Prince Albert's WHL Cobra Chickens The Latest In A Trend Of Lighthearted 1-Day Rebrands | CBC News

Saskatchewan

Specialty jerseys have become more creative and increasingly crucial to the business of junior hockey in recent years.

Specialty jersey nights can help teams financially, support local charities and boost attendance

Will McLernon · CBC News

· Posted: Jan 25, 2024 6:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Prince Albert’s WHL team is rebranding from the Raiders to the Cobra Chickens for its game against the Saskatoon Blades on Friday. (Submitted by the Prince Albert Raiders)Prince Albert’s Western Hockey League team won’t be donning its classic Raiders logo when it takes on the Saskatoon Blades this Friday.

Instead the squad will be playing as the Lake Country Cobra Chickens. Its players will wear specially designed jerseys with angry-looking Canada Geese as the logo for its game against their rivals from the south.

Michael Scissons, the Prince Albert Raiders’ business manager, said the one-game rebrand is a way to inject some extra fun into a home game.

“Jerseys have always been popular to bring people into the rink so they can see a bit of the character of our team, a bit of the personality of our group, and they’re always a good time to wear,” Scissons said.

WATCH | Specialty jerseys becoming big business for sports teams: 

Specialty jerseys becoming big business for sports teamsSpecialty jerseys have become more creative and increasingly crucial to the business of junior hockey in recent years. They can help teams financially, support local charities and boost attendance.

Scissons said the team was looking for an animal that represented northern Saskatchewan. Fans expressed interest in the Cobra Chickens — which is slang for the Canada Goose— on social media.

“They are a scary animal that hisses at you and runs at you and we just kind of really liked it, so we took it and ran with it,” Scissons said.

Scissons said the Cobra Chickens merchandise has been extremely popular and that orders have come in from different areas of North America and even Europe.

Cobra Chickens: feared and terrorizing monarchs of the Canadian wilderness! They will be even more menacing when they hit the ice in @TheWHL action, as the @PARaidersHockey will rebrand for one night as the Lake Country Cobra Chickens on January 26th! @icethetics@sportslogosnet pic.twitter.com/xJkzZTK9Xd

—@wizardofvauseInspiration from Swift CurrentPrince Albert isn’t the first Saskatchewan-based WHL team to temporarily rebrand. The Swift Current Broncos rebranded to the Lake Diefenbaker Slough Sharks last season.

The Slough Sharks beat the Moose Jaw Warriors 4-0. 

Slough shark is a nickname for the northern pike, according to the Swift Current Broncos executive vice president of business operations Kevin Simpson.

He said the one-game rebrand was decided by a fan vote.

“We gave them some options of their favourite places in southwest Saskatchewan and the Lake Diefenbaker Slough Sharks was definitely by far our most popular,” Simpson said.

Kevin Simpson, the Swift Current Broncos executive vice president of business operations, holding a Lake Diefenbaker Slough Sharks jersey. (Bonnie Allen/CBC)The Slough Sharks returned to the ice this past December to play the Prince Albert Raiders, but fell short in a shootout loss.

While the result on the ice wasn’t as successful this time around, the return of the Slough Sharks was a moneymaker for the team.

Simpson said all the Slough Shark merchandise was sold out within three days of going on the market this season and the sales brought in more than $30,000.

He is happy to see other teams undergoing similar rebrandings.

“I think at the junior hockey league level, it’s very important for us to do some things to engage with our fans, come up with some different looks, different marketing ideas, different promotions, and I think the fans really enjoy it,” Simpson said.

Saskatoon’s WHL squad has played games as the Bananas, while the Brandon Wheat Kings transformed into the Wheat City Walleye for a game in December.

The Wheat City Walleye and Lake Diefenbaker Slough Sharks were in action Friday night in @TheWHL! pic.twitter.com/fEnezfUqvQ

—@CHLHockeyWHL teams wearing as many as 8 different jerseys this seasonSpecialty jerseys have been a staple for Western Hockey League teams for the past 10 seasons.The jerseys have become more and more creative and increasingly crucial to the business of junior hockey.

The Prince Albert Raiders, Swift Current Broncos and Moose Jaw Warriors are all set to wear eight different jerseys over the course of this season. 

The Warriors won’t be rebranding this season, according to the team’s director of business operations Jaret Schneider. Instead, the team chose to use its special jersey nights to commemorate the squad’s 40th season, honour its hall of fame players, and hold Hockey Fights Cancer and military appreciation nights. 

“We really look forward to putting these theme nights and these jerseys together and honouring some different groups and individuals,” Schneider said.

The purple Moose Jaw Warriors jersey was worn on the team’s hockey fights cancer night, while the red jersey is commemorating the team’s 40th anniversary. (CBC)There are also league-wide initiatives for themed jerseys. One is a Nickelodeon character-inspired jersey, the other was created by winners of a design contest for fans 16 years old and younger. Proceeds from both jerseys go to charitable causes.

All the proceeds from Prince Albert’s Cobra Chickens jerseys will be going toward the team’s education fund, which allows players to access scholarships once they finish their WHL careers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Will McLernon is an online journalist with CBC Saskatchewan. If you have a tip or a story idea, send him an email at will.mclernon@cbc.ca

With files from Dan Plaster and Bonnie Allen

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