Sydney Mitsubishi Rush to hit the ice for the 2019-20 season

The Cape Breton Unionized Tradesmen will take to the ice with a new name and new colours this fall.

The Nova Scotia Eastlink Major Midget Hockey League team is now known as the Sydney Mitsubishi Rush and will wear maroon and gold for the 2019-20 season.

For 16-year-old players Kody Groves of Sydney Mines and Nick Mahar of Sydney, the rebranding of the team is a welcome change.

“I definitely like it,” said Groves, a right winger going into this third season with the team. “It kind of grew on all of us. There was a lot of planning to do with the logo and stuff and it’s definitely the perfect one for us I think.

“It’s pretty exciting to get a fresh start for the boys and try and make a name for ourselves,” added Mahar, a second-year centre. “I think it’s going to be new. No one really has those types of jerseys or colours, so it should be good to see.”

The team has been named the Tradesmen since the 2006-07 season. Before that, they were the Cape Breton Jeans Experts, a name they adopted in the 1994-95 season after being called the Cape Breton Colonels for years. The franchise started as the Cape Breton Trailblazers.

Team president Walter Rutherford said the rebranding started with conversations with the team’s newly-formed alumni association. The players were involved in picking the colour scheme. The team decided to stay away from the traditional colours used by many hockey clubs and wanted something different.

The new logo incorporates the three-diamond Mitsubishi logo into the design that includes the name “Rush.” The colours are based on the maroon and gold of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers hockey team.

“A change is good,” said Rutherford. “We think it’s bright, it’s new, it’s something that not a lot of other teams have. The name is catchy and it was just a good time for a change.

“The Unionized Tradesmen were spectacular sponsors. They stepped up for many, many years. (Sydney Mitsubishi owner Mike DeGiobbi) wanted to get involved and it was a great opportunity for everybody.”

Rutherford said the jerseys are on order and will be ready for their season opener in September. The players will have new sweaters, socks, pant shells, gloves and helmets.

DeGiobbi said he’s been involved in hockey his whole life and after learning who was involved with the team and their plans, he wanted to get on board. Although no financial terms were released, DeGiobbi said Sydney Mitsubishi is on board for five years and has the option to renew their sponsorship after that.

“It’s going to be a program people are going to be proud of and we’re hoping to fill the rink,” he said.

“The alumni committee put a lot of hard work into it and they had a lot of help from a marketing group and they really did a nice job.”

Former player Brendon MacDonald, who is a member of the team’s alumni association, wanted to create their own identity and be different than other hockey teams and minor hockey organizations with the colour scheme.

“I’m kind of jealous that I’m not 15 or 16 again,” he said. “Hopefully the kids will be proud to wear them and it’s going to be a unique identity for them.”

The club has some other business to attend to before the season begins.

Rutherford said the team is still in the process of looking for a new head coach and an announcement concerning that process will be made next week. Former player Chris Culligan was named head coach in March but has since moved on to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles as an assistant coach.

Also, the team put in a bid to host the 2021 Telus Cup national major midget hockey championship. Rutherford said the process is still going and they’re “cautiously optimistic” they will be successful. They should know within a week to 10 days.

Cape Breton Post