History
Introducing the next period of Steelhead hockey
Ten years ago, Idaho’s professional hockey team was officially named the Idaho Steelheads. The process to name Idaho’s newest professional sports franchise began in the spring of 1996 with the “Pepsi Name The Team Sweepstakes” that gave consumers throughout Southern Idaho the chance to vote for their favorite team name. The original 25,000 entry blank were quickly consumed forcing a second printing to meet the tremendous demand. Season ticket holders were then given the opportunity to make the final decision between Steelheads and Ice Hawks in the “Pepsi Final Vote.”
The original Steelheads logo was designed by Blake Thorton from Hailey, Idaho. Thorton’s winning logo was chosen following a contest that featured the top graphic artists in the state of Idaho. Thorton’s design was named “logo of the Year’ in 1998 in on line voting by hockey fans at the In The Crease online magazine website. The voting began with logos from every team in professional hockey, including the National Hockey League, and was narrowed to 20 finalists, the top two teams from each league and four wild card entrants. The Steelheads finished second in the “Logo of the Year” contest in 1999 behind the Bakersfield Condors, who are also a member of the ECHL.
Ten years later, the look of the Steelheads in changing. The Idaho Steelheads are proud of the hockey culture that has grown over the past ten years. The Steelheads have a rich history of success stories on and off the ice, and are thrilled to unveil the new look of professional hockey in Idaho.
As residents of this community, both the Steelheads front office and the players themselves love Idaho. In fact, year after year more Steelheads players decide to make Idaho their permanent home. Perhaps it’s because of Boise’s bustling downtown scene or Idaho’s breath-taking natural beauty. Maybe it’s because of the thousands of friendly fans who welcome them to this neck of the woods.
The Steelheads’ new identity captures the spirit of Idaho, while also communicating the fast, fierce nature of Steelheads hockey. The new color combination of blue, black and silver reflects the steelheads intense approach to this physical game. The primary logo features Idaho’s jagged mountain peaks, timbered forests and puck swooshing down a river of motion. The secondary logo focuses on the hardest fighting fresh water fish…the steelhead.
Since the early days in the former West Coast Hockey League, the Steelheads have always been highly regarded as a top-notch, professional sports team. Today, as members of the premier ‘AA’ minor hockey league-the ECHL, the Steelheads have continued to bolster their major league reputation.
“The main goal even before our inaugural season was to be a first class organization on and off the ice,” said General Manager, Eric Trapp. “We feel our new identity communicates the continued professional approach we employ on game nights, while also reflecting our love for Boise, Idaho as our hometown.”
The Steelheads’ marketing partners of the past nine years, MMG of Boise, were retained to execute the rebranding campaign after an extensive RFP process, which evaluated advertising agencies and graphic designers from across the country.
“MMG has an in depth understanding of our history, as well as our vision for the future,” said Trapp. “We were in search of a team who could tackle every aspect of a project of this nature, not just a logo redesign.”
The Steelheads’ new logo suite is the first phase of the rebranding process, which will also include new jerseys, mascot, website and advertising.