ECHL Unveils Logo for 30th Anniversary

The ECHL will be celebrating their 30th anniversary in style next season with this new commemorative logo. The logo was unveiled via a post on their official site early last week.

Designed by Dan Royer, Creative Director for the ECHL’s Toledo Walleyes as well as Minor League Baseball’s Toledo Mud Hens, the logo features a large 30 in white with a silver bevel with the league name in its usual font, the years on either side on a banner, a flying puck, and five red stars.

“When I set out to design some concepts, I focused on the vital elements first”, Mr. Royer told SportsLogos.Net in an email. “Obviously, we had the ECHL lettering, the 30, and the years. Beyond that I went to sketching trying many different placements for all those elements. ”

Within the logo, near the bottom, we see stars below a puck flying from both directions. Both of these elements are familiar to ECHL league logos as they have been featured in every league logo since its debut in 1988. In this case, specifically the five red stars also are meant as an homage to the five original ECHL franchises: the Carolina Thunderbirds, Erie Panthers, Johnstown Chiefs, Knoxville Cherokees, and Virginia Lancers.

“Our 30th Anniversary gives us an opportunity to reflect on the past but also celebrate the future”, ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna said in the press release. “We have many events planned for this year-long celebration which will be announced in the coming weeks and begin when we drop the puck in October.”

There were multiple concepts considered, including some incorporating bronze into the colour scheme giving it a “trophy-like” feel but the league ultimately ended up sticking with their traditional red, white, blue look.

“My overall goal was to give them a logo that fit their current brand, but also could stand on its own when needed”, Royer added. “I’m happy with where we ended up, and the ECHL was great to work with.”

The ECHL was founded with five teams in 1988, known then as the East Coast Hockey League. When the rival West Coast Hockey League shut its doors in 2003 the ECHL absorbed seven of their teams, all of which were located out west with Idaho being the furthest east club. Subsequently the league changed their name to simply “ECHL” for the 2003-04 season, an acronym, officially, for nothing.