NHL to Seattle Volume XIV - Seattle sells 26,000 season ticket deposits in 2 hours

[aqib]

Seattle Cougars – Just No, We already have the cougars. Plus we already have the Panthers
Seattle Eagles – I think pro teams try to stay away from having same name as another pro team.
Seattle Emeralds – No thank you. I’m not someone that you need to name something after an animal. But a gem?
Seattle Evergreens – Meh. Not a fan. Do people want this because we’re the evergreen state?
Seattle Firebirds – Seattle firebirds and seattle Thunderbirds? Is this a trick to try and convince the thunderbirds to go back to breakers?
Seattle Kraken – I like it. It’s menancing, strong and powerful. It has strong connection to our region’s maritime and shipping history. Plus the jersey/merchandise/theme concepts has sold me on it.
Seattle Rainiers – I like it due to its connection to rainier, but you already have the Tacoma Rainiers so it is a non starter.
Seattle Renegades – eh. I am open to ‘Minor league style names’ if it makes sense to our region. Renegade does not fit that.
Seattle Sea Lions – I’m open to this, but not a real favourite.
Seattle Seals – eh. Just not a fan.
Seattle Sockeyes – I like it. Fishing is important to the region and sockeyes is prominent. I also like you can have fun with the name AND is historically important to the local tribes (sockeye is apparently the anglician word for ‘Red Fish’).
Seattle Totems – I love this one, it has strong hockey history (fairly recent), it was supposed to be the name of the NHL team in the 70s, the only concern is there is potential for cultural appropriation, due to the fact Totems are not necessarily native to our local tribes (although they were known to create wooden carvings of spirits etc). This would be something that OVG would handle with care
Seattle Whales – too close to the Whalers

A couple of things: If Seattle Whales is too close to Whalers then why isn't Seals to close to Golden Seals?

Also, just don't do Totems. Just stay away from native american themed names unless there is a specific tribe you name the team after and that tribe says its ok. Even if you have a respectful logo (i.e. not Chief Wahoo in Cleveland) and a name that isn't an offensive term (I'm talking to you Washington NFL team) you can't control all the fan behavior. Even though Seattle is a more politically correct place then Atlanta or Cleveland you can't rule out fans wearing feathers or face paint etc.

 

[Babe Ruth]

The Seattle Monikers: Odds-on favorite nicknames for the NHL's potential 32nd franchise | The Hockey News

(In the article's comments, a poster suggested 'Lumberjacks'. I kinda dig it..)

 

[Brodie]

The biggest sin in naming a sports team is picking something that sounds instantly dated. The best names are timeless but not too generic. The Maple Leafs, the Yankees, the Packers, the Celtics. Each one feels totally organic. Some names are dated but in a fun way, many names from the sixties and seventies have this quality. The Padres, the Jazz, the Dolphins, the Islanders. They're all fun and kind of kitschy, but in a nice way that emulates some of the qualities of the older name.

Names like Emeralds and Sea Lions capture those qualities, respectively. What Seattle absolutely must avoid, however, is the curse of datedness that effects so many teams founded in the 80s- 90s. The Magic, the Avalanche, the Heat, the Lightning, terrible alliterations like the Titans and the Jaguars which tell you nothing about a place and exist solely to be cute. That is what Kraken would be.

 

[brewski420]

Since when is it law in the NHL that team nicknames must follow a specific regions authentic history?

A. Can you explain what actually is a Flyer? Ed Snider decided on the name and was more concerned with
using orange and black colors for the uniform.
B. Check out the Boston Bruins they were named after Adams and Ross looked in Brown Bears of Dutch folk
tales.
C. New York Rangers were named after owner George Lewis (TEX) Richard and first were named Tex's
Ranger's .
D. Jack Kent Cooke selected the Kings name for LA as he wanted something Royal sounding.

So we have Texas Rangers in New York, Royalty in LA, Dutch Folk Tale Bruins in Boston, and something called a Flyer in Philadelphia yet Kraken isn't good enough for Seattle.

Not to mention Penguins or Pirates in Pittsburgh!!

 

[robert terwilliger]

there are no devils in new jersey either. but at least that nickname has local ties beyond "some people who lived here in the past used to live in the place where that thing was".

 

[superdeluxe]

A couple of things: If Seattle Whales is too close to Whalers then why isn't Seals to close to Golden Seals?

Also, just don't do Totems. Just stay away from native american themed names unless there is a specific tribe you name the team after and that tribe says its ok. Even if you have a respectful logo (i.e. not Chief Wahoo in Cleveland) and a name that isn't an offensive term (I'm talking to you Washington NFL team) you can't control all the fan behavior. Even though Seattle is a more politically correct place then Atlanta or Cleveland you can't rule out fans wearing feathers or face paint etc.

I agree, I just didn't point out that Seals is close to Golden Seals. I think Whalers is also closer in memory for many people.

Yeah the Totems one is tricky, while I don't you would necessarily have the issues due to the name not being a native american but instead a inanimate object, I do agree there are potential minefields with the Totem name.

 

[superdeluxe]

The Seattle Monikers: Odds-on favorite nicknames for the NHL's potential 32nd franchise | The Hockey News

(In the article's comments, a poster suggested 'Lumberjacks'. I kinda dig it..)

yeah I don't hate lumberjacks, many of my fellow Seattle fans don't like it because it is too close to Portland Timbers. But I'm not a huge Soccer fan, so the name doesn't bother me.

 

[Killion]

yeah I don't hate lumberjacks, many of my fellow Seattle fans don't like it because it is too close to Portland Timbers. But I'm not a huge Soccer fan, so the name doesn't bother me.

