New Third Jersey Image Leaks

Apparently, there's a guy or some illegitimate company selling bogus Rbk EDGE third jerseys on ebay. How do we know they're fake? Well for one thing, Reebok hasn't started shipping them yet. But that doesn't mean there weren't legitimate pictures of them.

The listings included six teams in all: the Atlanta Thrashers, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning. That's three teams that have officially unveiled them and three that haven't. Let's start with those.

There's nothing that we haven't already seen, but there are pics from different angles than what we've already seen. This is most helpful with the Coyotes in seeing what those sleeve stripes look like. But what makes me think these pictures show us what the actual jerseys will look like? Because of three others we've seen officially that were right.

Among the plethora of pictures were some close ups of the crests. First, the new ones...

...and then Atlanta's just because I thought it was a cool shot.

Thanks to Charlie for the tip on these pictures.

Hope that satisfies your itch for third jersey news tonight. I'll have more tomorrow, plus an announcement regarding the new banner some you have already noticed at the top of the page.

Thrashers Unveil Third Jersey!

The Atlanta Thrashers unveiled their new third jersey tonight before season ticket holders at the 2008 Face Off Event. The team also used the opportunity to introduce Niclas Havelid, Coby Armstrong, Ilya Kovalchuk, Slava Kozlov and Mathieu Schneider as alternate captains.

The Thrashers posted a bunch of great photos on their web site tonight, including these of Kovalchuk wearing the new sweater.

I think this is a great jersey if you can look past the front of it. I like sleeves, the logo element on the shoulders and the striping looks great. I just can't quite get past the text and the giant number on the front.

What sport is this again?

Look's like our sneak peek was right on the money again.

This post will be updated later.

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.

No News Yet From Leafs

It's almost 6 PM in the east and we have yet to hear anything from the Toronto Maple Leafs regarding a third jersey announcement. I'm as confused as anybody since a lot of different things seemed to indicate today being the day — not the least of which being a schedule from Reebok.

I'll keep an eye out for the rest of the night and I expect emails from you guys should you hear anything first. But it's not looking good. There isn't even a mention of a third jersey on the Leafs' web site.

However, tomorrow is the unveiling date for the Edmonton Oilers' third jersey and they do have a graphic on their web site promoting the event.

That just leaves the Atlanta Thrashers on Wednesday and there still isn't anything official coming from them. Hmmm...

Maybe Reebok's having a little fun with us. Reebok, you kidders, you.

More Third Jerseys Next Week

I have new — reliable — information tonight regarding the various third jersey unveilings throughout the NHL.

As I mentioned in tonight's Live Chat, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be unveiling their new third jersey for the 2008-09 season on Monday, October 6.

It's expected they'll be wearing the same third jersey they did prior to last season — only it'll be Rbk EDGEd.

We already know the Oilers will follow with their unveiling a day later. Tonight's news is that the Atlanta Thrashers will follow Edmonton on Wednesday.

The rumor going around is that the Thrashers will don maroon with their name arched across the front of the sweater above the player's number — a lot like the Stars.

We'll know for sure next week though. And if you're interested in some other dates, I've made some updates to the Countdowns in the sidebar!

The dates seen there are not official from the teams but they are official from the NHL and Reebok. There are a bunch more — in fact, all of them — in the sidebar. Enjoy!

Around The League

Time to get caught up on a bunch of news items from around the NHL. Get comfortable. This is a long one.

Vancouver Canucks goalie Curtis Sanford has decided on the fan-designed mask he'll be wearing this season. Hundreds of designs were submitted and the winner was announced yesterday on the team's web site.

I'll follow up when pictures of the final mask start popping up.

...
The Chicago Blackhawks recently attended a White Sox baseball game — I'm guessing to show the other hometown ball club that they don't love them any less than the Cubs even though they'll be playing in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. But they were wearing some unusual jerseys for the occasion.

See what I mean? Let's just hope they never make it on the ice.

