While Winnipeg fans thought it was torture waiting for the announcement of their beloved Jets, St. John’s is still waiting to know what their team will be called. Rumours regarding the name Ice Caps (Concept Logo above by Troy Birmingham) have been swirling around the Internet after it was found out that the domain had been registered to the same company that registered ahlisback.com.
While this could mean it might be the team name as we’ve learnt in the past jumping to conclusions sometimes gets you in the wrong direction. As we saw when TNSE trademarked “White Out” it wasn’t to be the team name, but to ensure the continuation of a tradition. The domain could mean many things but it could be as simple as purchasing assets.
When we were trying to decide on a name for our fan site we didn’t just purchase winnipegwhiteout.com and be done with it. We also purchased several other domains that were possible names that we could go with and eventually we settled on this one as being the correct name for us. The most likely scenario is that St. John’s name won’t actually be decided on until after the team colours are finalized for the Jets. While some names like Ice Caps can use a variety of colour schemes other names out there may not look good with certain colour combinations so you are not going to jump the gun and call them the St. John’s _________ then find out the colors make no sense or just don’t work with that name.
Right now there are likely 2-3 names that Mr. Williams and company have narrowed it down to and while they likely have an idea of the colours the Jets will use they will wait until it’s finalized before making there final decision. The other big factors in making that decision is the simple fact that there are a lot of operational issues that will be taking up their time.
TNSE had a head start on things as they’ve been running their AHL team like an NHL team for years in anticipation however St. John’s has to get all the operational pieces of the puzzle together to ensure that seat selection starts happening, that there is training staff and equipment for all the players. It’s a lot to accomplish in the short time before training camp starts and while the team name will give the marketing department something to work with it’s not the most important task to check off their list.
Once Winnipeg shows off their new jerseys, St. John’s will see what theirs will look like too, this streamlining of the design process will take that decision off the things needed to get accomplished before the season starts.
For those of you in St. John’s I ask you this what would you rather have right now, the opportunity to select your seats and know what’s going on with that process or the name of your team?
It might very well be Ice Caps but it could also just as easily be St. John’s Whiteout since TNSE owns that trademark. Until the Jets release their new look have fun coming up with name ideas and logo and jersey concepts, but don’t get to impatient, good things come to those who wait and TNSE did the right thing when it came to naming it Winnipeg Jets and I have faith that Mr. Williams and TNSE will choose the right name for the AHL team in St. John’s as well.
Jeff Stevenson is a co-founder of winnipegwhiteout.com and co-host of the popular Jets Hockey Podcast. He grew up in Winnipeg, MB and became very passionate about sports, hockey and the Jets. Now Jeff is proud and honored to help bring news and information about the Winnipeg Jets to fans around the world.
