Reimagining Superheroes as Hockey Teams #19 - Long Island Phantoms (Ghostbusters)

[wildwing64]

Quote

Still hoping to see a Ghostbusters-themed team at some point! 

On 4/11/2024 at 6:23 PM, wildwing64 said:

I’m only planning three for the Big Apple, with the third and final being a Ninja Turtles team.

 

I've had a change of heart on this matter and will be adding a fourth team to New York; in other words, a Ghostbusters team is on the way!

 

I have a name in mind for that franchise; but with how I’ve done the New York teams so far, there is another that I have to get done first. It'll make sense when I get to them.

 

17. Colorado Dragons (Goku / Dragon Ball)

 

Name: The Uniondale Arena was seeking a tenant and the Devils’ ownership had no interest in going there, so the league awarded another franchise to New York. The newly formed Long Island Dragons - named by their Chinese ownership group who gave no apparent reason for the moniker - barely lasted a couple of years before falling victim to financial mismanagement and bankruptcy, which led to their sale and journey west to Denver, Colorado. The new owners kept the existing brand as the move happened with very little time before the then-upcoming season; they were in the process of creating a new identity, but scrapped those plans as soon as the team won a Cup in its first year as the Colorado Dragons.

 

Logo: A modernised rendition of their original crest, depicting Shenlong (aka the Divine Dragon) from Chinese mythology. The dragon’s antlers resemble a pair of hockey sticks, because of course they do.

 

Alternate Logo: The C and circle from the flag of Colorado. The circle contains six stars, borrowed from the State Seal.

 

Colours: Orange, blue and white. The Dragons proudly declare that orange signifies their offensive onslaughts while blue represents their maturity and grit, with white referencing the snow capped Rocky Mountains - but these were their colours in New York and they kept them when relocating.

 

Jerseys: Like the rest of their identity, the Dragons uniforms were carried over from Long Island - their current jerseys are slightly updated from what they once wore. The home sweater is orange with blue sleeves, and the road jersey is white and blue with somewhat less emphasis on their signature orange. Both uniforms use different sets of pants; orange at home and blue on the road.

 

Third Jersey: During the 90’s - and despite the popularity of their orange and blue uniforms - the Dragons rebranded with a new logo and jerseys featuring purple, black and red. Before long, fan outcry prompted them to switch back; however, they did keep the modernised dragon crest, recolouring it to match the original scheme. This jersey has since garnered a cult following and more recently was revived as an alternate uniform.

 

 

 

 

 

I haven’t engaged with the Dragon Ball franchise all that much and most of my knowledge of it comes from pop culture osmosis. That said, I chose Colorado as this team’s home as it reminded me of the mountainous settings that are often depicted in the anime and manga. After picking the location, taking the C from Colorado’s flag and turning the circle into a Dragon Ball was a no-brainer. In turn, I could base the uniforms on Goku’s orange and blue gi and basically make them the hockey Broncos. But what about the rest of the identity?

 

My first idea for the name was the Dragons. But then it occurred to me that Goku is based on Sun Wukong - aka the Monkey King, who is obviously not a dragon - so I also considered the Kings, but I didn’t feel like the name fit either the region or Goku himself. Then I thought back to the mountainous settings of the series, and the Rocky Mountains, and reviving the hockey Rockies similar to what I did with the Americans - but that felt too obvious, especially when the Avalanche have already called back to their predecessors in different ways. Finally I ended up circling back to the Dragons, after learning that the main hero cast is collectively known as the Dragon Team.

 

“But wait,” you may be wondering, “what do Dragons have to do with Colorado, or Long Island for that matter?” I dunno! This team’s backstory was inspired by the Islanders’ former co-tenants, the AFL’s New York Dragons, and when looking for the source of their name I got nothing. I always thought it might have come from the easternmost parts of Long Island vaguely resembling the open maw of a dragon or a crocodile… but probably not.

 

Anyway; the orange home uniform, again, is inspired by Goku’s orange and blue gi, and the road jersey is loosely based on Vegeta’s white and blue battle armour. I also I took cues from the Islanders’ initial Reebok Edge design, mostly swapping blue and orange around on the home uniform. The third jersey’s purple and red scheme was meant as a nod to Goku’s look in the original Dragon Ball, but then Gohan and Piccolo also wear these colours in Dragon Ball Z.

