Merry Christmas!

Time to get off the bench. I've had a couple of weeks to get comfortable in my new city and new job so it's about time to liven things up again around here. I'm declaring my moving hiatus officially over today. That doesn't mean daily updates, but certainly more frequent than they have been over the last month.

Appropriately, we'll start with some hilarious specialty sweaters from the minors.

Wranglers sport Santa suitsThe ECHL's Las Vegas Wranglers hit the ice last weekend decked out in Santa Claus-themed jerseys.

They were totally ridiculous. In a good way.

The Wranglers announced their intention to spread holiday cheer on their website, Dec. 10. The jerseys were worn Dec. 18 and 19, then subsequently auctioned off, as is standard with these things.

The key feature of the gaudy red sweaters is a big white beard that descends from the collar down to the belly. Sound familiar? The Santa suit imitation is topped off by Wranglers logos around the belt.

Santa celebrates a goal!This is the kind of thing we've become accustomed to seeing over the years in minor league hockey and there's nothing wrong with that.

Plus, it makes for a fun post on my return.

To be fair, Puck Daddy picked up this story first. I must say I'm thrilled to see the continued uptick in jersey-related posts over there. It's cool to see our favorite nerdy subject matter on a mainstream hockey blog.

I'll do my best to get to all of the news of the past few weeks as I wade through rivers of email. In the meantime, drop me a line if you notice any glaring oversights on my part. Good to be back!

Update from the Road

Just wanted to drop in and give you guys a status update. I'm in Arizona right now. Saw the Grand Canyon today. Should be in Seattle by Wednesday. Very much enjoying this leisurely drive across America. Can't think of anything I'd rather be doing. Anyway, regular updates should resume after next weekend (going to see the Lightning in Vancouver next Saturday). Thanks for sticking it out!

Update on Thursday · Dec 16 · 2010 | 9:49 AM PST by Chris

Another brief update here. I've been here in Seattle about a week now and still getting settled in. Need a desk, for one thing, so I have a place to set up my computer. But as I've said, by Christmas time things should be back to normal on the blog. And boy will we have some things to talk about... such as Columbus dumping their new thirds after four games because of superstition!

Ducks 3rd Jersey Unveiled!

The Anaheim Ducks skated out in their brand new alternate uniforms for this afternoon's game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Ducks debut new thirdsThe jersey was leaked online some time ago but today provided our first look at the smaller details like socks, numbers and nameplates. And I will say this — they've handled the orange rather well. By that I mean there's a lot more of it on this uniform.

In addition, the duck mask logo from the '90s makes its glorious return to the Anaheim uniforms with this effort. But probably the best sign that the team is moving forward with its identity is the full webbed D on the chest.

The wordmark has been the second biggest downfall of Ducks sweaters since 2006. However, the biggest issue was the overuse of black and that hasn't gone anywhere, as you can see.

My favorite part of this uniform is the added orange. I don't see the point of it outlining the shoulders, but I like it on the socks, jersey cuffs and sides. Just wish they could've outlined the numbers in it, rather than gold.

The Ducks neat stuff related to the jersey on their website. Here's a PDF talking about the design development and here's the third jersey schedule.

So now that you've seen the uniform in its entirety, what do you think? Has your opinion changed at all? Is black becoming more acceptable in a league where blue is becoming the go-to alternate jersey color?

Jackets Unveil 3rd Jersey

The Columbus Blue Jackets unveiled the second alternate jersey in team history tonight at a special fan-centric event, while the players were away at a road game.

Now, normally I'd go into all the details about the unveiling and post lots of pictures with different angles of the new sweater. But instead, since I'm unable to write up a full blog post right now, I'll supply you with a link to the Jackets' website.

And if it's commentary you're hoping for, I'll say this: I'm a fan. I like them because they're both familiar and different at once. We can all give Columbus a hard time for being yet another team to go with the two-tone blue palette, but I'm not going to go that route. In fact, their twist on the recent trend is actually kind of refreshing.

We get our first look at it on the ice on Friday along with the Anaheim Ducks' new third jersey. Sorry again for the minimal content lately. Just another couple of weeks and I'll get everything back to the way it was.

In Transition

Just wanted to give you guys an update on my transition. If you haven't yet heard, I'm in the process of leaving Florida for a new job in Seattle. I'm doing my best to keep Icethetics up to date with all the big news, but the little things are taking a backseat temporarily.

If you're looking for more frequent updates from me, keep an eye on Twitter for the time being. The Social Media block on the sidebar (right) always has the most recent updates and links. Regular updates will return along with the rollout of a brand new site feature by Christmas time.

Update on Friday · Nov 19 · 2010 | 9:38 AM PST by Chris

This picture was too great to let it get buried in the comments. For those who haven't been following along, a debate has regarding fans wearing certain hockey jerseys to games. And a commenter named Don Brandt spotted this photo from a Canucks game on ESPN's website.

We've counted as many as nine different Canucks jerseys in just this small part of the stands, across many eras in Vancouver's history. I don't think there's any other NHL arena where you could find this kind of variety.