Wallpaper Wednesday VII

We're beginning with one of the most popular teams on this blog for today's post. Canucks fans, enjoy this Roberto Luongo wallpaper.

For Lightning fans like myself, there's Vinny Lecavalier...

...or a more generic team wallpaper.

And at last, Canadiens fans have been begging for it... a Habs wallpaper!

Plus we've got one more for Saku Koivu.

Hope you guys enjoy this week's crop. And to anyone who has sent in a wallpaper but hasn't seen it posted, not to worry. It doesn't mean I'll never post it. I'm saving a bunch by posting about five a week so as to ensure I won't run out too quickly and have to switch to a biweekly schedule like the Freak Out Friday series.

More to come next week!

Third Jerseys: What's Coming?

Just like last summer, I think my blog has unintentionally become a primary source for jersey news. Guess I'll keep that flame burning while I can. Back in March I posted a long list of rumors regarding this season's new third jerseys. This is an updated list of what we know/suspect/wish for as far as that goes. It includes 18 teams — the number rumored to be seeking permission from the league for an alternate sweater.

Atlanta Thrashers
Word is they'll be going with a maroon or navy sweater with a textual element on the front — something like the Rangers or Stars black jerseys, perhaps. This is the team with the least information available so we don't have very much to go on. What we do know is that the Thrashers will be giving fans a preview of the team's "new look" this weekend. We assume they mean third jersey.

Boston Bruins
Images of the Bruins' third jersey have leaked. And though they haven't officially unveiled the real deal yet, it'll be black with the secondary logo as the crest, the primary mark on the shoulders, and have yellow and white stripes around the elbows and waist.

Buffalo Sabres
One of two things will happen. Either they'll have their traditional blue vintage with the 1970s logo or they'll go in a new direction entirely. My money's on the blue vintage — similar to what they wore at the Winter Classic, but perhaps with some minor differences.

Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have unofficially confirmed they will have a third jersey — black with the secondary flag logo on the front. Expect minimal design elements like striping in contrast to their standard home and road sweaters.

Dallas Stars
We keep hearing it will be a white version of their black sweater with DALLAS written out above the player number. I like their black sweater, but let's not overdo it. At the same time, maybe they should avoid creating special logos for the third jersey as we all know what resulted last time. I'd love to see them wear something in green.

Edmonton Oilers
Team management has unofficially confirmed a third on a number of occasions without detailing the design. Expect a vintage look with the classic shades of blue and orange. I'm sure it will win over fans. Just the description alone has me sold.

Los Angeles Kings
I keep reading that it will be black but that would surprise me (or not, considering the NHL) since they already have a black sweater. I'm holding out hope they return to the purple one. The latest rumors suggest it will feature the shield logo — or perhaps a simplified version of it.

Minnesota Wild
At last... green! This is another jersey we're expecting to feature a prominent textual element — such as MINNESOTA spelled out across the chest. The Wild have a history of creating quality vintage style jerseys so hopefully this one is no exception.

New York Islanders
We're probably looking at a vintage blue sweater for the Isles — something like what they wore in their glory days. Though not to worry, I don't envision the fisherman making a comeback anytime soon. Basically all that would be different is the striping pattern as far as I can tell. I imagine it will feature the same logo crest.

Ottawa Senators
A lot of bad rumors have been floating around the Sens. In fact, that four-letter word just might be plastered onto a gold jersey if there's any truth to them. I was always a fan of their black jerseys. I think the new 2D logo on a sweater like that would be money in the bank.

Philadelphia Flyers
This is the only one we've actually seen in pictures (sort of). The cell phone photos that leaked suggest an orange sweater in a vintage style conjuring the days of the Broadstreet Bullies. I can't see anyone complaining about this. It's the sort of thing traditionalists get geared up for.

Phoenix Coyotes
This will be one of a handful of thirds featuring a completely new logo according to recent rumors. Imagine a full-body coyote in a running stance on a black sweater. Don't hold me to the color but I can't imagine what else they'd go with. If we're barely getting orange and green jerseys this year, I think sand is asking too much.

Pittsburgh Penguins
The team has confirmed they submitted a design similar to what they wore at the Winter Classic for NHL approval as their new third. The sky blue sweater will probably feature a more contemporary logo over the vintage one seen on the New Year's Day game. I imagine this will be one of the better ones.

