Jersey News You Can Use
Sunday · Jan 24 · 2010 | 12:30 PM PSTWe're going to continue our run of weird minor league jersey news in just a minute — and trust me when I tell you this one's a doozy — but first I have a few NHL items to get to.
The Boston Bruins wore their Winter Classic jerseys yesterday afternoon (January 23) in front of the indoor home crowd as they faced the Ottawa Senators.
Bergeron #37 and Alfredsson #11Interestingly, going into that game the Bruins hadn't won a home game since the Winter Classic itself when Marco Sturm netted the overtime winner. Yesterday, the jersey did not, in fact, bring good luck and simply extended the Bs' losing streak.
Anyway, watching this game only cemented the notion in my head that these gold sweaters need to Boston's third next season. They look incredible — especially when compared with the current black alternates.
They have what may well be the best home/road jerseys in the NHL. To have such an awful third is just below them. Fingers crossed, Bruins fans!
The Flyers also wore their Winter Classic jerseys in front of their fans in Philadelphia when they hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 6.
Schenn #2 and Hartnell #19They looked great as well but I think it's a foregone conclusion that these will be given regular use as the club's road jersey beginning next season. Hopefully then we'll get to see it without the Winter Classic patch.
It's strange they wore that patch for a normal regular season game but it may just have been to indicate to fans that this was a special sweater, and isn't yet ready for full-time use.
And if it is used on the road next year, I sincerely hope they fix the nameplate. It works on the orange ones, but not the white ones.
As part of their 100th anniversary celebrations, which have been going on since the beginning of the 2008-09 season, the Montreal Canadiens are scheduled to wear historic jerseys every so often throughout the year.
According to a Special Events calendar handed out to fans at the beginning of this season, last night was a scheduled Centennial Jersey Game. The Habs should've worn their red 1910-11 jersey against the Rangers. But they did not! (I posted the schedule back in October.)
I'm a little confused as to why this change was made. I haven't read anything about it, but if there are any Habs fans out there who have, please fill us in. Meantime, we'll just have to keep an eye on them and see if they make up for missing this one.
For the record, I've got a few jersey galleries in the pipeline for the Habs' centennial sweaters. Expect to start seeing them this week.
Now onto the minors. Two things.
What in the world is going on in Las Vegas?! The ECHL's Wranglers have become notorious for bizarre specialty jerseys and that streak will continue when they dress like — that's right — girl scouts!
Wranglers' girl scout jerseyAccording to the ECHL's web site, the Wranglers will wear these (right) Girl Scouts-themed sweaters on March 12 when they host the Bakersfield Condors.
Looks like they've earned their wrangling badge.
To be fair, there will be a silent auction and a portion of proceeds will benefit the local Girl Scouts organization. But isn't there some kind of line these men have crossed by agreeing to wear these to a professional hockey game?
Now normally I'd go into more detail with something like this, but Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy has already taken the liberty. He's got details from the Girl Scouts and even a television commercial about Girl Scout Night at Orleans Arena. But my favorite part is when Greg refers to the puck as a "thin mint." Do read it.
My thanks to Jeff for pointing this story out to us.
And finally, Mark writes in regarding his hometown Albany River Rats of the AHL. There could be some drama here ripe for JerseyWatch 2010.
I'll let him tell you rather than trying to paraphrase.
While I have not seen anything online about this, word is that the Albany River Rats have been sold and will be moving to Carolina next season. Seeing as how I have never seen them over 50% capacity, I can see why.
So that's an interesting development. The River Rats have been in upstate New York for two decades. They were the Capital District Islanders from 1990 to 1993.
But here's the real deal as far as what's been reported by more legitimate media outlets. The News & Observer in Raleigh says that the River Rats currently have a four-year deal in place in Albany. It ends after this season. The report goes on to say the following:
Hurricanes management in the past has expressed a desire to have an AHL team closer to Raleigh and in North Carolina, if possible.
Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said Thursday [January 21] that he would neither confirm nor deny that the move to Charlotte will be made.
Rats owner Walter Rabb has said he would be willing to sell the AHL team but only if the franchise remained in Albany. But it appears the franchise will be sold and moved to Charlotte.
If this happens, it'll be interesting to see what it means for the ECHL's Charlotte Checkers. Canes Country reports that Checkers owner Michael Kahn may well purchase the River Rats in order to bring them to Charlotte, but does not go on to say what would become of the ECHL franchise.
The Charlotte AHL team could be named the Checkers if that franchise is disbanded or sold. If you trust Wikipedia — and I don't know why anyone wouldn't (wink, wink) — another name being considered is the Charlotte Beach Rats.
Reader Comments (18)
I hear the Flyers will wear their WC jersey as the away for the playoffs should they make it. The NHL requires them to drop one of the 4 jerseys at the end of the regular season, so look for them to drop both the RBK designs.
The Bruins third isn't awful at all, compared to many of the other thirds it is one of the best. If they had a black version of the third jersey logo and put it on the WC jersey it would instantly be better than the jersey they used for the WC, because that is just another spoked wheel with a different font letter B in it... nothing special.
the bruins haven't won a home game since the WC I think is what you meant
That is what I meant. Important word I left out. Fixed.
