AHL Third Jersey Update, Part 2

This weekend, I wrote up a bit about new third jerseys around the AHL — something I didn't get to as part of the Icethetics Season Preview. I've got more, thanks to some awesome readers.

The Hershey Bears are going the simplicity route with minimalist text across the front of their third jersey. You'll have to forgive the picture quality. Cell phone cameras... what can I say?

Psst... how about that California Seals towel in the corner of the picture?

Anyway, next to it is the Portland Pirates' new third jersey — different from their regular red jersey in that it has much less black and new silver piping. Looks a little plain, but it's got that slug on both shoulders.

If any other new third jerseys turn up, let me know and I'll post them here.

Hurricanes Third With Third

That's really as far as I plan to count. I'm sure it's getting annoying. The Carolina Hurricanes' third jersey made its debut on the ice tonight — as scheduled.

However its coming out party was crashed by the Detroit Red Wings. But I'm not your source for game scores, so here are some pictures instead.

They look good. Wouldn't want them going black full time though. That's Lightning turf.

If my schedule is accurate, we won't see any third jerseys on the ice for two weeks. But keep in mind that this schedule isn't comprehensive. Plenty of teams are keeping their schedule to themselves. I'll of course keep my eyes peeled in the meantime.

A Jersey Joke

I would venture to say it's relatively uncommon to find comedy in hockey jersey numbers — I'm not talking Freak Out Friday here. But the Minnesota Wild have come up with an ad campaign that I thought was funny.

It's centered around the return of forward Andrew Brunette. He walks into the locker room and asks equipment manager Tony DaCosta if he can have his old number back. DaCosta tells him James Sheppard has it. He asks for 25. Eric Belanger. Brunette sarcastically asks for 825. An awkward pause ensues. Now, you've gotten this far, you might as well just watch the video.

In case you were wondering, Brunette did get his No. 15 jersey back. Sheppard's got 51.

And I know this isn't news, but I thought it was funny and wanted to share.

Oilers 2nd To Don 3rd

The Edmonton Oilers became the second team of the Rbk EDGE era to wear a third jersey — doing so while defeating the Colorado Avalanche tonight. There aren't a lot of pictures available right now, but here are a couple.

There's no denying they look good in those sweaters.

Almost like they could win a Stanley Cup or something.

AHL Third Jersey Update

I've been meaning to update you guys on the AHL's new crop of third jerseys. But like I've said, the AHL really isn't my thing, so my coverage isn't exactly comprehensive. However, I have news on a handful of teams.

We got our first look at the third jersey for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins via their official web site a couple months ago. I've since been provided with this graphic — which more clearly shows just how dull it is.

Interesting how this club has abandoned its own colors, adopting its NHL affiliate's. The AHL Penguins are black, gold and red. Why the blue? A rumor out there suggests that when the Pittsburgh Penguins move into their new arena in 2010, they'll abandon the gold completely for a new blue-based look — a throwback perhaps to their original sweater colors when they joined the NHL in 1967. Will the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton franchise join them?

The Worcester Sharks will don a new third jersey this year. (By the way, this is an update to the previous incarnation of this post where in the information I had was wrong.)

The Sharks have a description of the jersey on their official web site.

The Worcester Sharks will sport a special third jersey this season! The third jersey is grey in color with “SHARKS” written diagonally across the front of the jersey. The jersey has laces on the neck line to secure. The Sharks will debut these special third jerseys when they host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday, October 25th. Make sure to check back at SharksAHL.com for more information and a preview of the new jersey!

I really don't think this one is even worth dignifying with a mention, but it's my job. The Toronto Marlies are doing exactly what Todd McFarlane said not to!

Sure, maybe it isn't the cutest puppy you've ever seen, but it sure isn't menacing either.

And you guys know how hard it is to find something I don't like. Poor Marlies fans. I just hope they don't wear it too often this season.

The Philadelphia Phantoms are next on my list. I got any email from a fan saying a sweater he recently bought will be the club's third jersey.

He even sent along a picture of the new purple uniform.

See, Los Angeles Kings, it doesn't look so bad. Maybe without the orange. It's always Halloween if you're a Phantoms fan, I guess.