 

Finally then there is the primary logo which I based on Shenron, a recurring character and something of a series mascot for Dragon Ball - albeit in orange and blue instead of his usual green. As a way of paying homage to Dragon Ball’s other mascot and its main protagonist, I gave the dragon a mane reminiscent of Goku’s spiky hair. (FWIW: While I haven't drawn it, I imagine the Dragons' original logo would look something like this)

[johne9109]

2 hours ago, wildwing64 said:

 

I've had a change of heart on this matter and will be adding a fourth team to New York; in other words, a Ghostbusters team is on the way!

 

I have a name in mind for that franchise; but with how I’ve done the New York teams so far, there is another that I have to get done first. It'll make sense when I get to them.

 

17. Colorado Dragons (Goku / Dragon Ball)

 

Name: The Uniondale Arena was seeking a tenant and the Devils’ ownership had no interest in going there, so the league awarded another franchise to New York. The newly formed Long Island Dragons - named by their Chinese ownership group who gave no apparent reason for the moniker - barely lasted a couple of years before falling victim to financial mismanagement and bankruptcy, which led to their sale and journey west to Denver, Colorado. The new owners kept the existing brand as the move happened with very little time before the then-upcoming season; they were in the process of creating a new identity, but scrapped those plans as soon as the team won a Cup in its first year as the Colorado Dragons.

 

Logo: A modernised rendition of their original crest, depicting Shenlong (aka the Divine Dragon) from Chinese mythology. The dragon’s antlers resemble a pair of hockey sticks, because of course they do.

 

Alternate Logo: The C and circle from the flag of Colorado. The circle contains six stars, borrowed from the State Seal.

 

Colours: Orange, blue and white. The Dragons proudly declare that orange signifies their offensive onslaughts while blue represents their maturity and grit, with white referencing the snow capped Rocky Mountains - but these were their colours in New York and they kept them when relocating.

 

Jerseys: Like the rest of their identity, the Dragons uniforms were carried over from Long Island - their current jerseys are slightly updated from what they once wore. The home sweater is orange with blue sleeves, and the road jersey is white and blue with somewhat less emphasis on their signature orange. Both uniforms use different sets of pants; orange at home and blue on the road.

 

Third Jersey: During the 90’s - and despite the popularity of their orange and blue uniforms - the Dragons rebranded with a new logo and jerseys featuring purple, black and red. Before long, fan outcry prompted them to switch back; however, they did keep the modernised dragon crest, recolouring it to match the original scheme. This jersey has since garnered a cult following and more recently was revived as an alternate uniform.

 

 

 

 

 

I haven’t engaged with the Dragon Ball franchise all that much and most of my knowledge of it comes from pop culture osmosis. That said, I chose Colorado as this team’s home as it reminded me of the mountainous settings that are often depicted in the anime and manga. After picking the location, taking the C from Colorado’s flag and turning the circle into a Dragon Ball was a no-brainer. In turn, I could base the uniforms on Goku’s orange and blue gi and basically make them the hockey Broncos. But what about the rest of the identity?

 

My first idea for the name was the Dragons. But then it occurred to me that Goku is based on Sun Wukong - aka the Monkey King, who is obviously not a dragon - so I also considered the Kings, but I didn’t feel like the name fit either the region or Goku himself. Then I thought back to the mountainous settings of the series, and the Rocky Mountains, and reviving the hockey Rockies similar to what I did with the Americans - but that felt too obvious, especially when the Avalanche have already called back to their predecessors in different ways. Finally I ended up circling back to the Dragons, after learning that the main hero cast is collectively known as the Dragon Team.

 

“But wait,” you may be wondering, “what do Dragons have to do with Colorado, or Long Island for that matter?” I dunno! This team’s backstory was inspired by the Islanders’ former co-tenants, the AFL’s New York Dragons, and when looking for the source of their name I got nothing. I always thought it might have come from the easternmost parts of Long Island vaguely resembling the open maw of a dragon or a crocodile… but probably not.

