BK Mladá Boleslav, officially Bruslařský klub Mladá Boleslav, is a Czech ice hockey club based in Mladá Boleslav. The club’s current visual identity dates to August 2012, when it introduced a simplified lion mark ahead of the 2012/2013 season.[1]
Design and History
The current logo was unveiled on 16 August 2012. According to the club’s official announcement, the redesign was driven by a desire for simplicity and dynamism, which the club described as fitting both the modern era and ice hockey itself. The new mark retained the lion as its central element, but in a deliberately simpler, harder and clearer form than the previous, more complicated version.[1]
The change came after the club’s relegation from the top-tier Extraliga. General manager Jan Tůma described the new logo as a symbol of fight and the will to move forward, stating: “After relegation from the Extraliga, we felt that things needed to change. To set out on a new path. We consider the new logo a kind of symbol of combativeness, of the effort to get moving and to step in the direction we all wish.”[1]
The club also considered changing its name around the same time, based on a fan poll, but ultimately decided against it. Club chairman Jan Plachý noted pride in the Bruslařský klub name, which the organization has used, with two relatively short interruptions, since 1880.[1]
The new logo was designed to be usable with or without accompanying text, and was applied to all promotional items and new jerseys for the upcoming season.[1] The redesign generated considerable reaction among fans, as Tůma acknowledged at a September 2012 press conference: “We agreed that we will not run away from the club’s name, because it has its history. But we consider the new logo a positive step forward, although we are well aware that it may not please everyone.”[2]
Commentators noted that the 2012 hockey redesign, like the 2007 change to the local football club’s crest, removed the Czech lion from the mark. The hockey club replaced its complicated old logo with a simpler, harder and clearer lion.[3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The current logo depicts a black-and-white lion’s head framed by green outlining. The club name and its founding date are placed in a rectangular field alongside the lion.[4] The club was founded in 1908 and was among the co-founders of the Czech Ice Hockey Association that same year, a heritage the club explicitly cited when introducing the new mark.[1]
The club’s official colors are green, white and black.[5]
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