Islanders' Stadium Look Revealed
Newsday provides uniform sneak peek 10 hours early
Photo from Newsday (via New York Islanders)Late tonight, the Long Island newspaper Newsday presented an early look at the uniform the New York Islanders will wear for their 2014 Stadium Series appearance on Jan. 29.
The photos appeared on the paper's website just after midnight ET, presumably with the team's permission (a reporter announced it was coming earlier in the day).
According to a later tweet from @NewsdaySports, the official unveiling is scheduled for Wednesay morning at 10 AM ET. What's unclear is whether the Isles will go it alone or if the league plans to unveil all seven Stadium Series uniforms in one shot.
But as we're now just hours away, it won't be long before we find out.
Regardless, the Isles' newest uniform is here now. So let's discuss. Here are a few details I noticed:
- The crest — believe it or not — is the chrome logo the NHL recently unveiled. So that's an interesting development. My guess: It's not embroidered. It may be screen printed like the guitar-string numbers on the Predators' uniforms.
- A flat version of the NY logo, however, is also visible on the pants — bigger than most pant logos.
- The shoulder yoke is unusual, not unlike what we see on the Blues' uniforms — though without the piping on the front.
- The right shoulder bears the Stadium Series patch while the left shoulder has the classic primary mark to remind us all it's not going anywhere.
- Looks like everything is on an angle. The pant detail is new and different as is whatever is happening on the sleeves. Hard to judge based on this.
- What is clear on the sleeves is the stripes do not wrap all the way around the arm (probably because they can't if they're angled).
- The elongated numbers we talked about last week do not appear on the sleeves. They do, however, appear on the helmet.
- Haven't seen the back of the jersey yet. That'll come in the morning.
- The collar laces seem to be tied on the inside of the jersey rather than outside. Player preference or design feature?
- The CCM branding is very prominent in this photo, clearly seen on the helmet, gloves, pants and skates. The only Reebok logo is on the stick and barely detectable. Of course, CCM is Reebok, but I have to wonder if this is significant beyond Tavares' own deal with the company.
I don't like to make instant judgments on the blog, but my initial reaction to the overall design is positive. There are certainly some unique aspects to it, but that only makes me like it more.
In an NHL being overrun by "traditional" and "retro" uniform designs, it's refreshing to get something out of left field every so often. If the look of this uniform is any indication, I'm really going to like the Stadium Series.
Check back tomorrow for more on the official unveiling.
Chris
Photos from New York Islanders
More photos on Islanders' website
The Islanders have now posted a photo gallery to their website, showing more aspects of the uniform. As suspected, there are elongated numbers on the back. But surprisingly, there's a reverse color nameplate. (Really hoped that was dying out.)
There are only 10 photos of the jersey and most are detail shots of the collar, shoulders and crest. Still don't have a good sense of the sleeve design, though it certainly appears everything is angled.
Based on this, do you have any expectations for the rest of the Stadium Series jerseys?
Reader Comments (65)
its a pretty cool uniform minus the chrome. i also don't like the nameplate. only works for the flyers. overall i give this uniform a B+
Did they photoshop out his moustache for the main photo? It's there for some of them.
This design makes me want to throw up. The reason there are so many 'Retro' designs, is due to the fact that classic design actually works and has a longer shelf life than just a year or two.
This reminds me of something a 16 year old kid who just discovered Photoshop would do -- I'm surprised there arent any lens flairs in there.
Terrible all around.
I like the logo but not in chrome. It doesn't pop enough and in some photos looks like a blotchy mess. If a darker outline was added to accent the NY a little it would be solid all around. Its a vast improvement over the current 3rds.
Not bad. Much better than I anticipated. A good mix of traditional and modern design elements, and a very nice shade of blue. I even like the reverse nameplate, I always find they look much better on a coloured jersey than they do on a white one. Like the white shoulder yokes too, we don't see them often. Not crazy about the logo, it's boring and screams of one of those screen-your-own-t-shirt places. Would be okay for a shoulder patch maybe, but not a primary logo. But at the end of the day, it definitely looks like a hockey sweater, albeit with a bit of a modern twist. Let's call it 7/10.
Much, Much better than that abomination of a 3rd jersey they have now. The nameplate should have been the same color as the numbers but other than that this one is a winner
Wasn't sure what to expect from the stadium series jerseys at first, but I have to say I'm impressed with what the Isles have done. My biggest worry is that some of these jerseys will take away from the uniqueness (and awesomeness) of the Winter and Heritage Classic games and try to cash in on the heritage/throwback look. I know the Devils are going with their Christmas explosion jerseys but they've also worn those in recent times on St. Patty's Day so it doesn't bother me as much. Any way back to the Isles jersey, I like the design and hope they might switch to these full time after the move to Brooklyn. As far as the logo goes I don't have much of an issue with it; it's supposed to go with the theme of these games, and what comes to mind when you think of stadiums under the lights and Coors Light? Shiny things and the "silver bullet"! I'm interested to see what the other teams do.
I don't know what it is, but this looks... Amazing! Way different from any other jerseys I've seen. Retro yet modern. Watch and learn, Nike!
This jersey is great. It's not "perfect" because this look is completely new, but they haven't gone off the deep end with it.
This is ok for a stadium series, and honestly miles better than their current 3rd. I love the cut of the bottom of the jersey, especially the stripe that really makes it pop. The shoulder yoke is cool, I don't think we've seen something like this that doesn't go all the way around on the back. I think it'll look good on ice.
I feel like the other jerseys won't be as drastic like this. NYI are a team struggling to get their identity back, so this is a good move to try and see if something sticks. It can't get any worse than their current 3rd, so why not?
Bold move. I'm impressed. The only think lacking is the lack of colour on the crest. I'm fine with the chrome, but a little orange on the shadowing might have made it pop a bit better.
After looking at the photo gallery, you can definitely tell that the sleeve stripes do not go all the way around the arm. Reminds me of Canada's Olympic jerseys.
The chrome logo screams late 90s video game backstreet boys cheesiness. This reminds me of in old movies when they were trying to depict something futuristic and it looked out of this world, but nowadays it's just ridiculous. That's the category I believe this kit falls under. I actually like the stripes on the arms, but the yoke and the chrome have to go. Whomever works for Reebok designing these jerseys- Buffaloes yellow, Islanders black 3rd- now the chrome, the flames new 3rd- maybe not go as far as being hanged, but have a sit down with the original six sweaters and contemplate life. Chrome is only acceptable on classic cars. Cheers
If we were to change the Blue to Black, Could we be seeing a Brooklyn Alternate Jersey??
I dig it, looks different but in a not so shocking kind of way. I kind of feel like the chrome thing is going to be featured on all the stadium series jerseys. Its a gimmick involving a major sponsor. Didn't they confirm that about the chrome effect? I could be wrong but don't be surprised if the others all have it too. Money talks.
I'm curious if Easton, Warrior, Bauer etc will all have similarly prominent logos on the pants when the whole team hits the ice.
After looking at this jersey for a few weeks, it has really grown on me. I really like the colors and the angular stripes. I has a good balance of blue, white, and orange. I wasn't a fan of the logo at first but when I think about the team moving to Brooklyn, this could be their way to test the market a logo without the Island. I can see this jersey (hopefully with an embroidered crest) becoming their home jersey once they make the move to Brooklyn.