With the hockey season past the halfway point, we thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the best and worst ice designs of the season. Today we are looking at the worst designs. You may disagree with our picks and that is fine. Let us know in the comments below.
5. Arizona Coyotes
We know, the Coyotes are in a bad situation (again), but we can't overlook the center ice. Dual logos are not bad, but in this case, it is a startling reminder that an NHL team is playing in a college rink. Perhaps we ranked it so low because we remember how great their ice looked for last two seasons in Glendale.
4. Saginaw Spirit
We understand that the lower-level leagues have to make money through advertising, but most teams put the arena name and associated sponsor around the circle. The Spirit have shoved their logo to the top half of the circle to make room for their arena logo and a redundant DOW logo.
3. Washington Capitals
We are not going to cut much slack for NHL teams whose center ice design looks like an amateur design. The Capitals have a beautiful alternate logo, often referred to as the 'Weagle', yet they choose to use their wordmark on the ice instead. To make it even worse, the red line cuts through it, covering some of the letters. Technically, it reads "WASHING )N cap tals". Couldn't they at least modify the ice graphic so the letters will not be covered? By the way, we have made a concept of the Weagle at center ice, and it looks great! You can do better Washington.
2. Fort Wayne Komets
Let's get right to the point. A giant advertisement inside the center circle... Really? We get it, you make money from in-ice ads. That is actually an understatement. Take a look at their rink.
That's right, they even have ads in their referee circle and inside the painted creases. You will also notice Sweetwater appears on the ice 4 more times, so the fact that they are also inside the circle is quite off-putting. Center circles are for team logos. They have the rest of the ice to cover with ads (and do they ever) but leave the center circle alone.
1. New York Islanders
The Islanders have a pretty classic logo that fills up the center ice circle nicely. This year they celebrate their 50'th anniversary. Unfortunately, the center ice is hardly worth celebrating. This is really a case of poor logo design, but its alignment at center ice is doing it absolutely no favors. Sometimes teams celebrate anniversaries, but do not paint the logo at center ice. This would have been a good option for the Islanders.
What do you think of our list? Let us know in the comments below. We will also be doing our top 5 list very soon, so keep checking our site, or follow us on social media for updates.