New era begins for NHL hockey in Anaheim
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by cityhockeyfever
ArmchairGM writer
Professional hockey dramatically changed in Anaheim on Thursday morning. No, you didn't see another ownership change. You didn't see Teemu Selanne retire. You didn't see any general manager or head coach switcheroo either.
But what we do see is an image change. The final ties to the Walt Disney Company as the original ownership of the franchise were severed and a new era began. One particular day will be remembered by all involved from management to the players and fans themselves. That day was June 22, 2006. This National Hockey League team based in a large Orange County municipality about 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles made it official just three days after the 2006 Stanley Cup championship was won by the Carolina Hurricanes.
As a diehard hockey fan in southern California, you were given an alternative back in 1993 where you could root for another professional hockey team that wasn't the Los Angeles Kings. A year earlier, Disney released the first installment of a trilogy of hockey movies geared toward kids and pre-teens that inspired the naming of this expansion team.
Thus, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were born. For the next 13 years, we saw an NHL team operating under a name that existed based on a marketing strategy that would target and grow especially the extremely young fan base of those who loved the Mighty Ducks movies. While "the kid in me" would enjoy them and perhaps more so if I have a son or daughter of my own someday, the NHL's Mighty Ducks have been the receiving end of countless punchlines from rival fans, hockey purists and of course, the media.
After Disney sold the franchise to Henry and Susan Samueli last summer, it signaled the beginning of the end of the Mighty Ducks as we have known them. Following study group sessions, surveys and countless design proposal reviews, the Samuelis along with their executive management staff decided to make the inevitable change in the team's identity.
"It's time we separate ourselves from Disney," Ducks general manager Brian Burke told the Los Angeles Times. "Again, I say that with great respect. Without them, there's no team here. But it's time."
Would they still be the Mighty Ducks? Clearly as Burke indicated, no... that's gone. Well, not completely. The NHL team was re-named the Anaheim Ducks. At least 80% of their season ticket holders and those who participated in phone surveys throughout Orange County preferred the Ducks portion of the original name remain.
Did they keep their famous jade, eggplant, white and silver color scheme that no other team had? Sorry, that is gone, too. In its place are black, white, gold and orange. While some observers may see the new jerseys donned at the unveiling event at Arrowhead Pond resemble the Pittsburgh Penguins, the purpose of the orange accent color was to pay a tribute in some way to the people of Orange County. Get it? Orange for Orange County? Oh, okay. I see you have.
How about the logo with the very famous goaltender mask shaped like a duck's head set on a circular shield and crossed hockey sticks? That's been replaced by the wordmark as the crest logo that simply states the modified moniker, the Anaheim Ducks. The city name appears in black block lettering above a larger-sized Ducks name written in metallic gold lettering outlined in black and orange. As a part of the new logo, a webbed duck "footprint" shapes the letter D in the Ducks portion of the name.
Two days after the first anniversary under the team's new ownership, more than 1,000 season ticket holders gathered at the Ducks' home arena, a venue that might undergo a name change as well. The Samuelis unveiled the new name, logo and uniforms inside the Arrowhead Pond lower bowl seating area. The buildup to that anticipated moment included a video presentation that highlighted the first 13 years of the Ducks' franchise history. For hardcore fans, it was a reflection and goodbye to the memorable old era. Another video showed Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer ushering in the new era. The new wordmark logo was displayed on a large black banner on a wall at the back of the stage as Ducks television color analyst Brian Hayward and the Samuelis gave introductory speeches to those in attendance.
Soon after, it was time for season ticket holders to see a player or two model the new jersey design for the first time publicly. That honor went to Ducks forwards Corey Perry and Todd Marchant. Next, the team mascot from its Mighty Ducks days made its traditional lowering from the arena rafters (as done in past Ducks games) onto the stage and presented Susan Samueli the new road white jersey. In case you are wondering, Wild Wing is the only entity from the old era that will stay with the team. Then Dr. Henry Samueli received the new home black jersey. Flash bulbs went off from inside the arena as they posed for pictures, especially after the Samuelis dropped a puck in a ceremonial faceoff between the two players on stage with confetti falling from above.
