BRENDAN McCARTHY: New ECHL franchise in St. John's needs to dare to be different

As is the norm when it comes to these things, there is a great deal of opinion — often tinged with passion or angst and presented in demanding tones — being offered when it comes to the choice of a nickname for the new minor pro hockey team that will hit the ice in St. John’s this fall.
YBut mostly, it is wasted emotion and pointless debate because the nickname doesn’t really matter.
It would be the rare, and rather odd, person who chooses not to be buy a ticket to see the new ECHL club because they didn’t like the moniker.
It will not be the nickname that determines the success of this team. They could come up with one that was universally applauded, but if the entertainment value is lacking and the on-ice performances are lackluster, this venture will slide towards failure.

And merchandise sales will be negatively affected, no matter how cool the colour scheme.
But they could dub this team the Horse Pucks or the Bottom Feeders and outfit the players in pink polka dots and pinstripe pants, and if they turned out a thrilling product night after night and are consistent winners, they will be a success.
And the polka dot jerseys would still be bought up.
Take the band KISS. The makeup and costumes made for a cool shtick, but if the music wouldn’t sell, neither would the look.

St. John's back on the ice, this time in the ECHL

That doesn’t mean the branding now being considered by the team’s ownership group and management is not important.
There are two vastly different directions in which they could go.
One would be to do as had been done when the American Hockey League first arrived here in 1991 and acknowledge in outward appearance that the team will be affiliated with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
They could choose many none-Leafs related nicknames and still go with the classic blue and white colour scheme of an iconic organization. They could even go all-in as they did 27 years ago and call the team the St. John’s Maple Leafs and becoming mirror images of their affiliate, just substituting “St. John’s” for “Toronto” inside the leaf logo.
This might appeal to many in the large and — with the recent success of the NHL club — growing number of Toronto backers in these parts, while ticking off the odd (see above) Leaf hater.
The latter is highly unlikely, however.
The former — a different name with a blue and white pattern — is a possibility but it would not be the best representation of what will be a different type of hockey offering for these parts.
The AHL has firm affiliations, with the majority of teams directly owned by NHL parent clubs and this is something widely reflected in their look. The uniforms are much the same — in some cases, identical — to those of the big team, save for the logos.
The ECHL — two floors removed from the NHL — is something else. Almost all the teams — including this one— are owned independently and their branding reflects this.
While nearly every ECHL team has an NHL partnership (some with stronger ties than others), none have a shared nickname as do many in the AHL (Devils, Senators, Bruins, Sharks) or even jersey styles and colours.
They are unique and they look the part.
That seems to be the direction in which the St. John’s ECHL people are looking. Shamrocks is one nickname being considered and there is no way that can be used without Kelly green as the base colour.
There are no blue shamrocks.
The Maple Leafs have been highly invested in their current ECHL affiliate, the Orlando Solar Bears. This season, they have had more contracted players (albeit with AHL deals) in Orlando than any other NHL team with an ECHL partner.
And Toronto has already indicated it envisions St. John’s as becoming a key entry point into its organization, for players, coaches, management or training staff looking to make their way into pro hockey.
This is extremely important for delivery of a successful on-ice product, but maybe not enough for the new St. John’s team, which will have some involvement in fashioning a roster, to become entirely — or even partly — invested in the vestments of Leafdom.
This will not be the AHL.
This will be something different and will require a branding that is reflective of that.
Whenever the nickname is announced, there will be praise and acclamation. There will be derision and disgust. There will those who insist the geographical prefix should have been “Newfoundland” as opposed to “St. John’s” or vice versa. If the name is St. John's Squids, for example, there will be those who will codemn the adherence to alliteration. If there is no double S, there weill be those slamming it, too.
Whatever the case, in less than a week, it will all wash out to sea.
It happened with the IceCaps and those countless wits who came up with clever connections or cutting criticisms relating to a Tim Hortons product. It happened with basketball’s Edge and all those who were highly offended by the backward “E” in the logo.
There was a rush of response and within days, nothing more.
Because it is not all in the name.
It will not be the label of this team that deserves your attention. It will be the colour of the packaging and the uniqueness of the presentation.
Like what is coming to this October, it should be something you haven’t seen before on the ice at Mile One.