyJimmy]

"NOOOOOO KRAKEN BAD NAME MUST END WITH S DUMB TRENDY NAMERINOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

 

kraken is a great name. go to bed, gramps.

 

also I love how the primary is basically a stylized Cool S.

[IceCap]

20 minutes ago, MEANS said:

What? The NHL is rubbing elbows with the NFL and is right there with the MLB, maybe even better as of late. The NBA is much further behind.

I'd put the NHL above the NFL myself. MLB is in there at a close third place, if only because too many teams seem to default to roundels or feel the need to include a baseball.

The NBA is a distant fourth. Possibly fifth if we're counting MLS.

[gosioux76]

Can’t believe I’m typing this, but I love it. The logos, jersey, word mark and colors are so outstanding that they’ve made me come around on the name. It all just works in a way I never expected.

[CaliforniaGlowin]

Comparing it with other NHL teams, I would have liked a touch of green in the navy to differentiate it.  Somewhere between navy and teal. 

[MEANS]

2 minutes ago, IceCap said:

I'd put the NHL above the NFL myself. MLB is in there at a close third place, if only because too many teams seem to default to roundels or feel the need to include a baseball.

The NBA is a distant fourth. Possibly fifth if we're counting MLS.

I go back and forth on that too, sometimes I do think the NHL is above the NFL, the latest NFL stuff is not as strong.

 

Yeah the NBA just needs to go with their partial logos, drop the ones with all the text included.

[Guest darkpiranha]

3 minutes ago, IceCap said:

I'd put the NHL above the NFL myself. MLB is in there at a close third place, if only because too many teams seem to default to roundels or feel the need to include a baseball.

The NBA is a distant fourth. Possibly fifth if we're counting MLS.

I'd agree with this.  NHL and NFL have resisted having their ball/puck/stick included in their logos, mostly.  You have to admire the Golden Knights and Kraken's NOT including anything in their logos that point towards hockey in any way.  

[The_Admiral]

5 hours ago, the admiral said:

 

I'd like to see a compilation of kids trying to draw the Indian Head from memory. In the absence of actual kids, let's all try to do it ourselves.

 

We're doing this here, by the way.

[sportsfan7]

1 hour ago, Ridleylash said:

I remember when the Raps were seriously considering a rebrand to become the Huskies, and that wasn't really that long ago after a long period of the team being rather bad. The name only stuck around because they won a 'chip; but even now, they've been very heavily minimizing the dinosaur imagery to distance themselves from the real stinker years.

 

If Seattle stumbles out of the gate with a mediocre or bad team for a while, there will be people who associate the name with said teams, and that kind of stench doesn't wash off easily for this kind of name. You'd basically need another Vegas-calibre team to even get people to begrudgingly accept it.

 

IIRC, The Raptors didn't want to look like the Timberwolves.

 

2 hours ago, Cujo said:

 

How many Minnesota hockey fans right now would trade WILD!!! in for something more traditional and less childish, like North Stars? My guess would be all of them.

If it were Wild to North Stars, almost 100%. If it were Wild to anything else, I'd say slightly less than 50%.

[charger77]

I'll take the Kraken name if it gets us those logos and jerseys!

[FiddySicks]

1 hour ago, MEANS said:

What? The NHL is rubbing elbows with the NFL and is right there with the MLB, maybe even better as of late. The NBA is much further behind.

I’ve heard this argument from a lot of people here and I’ll just say that... Ok, that’s fair. I somehow forgot about the league with Clippers and Thunder. 
 

Kraken still sucks just as hard, but that’s just me

[Brian in Boston]

2 hours ago, darkpiranha said:

I think the "Release the Kraken" wasn't a starting point as so many people seem to want to insist.  Kraken has been a cool word and image for my entire life (I'm 50).  "Release the Kraken" was a fun thing that came along that just added to it.  The meme, surely though, came up when discussing branding and merch opportunities.  It's just built in.  It's fun to say.  In looking at the other branding directions they were considering, you see the discussion at the table.  "What is Seattle known for?"  "Water."  "Space Needle"  "Native American heritage"  "Fish"  "Trees.   "A don't forget the original Metropolitan hockey team."  That's day one.  Then you just start brainstorming words and phrases and imagery associated with those ideas.  "Kraken" is going to be one of the first things that comes up. "What's that giant squid called? A kraken? Man, that sounds wicked!"

There is no chance that Seattle's NHL franchise would be dubbed the Kraken if not for Liam Neeson's Zeus bellowing, "Release the Kraken!" in the 2010 film Clash of the Titans. None. 

I'm 55 years old. In addition to being a rabid sports fan and graphic design/branding enthusiast, I've loved mythology, science fiction, movies, television, and comic books since I was a child. Prior to the release of the original Clash of the Titans in 1981, even a devoted pop-culture nerd (I plead, "Guilty.") would have been hard-pressed to find more than sporadic mentions - let alone appearances - of the creature known as the kraken in American cultural life. I recall reading about the kraken in a couple of collections of myths and legends, its being mentioned in passing in the Jules Verne novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and creatures identified as krakens appearing in a handful of comic books. I also recall giant squid - identified with exactly that terminology, "giant squid" - in some movies and on television. All of that said, the notion that kraken was a familiarly "cool word and image" to a large swath of the American public throughout the 36 years of the 20th century that I drew breath... well, that just doesn't ring true to me. 

Hell, even after the release of the 1981 Clash of the Titans, it was a pretty limited subset of society that would have been likely to conjure up images of a cephalopod-like kraken and consider said creature cool. For starters, the kraken that visual effects and stop-motion animation legend Ray Harryhausen created for the film was decidedly un-squidlike. Rather, it resembled a reptilian simian with a fish's tail and four arms ending in clawed hands. Further, Harryhausen's stop-motion Dynamation technique was already beginning to feel a bit dated when compared to even the earliest of the computer-assisted special effects technologies that were beginning to debut. Finally, Sir Laurence Olivier's introduction of the kraken in the 1981 film was hardly anything to get one's blood-racing. Rather than Neeson's aggressive delivery, Olivier's order to "Release the Kraken," was delivered almost half-heartedly. It was not the sort of impassioned exhortation that would have electrified an arena full of sports fans to rise to their feet and join in... or, inspire an NHL team's ownership group to select a name.

Now, it strikes me that the first widespread notoriety that the mythical kraken achieved via 20th century pop culture was in the 2006 motion picture Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. This kraken was depicted - via CGI - as an enormous, destructive, many-tentacled cephalopod. The special effects work was impressive and the creature certainly made an impression. That said, nowhere in the film does a character utter the line, "Release the Kraken!" Rather, Davy Jones orders his men to "Wake the Kraken!" This is not the stuff that the most prevalent kraken-related memes have been made of. "Wake the Kraken!" hasn't been the rallying cry of those Seattle NHL enthusiasts who have been championing the adoption of a gigantic, mythical cephalopod as the team's namesake mascot since Seattle Hockey Partners were officially granted an expansion franchise just over 19 months ago. "Wake the Kraken!" wasn't the exhortation that introduced the identity of Seattle's NHL franchise today.  Nor was "Wake the Kraken!" the slogan plastered on the souvenir merchandise that went on sale this afternoon.

No, the meme that fueled the adoption of Seattle Kraken as the latest NHL team identity came to cinematic life - and subsequently burst forth from all manner of media platforms - thanks to Liam Neeson's gruff, gravelly 2010 command to "Release the Kraken!" The odds are that if Neeson never delivers that line, Seattle's NHL franchise is taking to the ice as the Sockeyes, Sea Lions, Emeralds, Evergreens, or any number of other identities, because Kraken would have been on the radar of precious few people.