Name That Team!

HBIC reader James H. forwarded along a very interesting email to me that I have yet to hear about on other hockey sites. Granted, I may have missed it (very likely) due to how busy I've been over the last three weeks, but I'm surprised that there hasn't been more coverage of this potential story. It seems that in the near future, Chicago will have its third professional hockey team in its third professional league playing in the city or the suburbs. Thanks to James' keen eyes on the Interwebs, there will eventually be a new ECHL expansion team in the Chicagoland area thanks to the efforts of the C&S Family Sports group.

The ECHL plays primarily along the east coast, and it was how the league was originally formed and named: the East Coast Hockey League. However, the league has pushed westward in efforts to expand its presence as the premier AA professional hockey league in North America, and now has teams in Anchorage, Alaska, Las Vegas, Nevada, Ontario, California, and Salt Lake City, Utah. Franchises are becoming more stable as the league picks up steam in terms of being affordable, family-friendly hockey. While it's not the NHL in terms of the caliber of play, the hockey is exciting and the games are filled with all sorts of fun.

In moving to bigger markets, it appears that the ECHL is looking to make a mark in the Windy City area as C&S Family Sports appears to be interested in starting up an ECHL expansion team. The AHL Chicago Wolves play to great crowds, and the NHL Chicago Blackhawks fill the United Center nightly. With hockey in Chicago back in a big way, it makes sense to try to capitalize on the popularity.

And what better way to get fans interested than to hold a "Name The Team" contest?

While I've been meaning to run this for a while, there are still a few days to get a name into the contest. Lots of cool prizes are available to the winner, so put your thinking cap on. If you can't come up with a solid hockey team name, that's ok too. You can still vote for some of the other suggested names!

Chicago's ECHL team is nearly here, and a debut of team colors and logo will be made at a later date! Keep watching HBIC for more details as they are released!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!