And that’s not to say changes will be happening, either.
The current head dress logo is the focus for the WHL club at the moment and any other plans, including the team name, are things that may or may not be discussed in the future. And it’s imperative to stress that any change that happens — logo, name, or otherwise — won’t come without regular consultation with many stakeholders, including the team’s legion of fans.
Rest assured, if something that major is going change for the community-owned team, the community is going to know about it and will have their say.
That’s what the current logo review is all about: gathering as much input as possible from various sources, including fans, to make the right decision for the team going forward. That could very well mean no changes at all, a subtle alteration, whole redesign, literally anything.
That’s why the Warriors are taking their time with the review — it’s a matter of making sure whatever comes up, it’s with a consensus, that they have as much input as possible and things are done the right way.
“Something to keep in mind is we’re close to 40 years in Moose Jaw and we’re very proud of that,” said Warriors general manager Alan Millar, “but at the same time, we inherited the name from Winnipeg, we inherited the indigenous branding from Winnipeg and as part of this review, do you consider a change and secondly, if you do consider a change, what does that look like?
“I think this potentially presents an opportunity where if we do change our primary logo, we’d be able to do something that’s more in line with our city, our community in Moose Jaw and our province… There are opportunities and options if that’s what we decide to do.”
If it comes down to choosing a new design for the team, options are already there. The ‘angry moose’ is currently their popular third jersey logo and is used as the primary logo for the AAA Warriors. Outside of that, a new design could incorporate elements from 15 Wing — as a military base, the ‘warriors’ name is a natural fit — or feature a wholesale redesign not even considered yet.
“We haven’t done much, if anything at all, in the last 40 years when our branding came to including our city name,” Millar said. “So when we brought out the Moose logo, it’s incorporated with the city name in Moose Jaw, and we feel that’s important. Then when we became involved with the AAA team just over a year ago, we branded them with the moose logo, so we’ve had real good feedback on that logo and we want to continue to use it and make it relative to our branding.
“But at the same time we see it as a valuable second logo and if we do go down the path of a potential change, it does present opportunities to do something that is reflective of our city and our province.”
Those discussions and decisions will take place in the coming months, with Millar hoping to see a resolution some time in February or March.
