Opinion BY Christian Palino

Palm Trees on Ice

The NHL Draft, once monopolized by Montréal, Quebec (the consistent home from 1963 to 1984 and for several other years including last year’s), now finds itself in a slightly warmer location on southern California’s coast for the 2010 edition. Looking back over recent years, the draft logo was largely dominated by Canada’s red color heritage and a notable lack of consideration for the requisite NHL shield logo integration. This year’s logo is as much a departure from the norm as the geographic location is.

NHL Draft logos, 2006 – 2009.

The color scheme is decidedly cool with its blue highlights, dimensional grays and black grounding. These colors and the lock-up of objects all seem to be developed with the NHL shield in mind, no longer just an afterthought. While circular forms have been used in previous iterations, this new logomark uses a thick, circular black frame that feels like a hockey puck. Yes, the typography feels a bit clunky and pedestrian in the all-italic-all-the-time sports aesthetic, but this also helps it feel rather appropriate. I’ll admit that I’ve been staring at these palm trees for a while now. They originally struck me as awkward to be sitting on a hockey puck, but the more I look at them the more I feel like their contrast brings a unique voice to the frozen world of hockey.

Thanks to Jeremy Heilpern for the tip.

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The NHL Draft, once monopolized by Montréal, Quebec (the consistent home from 1963 to 1984 and for several other years including last year's), now finds itself in a slightly warmer location on southern California's coast for the 2010 edition. Looking back over recent years, the draft logo was largely dominated by Canada's red color heritage and a notable lack of consideration for the requisite NHL shield logo integration. This year's logo is as much a departure from the norm as the geographic location is.

Many thanks to our ADV @ UnderConsideration Partners