What We Know About the Wranglers

The once unnamed Calgary AHL team has now officially become the Calgary Wranglers. Some of the biggest questions that lingered after the end-of-season relocation news are finally being answered in the offseason. Details like the name, logo, venue, and affiliation are confirmed while some others are not quite public knowledge yet. Here’s where we are at with the Wranglers at this point in the summer. 

The Logo

In early August, the Wranglers came to life in the digital world. The official announcement came on August 2nd with a logo to pair with it.

#NewProfilePic 🤠 pic.twitter.com/IxcC41iPMs

— Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) August 2, 2022

This team’s name and look are all about history. The color scheme is consistent with the typical retro Flames style of yellow and red. The logo also plays homage to the era of the Atlanta Flames before they relocated to Calgary. The name also carries some history connected to a WHL team that was in Calgary from 1977-1987. Altogether, it is a very fitting identity for the new Western Canadian AHL team. 

The Venue

There was some uncertainty around where the team would play with the Scotiabank Saddledome already having a pretty full schedule. Last year, the Saddledome was operating mostly back to normal with some capacity and social distancing restrictions. It hosted the Calgary Flames, Calgary Hitmen, and Calgary Roughnecks, as well as its share off concerts and other travelling entertainment. 

The thought was there was already a full house this year, so someone had to be moving — whether that be the Hitmen or the Wranglers. The Seven Chiefs Sportsplex just outside of southwest Calgary was thrown around as a suggestion for an alternate venue. It has now been confirmed that all four teams, including the Wranglers, will play out of the Saddledome. The person making the venue’s schedule has a big job ahead of them. 

The Affiliation 

As if the announcement of a new AHL team was not enough, the Wranglers will also have a new ECHL team to work with. Their former affiliate, the Kansas City Mavericks, went a different way with their affiliation going into the 2022-23 season. As of July 29th, they are now affiliated with the Seattle Kraken. They were connected to the Flames from 2017-2022. 

The Flames and Wranglers went a few weeks without an ECHL team, but as of August 25th, they have worked out a one-year affiliation agreement with the Rapid City Rush out of Rapid City, South Dakota. The Rush was previously affiliated with the Arizona Coyotes. 

To Be Announced

While there may be some concepts out there, the Wranglers jerseys have not hit the public eye. The official versions have not been released, but the color scheme and the old Stockton Heat jerseys give you a pretty good idea of what to expect: a mix of white, yellow, red, and black with some Flames references. If it’s at all like the logo, they will have a more retro feel to them, similar to the jerseys the Flames won the cup in 1988-89. 

This Twitter user’s version is very similar to what the expected look is at the moment. 

Here are my #CalgaryWranglers Jersey predictions.

The new Wranglers logo clearly takes inspiration from the Atlanta Flames. So I took inspiration from them for my jerseys.

Let me know your thoughts! #Flames #AHL #Calgary #Hockey pic.twitter.com/IUTfFgjFnr

— Boyan Demchuk (@Boyan_Demchuk) August 2, 2022

The Wranglers are also missing one other essential game piece: a mascot. Calgary made a call for ideas on its Twitter page, and the majority of the audience is rallying for the return of Scorch.

Pulled from the Flames archives, the mascot is quite literally a flaming puck with a cartoonish face. This mascot came from the Heat’s predecessor, the Adirondack Flames (circa 2014-15) Not only would it play on the historical connection theme, but it would also be quite a fan favorite going into their inaugural season. Official announcements for both of these are expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks. 

Give the people what they want pic.twitter.com/C37pIpvvMu

— cailin finlay 🇺🇦🕊 (@cailinjae) August 8, 2022

Whether it ends up being Scorch or some other type of Flame-themed mascot or western reference, October isn’t as far away as it seems. The Wranglers will be taking the ice with a completely new identity in about a month and a half on October 16th.