When Hockey Sweaters Go Green

It's a time for green beer and greener hockey jerseys. Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! The only way I can think to celebrate here on Icethetics is by sharing the many green warm-up jerseys being worn around the NHL this weekend. Enjoy!

First up — alphabetically — are the Boston Bruins. On Saturday night, ahead of their game against the Capitals, the Bs skated out for warm-ups sporting a color far from their existing palette.

Photos from Boston Bruins via social media

The team shared a number of photos of these green jerseys online today. A shot of the uniforms hanging in the locker room showed up on Instagram along with another of Shawn Thornton on ice. Then on Twitter, they shared a shot of Dougie Hamilton inspecting his own green threads.

Photos from Boston Bruins official website

UPDATE (3/17): Following last night's game, the Bs added a handful of action shots on their website.

The Columbus Blue Jackets couldn't keep their Irish-themed jerseys off of social media. The team suited up in green ahead of their scoreless affair with the Coyotes on Saturday.

Photos by Alison Pegg via Twitter

Team publicist Alison Pegg was perhaps the most prolific sharer of photos, including these shots of the sweaters from the locker room and auction table. She even offered up a moving picture through Vine. Of course green was not absent from the official Twitter account of the Blue Jackets.

And Icethetics reader Dan Caron even shared some of his own photos with us on Twitter. Needless to say, Columbus' St. Patrick's Day jersey was well-covered on social media.

The Dallas Stars were entertaining as ever with their St. Patty's jerseys on Saturday night. No surnames needed. Just add some Ireland-inspired nicknames to the backs of these bad boys.

Photos from Dallas Stars via Facebook

The Stars posted a picture of every player's jersey on their Facebook page. I pulled a couple of my personal favorites to post above — "McJagger" for Jaromir Jagr and "O'Romeo" for Aaron Rome. They're up for auction starting today if you find yourself in need of one.

The Edmonton Oilers are hosting the Predators tonight and may be among those teams donning green duds during warm-ups this weekend. On Instagram, the club posted a shot of a St. Patrick's Day prize pack which includes a green Oilers practice jersey. They also shared pictures of more St. Patty's-themed team merchandise on Twitter.

Conspicuous on this St. Patrick's Day was the noticeable absence of a recent tradition of the New Jersey Devils. Since 2010, the Devils have sported a throwback jersey which featured their original colors — red and green — every year for a home game on or near St. Patrick's Day. But not this year. And they were home hosting the Canadiens last night and everything. Would've been a perfect game for it.

Beating everyone to the St. Patrick's Day punch were the New York Islanders, who celebrated in green last weekend, when they hosted the Capitals on March 9.

Photo from New York Islanders official website

The Isles posted another great photo on their Facebook page after the game last night.

Photo from New York Islanders via Facebook

The jerseys were auctioned online leading up the big game.

Photo from Ottawa Senators via Instagram

UPDATE (3/17): The Ottawa Senators also joined the St. Patty's Day celebrations with the above photo posted on Instagram this morning. I presume they'll be wearing them during warm-ups today prior to their game later against the Jets.

Photos from Ottawa Senators official website

The Sens posted a couple of photos of the players skating in green on their website.

Later today, the Pittsburgh Penguins will host the Bruins. But before they do, the players will skate a little while wearing the green practice jerseys seen below.

Photos from Pittsburgh Penguins

According to the team: "The unique warm-up jerseys feature a green skating Penguin crest with Celtic lettering and numbering — and shamrocks on each shoulder." They will be put up for online auction beginning Friday.

Photos from Pittsburgh Penguins official website

UPDATE (3/17): This morning, the Penguins shared some more shots of the green on Instagram. There's one in the locker room and another of Craig Adams on the ice. Later, they posted a few more in the game's photo gallery.

UPDATE (3/17): The San Jose Sharks have been celebrating the Irish all week. The Sharks Foundation has been coordinating auctions of these green jerseys on March 9 and 14.