San Jose Sharks
Expect black. That's what they did with the last third jersey and it worked out. We're not sure one what logo to expect on the front, though. There hasn't been much in the way of rumors with regard to that. I'm hoping for the diamond logo with the shark fin or maybe the shield that currently adorns their pants.

St. Louis Blues
Team management has confirmed that we should expect a navy sweater with a new logo incorporating the Blue Note and the Gateway Arch. Sounds like a winner there. Other rumors have suggested it'll be in the style of Minnesota's red sweater.

Tampa Bay Lightning
The rumors for the Lightning are about as bad as the Senators. While the jersey will be blue, it will allegedly make use of a textual element that reads BOLTS. And there's nothing good about the sound of that. As a fan, I'm keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't go badly.

Toronto Maple Leafs
Despite rumors of a blue jersey similar to an image featured on the team's official web site recently, it seems more likely the Leafs will wear a white vintage sweater with the retro logo — just like what they had in the pre-Rbk EDGE days.

Vancouver Canucks
Apparently a blue vintage style sweater is in the works with the classic stick-in-the-rink logo. My guess is they'll go with the updated one currently worn on their shoulders. I would like to see a green or black sweater with the new Johnny Canuck logo on the front, but I don't think that's going to happen just yet.

As for the 12 teams not listed above, the Blackhawks and Red Wings are expected to wear one-time-only vintage sweaters for the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field and the Canadiens will probably use a variety of vintage sweaters throughout the season to commemorate their centennial.

The other nine teams not mentioned above are the Rangers, Devils, Panthers, Capitals, Blue Jackets, Predators, Ducks, Avalanche and Flames. For what it's worth, the Red Wings and Devils are the only two NHL teams never have a third jersey for those of you keeping track.

I know that was a long one, but there was a lot of information to disseminate. By the way, it took me almost two hours to assemble this post. Don't be surprised if I take a little break from the blog tomorrow.

Poll: CHL's Best Logo

This one's for the Memorial Cup championship! The winner of this poll gets bragging rights as the best logo in the entire CHL. Place your vote and leave a comment about how you came to your decision. Tell all your friends to drop in and vote! The more voices heard, the more accurate the results!

Starts Tue Jul 22
Ends Sat Jul 26

AHL Jersey News

I've got a few pieces of AHL jersey-related news. To start, I need to dispel a weird rumor. EA released a bunch more screenshots of NHL 09 and you wouldn't believe the number of emails I got from folks who thought this was the San Jose Sharks' new third jersey.

Without question it's the AHL's Worcester Sharks.

Some other screenshots of the game showed the backs of the Iowa Chops' new uniforms.

Basically they'll be wearing a red (instead of orange) version of the Anaheim Ducks' sweaters.

And finally, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins evidently have a third jersey design out there that I hadn't seen before...

credit: Penguins official site

...I'll leave my words out of it, availing myself of the adage: "If you can't say anything nice, say nothing at all." However if you'd like to comment, please do so.

Project: IHA West

First, if you have no idea what the Icethetics IHA Project is then click here to get caught up.

Now that you know what's going on, I'm pleased to announce the unveiling of the next division. I'm doing this in no particular order. Last week was the Atlantic Division. Today... the West Division! Remember, your job is to take the name and colors and create an identity for a hockey team from scratch. I know you can do it!

We got an unbelievable response from last week's division. Just wait until you guys see some of the logos your fellow readers came up with. Some of them will blow you away. I'm not posting any of them yet because I don't want to taint the design pool. I'm still accepting logos for the Atlantic, but I'd really like to move on to the West this week.

I anticipate unveiling a new division every Monday for the next few weeks until we've got all the team names and colors out there. I'll have you guys start voting on the Atlantic logos probably next week, the West the week after. The top-voted logos for each team will be included in the IHA Logo Tournament and, of course, the IHA itself.

Anyway, enough chatter, here are this week's teams...

