Since the moment Gary Bettman announced Las Vegas was joining the NHL as the league’s 31st franchise, fans everywhere have been enamored by what to call the team.
I’ve written plenty of articles, sent countless numbers of Tweets, done Podcasts, radio interviews, appeared on TV, and I’m sad to admit it’s even dominated many of my conversations over the past month and a half. But the fact of the matter is the name of the team pales in comparison to the importance of the color scheme and logo.
A great name can be destroyed by a terrible logo and colors, while a subpar name can be saved by a cool design. One of the reasons there is such a negative reaction to every team name possibility released is because there aren’t logos, colors, and designs to go with it.
Last week we conducted a poll on Twitter that proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Which will have the largest effect on you buying Las Vegas NHL apparel?
— The Sin Bin (@SinBinVegas) August 8, 2016
Only 18% of the participants said team name was the most important factor in their decision to purchase apparel.
To further prove it, just go back through the comments we get on our designs. If we released the name Peregrines, Rat Pack or Venom, people all over social media would freak out, saying those names are miserable. But when you see logos like the ones Isaac Palestino and Samuel Ho have designed, the names come to life and people can actually envision themselves wearing them.
And it’s not just names, it’s colors too.
Remember when the Sharks came out, their jersey was in the top two in North America in sales, who ever would have thought that teal could have been a hot color and that time and the Sharks proved how important it was to their branding. –Murray Craven
Colors sell. Look at the Seattle Seahawks, the Carolina Tar Heels, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the list goes on and on, a killer scheme can save even the stupidest name.
Las Vegas has a rare opportunity to claim a color and attach it to the already world renowned brand. If they do it correctly, there will be a unique accent color. A color unused by any sports team anywhere. One in which a fan wearing a blank shirt in that color still symbolizes Las Vegas Hockey. Feel free to make fun of me, but this would work perfectly.
So just relax people, wait til you see the finished product. Whether the team name is Nighthawks, Silver Knights, or Teamy McTeam Face, it won’t matter if the NHL, Adidas, and The Creator light the lamp with the color scheme and logo.
nick
I largely agree Ken but most times the name dictates the logo which dictates color. So nighthawks (shity name btw) I imagine reds, browns, blacks bird/desert/night time look. So nothing vibrant just an example… still pulling Silver Knights thinking the hawks ripoff was just a head fake..art of the deal stuff.
Ken Boehlke
I’m with ya. With the proposed names, there are a lot of bad ways they can go.
RJ
Yes yes, there is much more to a brand than a name, but the name comes first right? Until we have a name we don’t have an identity at all, it is difficult to form communities, we are just a theoretical Las Vegas Hockey Club. Even a bad name is better than no name because so many of us have been waiting our whole lives for a team to call our own.
Ken Boehlke
Name definitely comes first, but a poor one can be overcome easily.
A Fan
I’ve brought this subject up here a few times before. Having a color like the Philadelphia Flyers have their orange, it stands out, it pops. I’m sure there are many in Philly who didn’t like the color orange, but now if they see a t-shirt or something that color, they know right away what it is. How cool would that be to have a sea of a color that pops fill up the T-Mobile arena! And of course having a cool logo is very important as well.
Rob
Honestly when I first heard the potential name “Peregrines” I laughed it off as dumb. Kens right, however, in thaf a jersey can change a thought process. Although I doubt they will choose that name, the mock jersey is so sick. It made me love it.
James
‘If they do it correctly, there will be a unique accent color. A color unused by any sports team anywhere.’
I have a purple Barney the Dinosaur inaugural season Toronto Raptors vest hanging in the back of my wardrobe.
Purple appears to be more popular amongst the big three North American sports.
The Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets, Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Diamond Backs.
Ken, you might get some pushback from the Los Angeles Kings crowd. Before it was phased out they played in purple. The Los Angeles Lakers inspired their uniforms. The Anaheim Ducks inaugural season jersey is Purple/Turquoise.
Ken Boehlke
My purple color was more of an example than an absolute suggestion. In a perfect world there would be a color none of us have really ever seen before used as the accent color. I know it’s tough to be unique now a days, but they have a chance to do it, hopefully they don’t mess it up.
