Leafs Confirm Third?

This is a followup to a story I posted on Wednesday about a jersey that turned up on the Maple Leafs' official web site recently.

According to a reader who emailed me, that is going to be the Leafs' new third jersey this season. The following is the email sequence that was forwarded to me:

Whats the deal with this? thats not the Leafs jersey! Is it being altered to fix what was broken last year? Please tell me it's true!!!

Thank you for your email,
The jersey in the link you have provided is the new Maple Leafs third jersey.
Thanks for being a fan!

Names have been removed for privacy reasons. I have no other corroboration this information so take it for what it is — I'm sounding like a broken record, I know. But I don't want to pass stuff off as factual before I know it to be so.

The thing is, the majority of rumors swirling suggest a vintage white sweater as next season's alternate. That could just be excited fans promulgating wishful thinking... or not. But if the above does turn out to be true, we saw the Toronto Maple Leafs' third jersey 11 months ago. Here's another look at it.

If anymore support for this surfaces, I'll let you guys know.

Third Jerseys For 'Canes, Sabres, Oilers

Long day. I've been awake for too many hours now but I've just gotten so many emails I'd feel bad about going to bed before updating you guys on the news of the day.

The biggest news — what I got the most emails about today — the Hurricanes have confirmed a third jersey for this season according to a report from The News & Observer's Luke DeCock. He wrote the following in his blog today:

When the Hurricanes take on the Red Wings in the second home game of the season, there's a good chance only one team will be in red.

The Canes hope to unveil their new, NHL-approved alternate jerseys — expected to be black with the team's secondary, waving-flag logo on the chest — at the Caniac Carnival in September and could wear them on the ice as early as Oct. 13 against Detroit.

“We wouldn’t wear it Opening Night,” Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said. “Our jerseys as they are now are really nice jerseys in red and they’re really popular. … It could be (Detroit). It won’t be Opening Night, but after that sooner rather than later, probably. We haven’t made that decision.”

A little research on the Hurricanes' official web site turns up a date for the Caniac Carnival — September 21. That's going in the countdowns.

By the way, DeCock even cites a graphic found on NHLToL. You can read the full post at Lord Stanley's Blog. For what it's worth, he says 18 teams could have new third jerseys this year.

The other third jersey news for today comes by way of WGR 550 Sports Radio out of Buffalo.

The Sabres will indeed have a third jersey for the new season — to be unveiled to fans on September 20. The following was posted on their web site:

Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn ... announced that the Sabres will unveil their 3rd alternate jersey at an open practice to the fans on Saturday, September 20th. Fans will have to wait until then to see the new-look uniforms.

Another radio station has third jersey news. Dan Tencer of Alberta's 630 CHED reports on his blog that "the team will unveil a new 3rd jersey for the 2008-09 season, likely with an announcement in August."

It's not very informative as far as the design of the jersey, but it's one more source confirming that an alternate sweater will exist for the Oil.

The reason I'm more apt to trust this information is that they're coming from reputable media sources and not random personal blogs (like this one). So as with anything, take it for what it is.

By the way, the next time I'll be able to update the site will likely be tomorrow night. If any news surfaces, I'll get it posted then.

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.

Ducks Logo Enlarged?

Apparently the Ducks' uniforms will be slightly altered for the 2008-09 season. Don't get too excited though, it's nothing huge. It's just bigger — by that I mean the logo (er, wordmark?) on the front of the sweaters. Based on the looks of things at the draft, this is the case.

Examine these two photos as evidence. On the left is Todd Bertuzzi in game action last season. On the right is first round draft pick Jake Gardiner.

Compare the size of the logos on the two sweaters. It does appear that the logo stretches farther across the sweater on Gardiner's jersey.

But this could all be in our imaginations. Thanks to Jason for pointing out this possibility.

QMJHL Logo Champion

Congrats to the Huskies!
With 68% of the vote, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies' logo has been declared the best the QMJHL after defeating the Saint John Sea Dogs. Nearly 1,500 votes were cast in the final poll of the tournament which began at the now deceased ToHL. Thanks to all who voted!

I won't be able to get to designing the banner until next week, but rest assured it's on my to-do list.

Up next will be the CHL Memorial Cup poll between the Broncos, Knights and Huskies. Expect that to be posted on Sunday or Monday and run throughout the next week.

The NHL Center Ice Tournament will be starting soon. I don't have a date yet, but I will say before the end of the month.

Rumors & Possible Leaks

Leafs fans, just when you thought all was quiet on the jersey front after this morning's announcement, something strange has happened. In the Game Master section of the team's official site is the following graphic.

That's confusing. For sure it's not what the Toronto Maple Leafs' jersey looked like last season. It had different striping and no laced collar. Thing is, it looks and awful lot like one of those concepts I posted back in the early days of NHLToL. In fact, see for yourself! It's a dead ringer!

In fact, that jersey I posted last August was one fan's recoloring of a Rbk EDGE Bruins jersey. How did that exact image make it on the Leafs' official site?! That's my question. Weird. Are the Leafs considering a jersey alteration already?

I'll keep you posted on whatever I find out. Thanks to Tyler for pointing this out to me.

And as we near the new season, I'm getting more and more emails from people who say they've seen or spoken with someone who's seen new alternate sweater designs. I can't speak to the veracity of the claims, but I'm happy to post them nevertheless. So here's what's been going around recently:

	Bruins black with primary and secondary logos swapped like previous rumors
	Oilers royal blue and orange vintage style
	Senators black with SENS written across the chest
	Sharks black, no further details
	Blues similar in style to Minnesota's home sweaters
	Maple Leafs white vintage style with laced collar, like 2006-07 alternates

One source is reporting that 17 teams will have alternates for 2008-09. Previous rumors said 18.

