The calendar has now flipped to September and we still don’t have definite date for the unveiling of the team name. We unearthed a few rumors of a specific date in the middle of this month, but it appears those have turned out to be false.
There is definitely no date set. -Michelle Kersch, VP of Communications
The latest timeline confirmed by The Creator is late September to mid-October.
Speaking with apparel representatives around the city we’ve learned it’s expected to take around 6-8 weeks from the date the team name is finalized to when all the apparel would be printed, shipped, and ready to be sold. However, that could certainly be shortened if only a few items are available for sale at the unveil party.
The Creator mentioned earlier that jerseys were not likely to be available for sale at the time of the party, but hats, shirts, and such would.
A teleconference was scheduled for August 10th with the NHL and Adidas and the name was expected to be finalized on that date. About a week later it was confirmed that the final name had indeed been selected.
October 5th is exactly eight weeks from that teleconference, which matches up well with when we’ve long assumed they wanted to get the team name out, prior to Frozen Fury at T-Mobile Arena on October 7th and 8th. But every day that passes is another day the new Las Vegas franchise is losing money rather than making it.
UPDATE (9/2/16 12:12 PM) – Maybe we’ll be waiting even longer…
@Tdoggs57 @SinBinVegas on Tues. Foley texted me that he anticipates announcing team name “in mid October or shortly thereafter.”
— Amber Dixon (@AmberNews3LV) September 2, 2016
Michael
It does sound like the name has been chosen, and is one of the three Knight names, with the other two as backups, hence the three trademarks. How about a poll to see which of the three is most popular, with maybe Sand Knights, Nighthawks and Peregrines thrown in?
Alex
I don’t believe it will be one of those names. Not if NHL.com publicly announced the filings of the trademarks. It’s like spoiling the name well in advance of the actual reveal. There’s no fun in it if everyone already knows the name. It’s like if Disney announced “hey guys Episode 7 will either be called Rise of the Force, Dawn of the Force, or the Force Awakens, we’ll let you know in a month!” no one would be that excited. It would just be confirmation of info already out there. I really feel like those trademarks were public way too soon and the NHL was way too obvious about revealing them.
Michael
@Alex,
I hope you are right, but the NHL did not announce the names. The news was broken by Detroithockey.net, who saw the three trademarks filed. Eventually NHL.com reported it after everyone already knew from basically every other media outlet.
Ultimately, trademarks are public record, and seeing as you need 6-8 weeks to get the gear out to the public, they are really cutting it fine if they are going to try and sneak one in under the radar.
That being said, I would love it if this whole thing had indeed been a ruse and we got a good name!
Michael
Mind you, I know everyone is pretty much sick of the subject by now!
Ken Boehlke
Believe me, I am too. That’s kind of why I’m pressing to try and find out exactly when they are announcing it so it can all be over and we can move on to the next thing.
Michael
The irony of all this is no-one will care at all a year from now, when the team is about to take the ice. Yes, I will always feel like Aces was the best name, but once I am sitting in the arena actually watching them take on the Ducks or Kings, I won’t be crying about the name and nor will anyone else – especially if they nail the colors and logo!
James
@Michael
Nighthawks and Peregrines would probably come out on top. Better to stick with Desert Knights, Golden Knights & Silver Knights. Sand Knights doesn’t stand a chance!
I was surprised to see with nearly 3000 votes tallied it was all Desert Knights on the sportslogosnet poll. Personally, I like Desert Knights over Silver Knights. But I thought Silver Knights would win by a landslide.
Michael
@James
I bet you are right. The whole Sand Knights thing is weird too – it almost makes me wonder if that is going to be the kiddie fan club of the Desert Knights, which is why they don’t need the trademark?
I have gone back and forth between Desert and Silver, and I am in the Desert camp too now. I am also surprised it is more popular than Silver, though!
RJ
I don’t care for Desert or Sand Knights, they sound like a HS team. Add to that the unfortunate acronym LVDK of Desert Knights. Reminds me of the Furman University Crusading Knights. Silver Knights would be more acceptable in my opinion, but I’m going to be cheering for whatever name is chosen.
RJ
In the mean time can we just start calling the team Vegas HC? I’m sick of not being able to call the team anything. Frankly, Vegas HC is better than some of the finalists floating around.
Michael
@RJ
How about the Las Vegas Procrastinators?
James
@Michael
That’s totally plausible. My initial reaction was that Sand Knights was a red herring intended to throw us off the scent if discovered. sandknights.com was registered publicly to Black Knight IP Holding Company, LLC
Unlike the registrations for the Nighthawks, Red Hawks, and Desert Hawks domain names; lasvegasdesertknights.com, vegasdesertknights.com, and desertknightshockey.com were private registrations. I think they tried to sneak them in. If it wasn’t for detroithockey.net putting two and two together and getting four there was nothing directly tying them to the Las Vegas organization.
Michael
@James
That is an interesting thought about Sand Knights being a ruse. I guess either way, unless they have a way of keeping a trademark hidden, there is no way of stopping people finding out, as there are certainly people scanning the trademark site for updates.