The Milwaukee Admirals will join the ranks of AHL teams with a third jersey for 2008-09 — going with the fashionable powder blue. Not that it matters, but I like this jersey a lot.

It's got the whole pirate — peg leg and all — instead of the skull alone.

Hmm... is he using his amputated foot as a hockey stick? That is one hardcore pirate.

We'll finish up tonight with the Hartford Wolf Pack. Back in March, they held a contest to have fans design the 2008-09 third jersey. Unfortunately, that page of their official web site no longer exists — but Google saves everything.

I got an email from a fan saying the Wolf Pack was supposed to unveil that third jersey yesterday but still have yet to do so. Sadly, I can't help. I didn't even know there was an unveiling planned so I'm not sure why it didn't happen. I'll keep my eyes peeled though.

If there are any other AHL third jerseys out there, send me pictures and I'll be sure to make note of them here on Icethetics.

Freak Out Friday XLIII

Another short edition of Freak Out Friday is upon us. We'll dive right in, starting with the St. Louis Blues. Here's an interesting alternate jersey.

And what has the Detroit Red Wings' jersey been missing all these years? Wings?

I don't really get this one but someone obviously put at least 10 minutes into making it.

And finally, our buddy Dave Delisle from last time is back with more. What do all of these jerseys have in common?

Keep all your odd artwork coming so Freak Out Friday can continue!

Leafs Go With Third For Opener

The Toronto Maple Leafs began their season on a high note, defeating the Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings tonight. And they did so wearing their new third jersey — unveiled earlier this week.

That makes the Leafs the first team to wear a third jersey in the Rbk EDGE era. Hooray for them. Pics ensue!

credit: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images

First up, Niklas Hagman in action in his new alternate uniform.

credit: Michael Sackett / US PRESSWIRE

That would be Mike Van Ryn above. And below, I have to say, I did not recognize Pavel Kubina in that No. 77 sweater.

credit: Michael Sackett / US PRESSWIRE

Kubina was No. 13 forever when he played for the Lightning but I believe opted for for No. 31 when first joining the Leafs.

Whatever, not the point. The point is, the first third jersey has hit the ice. A momentous night!

Bolts, Flyers Thirds Leak!

My Reebok mole — who shall remain nameless to protect the innocent — has more offerings. I first broke these during the Live Chat earlier tonight, so if you participated or watched the replay, then you already know.

I have high quality promotional images for the third jerseys of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers to share with you today. My team first.

All the rumors were right for the Lightning's new third jersey. It's blue and it spells BOLTS right across the front, slanting downward. Even looking at it now, the colloquialism surprises me. It's an unusual sight for a professional sports uniform — but then so was a giant humanoid duck bursting from beneath a sheet of ice until 1995.

The first thing you'll probably notice is the obviously misspelling of Lecavalier on the back of the jersey. That particular image was probably never meant to be made public. Oops. But allow me to draw your attention away from that and to the bottom of the sweater.

Notice the TAMPA BAY stitched along the black stripe? Are we taking a page out of the Kings' book now? At least it's on the back. So speaking as a Lightning fan, there are some things I'm not thrilled with, but overall I'm happy with it and I will be wearing it on Christmas morning — likely before then too.

Next we move onto the Lightning's first ever playoff foe, the Philadelphia Flyers. This is another one the rumors got right. But then we've known what it will look like since March when cell phone photos first surfaced.

The Flyers are joining the handful of teams going retro with their new third jerseys — as you can see.

No egregious spelling errors on this jersey, but the nameplate is a cool feature. They're leaving out no detail on this throwback sweater, opting for black text on a white nameplate on an orange jersey. Bold. Well done.

You may have noticed the orange numbers on the sleeves seem to be overlapping onto the orange of the jersey. I'm not sure if this is accurate as the numbers were clearly added digitally and weren't on the photographed jersey. For that, we'll have to wait for the official announcement and unveiling by the team.

Keep in mind that these images are not from the teams and I do not consider them to be official unveilings. They're leaks and I almost feel bad about posting them, ruining the surprises for the teams. However, they're out now and I'd like to get your feedback.

By the way, if you decide to post these images elsewhere on the interwebs, I'd love it if you could link back to Icethetics!

