The Federal Prospects Hockey League officially add its news team at a 1pm press conference at the Columbus Civic Center, revealing the name and logo for the new Columbus franchise, the River Dragons.
The team colors are black, red, what appears to be gold, white, and a teal outline around the entire logo, which gives it a familiar but unique look in the FPHL. Here’s a closer look at the logo, minus the teal outline that appears on the version on the team’s website.
Ignite Pro Hockey recognized the value of the Cottonmouths name but chose to have their own brand that could later pay homage to the original SPHL team. One interesting thing of note, Columbus was previously home to a team called the Riverdragons (yes, just one word), of the original NBDL (now the NBA G League), and lasted from 2001 to 2005.
Here is their logo for comparison’s sake:
In addition to the name, logos, and colors, pictures of what the team plans to wear on the ice started circulating on the internet after the initial press conference, with reader @DanielWrestling providing us with a shot of them.
— . (@DanielWrestIing) May 21, 2019
But the (arguably) biggeest news of the day was the official announcement that former Carolina Thunderbirds President/GM, Scott Brand, was not done with the FPHL at all, as he was announced as the River Dragons GM/President.
Approximately 50 people attended the jovial press conference as Mr.Brand laid out the plans for this new franchise owned by Ignite Pro Hockey. The focus of the team will be much like Scott’s former team, be aggressive on the ice, be forward with your fans and grow the game within the community.
A very familiar name to the Columbus community was announced as VP of Community Relations, Mr. Jerome Bechard, who has been a part of hockey in Columbus for more than 20 years is expected to play a big role in the teams reach to the community. Jerome played for the Columbus Cottonmouths and coached the team from 2004-2016.
Ticket prices were announced at the press conference as well, with walk up tickets going for as low as $8, while season tickets varied from $235 to $560 for glass seats. Tickets and more information will be available on the team website after Memorial Day weekend.
The River Dragons also revealed the players they selected at the Chicago expansion draft. Chase Fallis was an important selection for the team bringing high end skill to the team fresh off a season with the FPHL Champion Carolina Thunderbirds, while goalies Nick Niedert and Jared Rutledge were also taken in the draft.
The also noted that as of now, there is no way to listen to games on the radio, but thaty they do have plans to get connected with a local radio station so that both home and away games are available to the community.
For more information on the team, please visit their website: www.rdragons.com
Bus League Hockey will have more reaction on this announcement, including our thoughts on the team name, logos, and hires coming up.
Bus League Hockey 