I'm sure some of you remember "Johnny Canuck"?.... A cartoon character who first appeared in 1869 to go along with England's John Bull & the States Uncle Sam.... soon became a national personification of Canada, most often appearing as a Lumberjack (Voyageur, Mountie etc, do gooder Superhero type like Clark Kent), that character then adopted by the Vancouver Canucks with Johnny as a Lumberjack appearing on their jerseys.... So..... I'm guessing that name (Logger, Lumberjack) has very likely been registered & copyrighted (Cleveland Lumberjacks, several colleges & universities, minor pro baseball etc) but yes, it'd be a good name for a Seattle NHL Franchise for sure & worth looking into.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

what is the national fruit of Washington? AS most of you are aware the Blueberries name was tossed into the mix when renaming the Alaska Aces....

 

[jbron]

What if ownership decides to go with the state name (Washington) as opposed to Seattle similar to Florida , Colorado, Minnesota, and Carolina? Then what the Washington Wind or War Eagles? Oh lets just settle it, the Washington Kraken.

 

[Killion]

what is the national fruit of Washington? AS most of you are aware the Blueberries name was tossed into the mix when renaming the Alaska Aces....

"Blueberries"? Thats Sasquatch food. Be a fool to go picking blueberries out here in the wilds of the Pacific NW though a lot do..... vanishing into thin air.... www.canammissing.com ......... so no, that wont do, cant be promoting an activity like that, extremely dangerous.... So fruit huh?.... The apple is WA States "official fruit".... so.... Seattle Apples? .... doesnt exactly roll off the tongue huh? Lame. Besides which, seems to me theres a highly litigious tech company by that name no?.... so what else..... lets see now..... "official vegetable"?.... that'd be yer Walla Walla Sweet Onion... ever havee HUTCH?... very tasty.... but no, definitely not a good name for a sports team of anykind really.... Rhododendron the flower & thats OUT!.... Goldfinch the bird, Olympic Marmot the animal.... and finally the best of the lot.... Seattle Steelhead's (trout) which is the States official fish. Seattle & WA also have their own Tartan, two tone green/blue, very nice indeed, and I'd be using that on the dark home jerseys & socks....

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

What if ownership decides to go with the state name (Washington) as opposed to Seattle similar to Florida , Colorado, Minnesota, and Carolina? Then what the Washington Wind or War Eagles? Oh lets just settle it, the Washington Kraken.

doesn't the Capitals mean anything to you, jbron.... too confusing with DC

 

[Mightygoose]

If they use 'Washington', instead of 'Seattle', then I want them to go with Metropolitans....too hard to resist

 

[superdeluxe]

What if ownership decides to go with the state name (Washington) as opposed to Seattle similar to Florida , Colorado, Minnesota, and Carolina? Then what the Washington Wind or War Eagles? Oh lets just settle it, the Washington Kraken.

Eh. Dislike. No offense.

 

[jbron]

None taken. Meant to be a joke, but didn't come off that way. Crazy how the nickname is stirring it up with all
posters. It's a good thing though as fans are engaged. Can't even begin to think of how the opinions will flow with color scheme, logo , or mascot.

 

[superdeluxe]

None taken. Meant to be a joke, but didn't come off that way. Crazy how the nickname is stirring it up with all
posters. It's a good thing though as fans are engaged. Can't even begin to think of how the opinions will flow with color scheme, logo , or mascot.

If you followed our SeaHockeyTourney on our website or on twitter, MANY people got really invested in this, even getting to the point of personal insults.

People LOVE talking about names. We even got a playboy playmate get involved to try and swing the vote to her preferred name. lol

 

[Tawnos]

What if ownership decides to go with the state name (Washington) as opposed to Seattle similar to Florida , Colorado, Minnesota, and Carolina? Then what the Washington Wind or War Eagles? Oh lets just settle it, the Washington Kraken.

3 of those 4 examples have specific reasons. The Florida Panther is the name of a real animal. For Minnesota, well Minnesota Wild is a geographic term, plus it’s not just Minneapolis (notice that all 4 major sports teams use Wild). Raleigh is part of Raleigh-Durham.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Raleigh is part of Raleigh-Durham.

Well... it’s part of the Triangle.

Raleigh-Durham isn’t a place, or even a statistical area. It’s the name of the airport. You can tell someone isn’t from around here if they refer to “Raleigh-Durham”.

 

[gbislander]

The team should be the Seattle Aviators, Pilots or Metropolitans, in my opinion. Of the domain names, I like Emeralds and Sea Lions.

 

[18Hossa]

Definitely should be the Metropolitans imo. If they don't choose that then I wouldn't mind the Kracken or Emeralds.

 

[Tawnos]

Well... it’s part of the Triangle.

Raleigh-Durham isn’t a place, or even a statistical area. It’s the name of the airport. You can tell someone isn’t from around here if they refer to “Raleigh-Durham”.

It’s the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill CSA. Also, it’s the Raleigh-Durham TV market according to Nielsen. And the point I was making was that they weren’t looking to be only associated with Raleigh because there are other significant places in the area.

 

[tarheelhockey]

It’s the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill CSA.

Yes, that's the Triangle. Raleigh is in one MSA and Durham is in the other

 

[powerstuck]

At this point I would think Seattle Grunge would be a good name, all others have either too similar connotations to another team/another league, or are not representative and what not.

 

[superdeluxe]

At this point I would think Seattle Grunge would be a good name, all others have either too similar connotations to another team/another league, or are not representative and what not.

Seattle Grunge, an era of music that lasted for about 5 years. No one wants that.

 

[aqib]

Well... it’s part of the Triangle.

Raleigh-Durham isn’t a place, or even a statistical area. It’s the name of the airport. You can tell someone isn’t from around here if they refer to “Raleigh-Durham”.

Why was the WLAF team named the "Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks"? Or is that why they failed?