Sharks Name New AHL Squad Barracuda

We all know that the San Jose Sharks have moved their AHL team to the west coast to play at their home stadium SAP Stadium in 2015-2016. However, it has been reported that the name of the squad, and it will be the San Jose Barracuda.

The Sharks current American Hockey League team plays in Worcester, Massachusetts, as the Worcester Sharks where they play at the DCU Center. Worcester will be one of the east coast cities losing their AHL team in the league’s new west coast approach.

The Sharks are one of five teams to add a new team in the Californian league; the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers, and Calgary Flames are also participating.

Unlike some cities losing their teams like Norfolk, Virginia and Manchester, New Hampshire, Worcester will not be getting a replacement team in the ECHL.

The Sharks did not announce the name of the team officially until yesterday, but it was reported by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. It appears the name Barracuda will be tied in with the Barracuda Networks security company that is a sponsor of the NHL and AHL.

The Barracuda name also keeps with the parent club’s theme of pacific marine animals to go along with the Sharks. They keep the same light blue color with the orange trim on their logo.

For many years it has been tough for NHL teams on the west coast to call up their minor league players located in cities far away. The Californian AHL division has the goal of making it easy for the parent team to call up players in a more convenient way.

“There was a natural interest knowing our brand name has always had a good fit with the Sharks,” said Barracuda Networks CEO B.J. Jenkins on a conference call yesterday.

The Sharks have said in the past they don’t want their AHL club to share the same arena as them for long, so it’s unknown how long it would be before the Barracuda have their own arena. The Barracuda will wear light blue jerseys at home, similar to the Sharks uniforms, and they will have road whites. They also have an orange alternate jersey.

“At Barracuda, we take pride in our local communities and have a long-standing relationship with the Sharks organization,” said Michael Perone, co-founder, EVP and CMO at Barracuda in a press release. “When we heard the AHL team was moving to the Bay Area, we immediately explored the opportunity to further our partnership with the Sharks to include the AHL franchise. It’s exciting to integrate the Barracuda brand with the team in such an innovative way, and we look forward to a winning season with our new San Jose Barracuda.”