...
The Los Angeles Kings continue to pimp their season tickets by offering a free third jersey no one's ever seen. Guess that's one way to avoid complaints. You can't whine about something that's free (...oh, wait a minute). There's an ad on their web site showing that ol' question mark jersey.

...
I got an email from an Atlanta Thrashers season ticket holder who asked his account rep about when the team would be unveiling their third jersey so he could get tickets for that game. He was told Friday, November 14 when they play the Hurricanes. That date coincides with what I've had in the sidebar....
Recently, a handful of new Phoenix Coyotes logos leaked and now it seems the team's own web site has some confirmation of at least one of them. A version of the new script logo in that post can be seen in the CoyotesFest logo.

The event is this Saturday at 11 AM. The team hasn't indicated any plans to unveil their third jersey... but neither did the Bruins.

...
Speaking of third jerseys, aside from the Sabres and Coyotes, a handful of other teams are holding fan events this weekend. Only the Sabres have mentioned anything about unveiling their third jersey, but it'll be worth keeping an eye on these other guys.

The Ottawa Senators will have their Fanfest on Saturday from 8 AM to 1:30 PM. They really want you waking up early for a Saturday morning. Anyway, on the agenda for the day is the grand opening of The Sens Store. Might they have certain new merchandise for sale? (Wink, wink.)

The Chicago Blackhawks have Training Camp Festival 2008 on the books for Saturday from 8 AM to 4 PM. The Bruins unveiled their new third jersey to very little fanfare. I'd expect the same from the Blackhawks who are likely to go with their standard black alternate that's been in service for over a decade now. Will they have it on display at this event?

The St. Louis Blues will hold FANfest on Sunday from 11 AM to 4 PM. There's a Q&A scheduled with head coach Andy Murray and president of hockey operations John Davidson with season ticket holders at 1:45 PM. I can almost guarantee someone will ask about third jerseys. What will the guys say?

That wraps things up for today. I wanted to get as much new information as I could in this post since it might be the only one I write today.

Concept Art Is Back

It's late. I'm bored. Seems like the perfect reason to write my first random concept art post in over a month. Obviously it's going to involve a lot of third jersey speculation. So let's start at the beginning.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Hurricanes will become the first team to unveil a third jersey in the Rbk EDGE era. You can even join us for a live chat as it happens! On to the art, now.

The one labeled "a" seems to be based on the standard rumors. The other one is pure fantasy. Unique. This same artist has been working on speculative designs for a few other teams. He's got the Kings and Sens covered.

Sens, what a joke. Guess I won't be laughing so hard when my team wears jerseys that read "Bolts" across the front. Our friend Vlad also took a stab at the Thrashers.

Again, rumor-based on the left, fantasy on the right. I really hope Atlanta can do better. I do have another concept design for the Thrash which came before the real text design leaked.

Aside from the choice of font, it's a nice set.

This next one seems to be half-based on rumor. It's a concept for the Blues featuring the Arch but their new third jersey is alleged to be navy.

And we'll finish with an artist just having a little fun with the Devils.

Stare at that logo a little while. You'll start seeing things.

So anyway, time to get excited about all the new third jerseys. The fun kicks off tomorrow when we'll know for sure what at least one of them will look like.

Thrashers Up In The Air

I've been getting a lot of emails about the Atlanta Thrashers' alleged unveiling of their new third jersey at tomorrow's Select-A-Seat event. So I thought I should make a general clarification of my position on this.

First, the emails I've been getting basically say that an administrator on the Thrashers' official message board is denying any possibility that a third jersey will be released/unveiled/exhibited in any way at the event tomorrow. It should end there. He's obviously connected to the team whereas Icethetics is not.

And I was all set to remove the countdown from the sidebar until I re-read the email that went out to Thrashers fans last week. I wrote about it last Thursday. Even if it does turn out that the Thrashers will not show off their new third jersey this weekend, there's supposedly something going on that I'm sure will be of interest to Icethetics readers.

