LGAHL Logo Rankings (Part 2)

LGAHL Logo Rankings (Part 2)

More random and unrelated LG media!

Check out Part 1 if you haven't yet
https://www.leaguegaming.com/forums/index.php?threads/lgahl-logo-rankings-part-1.349558/

Criteria Recap:

• For this ranking I’ll be factoring the following:
  • Logo design
  • Use of colours
  • Intimidation factor
  • How the logo would look on a jersey. This includes:
    • Shape
    • Symmetry
    • Simplicity
  • And a bit of value given to incorporation of “hockey” in the logo
• Other factors like logo/team history, personal bias, hidden messages, and whether or not the logo looks like it was copied off its NHL logo will all hold little to no value in these rankings, since they don’t really add anything to the logo itself.

A quick note before I get into the top 15:

I mentioned in the introduction that one of the criteria to making a good logo is how well it would look on a jersey. This point is judged by the 3S’s:

• Shape
• Symmetry
• Simplicity.

I will explain the impact and significance of each of these points to logo design throughout this post. If you’re curious about why I ranked certain logos the way I did, I’d suggest you read through those 3 points.


Shape:

• A big thing to keep in mind when creating a logo is the dimensions of the jersey that it will sit on. As you know, jerseys are much longer than they are wide, which means that a logo that is too wide will naturally not fill a proper amount of space on a jersey. An example is the Texas Stars logo. I’ll talk a bit more about shape in rankings #14 and #15.

----------- A Tier -----------

15. Springfield Thunderbirds



This thunderbird is well designed, and the lightning strike next to his eye is a nice touch. What I absolutely love about this logo are the little lines on the side of the bird, because they help balance out the logo and give it a much better shape. Just think about how boring this logo would look if you simply removed those 3 little lines on each side. Those little lines complete the logo and prove how important shape is in a logo. Regarding the colours, I did say that I don’t like when a logo uses 3 primary colours, and I still don’t love it here, but the colours don’t really kill any intimidation on this logo since there never was any to begin with. Overall, there’s a very sizable gap between this logo and the Barracuda, which puts it up in the A tier. Also a side note, this logo is better than their real one with the extra text, though the real logo would probably still be here in the same ranking.


14. Cleveland Monsters



This might just be the first cartoony logo that managed to be somewhat intimidating. The mysterious underwater monster is a unique idea and it works really well here. The monster is simple and well-designed, and the colours are great as well. There are two things I dislike about this logo. Number 1) It’s too cartoony. Number 2) The shape. This is a perfect example of a logo whose shape is too wide to look good on a jersey. Go look up the Cleveland Monsters white jersey and see for yourself. Now of course this can be balanced out with a jersey that’s actually well-designed, but either way the unusual outline of the logo will look a little off on any jersey.

The text on the official AHL logo is absolutely awful and alone would have dropped this logo down to the B tier. Any time the text on a logo is completely separated from the logo itself, it is going to look bad. I previously mentioned that the number 1 thing that kills intimidation on a logo is colours, well number 2 is text. Text draws attention away from the logo, which is never good for intimidation. Overall I love this unique design and the intimidation puts it above the Thunderbirds’ logo.


13. Hershey Bears



This is a great logo, but the obvious overuse of boring colours is what keeps it from being better. Part of what makes a good sports logo is how effectively it can “pop” if that makes sense. This logo doesn’t do that. I feel like even if the beige background was just a lighter shade it would help create a better contrast which would make the bear stand out more. The bear is fairly intimidating and well-designed despite the simple look, but it’s just hard to rank this logo much higher when the primary colours used are brown and beige. Also for some reason it kinda looks to me like he’s trying to balance himself on the hockey stick with one paw. Overall it’s a great logo, well-deserving of an A-tier spot, and the nice rounded shape puts it higher than the Monsters.


12. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins



The muscular penguin is a cool idea and the design is pretty good too. The triangle in the back is a simple but extremely effective way of giving both colour and shape to the logo. What I don’t like about this penguin is his facial expression. Those crazy red eyes staring forward with the mouth half open makes him look like he’s on more than just steroids. Although I guess they do make the penguin look more intimidating..? The massive red and black gloves also make him look like he’s about to step into a boxing ring. The hockey stick and skates are always a great addition though, and I appreciate the no text here as there’s already enough going on. And finally of course the penguin is too cartoony, which is the main reason it’s not an S tier logo.