Photos from San Jose Sharks via Twitter and Facebook

Just today, the team tweeted a shot of the players wearing green at a recent morning skate. They've been a bit more prolific on Facebook with close-ups of the backs of these special sweaters, showing Patrick Marleau as well as Douglas Murray and others. (Thanks to @puckguy14 for the help!)

The Tampa Bay Lightning also joined the ranks of St. Patrick's Day teams on Saturday night by warming up in green before taking on the Hurricanes. The team did share some photos with us as well.

The Bolts posted some close-up photos on Instagram and a shot of the full locker room decked out in green gear on Twitter. There are several photos of players wearing the sweaters on the team's website.

Photos from Tampa Bay Lightning official website

Thanks to everyone who pitched in with links on Twitter yesterday! Let me know if you've spotted any teams I've missed and I'll be sure to add them. I'm also working on a separate post to highlight St. Patrick's Day jerseys around the minor leagues.

UPDATE (3/17): Also joining the St. Patty's Day fray were the Washington Capitals, who hit the ice in green tonight prior to defeating the Buffalo Sabres in the nation's capital.

Photos from Washington Capitals

Earlier tonight, the team tweeted a shot of a couple of jerseys hanging up in the locker room. Later, all of the green sweaters were on display at the arena so they could be auctioned off. And for more photos, check out the game's photo gallery.

2013 NHL Third Jersey Schedules

A handful of NHL teams have released their third jersey schedules for the abbreviated 2013 season. I'm collecting them all here, so if you know of any others floating around, drop me a line.

Boston Bruins

The Bruins will sport their alternate sweater 7 times this season — including its season debut on Monday night.

• Mon., Jan. 21 — vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Tues., Jan. 29 — vs. New Jersey Devils
• Tues., Feb. 12 — vs. New York Rangers
• Sat., Mar. 2 — vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
• Sat., Mar. 16 — vs. Washington Capitals
• Mon., Apr. 8 — vs. Carolina Hurricanes
• Fri., Apr. 19 — vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

All third jersey nights this year are home games at TD Garden and there are no repeat opponents.

The Bruins unveiled and debuted this third jersey during the 2008-09 season. This is its fifth season in use.

Carolina Hurricanes

Hurricanes fans will have to wait a while to see their team's third jersey again. It's not set to make its 2013 season debut for another month. But once it does, the black sweater will be used 7 times, including once on the road. 

• Sat., Feb. 23 — vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
• Sat., Mar. 2 — vs. Florida Panthers
• Thurs., Mar. 7 — vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Thurs., Mar. 14 — vs. Washington Capitals
• Tues., Mar. 26 — vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Sat., Apr. 6 — vs. New York Rangers
• Sun., Apr. 21 — at Tampa Bay Lightning

The Canes' third jersey will see action against all four Southeast Division opponents this year.

The sweater was unveiled and debuted during the 2008-09 season. It's now in its fifth season of use.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche will also wear their third jersey 7 times this season. Starting to see a pattern here? All 2013 occasions will take place at home.

• Mon., Feb. 4 — vs. Dallas Stars
• Wed., Feb. 20 — vs. St. Louis Blues
• Sun., Mar. 10 — vs. San Jose Sharks
• Sat., Mar. 16 — vs. Minnesota Wild
• Sat., Mar. 30 — vs. Nashville Predators
• Fri., Apr. 8 — vs. Calgary Flames
• Tues., Apr. 19 — vs. Edmonton Oilers

From Colorado's press release:

The Avalanche initially unveiled the third sweater to the public on Nov. 12, 2009 and wore it for the first time two nights later against the Vancouver Canucks.

The third jersey design is a collaboration of ideas from the Colorado Avalanche (including Kroenke Sports Enterprises Creative Imaging), the National Hockey League and Reebok.

The third jersey has a predominantly blue color scheme with a diagonal COLORADO type, laces at the neckline and stripes on the sleeves. Two rounds of sweater prototypes were tested and ran on ice before the final version was made.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets will also wear their third jersey 7 times this season — all home games at Nationwide Arena. Here are the actual dates, as released by the club.

