NHL Voyageurs

drive45

Registered User
Jul 1, 2011
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0
closer than I appear
What with all this talk of franchises moving, particularly 'yotes, I'd like to say that I've always thought "Voyageurs" would be a cool name for a hockey team. I'm no PHD in the history of XVIIIth century North America, but weren't they around in both present day Quebec City and and Milwaukee, am I right? So it would work in either of those scenarios...
 

No Fun Shogun

34-38-61-10-13-15
May 1, 2011
56,091
12,752
Illinois
Well, rumor has it that the Voyageurs was one of the names being considered for Winnipeg, but obviously that didn't fly.

As for the other options, I wouldn't hold my breath on expecting Milwaukee to get an NHL team any time soon (or ever), and you've got to think that Quebec City would bring back the Nordiques if they ever got a team back.
 

Buck Aki Berg

Done with this place
Sep 17, 2008
17,325
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Ottawa, ON
Well, rumor has it that the Voyageurs was one of the names being considered for Winnipeg, but obviously that didn't fly.

rim-shot-johnny-utah.jpg
 

cheswick

Non-registered User
Mar 17, 2010
6,764
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South Kildonan
One of the final name considerations for the Minnesota Wild was actually the Voyageurs. (Along with Blue OX and a few others. All better than the Wild imo). A few months back some website did a mock up of what the jerseys would have looked like if they had gone with the other finalist names.

Here's what they came up with for Voyageurs:
0216-min-voyagers.jpg


I agree it's a good name. It's simply French for traveler and referred to those who transported fur's by canoe. It was my choice for Winnipeg's team name.
 

Big McLargehuge

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May 9, 2002
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I'm shocked it's been in the running for an American team...though Minnesota as that team isn't that surprising. All of their options were downright horrible.



The name Trapper or Explorer makes more sense for an American team. If not for hockey I'd have never heard this word in my life, and I live in one of the bigger trapping states back in the trapping heyday.
 

Giuseppe Franco

Registered User
Jun 1, 2008
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I'm shocked it's been in the running for an American team...though Minnesota as that team isn't that surprising. All of their options were downright horrible.



The name Trapper or Explorer makes more sense for an American team. If not for hockey I'd have never heard this word in my life, and I live in one of the bigger trapping states back in the trapping heyday.

I think Explorers was one of the potential names for Columbus. I think that or Voyageurs would be a great name for a franchise. It would be particularly apt for a team that just relocated as well.
 

Cooperalls

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Oct 5, 2010
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With the 'Jets' back, I can't see Quebec going with anything but Nordiques. And I really can't see a team outside of Quebec going with Voyageurs. Even Manitoba with our french/metis history was a loooong shot.
 

njdevils1982

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Sep 8, 2006
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Ciao

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Jul 15, 2010
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Le Festival du Voyageur was pretty big when I lived in St. Boniface. Wasn't there a St. Boniface Voyageurs team that played out of the Maginot arena? It's been so long ago that I'm probably confused, but that name rings a bell for some hockey or baseball team in the '70's or so.
 

drive45

Registered User
Jul 1, 2011
452
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closer than I appear
I'm shocked it's been in the running for an American team...though Minnesota as that team isn't that surprising. All of their options were downright horrible.



The name Trapper or Explorer makes more sense for an American team. If not for hockey I'd have never heard this word in my life, and I live in one of the bigger trapping states back in the trapping heyday.

You do realize that Minnesota's official nickname is French, right? L'Etoile du Nord. As for Wisconsin, they have town names like Eau Claire and Prairie du Chien (which the locals pronounce 'Prayerduhsheen') As for QC, I think the Avs still own the rights to the 'Nordiques', which might complicate things. And if Minnesota had gone with the Blue Ox thing, would it have been the 'Blue Oxen' or the 'Blue Oxes' (kind of like TOR is the Leafs and not the Leaves) And as long as I'm on this admitedly insane rant:banana:, I think the Dallas Stars should modify their name to the 'Lone Stars'
 

Big McLargehuge

Fragile Traveler
May 9, 2002
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S. Pasadena, CA
You do realize that Minnesota's official nickname is French, right? L'Etoile du Nord. As for Wisconsin, they have town names like Eau Claire and Prairie du Chien (which the locals pronounce 'Prayerduhsheen') As for QC, I think the Avs still own the rights to the 'Nordiques', which might complicate things. And if Minnesota had gone with the Blue Ox thing, would it have been the 'Blue Oxen' or the 'Blue Oxes' (kind of like TOR is the Leafs and not the Leaves) And as long as I'm on this admitedly insane rant:banana:, I think the Dallas Stars should modify their name to the 'Lone Stars'

Yeah, and Montana has places like Havre. The French influence in most places in this country are very limited. Northern Maine and Louisiana are generally the exception. Names may be French inspired (I'm from a place where we have places named North Versailles (pronounced Ver-sales) and DuBois (pronounced do-boys) but there hasn't been a French influence in this country in eons in most places. In Minnesota there are far more people of Scandinavian heritage than French. Hell, in the entire country there are more people with Polish heritage than there is with French heritage (and Irish and English and German and Italian, etc. Only 3.8% of Americans have any French heritage. For the record, neither Minnesota nor Wisconsin rank in the top 10 in the country in French population percentages (unsurprisingly dominated by New England and Louisiana). Only 4% of Minnesotans have any French heritage and 5% of Wisconsinites have any French heritage. That puts them both behind, shockingly to me, my adopted home of Montana.