 

Anyway; the orange home uniform, again, is inspired by Goku’s orange and blue gi, and the road jersey is loosely based on Vegeta’s white and blue battle armour. I also I took cues from the Islanders’ initial Reebok Edge design, mostly swapping blue and orange around on the home uniform. The third jersey’s purple and red scheme was meant as a nod to Goku’s look in the original Dragon Ball, but then Gohan and Piccolo also wear these colours in Dragon Ball Z.

 

Finally then there is the primary logo which I based on Shenron, a recurring character and something of a series mascot for Dragon Ball - albeit in orange and blue instead of his usual green. As a way of paying homage to Dragon Ball’s other mascot and its main protagonist, I gave the dragon a mane reminiscent of Goku’s spiky hair. (FWIW: While I haven't drawn it, I imagine the Dragons' original logo would look something like this)

that logo is sick

[coco1997]

Ugh, it's such a shame the Colorado State Seal has six stars when there are seven Dragon Balls. We were *this* close to perfection.  Seriously, though, this is a fantastic identity.

 

Can't wait to see what you've come up with for the Ghostbusters! Fingers crossed we get a charcoal gray alternate jersey a la the flight suits from Ghostbusters 2. 

[Bomba Tomba]

YESSSS As someone who was really into anime and never into Western superheroes, this is my favorite set of all

 

21 hours ago, coco1997 said:

Ugh, it's such a shame the Colorado State Seal has six stars when there are seven Dragon Balls.

 

The 7 Dragon Balls have 1-7 stars, so a 6 starred one does makes sense

[wildwing64]

On 6/25/2024 at 1:55 AM, Bomba Tomba said:

YESSSS As someone who was really into anime and never into Western superheroes, this is my favorite set of all

 

Funnily enough, same here. I don't actually read that many Western comics outside of Power Rangers and Transformers - and even those started out as Japanese properties!

 

I currently have -checks list- at least one more anime themed team planned, so stay tuned for that

 

On 6/24/2024 at 3:59 AM, coco1997 said:

Ugh, it's such a shame the Colorado State Seal has six stars when there are seven Dragon Balls. We were *this* close to perfection.

 

I know, right?!

 

On 6/24/2024 at 3:59 AM, coco1997 said:

Can't wait to see what you've come up with for the Ghostbusters! Fingers crossed we get a charcoal gray alternate jersey a la the flight suits from Ghostbusters 2. 

 

Duly noted. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

Speaking of ghosts...

[wildwing64]

18. Chicago Flames (Ghost Rider)

 

Name: The original Chicago Flyers folded despite being a big draw, leading the NHSL to award a new franchise to fill the void in this hockey hungry city. This new team elected not to revive the Flyers name - likely due to legal issues at the time - and instead chose the Flames, in reference to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

 

Logo: A white C containing a flame. The C is slanted to give it a sense of speed - or perhaps this was meant as a subtle nod to their then-predecessors.

 

Alternate Logo: Taking after at least one other team during the 90’s, the Flames introduced this alternate mark featuring a stylised, old school goalie mask engulfed in fire and with an intimidating pair of orange eyes. The mask bears an uncanny resemblance to a skull.

 

Colours: Black and white with Wildfire Orange accents. The alternate logo and third jersey also make use of yellow.

 

Jerseys: The home black sweater features white cuffs and orange stripes, and vice versa on the road uniform, which features a black shoulder yoke. The crest is recoloured to black on the white jersey. A simplified and flameless version of their C logo is used as the captain’s patch.

 

Third Jersey: Another black jersey for their 90’s alternate uniform, but Chicago did what Motor City wouldn’t and went all out with a sublimated flame design. This one has been subject to much roasting and isn’t so hot with purists who’d rather throw it into a fire.

 

 

 

 

 

No doubt that fans of both Chicago and Calgary’s real world NHL teams will feel this one is - wait I’m getting deja vu. Anyway; this was actually the first team I planned for Chicago before coming up with the Invincible-themed Illinois Flyers. In comparison the name choice for this team was pretty straightforward; Johnny Blaze - aka Ghost Rider - was apparently born in a suburb north of Chicago and as Ghost Rider he has a blatant fiery motif. Connecting that with the Great Chicago Fire - as did the UIC Flames and Chicago Fire FC - made too much sense.

