Alas, poor Newfoundland Growlers, we hardly knew ye.
The five-year-old franchise’s ECHL membership was abruptly terminated on Tuesday, April 2, marking the tip of the newest chapter {of professional} hockey in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. All gamers beneath ECHL contracts grew to become free brokers, with different ECHL groups in a position to signal a most of two former Growlers for the rest of the 2023-24 season. The Growlers’ remaining six common season video games had been cancelled, and playoff seeding for groups within the ECHL North Division can be decided by factors proportion.
“We are saddened to lose ECHL hockey in the Newfoundland market,” ECHL commissioner Ryan Crelin stated in an announcement. “We’d like to thank the Growlers fans and partners for their support of the team throughout their existence, and are hopeful that hockey can return to the region for their dedicated and passionate fanbase.”
Homeowners Deacon Sports activities and Leisure — who additionally owned the Iowa Heartlanders till July 2023 and bought the Trois-Rivières Lions on Tuesday — prolonged their “heartfelt appreciation to our fans, sponsors, partners, staff, and the hundreds of players who have proudly represented the Growlers, whose unwavering resilience and support has been instrumental to our on-ice product.”
The Growlers’ identify and emblem had been unveiled in Might 2018, and so they by no means modified over the course of the group’s brief historical past. The brand depicted a black and gold Newfoundland canine, “a large working dog who is known for their size, strength, intelligence and loyalty,” in line with the press launch on the time. “The dog in the logo is fierce and stoic to represent the pride and resilience of our province, and our reputation of never backing down from a challenge.”
The colours had been impressed by a regionally iconic photograph displaying Sable Chief, a black Newfoundland canine adopted by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment as their mascot through the First World Battle.
The Growlers’ emblem received the 2018 Creamer Award for Best New Primary Logo of the Year, beating different such contenders as Los Angeles Soccer Membership (MLS), the Stetson Hatters (NCAA) and the Augusta GreenJackets (single-A South Atlantic League).
Like the emblem, the Growlers’ jerseys additionally didn’t change over the course of their 5 seasons within the ECHL. Their darkish jerseys had a black base with the Newfoundland canine emblem on the entrance and “NEWFOUNDLAND” arched overtop in white, together with white and gold striping on the sleeves and waist.
Their white jerseys once more featured the canine emblem on the entrance with black and gold striping on the arms and waist and a gold phantom yoke across the shoulders. Once they had been initially unveiled, the white jerseys initially didn’t have “NEWFOUNDLAND” arched over the canine emblem, however that seems to have been added in black sooner or later throughout their inaugural 2018-19 season — a season through which in addition they received the Kelly Cup championship.
ECHL groups put on white jerseys at dwelling and darkish jerseys on the highway till the All-Star Recreation break in January, at which level they swap to darkish at dwelling at white on the highway. Through the playoffs, they swap again to white at dwelling and darkish on the highway.
In 2021, the Growlers launched a brand new “Regiment Gold” third jersey, which slot in properly with their different uniforms. Like their common jerseys, it had horizontal striping on the waist and arms, this time in white and black on the gold base. Black piping ran across the shoulders.
It’s unclear when the Growlers stopped sporting the gold alternate jersey, however by January 2023 that they had launched a brand new black alternate that leaned extra closely into the army aspect of the group’s identification. The jersey was black and gold — with no white to be discovered — and had a brand new emblem on the entrance of a silhouette of Sable Chief leaping in entrance of a roundel with “NEWFOUNDLAND GROWLERS” spelled out inside. Two gold stripes ran round every sleeve whereas military-style gold chevrons adorned the edges. Chevrons additionally appeared on the shoulders, with the motto “STAND ON GUARD” written inside. The unofficial motto of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment — “BETTER THAN THE BEST” — was printed contained in the collar.
Even with their new identification, the Growlers typically reached into Newfoundland’s hockey historical past. In 2019, they paid tribute to the St. John’s Maple Leafs — the previous AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the identical NHL membership the Growlers had been affiliated with — by sporting the identical uniforms they wore within the Nineties, albeit with a unique identify and quantity font.
Different particular version jerseys the group wore through the years have celebrated their mascot, Buddy the Puffin, and India Beer, a standard Newfoundland beer model nonetheless being brewed as we speak. In addition they celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by taking the Leafs’ St. Pats jerseys and placing their very own twist on them, changing “St. Pats” with “St. John’s” on the entrance.
For the 2023-24 season, the Growlers had launched a fifth anniversary emblem and had been sporting it as a shoulder patch on each their darkish and white uniforms. It featured their canine head emblem in entrance of a white V (the Roman numeral for five) with a gold define. This was contained in a black circle, once more outlined in gold, with commemorative writing inside.
