The Manitoba Junior Hockey League's franchise in Neepawa is now known as the Titans.

For 32 years the team went by the "Natives" moniker with the Chief Blackhawk as the logo of their jersey which has been retired ahead of this season. Head coach and general manager for the Neepawa Titans Ken Pearson outlines why this was the name they went with.

"We wanted something that was strong and a name that stood out for greatness and achievements," Pearson explains. "The name just started to gain momentum as we started the whole process. It wasn't a name that jumped out at us right at the start but as things went along we always seemed to come back to that name."

Pearson says Neepawa is a known as a "Titan" in the agriculture, lumber, pork production and brewing industries and he adds they wanted to incorporate that into their branding somehow and felt the name Titans was a great way to do so. He notes paying homage to these four pillars in their community is one of the most important parts of this rebrand.

Neepawa went 2-6-2 in the regular season of last year but Pearson says with the new design and name, the hype for the 2021-22 campaign is extremely high.

"I'm certainly excited for it and I think are players are too," says Pearson. "I've talked to a few of the guys already about the new rebrand and they're coming back very excited. They'll be coming with a bunch of new energy, knowing it's a fresh start and a new era of junior hockey in Neepawa."

Pearson says the other names Neepawa had in consideration were the Bulls, Valours, Generals, and Aviators, however, he notes the organization couldn't be happier with the decision they've made.