World Expansion: Name Selection

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UPDATE · Jun 27 · The time has finally come to select the names for the four newest members of the IceHL fantasy hockey league. Happy voting!

Logo design submissions will be accepted starting Monday when the winning names are officially declared. Get ready to get creative!

UPDATE · Jun 25 · Round 2 polls added for each team.

Last week the Icethetics community suggested some great names for the four expansion teams coming to the IceHL World next season. Now it's time to pick our favorites!

In consultation with the IceHL Design Council, we have brackets for each team containing 8 potential names. Over the coming week, your votes will narrow down the options until we reach our winning names over the weekend. 

Scroll down to the bottom of this post for details on the voting process.

As you may have noticed, there are similar team names spread across the different brackets. In the event that two teams end up with similar names at the end of voting, the IceHL Design Council will make the final decision about which to keep and which to change.

In addition, members of the IceHL Design Council will each have two vetoes to use against the winning names. In order for a community-chosen name to be rejected, two members of the Council must veto it. At that point, the Council will come to a consensus on what name to use instead. These are the rules for this voting process but my guess is we won't need them.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

World Expansion: Name Nominations

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Four new nations will have teams in the IceHL World this fall! The Icethetics community has chosen Finland, Germany, New Zealand, and South Korea.

It's now up to you to name the new franchises. We'll be accepting suggestions all this week right here in the comments of this page. Scroll down and submit your ideas!

How name nominations work

  • Include a city with your nickname suggestion. All we selected last week were nations. It's recommended you stick with larger cities for these teams.
    • NOTE: Teams should be named for a city rather than a country. (i.e.: Osaka Samurai instead of Japan Samurai)
    • RECOMMENDED CITIES
      FINLAND — Helsinki
      GERMANY — Berlin, Hamburg, Munich
      NEW ZEALAND — Auckland, Wellington
      SOUTH KOREA — Seoul
  • Do not suggest names currently used in major sports leagues. Avoid nicknames from the NHL, AHL, NFL, NBA and MLB as well as leagues in the countries in which these new IceHL teams are based.
  • Suggest one name per comment. To keep your suggestions close to each other on the page, you can reply to your first comment with additional comments.
  • Read existing suggestions first! Before submitting your nominations, check to see if someone else already has and, instead, click the heart-shaped like button in the top right corner of their comment. This will help me decide which names are more popular and should be included in the polls.
  • BE CREATIVE!

If you have any questions, you may ask in the comments or tweet to @theIceHL.

In order to the keep the comments area neat and orderly, duplicate or unacceptable suggestions may be deleted without warning. Thanks for understanding.

World Bracket: Expansion

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The IceHL World is expanding! We're adding four new teams and we need to start by deciding where in the world they'll be located. To simplify the voting process, all rounds of polls will be added to the top of this page. Happy voting!

Jun 10 · We're on to the final set of polls. The winning nations will join the IceHL World this fall!

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Scroll down to see results from the first batch of polls.

Jun 8 · Let's get things started with Round 1 and the 16 nations eligible to join the league!

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Check back in a couple days for the next round of polls. We're moving quickly since the winning nations need to be determined this weekend!

Submit your Division B jersey designs!

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The biggest summer for the IceHL since 2008 is finally winding down. We're on the last leg of our journey — creating jerseys for the last group of IceHL World franchises. We have a creative and colorful set of logos so I can't wait to see the uniforms!

THE RULES

  • Design 1 dark and 1 light jersey using team colors and logos provided. (Equipment such as socks, gloves and helmets is optional.)
  • Both jerseys must be in the same image file (PNG or PDF preferred).
  • Submit your final design to icethetics@gmail.com by August 26.
  • Include your first and last name and email address in the graphic you submit and in the body of your email. (Your name will be displayed during voting but your email address will remain private.)
  • Most important: BE CREATIVE! BE CREATIVE! BE CREATIVE!
  • Seriously! Voters can only choose creative jerseys when they're presented with them.

JERSEY DESIGN KIT

To enter the contest you will need to download the IceHL Jersey Design Kit. Click the blue button on the right.

The Design Kit is a ZIP containing the following files:

  • 4 dual jersey templates (PNG)
  • 15 team logos (primary, secondary and wordmarks for the Minotaurs, Mountaineers, Rush and Royal HC)

Like previous jersey contests, the template provided is strongly encouraged, but not required to enter.

