The BC Hockey League has had some legendary logos in its 59 years of activity. There are so many out there, you would need a more extended list than just five to cover them all. Today though, let’s look back through the years and review some of the wildest BCHL logos in league history.
Honourable Mentions
So before we start to delve into the list, I wanted to give some props to the Burnaby Blue Hawks (in loving memory), the Coquitlam Express, and the Surrey Eagles.
The primary logo for the Burnaby Blue Hawks made its debut in 1982 and is it ever obvious the Hawks designed this logo in the 80s.
To start, it is the only logo in the history of the league (that I could find) where the primary colour of the background stands out. I mean, it is Royal blue! Imagine being the jersey designer for the Blue Hawks in the 80s. They couldn’t pay me enough to do that.
The Surrey Eagles also have a fun logo, especially the one that was used from 2003-10. The comic book-style font with the super bald eagle gripping a hockey stick with the might of a god is true mid-2000s glory.
The last shoutout goes to the Coquitlam Express. The Express used this logo from 2001-05, appearing to try and gain popularity by feeding off the iconic children’s show Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, whose TV ratings peaked in the mid-to-late 90s. The animated locomotive in the logo can be seen smirking with a
big puck nose and wide grimacing eyes.
This logo captivates early 2000s animation at its finest. From the font to the train whooshing down the track, even the cloud of smoke which encompasses the word “EXPRESS,” it all works so beautifully for its timeframe, and it’s a shame the logo went out of fashion because the jerseys were divine to look at.
Although these logos are great and everything, they have nothing on these five logos the league has seen since its inaugural season in 1962.
#5: Royal City Outlaws 1994-96
The now-defunct Royal City Outlaws get the party started at number five. This gun-toting Canadian cowboy was seen all over New Westminister for the two years the club was active.
This team represented the 90s spirit by embracing the famous counter-culture scene. Paying homage to gunslinging cowboys on logos before them, the Royal City Outlaws took a page out of the San Antonio Gunslingers (R.I.P.) book and went full bore when designing this logo.
Two different font styles give this logo a classical western feel and fit beautifully on the team’s blue and black colour scheme. The Prince George Spruce Kings were born from this team, so here’s hoping they look back one day and honour this beautiful logo.
#4: Williams Lake Timberwolves 2002-07
Hopping in at number four is the Williams Lake Timberwolves, who put a lot of detail when designing this logo. Used as the primary logo for five or so years during the club’s existence, the T-Wolves went above
and beyond when animating the wolf.
The ferocious beast stands out front and centre and is detailed to the point where I almost didn’t notice the shaft of the hockey stick being a pine tree. The font above looks beautiful when put on a grey jersey, and the yellow outlining stands out as well.
Not to say it reminds me of the Michigan Wolverines, but yeah, it reminds me of the Michigan Wolverines. Williams Lake took a leave of absence for two seasons from 2007-09 but returned with a slightly less cool logo in 2009-10 before being placed on suspension by the BCHL.
#3: Abbotsford Falcons 1985-86
Here at number three are the Abbotsford Falcons (a team that’s no longer with us.) This Falcons logo is the best logo I have ever seen attached to the Falcons namesake, yes and that includes even the Atlanta
Falcons, Captain Falcon, and Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This logo is more than just an animated logo to slap on a jersey or a few T-shirts. This logo is a work of art! I mean, no wonder Abbotsford only used this logo for one season, no one was going to take the time of day to try and make a more detailed version.
This logo would be tough to mass produce with no photocopiers or copy-paste features to help out, which again is probably why it only lasted one season. Although the team now lies in the graveyard of BCHL franchises past after folding in 1988, we can only hope the league one day honours this work of art.
#2: Prince George Spruce Kings 1996-2006
Finally, we made it to the top two. I can assure you this has been worthwhile, so without any delay, popping in at two is the Prince George Spruce Kings! This is the logo the team used from 1996 to 2006. This maniacal Spruce tree holding a hockey stick is fantastic, from the saw blade in the background to the snow-covered font that spells out the team name.
This 90s and early 2000s relic is genuinely something to behold! If you showed this to someone who had no idea what the BCHL was, they’d probably think this was the logo for your uncle’s logging company.
The Spruce Kings have something scarce in their archives, one of the most amazing sports logos ever to grace humankind.
#1: Victoria Salsa 1994-96
If you classify yourself as a BCHL fan, you probably already knew which logo would be crowned the wildest logo in the league’s history, but alas, here we are at number one. In the mid-90s, the Victoria Salsa was one of the strangest junior sports team names to exist.
So, the owners decided that to best embody the team name, they needed an outlandish logo that was both egregious and chaotically beautiful at the same time. Thus the hockey-playing version of Gumby was born!
Fun fact: the owners of the team at this time also owned a chain of Taco Time restaurants on Vancouver Island, so if that doesn’t make it all add up in your head, you may not understand that this former championship-winning team was also a part-time Taco Time ad.
Sadly, the Salsa franchise went in a different direction in 2006 and became the Victoria Grizzlies we know today.
To help conclude, these five logos are some of the wildest in league history and sports history. Many fans were have blessed to have seen these logos hit the ice. Or you are like me looking back and wishing you were alive (or old enough) in the 80s and 90s to have seen such craziness in sports.
The final logo I want to talk about is the BCHL league logo that was used from 1995-2005.
Look at that beauty of a caveman flying in on the BCHL puck, indeed a work of animated art as drawn by beloved cartoonist Johnny Hart from the B.C. comic strip!