James
@Michael
Foley has already conceded that the name would leak before his big reveal due to people scanning the trademark site for updates. I think it’s a romantic notion that a top secret name will come out of left field on reveal day
James
Las Vegas nearing conclusion of name game
Desert Hawks, Nighthawks among possibilities for expansion team, but owner Bill Foley not giving any clues
by Nicholas J. Cotsonika @Cotsonika / NHL.com Columnist
Watch out for the Las Vegas Red Herrings.
Bill Foley, owner of the NHL expansion franchise that will play in Las Vegas starting in 2017-18, has filed trademark applications for several nicknames: Desert Hawks, Red Hawks, Nighthawks, Desert Knights, Silver Knights and Golden Knights.
He said Friday he had a “preferred name” the NHL had cleared and a “secondary name based upon the other ones.”
He also admitted he had included fakes as a misdirection ploy.
“I have,” he said with a laugh over the phone. “I think it’s irritating a few people.”
The name game should end soon.
Las Vegas had its third webinar with Adidas, the NHL’s official outfitter of uniforms and licensed apparel starting in 2017-18, on Thursday. Foley said they have the general color schemes and themes in place and “a logo that we like that needs more refinement.”
In eight or nine days, Las Vegas will have another webinar with Adidas, and Foley said they will be “really, really close.”
In mid-October, around the start of the regular season, Foley said he hopes to announce the name, logo and color scheme, and sell merchandise such as hats and T-shirts. Jerseys probably won’t go on sale until December.
“In the meantime, it’s creating a lot of excitement in Las Vegas,” Foley said with another laugh. “I mean, all I do is get harassed every day by people who have a name idea or, ‘Use this name,’ or, ‘What’s the name going to be?’ It’s in the news all the time, so we’re front of mind.”
What’s in a name?
This will be Las Vegas’ first major professional sports franchise; Foley wants to use this opportunity to give the area an identity other than The Strip and the team an identity to build upon. He has a military background and sees parallels with hockey in the camaraderie and teamwork.
“My goal is to really have a culture that has a military origin to it, of loyalty, strength, perseverance,” he said. “We never stop trying. We never give up. We never give in. That kind of culture.
“That’s really what I’m trying to do with the name and the logo, and I believe once that gets accomplished, guys that come and play for our team, if we pick the right type of players, they are going to embrace that culture and they are going to feel kind of a strength and power from being part of that organization.
“That’s why I’ve been pretty stubborn about various names and trying to keep it coming back to what I think I really want this team to represent. This is my one chance to do it.”
Foley’s first choice was Black Knights, the nickname of the athletic teams of his alma mater, the United States Military Academy, in West Point, N.Y. But he received pushback from Army and from people who didn’t know the Black Knight is a good guy. He protects those who can’t protect themselves.
He has received all sorts of suggestions from all sorts of people, from Aces to Blackjacks to Crappers to Scorpions to Snapping Turtles. Some have been discarded immediately because of their ties to gambling. Some have been discarded immediately because, well, they just don’t work.
“You would like your team to be named that?” Foley said.
Some have received serious consideration, like Aces, which could have tied into a local Air Force base, and Scorpions.
“Aces is pretty good,” Foley said. “We could produce some pretty interesting logos. I was kind of focused on a little different direction than Aces. A lot of people like Scorpions, but the scorpion is a defensive animal. We’re not going to be defensive. So I didn’t want that.”
Why not simply Knights? Trademarks have been a complicating factor, but Foley said he didn’t have a problem with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. He never really talked to the London ownership about it. He has wanted a two-word name.
Wait — Sand Knights is two words. That name has popped up in rumors recently. Is Sand Knights a possibility?
“No,” Foley said. “Never was.”
And so it likely will be Desert Hawks, Red Hawks, Nighthawks, Desert Knights, Silver Knights or Golden Knights. We think.
Good luck guessing. Foley isn’t telling.
“I found I had to be very, very careful about what I said, because as soon as I mentioned a direction, then everyone picked up on it,” he said. “It would get in the news and then people would start filing domain name registrations for that particular name. That’s why I’ve been kind of circumspect lately. It’s been interesting.
“It’s been fun too.”
https://www.nhl.com/news/las-vegas-nearing-conclusion-of-name-game/c-281544776?tid=280751000
Michael
Interesting article! My guess is that the Red Hawks, Golden Hawks and Golden Knights are the misdirection ploys here, but that he still clearly wants to go with Knights in some form.
I agree about the unlikelihood of a top secret name kept for reveal day, ESPECIALLY now he has said he actually wants a two word name.
James
@Michael
I think it’s a two horse race, Desert Knights and Silver Knights. Golden Knights is a dark horse.
Barring a last-minute change of heart by Foley, Desert Hawks, Red Hawks and Nighthawks have already been ruled out.
