Thanks guys! That was a fun playoffs for sure. Now buckle up for a packed offseason!

1987 THL OFFSEASON

League News

After 11 consecutive losing seasons in Lecayne, the Saints were on the verge of bankruptcy. Donovan Marroquin is a popular owner around the league and in the city but even his best efforts had come up short as the shortened season and a jettison of star talent left the team sinking. Despite Lecayne being a hotbed of local hockey talent producing an elite youth system, the professional team's lack of success had greatly hampered any ability to establish a stable franchise upon which to build. Marroquin is a big ideas guy and passionate about hockey but his loyalty to GM Wayne Hooper was his downfall. The generational talent in Jack Kovak never panned out and the big free agent signing of Pekka Jokinen was a colossal failure. Marroquin was forced to consider moving or selling the team. With no financial backing left, he opted to put the team up for sale. An interested party quickly emerged in businessman and investor Ed Harvey from Dosa City.


With the success of hockey northward in the Cauldron Valley in Prestonburg and Vensessor, Harvey was confident a team in Dosa City would be a similar success. Dosa City is a blue collar port city with a huge personality. With similarities to Houston, New Orleans, and Charleston, DC is a key central location within Torland. And with youth hockey growing in the valley, interest for pro hockey was at an all-time high. Harvey had already helped finance a new arena in the Docktown district of Dosa City which could easily be converted to a hockey stadium. Harvey sold out a season's worth of tickets in less than a week which tipped the scales in his favor as Commissioner Pete Byrd approved the sale. Byrd did, however, stipulate that there would be no realignment of the divisions. Former owner Marroquin will join Byrd in the league front office to assist with league operations.

With Harvey purchasing the Saints roster, he officially moved them to Dosa City and renamed them the Snappers. The old Saints history will stay in Lecayne and the new Snappers will start a fresh history.

1987 Dosa City Snappers


Ed Harvey chose the name Snappers for the new franchise, in honor of the turtles and turtle imagery prevalent in Womack Bay and the city port. One of the city nicknames is Turtletown and the westernmost district in DC is called Turtleville. With the new name, Harvey chose teal and gold as the team colors in a nod to the old UHA team the Cyclones, with a greener teal and darker gold. The team logo is a play on local native imagery from totem-style poles that often included images of turtles which were held in divine regard in native culture. Harvey kept the logo simple with the DC on the forward-facing turtle's back to mimic the shell designs of the local snapper species.

The uniforms take a simple and classy but unique approach with a full-length unfilled shoulder stripe and sleeve caps on the cuffs with a matching hem stripe. A secondary logo patch of a turtle sits on the left shoulder. The lettering and numbering are a retro-styled tall serif face to match common international flair found in DC with its wild architecture and styling.



Notable Retirements

Goalie Lawrence Hymore, who played for Chasonne for 16 years and won 4 Marcotte Cups with the Heralds, retired after playing the last two seasons in the minor leagues. Hymore wasn't the most talented goaltender but was an anchor in the net on some very good Heralds teams over the years. Hymore is an interesting case with 4 rings but no awards on his resume.

The ever popular “Biggo” decided to finally hang up his skates after 18 years on the Isle of Kirk. The big defenseman Brian Mierzwinski was local legend in Kirkenport. He won 3 Cups with the Captains and two Blue Collar awards.

Former Whales and Swans captain, forward Cal Capezzio hung up his skates after 15 pro seasons. Capezzio was a 7-time All-Star.

Walton Pruitt, longtime head coach of the Kirkenport Captains, retired under protest, as it appeared the team was wanting to go in a new direction and forced Pruitt to step down. Pruitt joined the team in 1969 and helped lead the Captains to three Marcotte Cup wins. Pruitt was also Coach of the Year in 1973 and 1977. The Narva native took the Captains to 10 playoff appearances.

1987 Hall of Fame Class

After the league skipped the '85 class due to civil unrest and a shortened season, the HOF inducted the legendary Haight and a trio of Captains.

G Ferdy Haight (PA)
G Gerry McKnight (KRK)
F Keenan Draper (KRK)
D Lauri Rikhard (KRK)

Coaching Carousel

After the alleged forced retirement of Walton Pruitt, the Captains hired Gerald Fox as their head coach. The new Dosa City Snappers fired GM Wayne Hooper and hired former longtime Glaciers GM Roger Beauregard.

Notable Free Agents

Former Heralds D Steven Orban signed a 5-year deal with Dosa City.
Former Falcons D Ryan Devlin signed a 3-year deal with Abrieden.
Former Falcons D Joseph Van Deen signed a 5-year deal with Alko.
Former Glaciers F Kenny Joiner signed a 4-year deal with Kirlow.
Former Barbarians F Buddy Stroud signed a 6-year deal with Vensessor.


