Mitchell Mustangs Glad To Have Moved Away From Mohawks Name

Those personally invested in the Mitchell Mustangs are happy to have changed their team name before the pressure was on.

“We kind of look like we’re geniuses right now with what’s transpired and where things are at.” Former Mitchell Minor Hockey President Chris Picklyk is, of course, referring to the recent surge in the Black Lives Matter movement across North America that has prompted all teams with racially questionable names to reevaluate their branding; chief among them, the Washington Redskins.

Picklyk says the board had been tossing around the idea of changing the name from “Mitchell Mohawks” for roughly five years and finally went through with it towards the end of 2018.

“We felt that we wanted to make a change on our own terms rather than being forced to because of a situation,” he says. “That is why we went that route and we are pleased that we did.”

Scott Toews, a longtime Mitchell hockey fan and a former Mohawk player himself was also involved in the re-branding. While he assumes no credit for the title change itself, his company, Silver Eye Sports, is the brains behind the new logos and color schemes. From both a business and a financial perspective, Toews says the name change was a gutsy move.

“It’s not just as simple as: ‘Hey let's change our logo from 'Mitchell Mohawks' to 'Mitchell Mustangs’,” he laughs. “You’ve got the jerseys, the logos in dressing rooms, and all of your equipment bags, not to mention that parents have spent a lot of money on apparel for their kids that would become obsolete.”

For any local hockey community, the $30,000 investment required would be ambitious, and Mitchell was no exception.

“It’s one thing for pro sports teams with endless resources to change their name, but it’s another thing for a community team or a school team; it’s just not easy,” details Toews. He commends the board and parents for their efforts in canvassing the community and raising the funds before the name became a point of contention.

Unlike the term “Redskins” Toews feels there is nothing inherently derogatory about the term “Mohawks”, Picklyk agrees. “At the same time, what is a Mohawk to Mitchell,” Toews questions. “We have no association to them whatsoever, right?!”

A self-identified Mitchell Hockey buff, Picklyk goes into the history of the old title and logo, noting both came from innocent intent. The name "Mitchell Mohawks", he says, was originally selected because it sounded cool and the accompanying image was chosen from a stock catalog at a local sporting goods store. Despite those modest beginnings, Picklyk and Toews are glad the change was made when it was.

“They had the luxury to do it without the current public and political pressures,” states Toews.

In 2019, the Mitchell Mustangs played wearing their new colors for the first time and Picklyk says the season was entirely unaffected. From what Picklyk could tell, his fellow hockey families understood the reasoning behind the shift.

“As we introduced the logo and got the jerseys and stepped on the ice I never had a single negative conversation with anyone and so I would imagine most people were quite happy.”

With Picklyk and Toews’ involvement in the process now in the past, both men are just proud Mitchell hockey dads grateful that their puck-shooting sons are bearing a name that cannot be construed as offensive.

Now, in light of all of that, one might wonder why on earth the sign in the middle of the community is still emblazoned with the words “Mitchell Mohawks” as well as the classic caricature of a Mohican Chieftain. As Toews understands it, the sign is owned by a separate entity and so the responsibility for its updating does not fall on the Mitchell Minor Hockey Board.