Speculation of the name change and image overhaul began as early as immediately when the Samuelis took over operation of the Ducks on June 20, 2005. The founders of Broadcom wanted to change it from the look of what that group of Minnesota kids turned hockey players we saw wear in D2: The Mighty Ducks back in 1994, the first sequel of the famous Disney movie. But the name guessing game ended on January 27, 2006 when the team announced the pending name change in a press release.
Then talk of what the logo and jersey might look like heated up as the 2005-2006 NHL season wound down during this spring. Plenty of design concepts and discussion of whether an image change would be good for the Ducks' long-term future were posted on fan forums such as Hockey's Future, Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Community and especially one of the most prominent Ducks message boards on the internet in ALLDUCKS.com.
"Creating a new identity for a team is a huge task," Ducks senior vice president and chief marketing officer Bob Wagner explained to Orange County Register staff writer Marcia Smith. "This wasn't a change the team was doing to make money but rather to turn the page to start a new era." Wagner oversaw every step of the transformation.
The design firm Frederick & Froberg in Montclair, New Jersey was responsible for creating the new Ducks logo that took eight months to finalize. Competing firms beforehand had pitched 50 to 100 concepts on a logo different from the familiar Mighty Ducks signature logo we've seen for the past 13 years. Frederick & Froberg's brand development director Bill Frederick said he presented about 60 logo design concepts showing a duck, but the Samuelis opted to go with the new wordmark as their primary logo instead as seen on the front of the new team jerseys.
"The Samuelis really responded to the black and gold,” Frederick told Ms. Smith. "And when they saw the foot in the D, I knew to run with it."
Around the same time the team announced the name change was forthcoming, Frederick was working with a logo very similar to the one that hung at the unveiling ceremony on Thursday. Even though it was Wagner's most guarded secret for the past year, the NHL shop web site posted the team’s draft cap six days before it was intended to be made public. Fan message boards including ALLDUCKS.com again lit up with postings on whether it was the real deal or if it was a precursor to a new crest logo for the jerseys. As it turned out, the wordmark logo on the draft hat was in fact the primary logo. Dr. Henry Samueli liked the old mark, but was convinced by his wife Susan that it had to go as well.
On the day of the unveiling, fans discovered what the new colors were as the new official Ducks web site went up roughly two hours early before being taken off the internet temporarily until the official announcement.
While fan reaction to the new team name and new look has been mixed to date, the Ducks won't be allowed to change their look again for at least three years. Susan Samueli told the media after the unveiling ceremony her dream is to attend Ducks games at Arrowhead Pond by a capacity crowd in orange. But there's no orange alternate jersey. No NHL team can add a third jersey with their new look for the first two years.
Another problem Mrs. Samueli didn't realize is that her vision won't be anything new. Two years ago, the Philadelphia Flyers began the "orange crush" at their 2004 home playoff games. Such a tradition where all fans dress in a single color started during a 1985 playoff series between the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets. The Flames had their "sea of red" (which was revived in the last two seasons) and the Jets countered with their world-famous "white out". Whether her intent to have the Ducks replicate the Flyers remains to be seen in the years to come.
A few short weeks after the Ducks wore they original jerseys for the final time in a five-game Western Conference Finals loss to the Edmonton Oilers, Mark Mitera as their #19 selection in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft put on the new jerseys as he posed for press photos with team executives. It marked a new beginning in Ducks hockey. Will the new image translate into a winner on and off the ice with rave reviews? Only time will tell.
Sources
- Anaheim Ducks
- Los Angeles Times (June 23): “Ducks make final break from Disney”
- Orange County Register (June 23): “Ready to wear”
- Orange County Register (June 24): “Orange County colors Ducks’ new look”
- photo #1, 3-5 by socalavsfan at ALLDUCKS.com
- photo #2 by DropThePuck at ALLDUCKS.com
Date
Sun 06/25/06, 5:55 pm EST