1987 Amateur Player Draft

1 – KRK – F John Roszak
Everybody knew where this pick was going. Roszak is the local Kirk boy and he's the best player in the draft. Rosy is a fantastic center and can patrol all 200 feet of ice.

2 – DC – F David Tennfjord (Norway)
The big Norse forward is a big first step for the new Snappers franchise. Tennfjord gives DC a legitimate scoring threat.

3 – SIN – D Arthur Steele
The Serps need help on the blue line and Steele is the perfect antidote. A do-it-all d-man who can score on occasion.

4 – ALK – D Ernie Powers
In a defensive heavy draft, the Wizards chose to double up on the blue line after signing Van Deen.

5 – GLD (via ALK via KIR) – G Rick McCombs
With Alko holding Kirlow's pick from the Romanov brothers trade, the Barbarians jumped into the fray and sent disgruntled goalie Arlie Lozano to the Wizards for the fifth pick and G Tony Simms. They in turn selected McCombs to groom.

6 – YBG – D Frederic Kozlow (Poland)
7 – YUB – F Charlie Holmes
8 – KUR – D Adam Kaminsky (Poland)
9 – GLD – F Bob Harman
10 – VEN – D Stephen Lacy
11 – QUE – D Chad Angelo
12 – ABR – F Dario Bethea
13 – FTB – F Tim Houston
14 – NAR – F Kraig Schroeder
15 – PA – D Donovan Glass
16 – BAN – F Bruce Smith
17 – CHA – F JC Welker
18 – PRE – G Juha Laukkanen (Finland)
19 – KAV – D Jesse Powell
20 – TRO – G Terry Love
21 – PTP – G Lance Miller
22 – POR – F Foster Brinson


Team Identity Changes

Two teams changed their looks while the Whales added a special set.

1987 Portarra Whales (Special Uniform)



The increasingly less conservative Whales added yet another new jewel to the crown by introducing a special this uniform in a retro-styled fauxback sweater that features a script "Whales" and simplified striping from their recent set in just navy and white. The sweater will be worn at select home games and is sure to be a hit with the fans.

1987 Trowburgh Herons


Previous Identity: 1972-1986 Trowburgh Herons

The Herons have maintained their yellow-centric look since their inception in 1972, only adding NOB's in 1977. The team decided to go in a new direction, going with black as their primary color from their iconic logo, moving yellow to a secondary color and de-emphasizing teal down to a tertiary color. They hope it will spark a tougher, bolder look than their previous more whimsical yellow and teal. The new sweaters featured more detailed striping, double outlined numbers, and an outlined shoulder yoke.

1987 Yubay Falcons


Previous Identity: 1975-1986 Yubay Falcons

The Falcons have also been a franchise to keep their current look for a long time, last updating their uniforms in 1975 when they switched back from red to black. The Save Side designed a mini-makeover for their set, increasing the richness of the black in their color palette and focusing on heavier striping for a more consistent and bolder look. The double stripes are transformed with sleeve caps and a thicker hem and the red socks are ditched for black. The home sweater numbers switch to silver with red outlines. And the previous flat lettering and TV numbers are outlined.

1987 Look at the League

Here's a fresh update of how the league looks.



C&C always appreciated!
Up next: 1987 Season

Sad to see the Saints go, but the Snappers look pretty good! Nice usage of native art as well.

Dosa City Snappers: The logo is fantastic it's rare to see turtle theme logos being made. The jerseys are good I can see this design stick around until the mid-90s or after the team's tenth anniversary season.

Portarra Whales (Special Uniform): Very classic look I can see this as long-term alternate jersey years down the road.

Trowburgh Herons: Best jersey update ever it really gives the logo more pop to my liking nothing against the previous set they are good, but these new set are better.

Yubay Falcons: Nice update making the socks black on the home is a good move and adding more silver is a nice touch also.  

It's unfortunate that Lecayne lost the Saints, again. But the identity is a complete upgrade. I love the Snappers name, and the colors are good too. The logo is a bit playful but I could see a great Jacksonville Jags esq look coming together for them at the turn of the century. 

The Whales alternate looks great. I love the return to just blue and white, and a script always looks great. My only quip would be that our old block font would fit the fauxback idea a bit better then their current font.

The Falcons update is a nice simple update too. More silver, especially in the numbers on the black jersey, looks good.

The Herons however, I'm not a huge fan of. It screams BFBS, similar to the Stars black era, which may be your intent, because we're definitely gettin close to that era. But it's definitely a downgrade from the bright yellow and teal look.

Thanks for all the great feedback! I had a feeling the Herons' new look would be a big love/hate for a lot of people. I actually didn't like it either but it's grown on me.

I'll answer the Whales questions with a tease... The script jersey was in the mix for the redesign, but never as a true primary. It was actually for something else (foreshadowing...) but I felt it fit as a special jersey for this era.