Anyway, I'm not trying to belittle the French of this country or anywhere...I'm just pointing out that in the grand scheme of the melting pot of America they're a minor player and the states where there is a huge influence aren't the ones that are able to hold teams (top 5 states for French heritage: New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, Louisiana). Going with a French name in a place like Minnesota would be stretching it when more than 2/3 of the inhabitants are from German/Scandinavian heritage. French bloodlines in Minnesota rank behind, again, the Polish.

To me that would be like naming a Montanan sports team Banditos because the state's name (and motto) is Spanish. This being regardless of the fact that roughly 2.3% of Montanans have any Spanish or Hispanic heritage. Like with most states the dominant ancestries are German, Irish, and English.
 
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Kimota

ROY DU NORD!!!
Nov 4, 2005
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Les Plaines D'Abraham
Maybe not Voyageurs but I always thought Voltigeurs would make a great name for a french team. In english it sort of means Flyers. You call them Voltigeurs in french with a big "V" and in english you call them Flying Frenchmen with a sort of with two "F" forming on the side of the V looking like feathers on wings in a way.
 

birminghambull

Registered User
Jul 20, 2011
14
0
You do realize that Minnesota's official nickname is French, right? L'Etoile du Nord. As for Wisconsin, they have town names like Eau Claire and Prairie du Chien (which the locals pronounce 'Prayerduhsheen') As for QC, I think the Avs still own the rights to the 'Nordiques', which might complicate things. And if Minnesota had gone with the Blue Ox thing, would it have been the 'Blue Oxen' or the 'Blue Oxes' (kind of like TOR is the Leafs and not the Leaves) And as long as I'm on this admitedly insane rant:banana:, I think the Dallas Stars should modify their name to the 'Lone Stars'

The NHL holds the rights to the Nordiques name not the Avalanche.
 

FlyerBearsCheesehead

Registered User
Apr 2, 2011
28
0
Milwaukee WI
You do realize that Minnesota's official nickname is French, right? L'Etoile du Nord. As for Wisconsin, they have town names like Eau Claire and Prairie du Chien (which the locals pronounce 'Prayerduhsheen') As for QC, I think the Avs still own the rights to the 'Nordiques', which might complicate things. And if Minnesota had gone with the Blue Ox thing, would it have been the 'Blue Oxen' or the 'Blue Oxes' (kind of like TOR is the Leafs and not the Leaves) And as long as I'm on this admitedly insane rant:banana:, I think the Dallas Stars should modify their name to the 'Lone Stars'

Ahhh...the midwestern butchering of French names :)

Anyway, I think the real reason why Voyageurs has not been adopted is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zJTNOxV4Qg
 

CHRDANHUTCH

Registered User
Mar 4, 2002
35,232
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Auburn, Maine
Maybe not Voyageurs but I always thought Voltigeurs would make a great name for a french team. In english it sort of means Flyers. You call them Voltigeurs in french with a big "V" and in english you call them Flying Frenchmen with a sort of with two "F" forming on the side of the V looking like feathers on wings in a way.

don't you already have that in Drummondville, Kimota?
 

cptjeff

Reprehensible User
Sep 18, 2008
20,383
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Washington, DC.
People are surprised by Minnesota? I guess I've been up to the boundary waters a few times, so I know about some of the history, but it's a perfectly fitting name for a team there. That part of the US-Canada border was fixed by "the normal fur trade route". I've been on portage trails that actually define the border.
 

Ciao

Registered User
Jul 15, 2010
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Toronto
Yeah, and Montana has places like Havre. The French influence in most places in this country are very limited. Northern Maine and Louisiana are generally the exception. Names may be French inspired (I'm from a place where we have places named North Versailles (pronounced Ver-sales) and DuBois (pronounced do-boys) but there hasn't been a French influence in this country in eons in most places. . .

Anyway, I'm not trying to belittle the French of this country or anywhere...I'm just pointing out that in the grand scheme of the melting pot of America they're a minor player . . .

Many sportsfans in Canada laugh to hear Americans, including the famous quarterback himself, pronounce his name as though it were spelled "F-a-r-v-e".

I think most people in Canada recognize the names "Favre", "Fevre", "Febvre" and the more popular "LeFebvre" as sounding much more Francophone and nothing at all like "farve"! LOL The Americanization of names like Big Mc mentions makes me chuckle.
 

Ciao

Registered User
Jul 15, 2010
9,918
5,735
Toronto
People are surprised by Minnesota? I guess I've been up to the boundary waters a few times, so I know about some of the history, but it's a perfectly fitting name for a team there. That part of the US-Canada border was fixed by "the normal fur trade route". I've been on portage trails that actually define the border.

Voyageurs in Minnesota would be enough of a stretch for me because I'm pretty sure it would come out without the "y" or "eu" sounds that are distinctive to French.

Voltigeurs is a great name, but it would never pass muster in the US. One rendition of the Voltigeurs (there were several) was a French Canadian militia unit that principally fought against the US in the war of 1812.

Great name for the Drummondville team though, and any other French Canadian locale.
 
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