And finally, the Canadiens will apparently have three different jerseys throughout the season to commemorate their centennial. I'm assuming this means three in addition to the regular home/road uniforms.

That's it for now. Should I hear anything else, you'll be able to read it here. By the way, I plan on migrating the big rumors post from NHLToL to Icethetics soon just so you don't have to leave this blog to see it. I'll wait for a slow news day so it doesn't bump everything that I've posted recently.

Wallpaper Wednesday VI

Another Wednesday brings another set of wallpapers — all player-centric. First is Brad Boyes of the Blues.

We had a cool Bruins wallpaper last week based around Marc Savard. The same artist brings us Zdeno Chara this time around.

Like Trevor Linden? Apparently he is forever a Canuck.

And last, we have a simple design for Flyer Jeff Carter.

Keep the wallpapers coming guys if you want this to continue to be a weekly series. Otherwise, I'll just go ahead and make it a biweekly series like the Freak Out Friday.

Leafs Announcement & Winter Classic

Couple of news items I wanted to address briefly. Last week I wrote a post about the Maple Leafs' announcement which was made today. Rumors suggested it could be about a new third jersey. Turns out it was just about the team offering free admission to an exhibition game.

Also, the NHL announced today that the Winter Classic will, in fact, take place at Wrigley Field between the Blackhawks and Red Wings. Those rumors had been around a while and it turns out they're true. Just like last year the game will take place on New Year's Day. When a logo is released, I'll post it here at Icethetics.

Project: Branding The IHA

IHA. Get used to that acronym. It'll be sticking around Icethetics for quite some time. No, it's not the Icethetics Hockey Association (I wish), it's the International Hockey Association.

WHAT IS IT?
The IHA is a fantasy hockey league that exists only in cyberspace created by an Icethetics reader named Nicolas. I'm collaborating with him to get logos designed by you guys for his league. We'll get into more details of what's involved with this league at some point in the future. But right now, what you need to know is that it has 30 teams, each with a name and color scheme chosen by its "hometown fans" — but no logo.

The assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to design logos for these teams — if for no other reason than as an exercise in graphic design. This will be a cool project, something to have fun with. Challenge yourself! Do something different!

The IHA is structured like the NHL with two conferences made up of three divisions each. And each division includes five teams. Over the next several weeks, I'll be unveiling the team names one division at a time along with their colors. I'd do it all at once but I don't want to overwhelm anybody.

YOUR JOB!
Today I'm unveiling the first five teams — the Atlantic Division. You can pick one team and focus all of your creative energy on it — or you can try your hand at all five! But it's not as simple as one logo per team. You're creating an identity from scratch!

You need to design a primary logo (usually the jersey crest), a secondary logo (usually the shoulder patches), and a wordmark for use in promotional materials. You may design additional logos to be included in the package but you must have at least these three: primary, secondary and wordmark.

There really aren't any restrictions on you aside from team name and colors as far as the designs go. The "fans" chose those and you need to stick with them. But you do need to give them a unique identity. I'm not going to list ideas because I don't want to taint anyone's creativity.

Without further ado, let the games begin...

IHA: ATLANTIC DIVISION

ATLANTA FIRE / Atlanta, Georgia
orange (E68700), red (A81212) and charcoal (202020)

NEW YORK AMERICANS / New York, New York
red (C80231), blue (131B87) and white (F0F0F0)

PHILADELPHIA TITANS / Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
gold (CF9B1F), teal (27577B) and white (F0F0F0)

PITTSBURGH MINERS / Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
steel (999999), yellow (D9BB13) and black (202020)

WASHINGTON STARS / Washington, D.C.
blue (30316C), red (980404) and white (F0F0F0)

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
To sum up, follow these guidelines when submitting IHA artwork:

• 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!

It may seem like I'm asking a lot and while I am looking for highly-talented artists here, don't be discouraged if you feel you don't fit that category. If you have a good idea that you can't translate into a good graphic on your own, submit it anyway as best you can and it's possible someone more skilled might be able to give it a boost.

I'm sure a lot of you still have questions as well. Post them in the comments area. I'll be monitoring that so I can get all your questions answered. One question I know will be when will I announce the next division? It depends on the response I get for this one. If a lot of folks submit art, it'll be sooner rather than later.

Having said that, get to work and be creative! Put some real effort in! Start designing your logos getting them submitted. I can't wait to see them and show them off!

Alternates From A Fan

In combing through my inbox I came across a set of third jersey designs one reader sent in recently. There's 18 in all but I'm going to start with six — my favorites of the bunch.

An obvious win for a Hurricanes alternate sweater would be this one.

Though it steals a page out of L.A.'s book with the locator on the front of the sweater, it's not a bad look. Speaking of the Kings...

...how about a purple jersey with the Gretzky-era logo? One of my favorite logos has to be the new alternate unveiled by the Canucks last summer. I'm dying to see it on a uniform.

As far as that jersey goes though, sort of reminds me of the Whalers. But I do like the green. A lot!

Of the few things we have confirmation of regarding next year's third jerseys, is that the Blues will use a new logo that incorporates the Gateway Arch. Here's another concept with that in mind.

It may not be a new logo but it does include the arch.

I know many of you are opposed to black third jerseys, but I think they work for teams that actually have color in their regular home sweaters — the Sharks and Coyotes, for example.

I love that shield logo too. And here's a unique take on Phoenix's logo.

I'll have more from this artist in the future. In the meantime, stick around. I'll be posting information about the brand new International Hockey Association logo project a little later this evening.