Victoria Royals logo and jersey / RoyalsTwo months ago today, the WHL's Chilliwack Bruins announced their relocation to Victoria. Now, the club finally has a new name and logo.

On Monday, the Victoria Royals revealed their colors, logo and dark jersey (right) — all of which will be used when they hit the ice to start the 2011-12 WHL season this fall.

Before I share my thoughts, got to tip my hat to Chris Creamer at SportsLogos.net for being the first to show the logo to us. He tracked it down in a trademark search a couple weeks ago.

Now the logo. I'm surprised by it. This may be junior hockey, but in Canada that's no excuse for having a below average logo. Nothing really stands out about it, except for the red maple leaf which looks tacked on.

In fairness to the designer, by no means is it on the level of the Connecticut Whale or anything. I was just expecting something more along the lines of fellow WHL clubs like the Giants, Rebels or Silvertips — not the Ice or Rockets.

The Province, in Vancouver, talked to artist Brent Lynch about the design.

The logo is a stylized, heraldic lion designed by Vancouver Island artist Brent Lynch of Nanoose Bay, who designed the Vancouver Canucks’ orca logo and the logo for the WHL’s Vancouver Giants.

“It’s a contemporary look that has a bit of an edge to it,” said Lynch. “It’s cool for the kids, and adults can relate to it, too.”

I'm not so sure. But then there's the jersey. Clearly, it's the Tampa Bay Lightning's blue third jersey with the new Royals logo on it.

The Vancouver Sun said this has to do with the quick turnaround time.

The franchise had to go with an existing colour template. Reebok didn’t have enough time to customize a colour scheme because the relocation of the Chilliwack Bruins to Victoria was only made official in April.

This explains why the jersey itself lacks one of the club's colors — red. No other team wears that color combination — blue, red, silver and black. A white jersey will be unveiled later this summer.

Now it's time for you to weigh in. What are your thoughts on the new Victoria Royals and their branding efforts? Am I missing the mark with my assessment or do you agree with it?