• Sat., Feb. 2 — vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Sun., Feb. 10 — vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Tues., Feb. 26 — vs. Dallas Stars
• Thurs., Mar. 7 — vs. Vancouver Canucks
• Tues., Mar. 19 — vs. Nashville Predators
• Sun., Apr. 7 — vs. Minnesota Wild
• Fri., Apr. 12 — vs. St. Louis Blues

The Blue Jackets introduced their third jersey on Nov. 24, 2010. This is its third season in action.

Here's more from the team's website:

The phrase "We Fight, We March!," which appears on the interior of the jersey's collar, was first introduced during the 2008-09 season to describe the Blue Jackets’ first-ever march to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The expression continues to represent the team's intention each year to fight and march throughout the regular season and into the playoffs. Below "We Fight, We March!," 10 stars commemorate the introduction of the jersey in the club's 10th season.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild are breaking the mold, wearing their green third jersey a whopping 9 times during the 2013 season. All dates are home games.

• Sun., Jan. 20 — vs. Dallas Stars
• Wed., Jan. 30 — vs. Chicago Blackhawks
• Sat., Feb. 9 — vs. Nashville Predators
• Sun., Feb. 17 — vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Sat., Mar. 23 — vs. San Jose Sharks
• Sat., Mar. 30 — vs. Los Angeles Kings
• Tues., Apr. 9 — vs. Chicago Blackhawks
• Sun., Apr. 21 — vs. Calgary Flames
• Fri., Apr. 26 — vs. Edmonton Oilers

It's always great seeing the Wild wearing green and they'll be doing that a lot this season.

My search has only turned up third jersey schedules for these five teams. If you've come across any others, drop me a line and I'll keep adding on to this post.

Update on Wednesday · Jan 23 · 2013 | 6:01 PM PST by Chris

New York Rangers

According to their online beat writer, this season the New York Rangers will sport their third jerseys on home dates that take place on Sunday or against an Original Six opponent. Here's a look at those 9 games:

• Wed., Jan. 23 — vs. Boston Bruins
• Sat., Jan. 26 — vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Sun., Feb. 10 — vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
• Sun., Feb. 17 — vs. Washington Capitals
• Tues., Feb. 19 — vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Sun., Mar. 3 — vs. Buffalo Sabres
• Sun., Mar. 24 — vs. Washington Capitals
• Wed., Apr. 10 — vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Sun., Apr. 21 — vs. New Jersey Devils

The above dates are based on a tweet from Jim Cerny on Tuesday morning:

@JimCerny Yes, Heritage jerseys tomorrow and for all home Original 6 games and Sunday home games RT @BR19MG10: @JimCerny 3rd jerseys tomorrow?

The Rangers' home opener was this past Sunday, but they did not wear their alternate uniforms.

Thanks to @faz8218 for tipping me off on the Rangers' tweet. If you've spotted any other third jersey schedules I've overlooked, please let me know.

Update on Wednesday · Jan 23 · 2013 | 10:52 PM PST by Chris

Ottawa Senators

More third jersey schedules! The Ottawa Senators have announced 7 dates during the 2013 season when they'll sport their heritage jersey.

• Tues., Jan. 29 — vs. Washington Capitals
• Sat., Feb. 9 — vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Tues., Feb. 19 — vs. New York Islanders
• Sat., Mar. 23 — vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
• Sat., Mar. 30 — vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Tues., Apr. 16 — vs. Carolina Hurricanes
• Mon., Apr. 22 — vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

The black alternate sweater made its debut last season during the Sens' 20th anniversary celebration. It replaced the black "SENS" jersey that launched in 2008.

This uniform has the distinction of being the first in NHL history designed by a fan following an online campaign to have it adopted by the team. Obviously I like retelling that story. Congrats again to Jacob Barrette!