 

Like the Calgary Flames, a fiery C was the obvious choice for the logo. The title font for Ghost Rider’s comics has varied over the years but I based the shape of the C on the “RIDER” portion of the title from this cover. I also wanted to do something a bit different to Calgary; oddly when I look at their logo, I find my eye being drawn to the negative space inside the C, so for this logo I put the flame in that space instead of having it streaking from the outside. Ironically it ended up being more like the Atlanta Flames this way.

 

The over the top flame design on the thirds was something I originally wanted to try with the Motor City Convoy (a la Optimus Prime’s flames in the live action Transformers films) but ultimately saved it for this Ghost Rider team instead. I think this probably does a better job of capturing the spirit of those comics…not that I’ve actually read them

 

EDIT: I've tweaked the third jersey crest a bit, fixing the overall balance and adding a white keyline as it was bugging me (original version here). Also it's occured to me that I haven't talked about that aspect of the design; obviously this is an homage to Ghost Rider himself, but instead of a skull we have a goalie mask. I took inspiration from some masks of the 70's, with added mouth vents similar to the Calgary Hitmen logo to give it more of that skull-like feel.

Edited July 10 by wildwing64

[Bomba Tomba]

5 hours ago, wildwing64 said:

I currently have -checks list- at least one more anime themed team planned, so stay tuned for that

Lemme guess

 

Sailor Moon?

[neo_prankster]

2 hours ago, Bomba Tomba said:

Lemme guess

 

Sailor Moon?

Kansas City (Sailor) Scouts!

[wildwing64]

9 hours ago, Bomba Tomba said:

Lemme guess

 

Sailor Moon?

 

No, but... actually, yes! Consider that one added to the list

[wildwing64]

It's now time for our third of four New York teams (or five if you count New Jersey). The original plan was for the Ninja Turtles team as number three, but I've rejigged the order slightly and may do them next.

 

19. Long Island Phantoms (Ghostbusters)

 

Name: After the Devils and Dragons departed, two more franchises would be awarded to New York bringing the total back up to four. The Dragons’ former arena in Uniondale was in disuse for some time after their move to Colorado, but this inspired the new team’s identity; the Phantoms nickname came about from rumours and in-jokes about the rink being haunted.

 

Logo: The team’s mascot, Mooglie - a jovial, hockey playing ghost. An earlier version of the logo had him contained in a roundel, but the design has since been updated to feature the ghost floating through a ring instead. The stick tape features a hidden “NY” despite the team using Long Island as the geographic identity. The logo also fills in for the “O” in the Phantoms wordmark.

 

Alternate Logo: First appearing as a shoulder patch on their third jersey, the Phantoms celebrated two back-to-back championships with this commemorative mark depicting Mooglie holding the coveted Stan Lee Cup while making a peace sign.

 

Colours: Midnight Black, Ghost White, and red. The third jersey introduces a dark grey into their palette.

 

Jerseys: The home jersey is black with white and red stripes, and vice versa on the road white uniform. Notably the Phantoms have different coloured name plates; apparently this unique tradition started after the equipment managers mistakenly received a set of the Spiders’ red name plates. This amused the owners and led to their other uniforms getting a similar treatment, which is also applied to the captain’s patches. Inside the collar is a hazard tape-like hanger effect, as a playful nod to the former Dragons owners who - for reasons unknown - haphazardly stuck loads of black and yellow tape around parts of the building after they sold the team.

Third Jersey: The “Back 2 Back” logo was once the shoulder patch of this third jersey, originally introduced to commemorate their consecutive championships. The Phantoms probably took notes from the Steelers, opting for dark grey instead of a “Stan Lee Cup Silver” base. The jersey features black cuffs and two sets of red and white stripes on the sleeves and hem, and a diagonal wordmark in place of their normal crest.

 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks to coco1997 for suggesting / requesting this team - not one I originally planned, but I ended up having a lot of fun coming up with their identity.

 

Firstly, regarding the lack of that beige / vintage white of the classic Ghostbusters uniform; there will be a jersey with that colour scheme as the Phantoms are taking part in an upcoming outdoor game, so look forward to that!

 

While there was some influence from that uniform - namely the captain’s patches and the Flyers-esque name plates on the back - the black, white and red colour scheme was inspired partially by the logo itself, but mostly by the original movie poster; the logo on a plain black background accompanied only by the title and white text is a simple but striking design and I wanted to pay homage to that, so I went with black for the home sweater. For the striping I borrowed from a couple of designs worn by the EHL’s Long Island Ducks, who wore a similar colour scheme. I originally had the road jersey stripes as black-red-black but it looked too similar to my white Devils jersey, so I went with red-white-black instead.

