Connecticut Whale Logo Unveiled Today

Whalers Sports and Entertainment unveiled its new logo for the Connecticut Whale today before the Wolf Pack played the Albany Devils in their preseason opener at Koeppel Community Sports Center on the campus of Trinity College.

The Wolf Pack will be re-branded as the Connecticut Whale around Thanksgiving, and the logo consists of a blue whale holding a stick inside a green C with Connecticut Whale under in black and blue capital letters. It has a connection to the Wolf Pack and the Hartford Whalers, which played in Hartford from 1974 to 1997 before owner Peter Karmanos moved the team to North Carolina and renamed it the Carolina Hurricanes.

“We have created a fun logo that not only captures the family-oriented approach of the Whale but also represents the competitive nature of coach Ken Gernander’s Whale team,” said Howard Baldwin, chairman of the Whale franchise. “We wanted to not only incorporate our traditional Whale green but focus on the whale, the official animal of the state of Connecticut.”

Baldwin also noted the iconic “Pucky the Whale” will remain the official “live mascot of the Whale.”

The logo was designed by Baldwin, the Whale marketing team and designed Frank Carlson. The Whale will introduce a secondary logo mark and official Connecticut Whale jersey design at a later date.

The Whale-Wolf Pack franchise is the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers. The Wolf Pack opens their 14^th season Oct. 9 at the XL Center against the Charlotte Checkers.

Related Link: http://www.whalerssports.com/index.html

Grown Men Cried: The Story of The Last Hartford Whalers’ Game this is a repost of an older, but still relevant blog post from Bill Strong.  Click here to read this retrospective about the final game at the Hartford Civic Center on April 13, 1997.

Next Saturday, August 14th 2010 there will be a Hartford Whalers Reunion & Fan Fest at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.

Along with the chance to meet Whalers Legends Ron Francis, Kevin Dineen and Joel Quenneville and more this hockey Fan Fest celebrates the history of the Whalers and publicly reunites a wide range of Whalers Alumni for the first time.

The event also features:

• Appearances by local sports teams including the Hartford Colonials, New Britain Rock Cats, CT Tigers and UConn Huskies
• Autographs from some of your favorite Whalers Alumni
• Vintage Whalers video footage featured on the Rentschler Field “Jumbotron”
• The region’s premier sports card and collectibles dealers
• Whalers merchandise and memorabilia
• Live radio broadcasts WTIC-AM, WTIC-FM, WRCH and WZMX
• Interactive Games!
        o Dome Hockey
        o Air Hockey
        o Slap Shot Goalie
        o Gockey
        o Xbox 360 and Wii NHL video games
• Ability to choose and reserve seats for Whalers Hockey Fest in February 2011
• The WHA Hall of Fame Induction of Howard Baldwin and Andre Lacroix

The When: Sat, August 14, 11am – 6pm
The Where: Rentschler Field Stadium, 615 Silver Lane, East Hartford, CT. (map)
The Price: $5 charitable donation at the door to be donated to the Whalers Wives Foundation. You will receive a FREE poster with donation.

For more information on the Hartford Whalers Fan Fest visit: http://whalerssports.com/fanfest.html