San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks will bring back the "BlackArmor" for another season, according to the team's executive VP of business operations, Malcolm Bordelon. He tweeted that the third jersey will be worn on Saturdays and Thursdays, leaving us with these 9 dates.

• Sat., Jan. 26 — vs. Colorado Avalanche
• Sun., Jan. 27 — vs. Vancouver Canucks*
• Thu., Jan. 31 — vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Sat., Feb. 2 — vs. Nashville Predators
• Sat., Feb. 9 — vs. Phoenix Coyotes
• Thu., Feb. 28 — vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Sat., Mar. 9 — vs. St. Louis Blues
• Thu., Mar. 14 — vs. Los Angeles Kings
• Thu., Mar. 28 — vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Sun., Apr. 7 — vs. Dallas Stars*
• Thu., Apr. 18 — vs. Minnesota Wild
• Sun., Apr. 21 — vs. Columbus Blue Jackets*

Here's that tweet from Bordelon:

@MMB52 Sharks will wear Black Jersey every Thurs & Sat game (except opening night ... Teal). Go Sharks!

Yeah, technically he said "every" Thursday and Saturday game, but I think it's safe to assume he meant to include "home game" in there since it's a dark jersey. Plus, if they wore it on the road, they'd go well past 9 dates and I can't imagine the NHL would be thrilled with that.

Thanks to @Puckguy14 for the tip on the schedule — and for being the guy to elicit it from Bordelon on Twitter. *UPDATE (1/26): After the Sharks hit the ice today in teal instead of black, Puckguy14 tweeted to say that the Sharks apparently changed the schedule to Thursdays and Sundays now.

Update on Monday · Jan 28 · 2013 | 6:22 PM PST by Chris

Phoenix Coyotes

The Coyotes are slated to sport their black alternate jerseys 6 times during the 2013 season — or so says the team's Senior Director of News Content. Dave Vest tweeted this morning that thirds would be worn tonight and for all other Monday home games this year.

• Mon., Jan. 28 — vs. Nashville Predators
• Mon., Feb. 4 — vs. Minnesota Wild
• Mon., Feb. 18 — vs. Calgary Flames
• Mon., Mar. 4 — vs. Anaheim Ducks
• Mon., Mar. 25 — vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Mon., Apr. 15 — vs. San Jose Sharks

Here's that tweet, by the way:

@davest4yotes #Coyotes will wear black sweaters tonight vs. Preds. They will wear black sweaters for ALL Monday home games, actually.

So far, this is the shortest of the third jersey schedules we've seen for this season.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals' white retro jersey will return late in this shortened season — but the home crowd won't get a chance to see it in person. Today, Washington announced 7 road dates for the throwback sweater. Here they are: 

• Sat., Mar. 16 — at Boston Bruins
• Tues., Mar. 19 — at Pittsburgh Penguins
• Thurs., Mar. 21 — at Winnipeg Jets
• Fri., Mar. 22 — at Winnipeg Jets
• Sun., Mar. 24 — at New York Rangers
• Thurs., Apr. 18 — at Ottawa Senators
• Sat., Apr. 20 — at Montreal Canadiens

Interesting how all of the third jersey dates are clumped together. Basically, the Caps have a 4-game road trip in late March where the regular white sweaters will simply be left at home.

By the way, that road trip begins in Pittsburgh so you can't help but wonder if there's a chance of a rematch between the 2011 Winter Classic jerseys. The Penguins haven't released a third jersey schedule that I'm aware of.

Since Washington is only planning to wear their white alternates for road games — where they'd be wearing white anyway — none of their visiting opponents have to worry about carrying an extra set of dark jerseys.

Update on Thursday · Feb 7 · 2013 | 10:20 AM PST by Chris

Anaheim Ducks

The third jersey schedule fun continues today with the Ducks. Anaheim will sport their black alternates for a third season, including 9 home dates (two of which have already passed).