11. Abbotsford Canucks



I absolutely love this logo. I honestly can’t even point out a single flaw in its design. The detail and shading is perfect, and I love how the canuck’s face has this sort of confident and proud smirk. The colours work great together, and the hockey stick and skates make this a true hockey logo. This logo gets the design, colours, and hockey factor all right, but the only thing it’s missing is intimidation. Apart from that, I think this is an awesome logo. The other reason I think it's not as good as the logos above is because it's not particularly creative. I mean a dude with skates and a hockey stick is pretty much as basic as you can get for a logo (apart from letters or words of course). I still think they did a great job with this logo though and I think the better design puts it above the Penguins' logo for me.


10. San Diego Gulls


This might just be the best cartoony hockey logo ever made. The seagull looks angry, he’s holding a hockey stick, and the logo comes together well as a whole. This is largely in part due to the triangle which helps shape the logo, as well as the text that helps complete it. I’m not a big fan of the font used for “GULLS” as it’s a little hard to read, but the little seagull in between the L and the S is kinda cool, even if it doesn’t really add much to the logo. The colours orange and blue can sometimes be a terrible mix, but in this case it works well since blue is only used on the outline to help make the seagull pop. What makes this logo better than the last two is that the emphasis is on the face of the character. Overall it’s a great logo, but it’s too cartoony to be in the S tier. Though maybe I'm exaggerating the impact of a cartoon design in the logo. Either way to me it's not on the same level as the S tier logos so I have it atop the A tier.


------ S-Tier Criteria ------

Symmetry:

• Though not as important as the other two S’s, symmetry helps make just about everything in life look better. I don’t make the rules, but our brains are wired to appreciate symmetry more. If a girl had two completely different size tits they probably wouldn’t look as attractive would they? This idea is instrumental to helping a logo look good on a jersey, though not necessary. Symmetry goes hand-in-hand with Shape, and good symmetry in a logo always means good shape. Keep this in mind during the next 9 rankings.

Simplicity:

• Simplicity is very often an essential part of making an effective hockey logo, but too much simplicity can ruin the logo altogether. A logo that is too simple (See Colorado Eagles) is usually worse than a logo that is too detailed (See rankings #7-9). Though sometimes there are exceptions (see ranking #2). But the best logos are the ones that are simple and effective. The reason for this connects back to the idea of “how good a logo looks on a jersey.” A great logo should be great at first glance; if you have to inspect all the details in a logo to see how good it really is, it instantly becomes less effective. This is why I give very little value to “hidden messages” like the little seagull in San Diego’s logo, or the bear on the Minnesota Wild logo. The best logo will be clear, direct, and simple enough that you don’t have to scavenge for reasons to like it. Let me show you a couple examples.

These in my opinion are the two best sports logos ever created. If you look at the two logos you can clearly see the intimidation just leaping out at you. How did they do this? Simple. Literally. They made their logos simple. The logos have detail but they don't overdo it. The logos effectively use black to bring out the intimidation. Both logos have symmetry, good shape, and both look fucking amazing on a jersey. The Growlers’ logo is the most intimidating logo I’ve ever seen, and even when I played against this team in S39 of the ECHL I was almost shaking in my boots before the game even started (Though this might have had a bit to do with the fact that they were the best team in the C, but the logo still played a part).


This all ties into my point. As you can see, the best hockey logos do not have very much going on in them. There are some logos in the S Tier that I think are great, but they look more fit to be drawings than logos. Although the drawings are very well done, they are too detailed and too busy to be as effective as their simple-logo counterparts.


I will say that this was the biggest dilemma I had while making these rankings and I'm curious to hear your opinions, so this will be the subject of this post’s vote: Detail vs. Simplicity. Which one is better?


Let’s move onto the S tier.


----------- S Tier -----------

9. Bakersfield Condors



Holy what a great job the artists did on this logo. The design is awesome, and the colours work great together. I love the uniqueness of the condor being perched on a hockey stick. The main problem with this logo, and what you’ll notice with the next few logos as well is that it’s simply too detailed. As I mentioned in my rundown of the importance of simplicity in a logo, there is just too much going on here for it to be as effective as it could be. The design is great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not best suited to be used on a hockey jersey, where all the detail would be hard to see anyways. It doesn’t help that the face of the condor is only a very small part of the logo. What I dislike most about this logo though is the text. I think if the text was omitted it would draw more attention to the condor itself, which would make the logo less busy overall. I’m really not a fan of the font used either, but I guess it’s better than something plain or basic. Great logo overall, and although I have my complaints, the excellent design makes this logo good enough to be in the S tier.


