History of the Guelph Reapers

It is time to re-educate the RHL, its GMs and all those who are interested on the beginnings for the Guelph Reapers, the team name, franchise location and logos. The common belief is the Guelph Reapers began as an RHL Expansion team. Nothing could be further from the truth. Now someone might claim to be a huge expert, and say that the team began in another league called the IHHHL. They are closer to the truth, and still way off. The Guelph Reapers actually began as a franchise way back in 1997 in the now defunct MRHL as a farm team. I set forth to create a unique team name, something never used before, and something near and dear to me. Since the MRHL was an NHL team pro league, the only creative outlet was in naming your farm team. I chose the Reapers over my second choice, the Slayers. The main reason was my love of the image of the Reaper, and yes a fixation with death. Not a morbid way, just having seen all my family die (save for my Mom and Brother) while in school, and thus at young ages, I found myself at funeral homes frequently in early years. To better understand that which seemed so confusing, frustrating and fearful I did what most kids do... ask questions and read on the topic. Having grown up in the religious side as a regular every week Catholic church attendee, I needed something to associate to death away from the Church. I refused to believe death which is sad and painful is something I wanted linked to my faith. Life eternal yes, death no. So for death I pictured a villain, as most comic book fans do. The Reaper was the easiest fictional face to put to death, and to blame for each loss. Ironically the fixation grew and by the time I began fantasy hockey, I actually admired the form of the Reaper. I collect Reaper sculptures, and similar such figures and toys (such as Soul Taker from the Spawn line). The Slayer came from the same line of thinking, but the opposite end. The Slayer (not specifically vampire slayer but along the lines) was the protector who fought demons and monsters like the Reaper I had made. Unfortunately for the Slayer, my fixation with the ghostly image of the Reaper was far more striking and the team became the Reapers (sorry Sarah Michelle Gellar). The location of Guelph was simply because I was living in Guelph, attending University in Guelph when I created the team (between 1996-2000). From their early beginnings in the downtown Guelph arena to the Eaton Centre Plaza, where a major new state of the art facility was built in 1999 in downtown Guelph (true story), the Reapers were the MRFHL farm champions in their 2nd year. In 1999 the team would move up in the professional ranks. Then the team hit the pro ranks. The 1996 IHHHL Champions, the East Lansing Spartans were in need of a new GM. The team had struggled since winning in 1996, missing the playoffs three straight years. Revenues were down, attendance was down and the new owners hired GM Steve Gandour and moved the team to Guelph. With his ties with the City, Steve owning the team name rights, the Guelph franchise became known as the Reapers. Now the IHHHL had one rule for all teams, a mandatory logo. With a relocating franchise, the Spartans logo would no longer be sufficient. At that time, the team held a contest for team logo ideas, and commissioned a sketch artist frequented by the league to facilitate the winning design at the time into a logo. Thus, the first logo for the Guelph Reapers was created way back in 1999. The original Reaper Logo looked like this...



At the time, the logo was considered one of the most innovative and unique team logos in pro sports, and unlike so many other team logos, it was clearly not a copy from any other pro sports league, truly a unique logo. The Reapers took great pride in their creation, and awarded the fan who sent the idea with seasons tickets. The logo in case it won't load depicts a gray hooded Reaper wielding a scythe that curves into a hockey stick on the bottom, and has the usual scythe blade on the top. The Logo was done in Black and Red, with Blood red in the background, and a lighter more child friendly / animated style of blood red Grim Reapers text in big letters, with little of Guelph on the bottom.

The team went on to great success in the IHHHL. Though it never won a title in the league, it drafted in its tenure the likes of Rick Nash, Nikolai Zherdev, Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Roberto Luongo, Alexander Semin, Zach Parise, Jack Johnson and more top end talent then any team in past history. However before the core of these players had developped, I had left the league as GM. The league still exists to this day, and so do the Reapers under the management of William Kinnaird. The Reapers logo still remains the original logo first designed in 1999. The league can be viewed at http://www2.hawaii.edu/~dwayne/index.html. Will has done an amazing job keeping the team intact that I built, and it keeps getting better. It was a thrill to allow him to keep the team name when I left over four years ago now, and a sign of great respect for the organization and the city that he maintains it still.

The Guelph Reapers however made their biggest pro impact as most people know it when they joined the RHL as an expansion team in RHL 14. At that time, I submitted our team logo when I joined to the league to put on the site. Realizing the league had a logo page, I was glad to have my own logo up against the other RHL logos, proud of it as still nearly a decade later one of the most unique in pro sports. The team went on to have great success in the RHL, winning its league in only its 2nd year, which if it had not been a split league could have beaten the Rovers record of third year championship. The Reapers also have been a playoff team in every season since joining, an accomplishment rare and to be proud of.

Most recently, I commissioned a new logo to be designed by another graphics art design firm. This logo which was built now going on a year ago, remains not yet in use. It will be primarily used as a third logo, as most franchises in pro hockey tend to do. The third logo, a year old now but never released to the league is...



For those who can't see it (in case again it won't load) it is a triangle standing on a single point, with a screaming reaper skull in a blue/gray cloak charging (as if on attack in battle) scythe in hand, the top blade of the scythe making the top of the triangle, with the word Reapers in big blue/gray/black animated letters along the top, and Guelph all in black on the background of the silver scythe.

The Reapers enter their fifth year in the RHL this season. They enter their 10th season (a decade of hockey) in the IHHHL this season. The team celebrates a Dozen Years of fantasy hockey as the Guelph Reapers this year, and celebrate its 10 year annivesary of their logo next year. All in all this team has a wonderful history, and yes RHL, we do and always have, had a logo.

This will be posted on my blog, to honour the team's history