IHA: WEST DIVISION

CALGARY MAVERICKS / Calgary, Alberta
blue (00478A), gold (A79A53) and white (F0F0F0)

DALLAS PATRIOTS / Dallas, Texas
red (A00000), navy (0F1155) and white (F0F0F0)

DENVER MOUNTAINEERS / Denver, Colorado
purple (4D1B67), teal (008B8B) and white (F0F0F0)

EDMONTON SEAHAWKS / Edmonton, Alberta
lime (7FCE0E), blue (002E8C) and black (202020)

HOUSTON COMETS / Houston, Texas
blue (1B3B8B), orange (C86504) and black (202020)

I've supplied colors in hexadecimal format. Should you need RGB conversion, here's a decent resource. By the way, you aren't tied to the exact colors here. Feel free to alter them a little if need be. But please shy away from the standard colors like total black or total white or total red. Remember, be different! As similar as it is to the NHL, it's not the NHL!

GUIDELINES
Once again, follow these guidelines when submitting your original IHA artwork:

• DO NOT STEAL ARTWORK. I'm surprised I have to say this but a number of people submitted logos from professional teams. This is where you let your own creativity shine through. Send in something original!


• Submit three (3) logos: primary, secondary and wordmark. Use a white background. If your logo requires a white outline (think Lightning or Capitals), then use a gray background with the white outline included.


• Submit vector art if possible. I will accept .ai, .psd and .pdf files. If you cannot submit vector art, you must be able to provide high quality raster art in .jpg or .png files. No .bmp files, please.


• Try to stick to the assigned colors. Change them only if you deem it necessary and then explain why you made the change. Remember, the "fans" chose these colors and they're who you're working for in the end.


• Email them to nhllogos@gmail.com with IHA in the subject line. Please include your first and last name (it will not be posted). Please also submit your nickname which will be public if you don't want your real first name used.


• By submitting your own original artwork to the email address above, you agree to grant permission of its use for online or print publication by Icethetics. Do not watermark your logos or they will not be considered.


• And finally, be prepared to accept feedback and criticism of all kinds!

As always, you can email me questions directly or post them in the comments area. Start designing your logos! I look forward to seeing what you all come up with!

UPDATE (5:32 PM): Just a quick thing after looking at some of the comments. While all the feedback is more than appreciated, there really is no point to complaining about the colors or names of the teams listed here. I think "roccot" said it best in the comment below: "As a designer are you going to tell your boss/client their name sucks!? Good-bye job!"

This project is for designers who want a challenge. Sure, some of the names and color schemes may be unoriginal, but that's where the challenge lies. Can you create individual identities for red, white and blue teams named the Stars, Americans and Patriots? If not that's okay, but at least try to enjoy the challenge.

Frankly, I was a little surprised by the overwhelming number of people who were upset by the fact that they weren't getting to vote on the teams' names and locations to begin with. Had I known this would be such an issue, I might've considered building a fantasy league from the ground up myself allowing you guys to choose and vote on names/colors.

Unfortunately, doing something like that would be a huge undertaking. How do you organize it with the kind of limited time I have to work on this site? Is it something I'll consider for the future? If this project continues to be as big a hit as it's been so far, absolutely! No question in my mind.

But for now, I just wanted to offer a project where readers could design logos, given a name and colors. It's basically what everyone's doing by redesigning NHL logos anyway — only without the preconceived notions of what the logos should look like. The feedback is great, and if you guys do want to create another fantasy league from the ground up in the future — where you pick the names, colors and design the logos and uniforms — don't hesitate to let me know. I think it sounds like fun.

A Florida Makeover

One of our regular artists who designs under the moniker Sigma Kappa is back with another great design. Most recently he gave the Red Wings a new look. Before that came the Devils, Predators, Senators, Flyers, and Coyotes. Tonight we've got a logo/uniform makeover for the Florida Panthers.

That is one fierce logo. As with most of his designs, the logo is based off of the original to some extent but it's a rather unique take. In the secondary logo, the cat is calmer but no less fierce.

And below are the jersey designs he came up with.

Overall, it's outstanding work and I love it when I can post such an excellent concept. What do you think of it? Sound off in the comments.

Third Jersey Fan Renderings

It's been mostly quiet on the third jersey news front so far today. But several fans have been hard at work designing sweater concepts based on the rumors that have been swirling lately. There's a lot to get to so I'll dive in.

The Hurricanes may adopt a third jersey this season that looks a little something like this.

Meanwhile the Maple Leafs will likely take a more traditional path.

It's more likely they'll end up with a white sweater, but blue is certainly a possibility as well.

The Bruins have sort of already leaked their third jersey design and it looks like this.