8. Hartford Wolf Pack



Beautiful design of the wolf in this logo. He’s angry, he’s showing his teeth, and it’s clear that intimidation was a priority in the creation of this logo. But from what we’ve learned, what are the two kryptonites to intimidation in a logo? Bad use of colours, and bad use of text. And here it’s more clear than ever. The mix of blue and red just makes this logo too colourful to be as intimidating as it could be. It doesn’t help that the bright red text draws away a lot of attention away from the wolf itself. Better colours and no text could’ve made this logo so much better. Another key thing that keeps this logo back is the detail. As I said previously, lots of detail in a logo isn’t necessarily a good thing. Like a few of the other logos in the S tier, it looks more like a drawing than a logo. I do still really like this logo, and the wolf ripping through the text is a creative design that I enjoy. The ferocity of the wolf is what puts it above the Condors’ logo on this list.


7. Grand Rapids Griffins



Great logo, great design, too much detail. Same story as the last two rankings. I absolutely love the design of the screaming Griffin here, but the logo is too busy. I know people love the full design with the Griffin towering over the city of Grand Rapids, but it’s just too much to look at. The animal alone is already too much for a logo as it is, but now to add a city and a large text makes this logo far too busy. I think if this logo would focus more on the screaming head of the Griffin then it would be a lot better. If you want further explanation, make sure to read my “Simplicity” criteria. I like the colours in this logo a lot more than Hartford’s, which is the number one thing that separates the two logos. Apart from that, both logos are too busy, too detailed, and have text that is too loud. The logos 7-9 are very similar in many ways, but the badass screaming Griffin definitely beats the other two below it.


6. Henderson Silver Knights



This logo was one of the hardest for me to rank on this list. I still don’t even know where it belongs. The logo is super badass, and it perfectly meets a lot of my criteria. The design is great, it’s fairly intimidating, it’s symmetrical, it’s simple and detailed while not being too much of either, and the shield in the back does a great job at shaping the logo. There is a lack of colour but it’s a little hard to work around since the team name suggests the logo should be Silver. It’s not too big of an issue though and it’s definitely better than having too many colours.

Here is my problem. While it’s true that the H on the horse’s helmet is creative, I think it’s a little bit forced. It’s completely justifiable that the affiliate to the Vegas Golden Knights would want to keep the same concept of including the first letter of the city’s name in the logo, but there is a key difference in the execution of the two logos. The reason Vegas’s “V” works better is because the letter becomes visible through the negative space created by the Golden Knight’s helmet. The reason this is important is because it makes the Knight’s helmet the main part of the logo, rather than the letter. In the case of the Silver Knights, the opposite is true. The contrast of the silver and black colours make the “H” pop more than I feel it should, and the concentration on the letter takes away from the intimidation of the logo. It feels like there’s more focus on the letter “H” than the horse itself. Overall, it’s still a sick logo and the simplicity as well as the focus on the face of the horse is what puts it above the last 3 logos.


5. Charlotte Checkers

Probably the most underrated logo in the AHL. It’s so simple yet so effective. The bear is angry, he’s intimidating, he’s very well designed, and I love the flagpole in his mouth that creatively turns into a hockey stick (as well as what I think is a hockey puck on the stick). This logo reminds me a bit of the San Jose Sharks logo with the hockey stick in between the animal’s teeth. It’s really hard to go wrong with this idea (unless you’re the Victoriaville Tigres), and I think it’s the best way of involving hockey in an animal logo. This would honestly be such a perfect logo for the Carolina Hurricanes, who have continuously unsuccessfully tried turning this flag into a logo (the flag for those who don’t know is the official hurricane warning flag).

Also as mentioned in the introduction of the first post, the Checkers are one of two teams in LG who have an alternate logo being used instead of their primary one. If we compare this logo to the official one, it’s not even close. While the official logo is still good overall, nearly everything about the alternate logo is just better. It has the flag/stick in the bear’s mouth, it has no text, and the bear has a red eye, which makes it slightly more intimidating. The only thing I like more about the official Checkers logo is the city background, which is definitely better than just grey on the alternate. Overall I absolutely love the Checkers alternate logo, but if I had to pick one negative it would be the lack of colour on the logo.


4. Manitoba Moose



Killer design on the Moose, great colours and good intimidation. This is almost as good as it gets for detailed logos. Manitoba’s logo is made in the same format as the logos ranked #7-9 (Griffins, Wolf Pack, Condors), using a detailed character and some text underneath it. The reason it’s so much higher than those 3 logos is because it gets some things right that each of them don’t: the main focus of the logo is on the Moose’s face instead of the full animal. This is important because intimidation pretty much always comes from a character's face/facial expression, and not the full body. The Growlers and Mighty Ducks logos are great examples of this, and so is the next ranking. Overall this is a level above the other 3 similar logos, but it still has some of the same issues. The logo is very detailed and the text is horrible. The text takes away from the main part of the logo, and the way it slants in this one makes the shape of the logo very odd-looking and ugly to look at. The Moose is very well designed though which helps put it up at #4.