 

Considering the theme of this project, I suppose it’s ironic that this team’s brand is technically based around the antagonistic force of the Ghostbusters franchise. Obviously a no-ghost sign wouldn’t work for a team named after them, but the diagonal bar blocking the ghost from busting out led me to a lightbulb moment. While I’ve redrawn it to be more suitable for a hockey version of this team, I’d like to think I succeeded in capturing the spirit of the original - if you’ll pardon the pun.

 

With the third jersey being based on the grey flight suits of Ghostbusters 2, my mind wandered into how to incorporate the “2” aspect. In 1924 the Canadiens swapped out their CH crest for a globe in celebration of their second Stanley Cup, so with that precedent in mind I put a slightly different hockey spin on the GB2 logo - but this time as a shoulder patch, as a nod to the usual position of the Ghostbusters emblem. For the striping I borrowed from the uniforms as seen in the 2016 reboot; sacrilegious as it may be depending on who you ask (disclaimer: I haven’t seen it so I have no opinion whatsoever) the firefighter-esque stripes looked like they would work on a hockey uniform. So essentially I've fused two versions of the uniform into one

[johne9109]

1 hour ago, wildwing64 said:

It's now time for our third of four New York teams (or five if you count New Jersey). The original plan was for the Ninja Turtles team as number three, but I've rejigged the order slightly and may do them next.

 

19. Long Island Phantoms (Ghostbusters)

 

Name: After the Devils and Dragons departed, two more franchises would be awarded to New York bringing the total back up to four. The Dragons’ former arena in Uniondale was in disuse for some time after their move to Colorado, but this inspired the new team’s identity; the Phantoms nickname came about from rumours and in-jokes about the rink being haunted.

 

Logo: The team’s mascot, Mooglie - a jovial, hockey playing ghost. An earlier version of the logo had him contained in a roundel, but the design has since been updated to feature the ghost floating through a ring instead. The stick tape features a hidden “NY” despite the team using Long Island as the geographic identity. The logo also fills in for the “O” in the Phantoms wordmark.

 

Alternate Logo: First appearing as a shoulder patch on their third jersey, the Phantoms celebrated two back-to-back championships with this commemorative mark depicting Mooglie holding the coveted Stan Lee Cup while making a peace sign.

 

Colours: Midnight Black, Ghost White, and red. The third jersey introduces a dark grey into their palette.

 

Jerseys: The home jersey is black with white and red stripes, and vice versa on the road white uniform. Notably the Phantoms have different coloured name plates; apparently this unique tradition started after the equipment managers mistakenly received a set of the Spiders’ red name plates. This amused the owners and led to their other uniforms getting a similar treatment, which is also applied to the captain’s patches. 

Third Jersey: The “Back 2 Back” logo was once the shoulder patch of this third jersey, originally introduced to commemorate their consecutive championships. The Phantoms probably took notes from the Steelers, opting for dark grey instead of a “Stan Lee Cup Silver” base. The jersey features black cuffs and two sets of red and white stripes on the sleeves and hem, and a diagonal wordmark in place of their normal crest.

 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks to coco1997 for suggesting / requesting this team - not one I originally planned, but I ended up having a lot of fun coming up with their identity.

 

Firstly, regarding the lack of that beige / vintage white of the classic Ghostbusters uniform; there will be a jersey with that colour scheme as the Phantoms are taking part in an upcoming outdoor game, so look forward to that!

 

While there was some influence from that uniform - namely the captain’s patches and the Flyers-esque name plates on the back - the black, white and red colour scheme was inspired partially by the logo itself, but mostly by the original movie poster; the logo on a plain black background accompanied only by the title and white text is a simple but striking design and I wanted to pay homage to that, so I went with black for the home sweater. For the striping I borrowed from a couple of designs worn by the EHL’s Long Island Ducks, who wore a similar colour scheme. I originally had the road jersey stripes as black-red-black but it looked too similar to my white Devils jersey, so I went with red-white-black instead.

