Eric Boutilier and his winning logo

This is a first hand look at the new logo of the Manitoulin Islanders, a logo designed by North Bay's Eric Boutilier.

Eric Boutilier knew the prize wouldn’t be a lucrative one, but that didn’t stop the hockey fan and graphic designer from joining in on a logo contest which began locally this spring on Manitoulin Island. The NOJHL franchise decided to change its name from the Wild to the Islanders, so they created a contest to find a new look for the NOJHL hockey team. The winner would receive a pair of 2005-2006 Islanders season tickets.

The recent Canadore College TV graduate put in about 40 hours of work on his design which beat out about 25 other submissions the Manitoulin Islanders board of directors looked at.

“I made this observation that in 2004-2005 that all teams have a creature type logo, I designed this logo to have something different, it’s not an animal,” Boutilier said.

“It’s not traditional, the logo is designed not to look like the New York Islanders logo, this logo, there’s nothing like it, it’s unique.”

Boutilier’s graphics are becoming a popular sight in the North Bay sports world, as he’s re-designed the North Bay Bulldogs and the North Bay Trappers websites and has spent a couple of years building sports graphics for Cogeco North Bay News, where he was named volunteer of the year last weekend for the third straight year. He's also contributed to BayToday.ca's sports section as well.

While Boutilier enjoys all his local work, this soft spoken North Bayite is humbled by the amount of exposure his design will get across the region and around the province.

“I find it’s an honor that a team in junior hockey, it’s still a team seen across northeast portion of the province, you’re going to see this logo in Sudbury, in Sault Ste. Marie, and it’s going to represent who that team is.”

As for the season tickets, Boutilier’s not sure what he’s going to do with them because all he really wants is a Manitoulin Islanders jersey with his name and his design on it.

Something he can truly call his own.