Sneak Peek At Thrashers Third

The Atlanta Thrashers have officially announced via their web site that they will be unveiling their new alternate uniform to season ticket holders tomorrow night at the 2008 Face Off Event.

The even takes place from 6 to 9 PM so the unveiling will happen somewhere in that timeframe. The announcement also lists the 14 games during which the new third jersey will be worn. In addition, the Thrashers will take this opportunity to publicly name their alternate captains.

But you don't think I'd leave you with so little, do you? Think back to the day before the St. Louis Blues unveiled their new third jersey. Remember the sneak peek pic that turned out to be right on the money?

My friend, the Reebok mole, has more to share. Behold what may well be the new third jersey for the Atlanta Thrashers.

I'm not crazy about the text and giant numbers on the front, but for some reason, I love that bird head logo on the shoulders. I like large shoulder patches. I also like the way the white stripes work around the sleeves.

This is a sharp jersey if you can forgive the front of it.

For what it's worth, this graphic is of slightly better quality than the Blues one was. But of course there's nothing like looking at pictures of the actual jersey over a rendering like this. I'll wait and make final judgments when I see photos tomorrow night.

By the way, I'm rescheduling the Live Chat for tomorrow to 11:30 PM EDT if you feel like dropping in. (This is 12 hours later than I previously said.) This way we can talk about all of the third jerseys unveiled this week as well as what's to come.

Icethetics Season Preview, Part V

NEW THIRD JERSEYS

This might be the greatest undertaking yet of the Icethetics Season Preview. All week it's been about logos. Today, I'm going to get you caught up on every detail of what has come and what is yet to come regarding the re-introduction of the NHL's third jersey program.

Four teams have unveiled third jerseys for this season — the Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues and the Boston Bruins, albeit under sketchy circumstances but I'll get to that in a minute. Fourteen other teams are expected to release new sweaters from now until the end of November. So we'll do this chronologically.

On September 10, the Carolina Hurricanes became the first team to unveil their new third jersey. They did so before a large crowd both in person and on the web when they streamed the event live on September 10.

As you can see, the new sweater is black with the secondary storm flag logo on the front. This aspect alone has brought criticism. For the record, the National Weather Service describes it as simply a "storm flag." Technically a hurricane signal is two flags together. But that would be impractical for a logo like this, wouldn't it?

A black and grey version of the primary logo is on the shoulders. Thick red and grey stripes wrap around the elbows angled downward. Stylized storm flags, similar to the home and road sweaters, wrap around the waist above a thin red stripe. The collar is red and grey and the numbers are red.

The Buffalo Sabres unveiled their third jersey to fans at Puck Drop 2008 on September 20. The Sabres have gotten the best response so far.

Their new sweater is a modern update to the original sweater they wore upon joining the NHL in 1970, with a darker blue and the addition of silver. The striping is reminiscent of the triple yellow stripes from that original look. Vertical silver piping has been added to the front along with a drawstring collar and the updated crest. Numbers are yellow and the shoulders are blank, leaving the primary logo out of this look completely.

The St. Louis Blues followed a day later with their third jersey unveiling on September 21 at FANfest. Theirs was the most original third jersey yet featuring a completely new design and logo.

The prominent feature of the new logo is the Gateway Arch beneath the classic Blue Note and the team's name within in a blue ring wrapped around it. The primary logo is a patch on the shoulders. White stripes lined with gold wrap around the forearms and waist. The cuffs are white. There's a drawstring collar and the numbers are white.

The Boston Bruins seemed to unveil their third jersey to season ticket holders at the State of the Bruins event on September 10 when Milac Lucic walked out onto the stage wearing it. According to Reebok's official launch schedule, the official date for the Bs is November 24. There's no game on that date so they may be planning some sort of unveiling ceremony.

What Lucic wore that night was a black jersey with three stripes around the elbows, identical to Bruins' home jersey. The collar is yellow and on the front is the secondary logo that reads BRUINS arched above a bear. The primary hub logo is a patch on the shoulders. Overall, it was disappointing compared to the other third jerseys we've now seen.