 

Considering the theme of this project, I suppose it’s ironic that this team’s brand is technically based around the antagonistic force of the Ghostbusters franchise. Obviously a no-ghost sign wouldn’t work for a team named after them, but the diagonal bar blocking the ghost from busting out led me to a lightbulb moment. While I’ve redrawn it to be more suitable for a hockey version of this team, I’d like to think I succeeded in capturing the spirit of the original - if you’ll pardon the pun.

 

With the third jersey being based on the grey flight suits of Ghostbusters 2, my mind wandered into how to incorporate the “2” aspect. In 1924 the Canadiens swapped out their CH crest for a globe in celebration of their second Stanley Cup, so with that precedent in mind I put a slightly different hockey spin on the GB2 logo - but this time as a shoulder patch, as a nod to the usual position of the Ghostbusters emblem. For the striping I borrowed from the uniforms as seen in the 2016 reboot; sacrilegious as it may be depending on who you ask (disclaimer: I haven’t seen it so I have no opinion whatsoever) the firefighter-esque stripes looked like they would work on a hockey uniform. So essentially I've fused two versions of the uniform into one

This is friggin amazing. I am a HUGE Ghostbusters fan and this is just perfect. I cannot wait to see the Outdoor jersey.

[coco1997]

YES!!! Perfection! This is everything I hoped for when I suggested the Ghostbusters for this project and more. The stick swinging No Ghost logo is sheer genius. 

 

The only other thing I'd want to see is for you to find a way to work in the black and yellow hazard tape design from the ghost trap and Ecto-1A into the design somehow, maybe as the sleeve stripes?

 

 

It's definitely not necessary but would be a fun little flourish.

 

Anyway, thanks for turning my suggestion into such an awesome concept!

[Darknes]

This has been a really good series to pay attention to.

Curious to see what team might be lurking in regards to the New England market.

[wildwing64]

On 8/3/2024 at 5:17 PM, coco1997 said:

YES!!! Perfection! This is everything I hoped for when I suggested the Ghostbusters for this project and more. The stick swinging No Ghost logo is sheer genius. 

 

The only other thing I'd want to see is for you to find a way to work in the black and yellow hazard tape design from the ghost trap and Ecto-1A into the design somehow, maybe as the sleeve stripes?

 

It's definitely not necessary but would be a fun little flourish.

 

Anyway, thanks for turning my suggestion into such an awesome concept!

 

I've made a minor adjustment to the home and road jerseys in the original post.

 

And thank you again for the suggestion! Glad you like it

 

 

20 hours ago, Darknes said:

This has been a really good series to pay attention to.

Curious to see what team might be lurking in regards to the New England market.

 

I have one planned for Maine, and one on the 'maybe pile' for Boston which is admittedly not resonating with me. For Boston in particular (or even Hartford!) I'm open to any suggestions.

[johne9109]

19 minutes ago, wildwing64 said:

 

I've made a minor adjustment to the home and road jerseys in the original post.

 

And thank you again for the suggestion! Glad you like it

 

 

 

I have one planned for Maine, and one on the 'maybe pile' for Boston which is admittedly not resonating with me. For Boston in particular (or even Hartford!) I'm open to any suggestions.

The hazard striping on the back of the collar is genius

[Darknes]

6 hours ago, wildwing64 said:

I have one planned for Maine, and one on the 'maybe pile' for Boston which is admittedly not resonating with me. For Boston in particular (or even Hartford!) I'm open to any suggestions.

Upon a cursory glance and looking around, Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel from the Comics is from Boston. If you wanted to go in a different direction Emma Frost from the X-Men is also from Boston as well.

Hartford's only notable character that I could find was one Norman Osborn.

[coco1997]

8 hours ago, wildwing64 said:

I've made a minor adjustment to the home and road jerseys in the original post.

 

And thank you again for the suggestion! Glad you like it

 

The hazard tape on the collar is brilliant. You honored my request without compromising the original design in any way. 

[neo_prankster]

Is this thread still active? I'd like to see it continue.

[wildwing64]

On 9/3/2024 at 5:52 AM, neo_prankster said:

Is this thread still active? I'd like to see it continue.

 

I've been taking a short break, but it will continue! As it happens I'm in the middle of planning a new team - so I don't think the end will be in sight anytime soon

 

[Darknes]

Any hints on what might be coming next?