3. Chicago Wolves


God damn if that isn’t the most angry looking animal I’ve ever seen in my life. The artists did an absolutely fantastic job at making this logo intimidating, and it makes it even more impressive when you find out it was designed almost 30 years ago. I absolutely love the involvement of a hockey stick and puck in the background, as it subtly helps shape the logo while not making it too busy, since the stick and puck are both simple. This is really an amazing logo, but if you’ve read my last few rankings, it won't take you long to guess what I don’t like about it. Holy shit that is a lot of detail. I can’t even focus my attention on one part of the wolf’s face because there are so many lines and shapes to look at. This logo definitely does not have to be this detailed to be effective. Like the Silver Knights’ logo, there is a lack of colour here, but it’s sort of hard to do anything about it. Their logo is a wolf, and they used the colours of a wolf. There shouldn’t be anything wrong with that, but it does still hold the logo back a little bit. Not too much though, since the intimidation here helps the logo still feel alive. What puts this above the previous detailed logos is that this one is far more intimidating, which is primarily because the main part of this logo is the wolf’s face. This logo would be a lot less intimidating if it followed the style of Bakersfield/Grand Rapids/Manitoba with the full animal + text. Here Chicago gets it right, and solidifies itself in a top 3 spot in my ranking.


2. Lehigh Valley Phantoms



Sometimes less is more, and the Phantoms prove that here. This logo is so incredibly simple yet so effective. The staring eyes are so intimidating, and they single-handedly make this logo one of the best in the AHL. The main colour in the logo is black, and yet it doesn't feel like it's lacking in colour at all. The orange highlight and orange eyes add just enough colour to the logo to not make it boring. The darkness of the phantom accentuates the creepy eyes which makes it significantly more intimidating. The Phantom is also completely symmetrical which makes it more appealing to look at.

Sidenote this logo would be a lot lower if LG used the real logo with text on it. The text in the other logo is one of the most overpowering texts I have ever seen in a logo, and alone would probably drop this logo all the way down to the B tier. I’m actually not 100% sure which one is their official logo since they use this logo on their official jerseys and the one with text everywhere else. But thankfully they don’t use the text on the jerseys so we can enjoy the beautifully designed Phantom on its own.


HM: Milwaukee Admirals (Alternate Logo)




Although this isn’t the Admirals logo used by LG, it’s still just too good for me to leave it off this list. The skull is so damn intimidating, the design of the logo is super clean and doesn’t feel too busy, it’s got simplicity, symmetry, and good shape. This is honestly one of the most badass logos ever created. The text on this logo does a decent job at not attracting too much attention away from the character as well. This is mainly because it's completely embedded in the logo, and the colour of the text is white.

But the elephant in the room and the only thing that keeps this from being an absolutely flawless logo is the colours. Why light blue??? It bothers me so much that such an incredible design for a logo has to be hurt by its poor choice of colours. Imagine how much more intimidating this logo would look if it was black and red or some other combination of colours that can work for intimidation. There are so many colour combinations that don’t kill intimidation, why did they have to use light blue here? Still, this logo still manages to be intimidating despite BOTH the inclusion of text AND bad colours. The Navy blue is an acceptable substitute for black, but absolutely not the baby blue. The logo would be much better and more intimidating with different colours, but regardless, this logo is good enough to be one of best in the AHL and in my opinion the second best in the AHL.


1. Coachella Valley Firebirds


Wow what an amazing choice of team branding. In 2021 the Coachella Valley Firebirds came out with the coolest sounding city + team name of any sports team ever, and their logo did not disappoint. This logo includes pretty much everything in my criteria for what constitutes a good logo. The design is simple but amazing, the colours on the logo pop more than any logo in the AHL, the shape is symmetrical, the logo looks great on a jersey, it’s decently intimidating… am I missing anything? It doesn’t have any hockey in it, and it’s not as intimidating as the Phantoms’ logo for example, but none of that really matters when your logo is a kickass fire-breathing firebird. I love everything about it and I think this logo is absolutely flawless and it takes the #1 spot for me.






That's All!

I hope you enjoyed my write-up here and maybe learned a thing or two about logo design in the process. Also I’m fully aware that the majority of you are not going to read every word I wrote (and I don’t expect you to), but the explanations will help you understand the ranking for whichever logo you care about. I had fun writing it and I put a lot of effort into this, so I appreciate anyone who took the time to read any part of it.


Happy playoffs folks!

 

Full Ranking Recap

----- F Tier -----

32.
31.
30.
29.
28.
27.

----- D Tier -----

26.
25.
24.

----- C Tier -----

23.
22.
21.
20.
19.

----- B Tier -----

18.
17.
16.

 

----- A Tier -----

15.
14.
13.
12.
11.
10.

----- S Tier -----

9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
HM:
1.