It is a massive year for the Erie Otters Hockey Club as the organization prepares to celebrate it’s 30th season competing in the Ontario Hockey League and today, the franchise revealed something new for fans to be excited about leading up to the campaign.
The Erie Otters revealed today, new branding celebrating the legacy of hockey in Erie, connecting the past to the present and the future of the franchise.
The club revealed today three logos to be worn both on the ice this season and to be seen around the rink as a new primary, secondary and anniversary logo for the 30th season.
The new primary logo brings with it a few notable changes and details as the evolution of the original Otters logo seen in the clubs’ first season of 1996-97 heads into the 21st century.
The biggest change will surely be a fan-favorite as red is back as a secondary color for the team. Harkening back to the days of Boyes, O’Reilly and McDavid, the color had been an integral part of the Otters branding until their rebrand following the 2016-17 season. The red within the new Otters’ primary logo is a touch darker than the original Erie red but truly helps to bring out the familiar navy and gold that fans have known and loved throughout the Otters time in the Flagship City.
Details from the 2019-20 rebrand such as the helmet the Otter is wearing in the logo remains as the main big changes come within the colors seen in the logo.
Alongside the new primary logo, the Otters also released an updated version of the “Keystone Otters Logo” which was first seen in the 2019-20 rebrand and introduced on the team’s yellow alternate jersey for the 2023-24 season. The new version of the Keystone sees the red brought out in a more prominent role as the main outline with the navy and yellow holding their positions. The silver of the previous iteration of the logo have been replaced with two different shades of off-white to match the new primary logo.
The third logo introduced alongside the 30th anniversary branding is the 30th anniversary logo itself. The logo is bathed in navy with a large 30 in yellow with off-white and red outlines. The bottom of the logo features the Otters script which calls back to the original shoulder patch on the team’s sweaters from 1996-2015. The three stars at the top of the logo signify 30 years of Otters hockey. This logo will be seen on the team’s uniforms for the 2026-27 season as a shoulder patch.
Otters’ Managing Partner Jeremy Wood-Ross spoke on the new branding and the excitement of season 30 of Otters Hockey.
“When we started thinking about what it means to celebrate 30 years of hockey in Erie, we kept coming back to the origins of the franchise,” Wood-Ross said. “The original logo carries a lot of meaning in Otters history, so it felt important to honor that part of who we are.
Our first step was to reconnect with Tungsten, the Erie-based creative agency responsible for the original Otters logo and every major logo evolution over the last 30 years. Working with them allowed us to approach this thoughtfully, evolving the mark in a way that still respects the 2016-17 rebrand while bringing back the franchise colors that fans know best.
I think our fans will appreciate the nod to where this team came from, and I think they’ll be excited about where the team and the franchise are headed as we enter our 30th season of hockey in Erie, Pennsylvania.”
The new logos are just the start of the 30th season celebration in Erie and fans should keep their eyes on the Otters social media in the coming weeks as more details will be released for the 2026-27 OHL season.
