Say hello to hockey's newest team. (Swamp Rabbits)
Goodbye, Road Warriors. Say hello to the ECHL's Swamp Rabbits. (Swamp Rabbits)

The ECHL’s Greenville (S.C.) Road Warriors are dead. The team isn’t gone, but the name has been jettisoned to minor league hockey heaven. So what will Greenville’s hockey club call itself now? How about the Swamp Rabbits. You heard me. Swamp Rabbits.

The minor league hockey club, which is affiliated with the New York Rangers, voluntarily rebranded itself Wednesday and memorably so. If you’re like me and had never heard of a swamp rabbit before, allow the club to enlighten you:

First known as the Carolina, Knoxville and Western line, and later becoming the Greenville and Northern railroad, the intent of the railroad was to connect Greenville with the rich coal fields of Tennessee, providing the Carolinas with a direct line over the mountains and access to cheaper coal. The railroad received its nickname, the "Swamp Rabbit" by locals who would use the freight train as a means of transportation to picnic in northern Greenville County. Completion of the rail line proved to be more of a financial commitment than expected, leaving the project at a halt near the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Today you can find this railroad marker located beside the “Swamp Rabbit” Pedestrian Bridge, which crosses over the Reedy River just off of South Main Street. 

"After much thought and consideration, we determined that we wanted our new identity to honor a piece of Greenville’s history while also being relevant within the community today," said Fred Festa, owner of the Swamp Rabbits. "Several factors were taken into account when deciding on what that representation would be. Ultimately, we selected the Swamp Rabbits because the name holds dear to a variety of residents, businesses, popular recreational areas and the historic landmark, the Swamp Rabbit railroad, dating back the 1920s in Greenville."

So there was actually a lot of thought that went into it and I'm never going to be one to fault a team for being original. After all, the American Hockey League is home to not one, but two teams called the "Admirals."

The best part of every rebranding, of course, is the new logo. So what does a Swamp Rabbit look like? Greenville's version is angry, helmeted and holding a carrot doubling as a hockey stick. Here's how it is going to look on the new uniforms:

I think the Swamp Rabbits just overtook the Toledo Walleye or Orlando Solar Bears for best name in the league today. However, nothing will ever match the best minor league hockey team name in history. That would go to the now defunct Macon Whoopee.