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Junior hockey team unveils name, logo

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JANESVILLE — It's wheels-up for the Janesville Jets, the newest member of the Junior A North American Hockey League.

The expansion team unveiled its new nickname and logo Friday morning at the Janesville Ice Skating Center, the home ice for a team set to make its regular-season debut on Saturday, Sept. 12 and Sunday, September 13 with a series against the Traverse City (Mich.) North Stars.

"The team is ready for takeoff," said John McCally, the team's general manager. "We're excited to be the Jets."

"We stuck with a classic name," said Bill McCoshen, team president and managing general partner of Wisconsin Hockey Partners.

The team received more than 200 possible nickname submissions during the first phase of the naming contest.

That list was trimmed to the top five names: Jets, Jaguars, Jackals, Jayhawks and Juggernauts. The Jets ran away with the voting during the second phase of the contest, claiming 373 of the 1,050 votes cast (36 percent). Jackals finished second with 199 votes (19 percent), followed by Juggernauts (193 votes, 18 percent), Jaguars (189 votes, 18 percent) and Jayhawks (95 votes, 9 percent).

Deb Vesling, who lives and works in Sun Prairie, was the winner of the "Name the Team" promotion. Vesling and seven other people submitted the Jets name during the first round of the contest.

Vesling, whose name was chosen randomly from the eight, will receive four complimentary season tickets, a team jersey signed by the inaugural players, and the opportunity to drop the ceremonial puck at the first home game. The other individuals who also entered the final name during the first phase of the contest will receive a pair of season tickets and will attend a special ceremony at the Jets' first home game.

"Alliteration was part of the reason I picked the Jets," Vesling said. "The idea of a jet and the speed of it seemed to fit in with it."

Vesling's son, Kyle, played for the Twin Cities Northern Lights in the Tier III Minnesota Junior Hockey League—a league one step lower than the NAHL. He will attempt to make the Jets' roster during the team's open tryout camps later this summer.

The Janesville Jets logo was designed as part of a collaborative effort. The initial free-lance design was conceptualized by Tony DiNicola, a Janesville Gazette designer, and then graphically edited by Christy Kapellen, a senior graphic designer at Print Max in Milton.

"I just wanted to incorporate power and speed into the logo," DiNicola said. "I'm real happy with it. It worked out for the best for everybody in the end."

Janesville's franchise is one of three hockey teams carrying the Jets moniker. The Jamestown Jets (North Junior Hockey League) and the Johnstown Jets (United Junior Hockey League), the model for the Charlestown Chiefs in the movie "Slapshot."

The nickname is identical to the one used by Janesville's team that played in the Continental Hockey League in 1981-82.

The team's new Web site is already up and running at www.janesvillejets.com.

One item causing confusion is the large sign identifying the Janesville Ice Skating Center as the home of the Janesville J-Hawks. The sign belongs the youth hockey club that uses the arena.

McCoshen said the team's official colors are navy blue, maroon and Las Vegas gold. Those colors are identical to the scheme used by the Cleveland Cavaliers. McCoshen said his wife, Carol, had the color pattern picked as far back as last December.

McCoshen said the Jets are already gaining international attention. He received an e-mail early Friday morning from a prospect in New Zealand interested in attending a tryout camp. He has also received inquiries from players in Russia, Sweden, Canada and Finland.

"I told you this franchise would put Janesville on the hockey map," McCoshen said. "The community support has been tremendous.

"We'll do our darn best to make a positive impact on the community from the get-go. The city has been an outstanding partner.

The Ice Skating Center's renovation project, a condition of the team's acceptance into the NAHL, will begin today.

The $200,000 project, which includes improved locker facilities and concessions stand, is expected to be complete the first week in September.

City Manager Eric Leavitt and council members Bill Truman and Yuri Rashkin attended Friday's unveiling.

"With all the buzz right away, this could (lead to) a new hockey rink being built (in Janesville," Truman said. "This could be a bigger venture than it is today.

"We had some tough nights and some tough votes. This is a great fit for Janesville."

"This will bring a new brand to the city," Leavitt said. "This will take our name in a positive way throughout the country. We're trying to move in a positive direction toward the future."

Ironically, one of the members of the team's ownership group is San Jose Shark and former Wisconsin Badger, Joe Pavelski.

A Shark and the Jets.

Which means it's time to break out at least one "West Side Story" reference: "When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way! From you first cigarette (to) your last dyin' days."

McCally said the Jets have yet to determine when season tickets will go on sale. A date for the sale of team gear has yet to be set.