10 of the Best Team Names Outside the NHL

Last week, we were able to get into some of the best logos that the hockey world had to offer outside of the NHL – and the general public definitely had some thoughts on it.

Today, we’ll get into the other half of a franchise’s branding that can stand out: team names. Here’s a look at 10 of the best outside of the NHL:

EHC Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams , Deutsche Eishockey Liga

If you pictured a team being named after a television show, I’m not sure your first guess would have been after The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams. But in Germany, the name stuck as a part of the branding for years. 

It’s probably one of the first names you’d think about when you’re talking about DEL teams and the branding even though the imagery and wording when you look at current day branding has now shifted towards Grizzlys Wolfsberg. 

The fact that this name still comes up as one of the best and most unique in hockey just shows how great of a job the team did when it came to brand creation. 

Greenville Swamp Rabbits, ECHL 

When it comes to animal team names, Swamp Rabbits by far stands out for how original it is, because at first glance you’d wonder what’s a swamp rabbit but there’s a little Greenville history behind it. 

The name dates back to a landmark from the 1920s known as the Swamp Rabbit Railroad. The name has allowed the franchise to create a moniker that you won’t find anywhere else in the sport but also pay homage to the region’s history. 

Daemyung Killer Whales, Asia Hockey League 

Teams that have used Whale names have usually been pretty tame or have described someone hunting a type of whale. 

In the Asia Hockey League, that’s been changed with the name of one of the most feared predators in the ocean. A killer whale or orcas as they’re also known have even killed sharks and a team name honoring them is one that demands respect. Move over, Hartford.

Blainville-Boisbriand Armanda, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

Webster’s Dictionary defines an Armada as “a fleet of warships” and “a large force or group usually of moving things”. When you want to present your team as a dominant entity you’ve made an excellent selection by going with Armada. And the logo rocks, too.

Wheeling Nailers, ECHL 

The name that almost always comes up whenever you hear about best names in minor pro hockey. The name literally comes from when Wheeling, West Virginia had the largest cut nail plant in the world dating back to the late 1800s. Cut nails are sheared by machine from steel plate and in a market like Wheeling that has a major background in steel manufacturing, it truly resonated with local fans. 

The name has also become popular as a play on words that might be a little too inappropriate for The Hockey News/Sports Illustrated but has taken a life of its own on social media. It shouldn’t be too hard for you to figure out.

Glasgow Clan, Elite Ice Hockey League (United Kingdom) 

Glasgow deserves praise for digging deep into the Scottish roots. The word name “Clan” refers to a group of people united by a common surname or has a perceived kinship. We always hear about how a hockey team can be a family and how the team can unite. 

This name is a great way of tying the bonds of family and hockey together. 

Metropolitan Riveters, National Women’s Hockey League 

One of the original names of the NWHL (first created when the team was based in Brooklyn, New York), the Riveters name along with the usage of Rosie the Riveter in the logo has been a great tribute to the women who worked in defense industries during World War II. 

The brand has been one that’s been a continued symbol of working women and has been embraced by fans and many in the world of hockey. And after winning the Isobel Cup in the team’s third season, there was no shortage of fans ready to support the team and its brilliant branding. 

Salmon Arm Silverbacks, British Columbia Hockey League 

How many Silverback gorillas will you see in the Southern Interior of British Columbia? Probably not that many. Even though the name geographically may not make a ton of sense, what the name has is creativity but also honors one of the most powerful primates in the world. 

When you want to come up with a name that brings up images of power and intimidation in the animal kingdom and to reflect a strong hockey team, going with the Silverbacks is a great choice. 

Roadrunners (Across Various Leagues and cities) 

Going back over 50 years, the Roadrunners name has been able to become a staple brand in the Arizona area across the WHL, WHA, CHL, PHL, IHL, ECHL, and AHL. Teams in the area many times have found a way to honor one of the prominent birds in the state, one of the fastest birds in the world. The current club to claim the name are the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners. 

The name has also hilariously been used far away from Arizona in the form of the Montreal Roadrunners in Roller Hockey International in the 1990s and the Toronto/Edmonton Roadrunners in the AHL in the mid-2000s. 

The locations did not make sense for the name but it’s a name that regardless has been used outside of the regional area for the bird. 

Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves, NCAA Hockey 

The fate of the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves program remains up in the air as it needs $3 million dollars in funding by August to avoid being disbanded, and hopefully, a name and program that’s very Alaskan is not removed from the world of college hockey. 

The Seawolves name goes back to fables of tribes from Southeast Alaska and the story of a young man battling and defeating a half wolf-half sea creature to save his village. 

The name has been used by all the school’s athletic programs since the 1970s. When it comes to a name with ties to regional culture, the Seawolves name is one that has reflected that for decades.