Love it or hate it?
Logos don’t win championships, but make for good conversation
When the Cape Breton Eagles unveiled their new logo and name to the public last Wednesday, many people were on the fence with the changes made by the local Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team.
Many people believed a rebrand wasn’t necessary, considering the old logo and name to be unique and one-ofa-kind in the Canadian Hockey League. Others welcomed the changes with open arms, believing the new look was long overdue.
Love it or hate it, the fact is logos don’t win championships and that’s something the franchise hasn’t done in its 22 years of existence, only reaching the league’s semifinals twice.
What does win championships? The players on the ice.
Although the rebrand may be the centre of attention for the time being, the focus should be on what this team will have to offer this season.
The team has lots of potential with top six forwards including veterans Mathias Laferrière, Derek Gentile, Shawn Boudrias, Egor Sokolov, Ryan Francis and Brooklyn Kalmikov. Shaun Miller, who had a breakout season last year with 19 goals and 47 points, also deserves a mention.
On the blueline, Jarrett Baker of Black Rock, Victoria County, and Adam McCormick are labelled as the team’s top two defencemen, along with Anotine Crête-Belzile, whose future is unknown as he remains on concussion protocol and is recovering in Quebec.
Between the pipes, look no further than Kevin Mandolese. The netminder known as “Mando” is the property of the Ottawa Senators and likely will attend the NHL team’s main camp next month, but with the Sens goaltending depth, another year in major junior is likely the case.
The 19-year-old Mandolese proved his ability to Eagles fans last season. In the second half of the year, he was one of the best goaltenders in the league and despite the club losing to the Rimouski Océanic in the second round of the playoffs, Mandolese wasn’t the reason.
When it comes to teams rebranding and releasing new logos, it happens all the time and frankly the Eagles organization needed it.
In the NHL, the Anaheim Ducks changed its team name in 2006, dropping the famous “Mighty Ducks” after the club was sold by the Walt Disney Company. The team went on to win the Stanley Cup the same season in 2007 — but not because of the off-ice changes.
In the QMJHL, the AcadieBathurst Titan rebranded prior to the start of the 201415 season, changing its logo and jerseys. Four seasons later, the team would capture the league’s President Cup and eventually win the Memorial Cup, again not because of the logo but because of the players on the ice.
Will the same thing happen in Sydney? Only time will tell.
Cape Breton isn’t the only CHL team to unveil a new logo this year.
The London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League also launched a new logo. However, the logo looks similar to the one the Knights wore during the 2004-05 season, when the team won its first league title and Memorial Cup.
In an attempt to show fans its new direction moving forward, the Cape Breton organization decided to drop “Screaming” from its name. From a marketing standpoint, one can understand the decision. The old logo was busy and had a lot of words in it.
What can’t be forgotten in all of this is past-president Greg Lynch’s memory. Lynch is a big reason the team is in Cape Breton and if it wasn’t for him and the original ownership, who knows if there would be major junior hockey in Sydney today?
The organization understands the importance of Mr. Lynch and considers the rebrand as “building upon” what he provided to Cape Breton’s hockey scene.
There’s no denying the new logo is bold and stands out. The eagle head has a similar look to the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and the NCAA’s Boston College Eagles, but let’s face it, there are only so many ways an eagle head can be designed.
It will take some time for fans to get used to the new logo, but the more a person looks at the new design, the more it will slowly but surely grow on you.
At the end of the day, whether you’re for or against the new logo and name, let’s not forget the players are representing Cape Breton and are taking part in training camp right now and they should be the ones fans are focused on, not the logo.