Re. Montreal not wearing a vintage jersey as scheduled vs. NYR on Jan 23rd:
From www.habsinsideout.com:
Habs wearing traditional jerseys tonight
posted by Dave Stubbs at 10h53 EST on Jan 23
Don't look for the Canadiens to be wearing their replica 1909-10 blue C-crested jerseys tonight or Feb. 13 vs. Philadelphia, as announced at the beginning of the season. The club says its on-ice 100th-anniversary celebrations ended with the Dec. 4 Centennial Game vs. Boston.
There are gonna be ALOT of Wranglers requesting trades in the next month
The Canadiens officially ended all of their one ice celebrations for the 100 year anniversary against the bruins, just home and road jersey for the rest of the year.
The Bruins' 3rd is a decent jersey. Last season I remember people talking about it being one of the best in the league. While it's far from the best, it's not bad. But it is FAR better than the WC jersey. That new/old B is disgusting, and the brown on the shoulders looks slightly purple. Add a normal B and darken the brown or make it black, and that would be one sick jersey.
Then again, the way the Bruins have been playing lately, they should be wearing dresses.
I love the Bruins' WC jersey. It is probably second only to Detroit's (although I am biased as a Wings fan). I also like their third, but hate having a black home and a black third with the logo being the only major difference. Putting the third logo on the WC jersey would be a home run IMHO.
hen again, the current third could be the home and hte WC could become the third - or vice versa. Either way, the Bruins need one less black jersey and one less "B" jersey. The current third's patch is just too spectacular to lose as is the gold sweater.
Hey Chris, I'm from Charlotte & thought I could jump in on the Checkers news. While obviously no news has been officially released yet, it is believed the Canes will move the Rats to Charlotte. I think its a lot more solid that we will be getting an American league team, but the Rats part is still up in the air. The Checkers have been here since 1960 (since 56 as the Clippers) & were a huge part of hockey catching on in the south. It is my understanding that if the Checkers name is all that stands between us & the AHL, the name can go. But otherwise we're trying to keep it. If the Canes try to go a Kings-like route & name all their affiliates with a theme, there could be something ridiculous like the Charlotte Cyclones or Storm...but to my knowledge there has been no discussion of other names. Especially not something as nonsensical as Charlotte Beach Rats. We're a four hour drive from the nearest beach. Sounds like a "motivated" Rats fan getting us confused with Port Charlotte FL. As for what happens to the Charlotte ECHL franchise, that's anyone's guess right now. I've heard rumors of Greensboro returning but I think the AHL part of the deal is much much closer and likely to be announced very soon.
Please change the brown to black on the Bruins WC jersey. There is not reason to continue with the WC gimmicks. The Bruins look better in black and gold. Brown and yellow is disgusting.
Bruins Winter Classic jersey is one of the best jerseys to come out in the Edge era. It looks even better in CCM 550 cut. Who cares if takes different elements from the Bruins history and mashes them up? The jersey looks fantastic on the ice and invokes an old school feel. Frankly it looks better then the original jerseys its borrowing from. Needs to become the third
Make Boston's WC uniforms black and gold, and put their current third jersey logo on them. That would be a instant classic. I'm fine with the unique spoked B though, I don't see why some people are making a fuss about it. It's supposed to harken back to the early days in the NHL when every logo designed wasn't perfectly outlined. I guess people are sick of them though.
The habs even changed their center ice logo back to the traditional inverted "c" logos. So maybe they are done with the retro threads now.
Chris :Thanks. I agree with you and hope we see the day where the B's gold jersey is a staple of the organization and is used as the third. I'm not a Boston fan (go Rangers !), but that thing is beautiful. It's bright, bold and is recognizable. People who want everything dark and bland...fine. Just remember that brand recognition is really important. People don't even have to look at most boxes of cereal to find the Cheerio's. Classic Yellow. Never has changed, right? Same with Raisin Bran...Purple box. Right? Even imitations of Raisin Bran are in purple boxes. Brand recognition is soooooo so important. I ask people to identify hockey teams (i'm talking about very begineer fans or those with only a cursory knowledge)
They (people who grew up in NY, PA, NJ) can usually get the following: Rangers, Islanders, Red Wings, Black Hawks, Bruins, Maple Leafs (Canadiens not so much), Sharks, Flyers, Blues, Devils, Penguins, Panthers.
The other half of the league...eh. They'd probably get close if you gave them the green Dallas jersey from their cup years or the mountain-range Avs one..the other half is just...forgettable.
People who have watched maybe an hour of football this entire year (people in my office) could tell you how to ID the Jets/ Colts/ Saints/ Vikings.
You HAVE to think that's important when it comes to marketing. When half your league blends together or doesn't stand out...that's not great.
It was fun this weekend to see the B's in bright yellow, the Flyers in shiny orange and the Wild in green. It's not so scary, people !!!
That Flyers-Leafs game in which the Flyers wore their Winter Classic jerseys happened on Janury 6th, not the 8th,
I have to agree on the colour theory when it comes to branding. People do recognize and associate colour with certain teams and that shouldn't be messed with. The Bruins are Black and Gold. Lose the Brown already!
I have to agree with most of the commenters. The Bruins third isn't awful. It's good, with the exception that it is the same color as the home uniform. The logo on it is great. Also, I'm not crazy about the brown or that B on the WC jersey. That jersey does prove that they can wear yellow jerseys and not look ridiculous. Combine the WC and third jerseys and you're golden.