A new Prince George Cougars logo has surfaced on the all-knowing Internet.
Through his website, sportslogos.net, Chris Creamer has revealed a 'C'-shaped crest that has a Cougar head in its negative space. According to Creamer, the logo was filed with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office last month (application number 1722295). The logo unearthed by Creamer is in shades of grey because he says no colour information is available yet.
The Cougars have said they wanted a new logo for the 2014-15 season - the first year of operation under new ownership - but that the deadline for changes had passed before the sale from Rick Brodsky to the Greg Pocock group was complete. The team is expected to officially unveil the new logo sometime this month.
Assuming Creamer's sleuthing has dug up the real thing (and there's no reason to think otherwise), this new logo is a cool one. The use of positive space and negative space allows the eye to see the image in two different ways: some people may see the 'C' first, while others may notice the Cougar head first. Either way, it's a fresh and creative look and will no doubt be even sharper in colour.
Perhaps unintentionally, it's even a nod to Cougars co-owner Dan Hamhuis, who sports a 'C' logo on his chest as a member of the Vancouver Canucks.
The new Prince George Cougars logo is the fourth in team history. The first borrowed heavily from the Victoria Cougars crest that was its predecessor and the second was the Cougar head and paws bursting out from a triangle background. Then came the current logo, more of a cartoonish Cougar perched menacingly over top of the team name.
There will be no shortage of opinions about the newest logo. Some folks will love it, others won't. But that's the nature of logos - they put themselves out there, front and centre, for all to scrutinize.
In major-junior hockey, my favourite logo is the one worn by the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. It's a helmeted knight, golden in hue, and is complemented beautifully by the team's white, green and gold colour scheme. Taken as a whole, the jersey looks classy - a reflection of the organization itself (Memorial Cup title in 2005 and appearances in the tournament in 2012, 2013 and 2014).
Worst major-junior logo? With no disrespect intended, it belongs to the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL. The Kingston sweaters feature a plain old 'K' done in yellow and black. Sometimes simple is good but in this case it's just boring.
Best logo at the National Hockey League level? Let the debate begin, but in my opinion it belongs to a franchise no longer in operation, the Hartford Whalers. Hartford's logo was another that used positive and negative space to great effect. Wrapped into that one image was an 'H', a 'W' and a whale's tail. It was a winning design, not often matched by the team itself (18 NHL seasons, only three of them above the .500 mark).
Another NHL logo I love is that of the Chicago Blackhawks. The Indian head may not be politically correct anymore but it's an absolute classic because of its colour scheme and intricate detailing. I have always had a soft spot for it for another reason too - it takes me back to childhood and the times I would go see the Prince George Mohawks play at the Coliseum. The Mohawks, who dominated senior men's hockey in their day, had the same crest as the Blackhawks and that made quite an impression on a young kid.
How about the worst NHL logo? Runner-up is the 'V' used by the yellow, black and red Vancouver Canucks from 1978-79 to 1985-86. Not sure how much that designer got paid, but it was too much.
In my book, however, the worst NHL logo of all time was the one that adorned the jerseys of the New York Islanders from 1995-96 to 1996-97. The burly, bearded seafaring man with a hockey stick held like a weapon brought to mind Captain High Liner of fish stick fame. The logo was widely panned (fry-panned?) when it came out and the Islanders mercifully went back to their traditional crest after just those two seasons.
A logo, for good or bad reasons, becomes part of a team's identity. For the Cougars, the new one represents one more step away from the Brodsky regime and one more stride into what is shaping up as a long and healthy future in Prince George.
