Savannah’s new hockey team has a name. Meet the Savannah Ghost Pirates
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Savannah’s professional hockey team finally has a name and logo.
The new ECHL franchise will be called the Savannah Ghost Pirates. The mayor of Savannah and team representatives made the announcement Wednesday at Ghost Coast Distillery.
The logo is the shape of a ghost figure carrying a hockey stick. The team colors are black, white, and florescent green with a focus on glowing eyes.
Ownership tapped one of the leading sports graphic designers in the United States, Dan Simon and his team at Studio Simon in Louisville, KY to bring the Ghost Pirates to life. Studio Simon designs logos for many sports leagues and teams including the NFL, MLB, NCAA and various hockey leagues.
“The logo is very appealing to both children and adults,” said Andy Kaufmann, the Ghost Pirates CEO.
Team President Bob Ohrablo joined WTOC for a brief Q&A after the announcement was made.
The team will begin play in 2022-2023 season in the ECHL, a AA league currently with 27 teams in 20 states and two Canadian provinces for its 34th season in 2021-22.
The team will be the first tenant of the new Savannah Arena, a factor the team says played a big part in choosing Savannah.
Ohrablo says he believes Savannah can become a hockey town, and believes it can happen quickly.
“All you have to do is come out and see this once and then you’re literally hooked, which is a penalty in hockey by the way,” he jokes. “We want to create that atmosphere where people just have fun and they have a good time. We know that fans are going to love this.”
In the coming months, the team will introduce the mascot, team jerseys, NHL/AHL affiliation, naming of a coach, signing the first player and more. The Ghost Pirates are expected announce its NHL partner in the first quarter of 2022.
This spring, the Savannah Ghost Pirates will introduce a street hockey program throughout Southeastern Georgia.
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Hockey is nothing new to the city of Savannah, but not at the professional level.
The Savannah Hockey Classic, pitting four college teams against one another, has been a popular event at the Savannah Civic Center every year since 1999.
Ohrablo says the success of that event also helped the team choose to make Savannah home.
“We saw the passion for the college hockey tournament that’s here and over at the Civic Center,” Ohrablo says. “That kind of proved to us that there is a good base here and we just need to build on that base of hockey fans.”
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