Designers may use any template they choose as long as the resulting image uses a 5x3 aspect ratio (preferably 1600x960 pixels) and includes these elements:

  • Two contrasting jerseys (front and back for both)
  • Full set of numbers and letters (make note of any special fonts used)
  • Optional: socks, helmets, gloves and pants

Useful links: SportsLogos.net | Hockey Jersey Concepts

When customizing your jerseys, you may use any name and number you choose. (Inappropriate names will disqualify your submission.)

Please note that the team logos in the Design Kit are to be used only on jersey submissions. You may not use them for any other purpose.

Final note. Simply submitting your jersey design doesn't guarantee it will be included in the voting process. If it doesn't meet a certain level of quality, I'll give you the opportunity to try again as long as you meet the deadline. (But I always accept far more than I reject.)

DEADLINE: TUESDAY, AUG. 26

I know this deadline is coming up quickly but jersey submissions came together quickly with the Division A teams and we got far more than I expected.

As always, if you have any questions, please ask by email. Good luck to all!

Division B logo voting delayed

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Hi. You were probably expecting to start voting on the logos submitted for the IceHL World Division B today. Mainly because the schedule I posted told you as much.

But I've had a rethink.

We're already running two new polls a day for the Division A jersey brackets. I didn't plan this properly. I don't have superpowers. I can't commit to managing three sets of polls a day. Two is pushing it.

So I'm delaying the initial Division B logo polls until the current jersey brackets start winding down. I have not determined the new dates. I'm working on that now. Once I know, I'll edit this post and make an announcement on Twitter.

Be sure to follow @theIceHL and check back here. Thanks for your patience.

By the way, because of the delay, I'm willing to accept more submissions. You just have to let me know now that you're working on something so I can save you a spot in the bracket. This is an unofficial deadline extension, so it's subject to change. If you want to submit something, just get in touch with me first by email. Thanks!

Osaka Samurai: Final Logo Selection

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The IceHL World Division A team logos will be revealed on Wednesday, as previously announced. In the meantime, we have one last poll to determine the Osaka Samurai logo.

As you know, the Samurai logo originally submitted by Daniel Otters had to be disqualified because a photo was traced to create the design. There was no malicious intent on Daniel's part, simply a misunderstanding of the contest rules.

Because Daniel has been an upstanding participant in several past IceHL design competitions, I decided to give him a chance to correct his mistake. I told him if he wanted to redesign his primary logo, I would put it in front of voters at the end of the initial bracket.

Daniel has taken me up on this offer so his logo will once again face Colin Magee, who won the previous round. The two designers were originally set to face off in the round before but for the disqualification. So this works out very well in terms of closure.

This final poll will determine the winning design for the Samurai. It ends Tuesday.

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Here's a better look at the detail of both logo sets.

IceHL World: Div. A Logo Selection, Final Round

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We're choosing the winning logos for our IceHL World Division A teams now!

The brackets look a little odd because I received varying numbers of logo entries for each team. The Cosmonauts started with 10, the Samurai with 7, and the Hammers with 9.

Results are hidden until polls close. This final round ends Friday. Happy voting!

Moscow Cosmonauts

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Osaka Samurai

Stockholm Hammers

The final winning logo designs will be revealed on Wed., July 16.

Submit your Division B logo designs!

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The time has come to reveal the winning names for the IceHL World Division B teams and to begin accepting your awesome logo submissions!

Just like Division A, I have prepared some inspiration graphics to help get your creative wheels turning. Again, I am not attempting to suggest any particular color palettes or design elements in any way. The final design decisions will be up to you!

There they are! Your final four IceHL World expansion teams — the Crete Minotaurs, Geneva Mountaineers, Gold Coast Rush, and Royal London H.C. What do you think?

Now let's get this show on the road. Artists of all experience levels are welcome to submit their creations to represent these four IceHL franchises.