Next, the Toronto Maple Leafs are scheduled for an unveiling on Monday. It's expected they'll be wearing the same white vintage third jersey they wore prior to last season. It will have two blue stripes around the elbows and waist. I'm assuming it will have the blue shoulder yoke.

The Edmonton Oilers will debut their new third jersey live on the web on Tuesday. Don't be surprised to see the Oil go retro. Their new third jerseys are alleged to come from the Gretzky-Messier era. Hard to go wrong with a look like that. The bright blue and bright orange will finally make their return.

The Atlanta Thrashers will be the last team scheduled to unveil a third jersey in October. They'll do so on Wednesday, giving us three straight days of new third jerseys. The rumors here suggest that the word THRASHERS will be arched above the sweater number on a maroon jersey. There will also likely be a lot of white in the design. I have high hopes for this one.

The New York Islanders will be first to debut their new third jersey in November. The Isles had a countdown to November 1 on their official web site. But two days after I reported it, the countdown suddenly changed to the home opener. Interesting. But this team will also be going retro, looking back to the 1980s for their new sweater. All blue with orange numbers. Great combination!

Two days later the Chicago Blackhawks will unveil a new third jersey. This is expected to be one of the least surprising of the bunch. The Hawks will likely go with their classic black sweater. If they try something new, I might actually lose my mind.

On November 6, the Pittsburgh Penguins plan to make last year's powder blue Winter Classic sweater their new third jersey. Not sure how much different this one will be. But rumors circulated that the Sabres would simply introduce a blue version of their Winter Classic jersey and it ended up being much different.

The Vancouver Canucks will be the next to unveil a third jersey — on November 15. This date was confirmed on local radio by team president Chris Zimmerman yesterday. Another blue jersey is expected with the modernized stick-in-the-rink logo. New rumors suggest the Johnny Canuck V logo introduced last year will appear on the shoulders.

The Dallas Stars are set to unveil their third jersey on November 18. No game is scheduled for this date so perhaps the Stars will have a big unveiling event for this jersey. However, this one has bad rumors — a white version of the current home jersey. The word DALLAS arched above sweater number. Let's at least hope the text is in green. I was hoping for a green jersey.

Three days later the Sharks will unveil their new third jerseys. They'll likely be black with the full-body shark logo on the front (you can currently see it on the shoulders of the home and road sweaters). Maybe the new fin logo will make an appearance on the shoulders. Personally, I think that one's the best of the new set.

November 22 will be a double-header in terms of new third jerseys. The Los Angeles Kings will debut theirs which is said to be black with a new logo on front. Purple will apparently be hard to come by as the Kings, like the Oilers, look to their Gretzky days for inspiration. This is one I'm looking forward to and really hoping they don't screw up.

The other half of that double-header is the Ottawa Senators, also probably introducing a black third. It's said to have the word SENS angled upward across the front of the sweater. When Howard Berger described the jersey, he said it looked sharp. Yet his description sounded nothing like that. This one I'll be interested in seeing.

To finish out that weekend, the Tampa Bay Lightning will, for the first time, unveil a blue jersey. This third will supposedly have the word BOLTS angled downward across the front. As a Lightning fan, this one has me worried. But like I've said, I'll reserve judgment until I see it. I do like the idea of finally have a blue sweater, though.

The Philadelphia Flyers will be one of the last two teams to unveil a third jersey, doing so in the final weekend of November. Images have leaked so we know the Flyers are also going retro, with an orange jersey from the 1970s. The interesting thing about their jerseys will be the white nameplate on the back. It's been a while, since a nameplate wasn't the same color as the rest of the sweater.

Along with the Flyers, the Phoenix Coyotes will unveil a brand new third jersey on November 28. And I do mean "brand new." This black sweater will have a leaping coyote across the front, a logo that recently leaked. I'm also expecting another new logo on the shoulders. It's got a paw print with the team name in a circle around it. This is easily one of the jerseys I'm looking forward to the most. So naturally, it'll come at the end.

And so ends the Icethetics Season Preview — or does it? If you noticed in the sidebar, there's a Part 6 to this series with a question mark next to it. The Preview's big finale comes next week with a surprise I know you'll all enjoy. But it's going to take me some more time and effort to put together. If you're interested in helping out with it and you can keep a secret, email me right away!