RJ
Well if he is so insistent on a knights name or something to do with the cavalry why has he not looked at these names:
CABALLEROS
CAVALRY
TROOPERS
RIDERS
HUSSARS
DRAGOON
LEGION
HORSEMEN
SQUADRON
RANGERS
LANCERS
ROUGHRIDERS
And many more keeps his Military theme going and I think a modern day knight correct me if I am wrong would be a Cavalryman?
RJ
Hey, another RJ. How will people tell us apart?
Michael
I am guessing the New York club would get upset by the Las Vegas Rangers…
RJ
Scorpions
Got enough time I guess he could call it on thanks giving or new year good time for the fans.
James
Give it up it’s over. Let her go.
“A lot of people like Scorpions, but the scorpion is a defensive animal. We’re not going to be defensive. So I didn’t want that.” Foley said.
Whereas hawks are predators that attack and eat other animals
RJ
This RJ is from the old country where my hockey team ice rink was closed down about 15 years ago? has did not want to spent thousands on fixing it. It was given to the local soccer team for indoor training. Was gutted even if the team was one of the worst in the league and had an attendance of less than hundred. It was about being part of a very friendly community. Most successful team there was the women’s team league champions 5 years in a row and out classed anyone in the league sadly the team had to fold also. And they oddly enough went by the name Scorpions and a very successful name it was for them. Used to have a fairly good youth team which produce a few good players that ended up playing in the states and Canada. Went by the name Arrows and Tomahawk all the clubs team colors where Green and Gold.
RJ
ICE hockey players have vowed to keep up pressure on the city council after losing their rink to Sunderland AFC’s football academy. The club is to use the rink for its academy as a stop-gap measure in its search for a permanent site after its Whitburn plans were rejected last year. It had been threatened with losing academy status by the Football Association because it did not have an all-weather training centre. The club now has a two-year lease at the centre that will see an artificial pitch laid on top of the former rink. Jacqueline Pye, secretary of the Sunderland Ice Hockey Club, said: “Naturally, we are very happy that Sunderland football club can keep its academy, but the loss of the rink and Crowtree was, and is, a major blow.” The ice-rink was originally closed in 2000 after leaks and condensation problems led to a massive repairs bill and sparked a protest campaign from hundreds of its users. Mrs Pye, of Augusta Terrace, Whitburn, whose four children all play in club teams, said: “The ultimate aim of the ice club remains having an ice-rink facility in the city again. “The rink was a leisure and social attraction for lots of people in Sunderland and since it shut youth crime in the city centre has gone up 33 per cent. “The council has been very supportive of the club and it is not their fault that Crowtree closed. It has said that there will be another ice-rink in Sunderland, we just don’t know when.” More than 200 people are members of Sunderland Ice Hockey Club which has seven teams playing at Newcastle Arena. Its teams include leading women’s side the Sunderland Scorpions, who have been league championships for the past 10 years. The club also has another 500 associate members and Mrs Pye said: “Hopefully we will have a decision on a new ice-rink soon.” A major review of all the city’s leisure centres is still being completed by the council.
Read more at: http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/ice-hockey-club-vows-to-find-a-home-1-1114308
James
@RJ
It’s a small world. I’m also from England. What drew you to support the Las Vegas NHL team?
It appears that Bill Foley and Knights come as a package. Here’s my conspiracy theory. Desert Hawks, Red Hawks and Nighthawks were put in a position to fail. Foley knew they would go down like a lead balloon for obvious reasons (imitation). Foley had to “give off the impression” that he is considering other names. His only intention was to call the team Knights in some way shape or form.
I kind of like Knights in some way shape or form, London Knights were an English ice hockey team based in London. I saw them play in person once and was impressed.
RJ
New team Jim new start. I used to follow the Houston Aeros, has I have family there. And Missouri State Bears has my American girlfriend at the time was from there and was the nearest team to watch from where she lived.
RJ
Jim not heard the saying the best defence is an offence. Scorpions maybe be small but you would not like to be stung by one.
So still think Scorpions is best for the first Navada based NHL team.
Tom
He said he doesn’t like Silver Knights, but who want to bet that’s a misdirection as well? I think it will be Silver Knights, and as much as I don’t like it, I like it better than the other knight names. So be it. Let’s just hope the jerseys don’t suck as bad as the name.
RJ
Don’t like any of the knights names and hope he does not pick one I have not come cross anyone who likes these names .even the Rat Pack, Desert Heat, Pan Handles, Mining Maniacs, Atom Bombers, Nightjars, Snapper Turtles and Silver Dollars comes out on top of themy.
Give it a rest.
James
@Tom
That’s a good call. I think you might be right.
And if Foley was being genuinely honest about disliking Silver Knights he can get round it by claiming it was misdirection
James
“My goal is to really have a culture that has a military origin to it, of loyalty, strength, perseverance,” he said. “We never stop trying. We never give up. We never give in. That kind of culture.”
I think it should be Las Vegas Golden Knights. In regard to culture, Golden Knights is the way to go. “The Gold Standard” is a commitment to excellence. Plus Foley can keep his original colour scheme.
RJ
Las Vegas Legion good military name