The Rules

There are a few ground rules in IceHL design contests, but they must be followed: 

  • DO NOT STEAL ARTWORK. No copying or tracing. No clipart. No adapting existing designs. No "borrowing." Create something original and distinctive!
  • Entries must be submitted via email to icethetics@gmail.com.
  • Valid entries will include at least a PRIMARY LOGO, SECONDARY LOGO and a WORDMARK. (Note: Secondary logos are now mandatory.)
  • Please submit vector artwork (PDF/AI) if at all possible as this will be helpful in creating graphics for the website as well as the IceHL yearbook. (I will also accept high-resolution JPG and PNG formats, but please do not save a raster file as a PDF.)
  • Include your FIRST AND LAST NAME as well as your EMAIL ADDRESS on the actual artwork. 
  • Finally, by submitting artwork, you agree to grant Icethetics rights to use it in conjunction with all IceHL-related projects and publications.

DEADLINE: Friday, July 25

You have three full weeks to design and submit your work. Have fun and good luck! We'll begin voting on June 30 so if you end up needing a little extra time, please let me know as soon as possible.

SPECIAL NOTE: ROYAL LONDON H.C.

I realize I'm walking a thin line by permitting this name in the first place given its closeness in concept to the Los Angeles Kings, Manchester Monarchs and Reading Royals. So to help us avoid any accidental trademark infringement, I'm setting some ground rules for your Royal London H.C. logo submissions:

  • No crowns. Think of it as a challenge. How do you represent royalty without a crown? That's what will make this team's logo epic.
  • No lions. All three aforementioned teams currently or have in the past used lions in their logos. We will not.
  • Any logo submitted that is based on a crown or lion will be automatically rejected.
  • I know, I used a photo of the crown jewels in my inspiration graphic. Dumb. Obviously I came up with these rules after I posted that. (Too late now.) Please learn from my mistake.

NOT A DESIGNER? YOU CAN STILL HELP!

Maybe you lack the skills and talents needed to create a logo, but you have a great idea for a design. Try putting it into words. Describe your idea in the comments and maybe it'll help one of our designers who's struggling to come up with an idea. You may not get a design credit, but you can still be part of the process!

Good luck to everyone!

Samurai logo disqualified from bracket

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I have a disappointing announcement to make today regarding the IceHL World logo design contest. It has become necessary to disqualify one of the entries in the Osaka Samurai bracket.

On Sunday, Icethetics reader @mjmarch47 (on Twitter) pointed out the clear similarity between the logo submitted by Daniel Otters and the poster artwork for the 2013 movie "47 Ronin."

In fact, the similarity is not a coincidence. I've communicated with Daniel about the concern and he confirmed having used the photo as the basis for his submission.

As a reminder, the first rule of the logo contest stated as follows:

DO NOT STEAL ARTWORK. No copying or tracing. No clipart. No adapting existing designs. No "borrowing." Create something original and distinctive.

I wrote the rule to be very clear. However, Daniel's violation of it appears to be a simple misunderstanding. He wrote via email:

By simplifying [the design] and creating a three-color logo from a photo, I thought that this would not be a case of violation. I see lots of designers simplifying faces of animals from photos.
So perhaps that was the reason why I pushed the thought of violation away from my mind. By reading through the rule again and looking at the logo on the photo it is all so clear that it must be a case of violation.

Because of this fact, Daniel's logo must be disqualified and Colin Magee's design now automatically advances to the final round of voting.

There's a reason I'm sharing this with the community. I want you all to understand that I trust Daniel's explanation and have accepted his apology for the error in judgment. We will move forward from here.

Furthermore, Daniel assures me that his Hawaii Honu and Stockholm Hammers logos are his own original designs. As such, his Hammers logo will remain in the Stockholm bracket.

For those who weren't around last year, Daniel designed the winning Hamilton Steelcats jerseys during our rebranding contest.

If you have any questions regarding this subject, feel free to email me directly. Thank you.

IceHL World: Div. A Logo Selection, Round 3

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We're continuing to narrow down the logos for our IceHL World Division A teams!

The brackets look a little odd because I received varying numbers of logo entries for each team. The Cosmonauts started with 10, the Samurai with 7, and the Hammers with 9.

Results are hidden until polls close. This semifinal round ends Tuesday. Happy voting!

Moscow Cosmonauts

Osaka Samurai

UPDATE · Jul 7 · It has come to my attention that the Samurai logo submitted by Daniel Otters must be disqualified from the competition. The artwork is not original. Colin Magee's design now advances by default to the final round. Details here...

Stockholm Hammers

Don't forget the Hawaii Honu jersey contest is going on now! Deadline is July 11.