THN.com's AHL Logo Rankings

The American League boasts an interesting mixture of illustrious and new-school franchises, which means the logos are all over the map.

Since this is the second-best league in North America (perhaps the world), looking sharp is obviously a priority and the teams that had the freedom to sport unique names (Rivermen, Rampage) were able to pull off some nice crests.

Teams which sidle up to their NHL parent clubs are more hamstrung, which is why the Baby Penguins and P-Bruins find themselves further down the rankings; it’s hard to find originality in a conscripted name.

Nonetheless, there are some real gems in the AHL, many of which rival the NHL in terms of impact and cool factor.

Over the month of August, THN will rank the logos of 16 North American leagues. Click HERE to go to THN's Logo Rankings Central page and click HERE to vote for your top AHL logo as part of our tournament to discover the fans' choice for the top logo in hockey.

THN's AMERICAN LEAGUE LOGO RANKINGS

RK.	LOGO	TEAM	THE SCOOP
1		Rochester Americans	The minor league classic. Red, white and blue, stars and stripes, it all works perfectly.
2		San Antonio Rampage	An upgrade to the uninspired original bull, the new Rampage logo is original and crisp.
3		Milwaukee Admirals	Never mind that the black and light blue color scheme is awesome, Milwaukee’s ship is captained by a skeleton.
4		Houston Aeros	The Aeros used to go with a modern jet fighter, but the new retro bomber is a good fit as well.
5		Bridgeport Sound Tigers	The jagged tiger has a nice color to it and looks fantastic on a jersey or hat.
6		Norfolk Admirals	This is a competitive league for admirals, but using the ship that fires pucks is pretty neat.
7		Peoria Rivermen	He’s steering the ship, looking mean and chewing on a puck; now that’s a riverman.
8		Springfield Falcons	A sharp falcon with an original look to it. The Iron Maiden-esque font helps, too.
9		Toronto Marlies	Some might say it’s even better than the current Maple Leafs logo – certainly has more dynamics to it.
10		Grand Rapids Griffins	A good-looking griffin with a simple logo scheme puts Grand Rapids in the vaunted top 10.
11		Manitoba Moose	Better than the original cartoonish moose, the new guy looks sharp.
12		Lowell Devils	The full devil with the pitchfork/hockey stick is a nice accompaniment to the New Jersey-inspired ‘L.’
13		Lake Erie Monsters	Trading on the team’s lake monster theme, this emerging creature definitely wins creativity points.
14		Hamilton Bulldogs	There’s a lot of bulldogs out there. Hamilton’s is inoffensive enough.
15		Iowa Chops	The name is ridiculous, but the logo works because it’s simple and forceful.
16		Rockford IceHogs	It’s fun and cartoony, but is it even the best pig in the ‘A’?
17		Portland Pirates	There’s a pretty high standard for pirate logos around here. Portland passes, but doesn’t dazzle.
18		Hershey Bears	Better known for their old jerseys, the Bears’ logo is middle-of-the-road.
19		Manchester Monarchs	Following the Kings’ lead, the Monarchs have a “King of the Jungle” motif. Not bad, but not great.
20		Philadelphia Phantoms	I know it’s a phantom, but this thing needs some more facial features.
21		WB/Scranton Penguins	Much like Binghamton, the WB penguin looks like he’s on steroids.
22		Providence Bruins	Can’t go wrong with the spoked circle, but it’s not going to win any originality points.
23		Chicago Wolves	Aggressive, yes. But this wolf is just a little too off-putting for our tastes.
24		Hartford Wolf Pack	An OK wolf as wolves go, but when do wolves ever go near water?
25		Albany River Rats	Love the name, but the drawing itself is a little amateurish.
26		Worcester Sharks	It’s just the old Sharks logo.
27		Binghamton Senators	Too much chin on that Sen. Plus, he looks tougher than the Ottawa senator. You can’t be showing up your boss.
28		Syracuse Crunch	Our THN panel just wasn’t feelin’ the albino gorilla.
29		Quad City Flames	A flaming ‘Q’ would have sufficed; adding on a flaming ‘C’ is just weird looking.

Over the next two months, THN.com will leave the voting on the best logos up to you, the reader. To vote for your favorite, click HERE.