The Oilers will probably go with a retro look...

...same as the Sabres.

Still other teams may ditch the historical look for something more contemporary. If the Stars go with a green third, it could look like this.

And the Lightning and Senators might go with informal nicknames on the front — the Bolts and Sens.

Not sure about the gold Ottawa sweater. I like black better for them. I also wouldn't expect to see the 2D logo on the front of a jersey anytime soon, but that's just me. I've been wrong before.

I'll have more later today including the next division in the IHA branding project.

Hawks Convention Yields News

The Blackhawks are holding a big hockey convention this weekend to, I suppose, intensify the city's interest in the team and the sport. As part of the event, Saturday at noon there was a panel discussing the Winter Classic set for New Year's Day at Wrigley Field. Hawks president John McDonough and defenseman Brian Campbell were on hand along side the NHL's marketing director, Brian Jennings.

According to an email I received summarizing the event, there was a discussion about whether the Blackhawks and Red Wings would be wearing vintage jerseys like the Penguins and Sabres did last season. McDonough said they would be and suggested it may be styled after a 1930s sweater, like the one seen below.

credit: Andrew @ NHLUniforms.com

According to this same email, Jennings spoke about the selection process for last year's Winter Classic sweaters. He apparently said the Penguins liked theirs so much they'll be unveiling a similar powder blue design as their third jersey this season. This isn't really news but it's coming straight from the Director of Marketing at the NHL so I felt like it was worth mentioning.

As with anything, I can't vouch for the veracity of this info as it comes by way of a reader email and not any official channels. B But what's the point of lying? Thanks to Brent for the info!

Want To See Philly's New Third?

An interesting photo turned up in my inbox this afternoon. It shows Daniel Briere's new third jersey hanging up in the locker room.

The Flyers haven't made anything official yet, but rumors have been floating around since March.

For what it's worth, my opinion on this photo is that it's legitimate or a Photoshop job too well done to be an amateur — though folks here do love their Photoshop. But seriously, I think it's an actual photo of a jersey. It doesn't differ much from the cell phone photos that surfaced several months ago. Here's another look at them.

The main difference appears to be the nameplate. On the March leak, it appears the orange jersey has a white nameplate with orange lettering. Here, it's switched to a matching nameplate.

Other than that, they look the same to me. So it appears we've gotten our first real look at what the Flyers will wear as an alternate jersey this season. Hope you guys like it.

UPDATE (7/21 2:25 AM): So it's definitely a photo of a jersey, it's just a vintage replica being sold on ebay. Kudos to Hockey Week for the find. I think we should probably expect to see something more like what's in the two cell phone pictures. As always, I'll try my best to keep you updated.

Bruins Confirm Alternates

It seems like over this past week the news leaking about next season's third jerseys just will not stop. And I don't see anyone here complaining about that. As far as news tonight, we've got newspaper journalists confirming alternates for the Bruins and Hurricanes.

Fluto Shinzawa of The Boston Globe wrote in the Bruins Blog last week that the Bruins will in fact have a third jersey for the new season — something we've all kind of known for quite some time now. Shinzawa also wrote, "The final design has not been released, but it will most likely feature the retro bear, on the shoulders of the current uniforms, on the chest."

Below you can see a sample of the new sweater in action. During a game last season, NESN broadcast video of a player skating around in it — it's not actually Patrice Bergeron.

The full video was originally posted on YouTube but has since been removed — whether by the person who uploaded it or by YouTube, I don't know.

And this is just a followup to yesterday's post. News & Observer writer Luke DeCock said in his blog there was "a good chance" the Hurricanes would have a new alternate sweater this season. A similar story was published in today's paper. You can read an excerpt from the article below.

The Hurricanes will unveil a third, alternate jersey this season and hope to have it ready to reveal at the Caniac Carnival on Sept. 21, Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said.

Rutherford declined to comment on the design, but team officials have talked for years about a black jersey with the team's secondary, waving-flag logo on the chest.

The team planned to unveil the new design last season, but the debut was pushed back a year because of the introduction of the NHL's new "uniform system" from Reebok.

The Hurricanes are one of three NHL teams not to use a third jersey at some point, with the Red Wings and New Jersey Devils the others.

If you want to send in tips regarding this season's new crop of third jerseys, email me at nhllogos@gmail.com.