James
I don’t have a problem with Foley’s choice of gold being the accent colour. Some fans don’t like the fact that Kings are above Knights in the pecking order. A gold medal ranks ahead of silver and bronze in the sports world. Perhaps I’m colour blind, but the Boston Bruins gold looks more like yellow.
James
@A Fan
I think functionality is more important than having an aesthectically pleasing colour uniform. There will be a lot of new/casual fans tuning into the games who can’t follow the puck as well as the die hard fans. Former St Louis Blues goaltender Brian Elliot wore dark coloured goalie pads to help cover up the puck. He got more calls because referees lost track of the puck against his dark equipment. I read that goaltenders had trouble tracking pucks against the black backdrop of empty black seats in Brooklyn this season. A black home jersey could be a bad idea. You want to make the game as easy to follow as possible. Make the local team stand out like the FoxTrax Glow Puck.
With the small puck being black and the ice being predominantly white, I think colours other than black & white show up best on television and in person. For example, orange. Ken’s idea of purple could be a winner.
Tom
Name preference aside, I’d like it if we went with bright colors. Vegas is a flashy, over-the-top, fast paced town. I would love for our colors to represent that somehow. I don’t like the Headliners name, but I really liked the colors on the concept jersey. Something like that I think would be awesome.
James
@Tom
Looking back at the jersey concepts, I really like the bright colour red on the Wranglers jersey concept. I think it would be taking it to the extreme to name the team the Nighthawks and play in red. But I would keep red in mind for the two mystery names. I grew up a basketball fan, so I’ve always associated Las Vegas sports with the colour red. But perhaps the team wants to create it’s own identity? I live across the pond, so I wouldn’t know which colour Las Vegans associate themselves with. The Nevada flag is predominantly blue, and the state is known as the silver state. But I would argue that the New York Yankees have a better colour scheme than the New York Mets. The Mets colours are based on the Flags of New York City. Like the team name, I don’t think it’s essential for the team colours to have a deep meaning behind them. Just pick the best colour scheme.
Tom
@James,
That’s just it about this town, I don’t know if we identify with any certainty color. Maybe red like you said bacause of UNLV. But (I feel) that this town has lacked identity as long as I’ve been here. We’ve never really had anything to call our own other than a place for people to come and be animals for a weekend and the Rebels of course. This is (I feel) the first big thing other than Rebels basketball that we can call our own and be proud of. The one thing this town is know for is being flashy. Im thinking bright colors and hopefully some young fast skaters one day. But going back to colors, I don’t feel like the average local really feels a deep bond to anything. I know that comment might piss some people off but that’s what I see. We’re a town full of transplants. I feel like our team and colors really don’t need to pay homage to anything, because I don’t feel the average local is really that sentimental about our city or state. For that reason, I feel we can go completely off the reservation and just go with what feels good color-wise. This team will bring us together in alot of ways. I really hope we get it right with the name and colors.
James
How would you feel about a red and black colour scheme? It would be a subtle tip of the cap to the Las Vegas gaming industry (roulette wheel colours). I thoroughly believe Bill Foley would sell more merchandise to tourists and fans of other hockey teams if the name was tied to gambling. Over 42 million people visited the city last year.
Ken Boehlke
Would much prefer something more unique. Maybe what makes it different will be putting two colors together that most people don’t think go together.
Bret
If the creator is beholden to the color scheme and has his heart set on *knights, they could go with something like Solar Knights. The Solar Bears were long one of the fun nicks in hockey. Emphasize the sun of Vegas with a deep gold color. While the Penguins and Bruins have the yellow and black, Vegas can have a deeper gold color. I guess it would be like the difference between Iowa and Purdue in the B1G. None of the Pacific are close to a “gold” color.
Of course, I’m all for something ridiculous like the Neon Nights as well using the color scheme of the Orlando Storm of the WLAF if it sells with the kids. No one in Vegas has much shame to wearing whatever if it’s the right setting.
As long as I’m bringing up old WLAF:
Frankfurt Galaxy
Barcelona Dragons
London Monarchs
so on
That league had it down for 90s new franchises.
Bret
Can Vegas bring back the Whalers?
After all, many of us work for companies trying to land the whales. 😛
Tom
@James
I’d take red and black over Silver black and gold any day, but if I had my choice I’d go with red and another bright color. I’d stay away from dark colors.