The email states as follows:

Members of the Thrashers Blue Crew and ticketing staff will be on hand to help direct you to available seats in great locations and give tours of the team locker rooms. In addition, fans will have the opportunity to see a new look for the Thrashers. Kids inflatables and special $1 concessions will be available on the concourse, and parking will be free at the Centennial Parking Deck when you present a printed out version of this message.

Notice the highlighted part. Some are under the impression that "a new look" could mean a new perspective of the game, that is, from a different seat within Philips Arena. But because of the "in addition" part, I'm tempted to believe it must have to do with something else.

"A new look" could also be interpreted as the new players the Thrashers acquired over the offseason, but it's awkwardly worded for that. So it seems to me that this must have something to do with logos or uniforms. I could be way off base here and as such, I'm qualifying the countdown. It now says they'll be unveiling "a new look" tomorrow.

Any Thrasher fans attending, I'd love an email after/during the event with regard to what this is all about. If it turns out to be nothing, then so be it. I'll have unintentionally gotten your hopes up for nothing. And for that, all I can say is... oops.

Isles, Thrashers Confirm Thirds!

It's true. In roundabout ways, the Islanders and Thrashers have both confirmed third jerseys for 2008-09.

Evidently a customer service rep with the Isles has been in "contanct" with the team store. He says no release date has been set but it will be available for purchase before the season begins. He also says the there will be an announcement made on the team's web site at some point.

He posted all of this on the Isles' official message board and even though you have to be a member to read it, fellow blogger Sean was happy to oblige.

By the way, you should read his latest post at Puck Daddy. It's all about us.

Onto the Thrashers, now. They're much more about beating around the bush. In an email to fans, the club says "fans will have the opportunity to see a new look for the Thrashers" on July 26.

So let the countdowns begin. Here's the email that was sent. The pertinent information is highlighted.

Thanks to Taylor for that one.

It's been a rather prolific week for me — three posts a day and all — but I'm afraid that streak will soon end. I'm not sure how much updating I'll be doing over the weekend while I'm on a mini-vacation in Orlando. I'll try to keep an eye on things though and get any important info posted quickly.

Atlanta Thrashers Unveil Logo

The following entry contains material copied from web pages which no longer exist.

Thrashers Unveil Logo Tonight

April 23, 1998

The Atlanta Thrashers will unveil their little brown songbird with an attitude tonight. The NHL team, which opens play in the fall of 1999, will release its five-color logo in the atrium at CNN Center. It depicts the Georgia state bird, although it's one with a slightly nasty attitude.

Ceremonies begin at 5:45 p.m., with the actual logo unveiling scheduled for 6:15, and will be shown on the team's Internet site (www.atlantathrashers.com).

Excerpt from article published in Atlanta Journal-Constitution (page C5)

Atlanta Thrashers Unveil Logo Live on the Internet

April 23, 1998

The Atlanta Thrashers, Atlanta's National Hockey League (NHL) expansion franchise have unveiled their official team logo simultaneously from CNN Center in Atlanta and live on the internet, announced team President Harvey Schiller. The cyberlaunch, an NHL first, took place via the team's web site at www.atlantathrashers.com.

Summary of article published on Thrashers' official website

Atlanta Thrashers Unveil Logo

April 24, 1998

ATLANTA (AP) — The brown thrasher is a tiny bird that forages in leaves and has been known to flee from a fight. Needless to say, that's not the impression suggested from the logo unveiled Thursday by the Atlanta Thrashers, who will join the NHL in 1999.

The Thrashers' logo is a fierce-looking bird with a scowl on its face, a tornado-like whirlwind for a body and a hockey stick brandished menacingly from its tail feathers.

Ted Turner came up with the name for his new NHL team after learning that the state bird of Georgia is the brown thrasher, a creature that measures about a foot from the tip of its beak to the end of its tail feathers.

AP wire report

---

Reference posted 3/21/10