Take a look:

• Fri., Jan. 25 — vs. Vancouver Canucks
• Sat., Feb. 2 — vs. Los Angeles Kings
• Fri., Mar. 1 — vs. Minnesota Wild
• Fri., Mar. 8 — vs. Calgary Flames
• Fri., Mar. 22 — vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Fri., Apr. 5 — vs. Dallas Stars
• Sun., Apr. 7 — vs. Los Angeles Kings
• Mon., Apr. 8 — vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Sat., Apr. 27 — vs. Phoenix Coyotes

For what it's worth, the first two games in the thirds turned out like this: The Ducks got creamed 5-0 by the Canucks and beat the Kings 7-4 the following week. Take from that what you will.

The Ducks' third jersey was launched in 2010.

Draft Day 2012 Disappoints

Over the last few years, jersey geeks like us have counted on the NHL Entry Draft to see the league's newest members sporting its newest looks. But after years of upheavel and change in team branding, I'm sorry to report that we're in for a bit of a lull in 2012.

That, of course, means the 2012 draft, held over the weekend in Pittsburgh, was kind of a disappointment in that regard. There really aren't any new sweaters coming this year apart from Winter Classic threads for Detroit and Toronto as well as rumors of a new alternate in Tampa.

Still, even if there weren't any teams debuting new sweaters, at least there were a couple new sweater patches that will be in use for the coming 2012-13 season.

On Friday, the jerseys handed to Lightning draftees featured the new 20th anniversary patch. It's a simplified version of the 20th anniversary logo that was officially unveiled at the team's draft party that night.

In addition to that, the 2013 NHL All-Star Game logo could be seen on the sweaters being donned by Columbus Blue Jackets picks. They're both nice looking patches. I don't think any other teams are planning special event patches for their uniforms this season.

It is odd that while the Lightning and Ottawa Senators both joined the league 1992, they chose to celebrate their 20th anniversaries a year apart. The Sens were marking the years while the Bolts are just counting the seasons played (we all know 2004-05 was canceled due to the international shock of Tampa Bay winning the Stanley Cup).

Depending on how the Florida Panthers and Anaheim Ducks interpret anniversaries, they could both be marking 20 years either this season or next, having both been founded in 1993. Kind of straying from the topic now. Back to the draft...

Really, the only other thing worth a mention (and that's only because there's nothing else to talk about) would be these three jerseys. The Ducks and Minnesota Wild both opted for third jerseys at this year's draft. It's nothing new for the Wild, but it was a first for Anaheim.

Also, it's the first time the new Winnipeg Jets jersey has appeared on the draft stage. Famously, you'll recall that Mark Scheifele was given a generic NHL jersey last year, only moments after team owner Mark Chipman announced the team's name. Jerseys had yet to be designed.

In past years, I've outlined which jerseys were handed out to draftees by the teams. This year, there's not much to say. All but four teams gave out their home jersey, keeping the draft nice and colorful. As reported above, Anaheim and Minnesota used third jerseys. That leaves Nashville and Colorado doling out the white road sweaters — also known as the uglier ones.

By the way, the next two draft hosts were announced as well. New Jersey will handle things in 2013 while Philadelphia gets it in 2014. Logos to come at a later date.

Hope this draft recap was as fun for you as it was for me.

Branding the 2012 Draft Parties

The 2012 NHL Entry Draft opens in Pittsburgh tomorrow. With that, a number of teams will be celebrating with their fans. I've never understood why teams feel the need to brand their draft day parties with special logos, but every year we always get a few.

Here are the ones I've tracked down for this weekend.

The Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders are all promoting their draft day events with specially-designed logos. I don't really have anything more to say about them, but the blog was getting a bit stale.

Update on Friday · Jun 22 · 2012 | 11:45 AM PDT by Chris

Looks like I nearly missed the Winnipeg Jets' draft party logo. Thanks @aoystreck.

NHL Unveils 2013 All-Star Game Logo

Outside Nationwide Arena today in Columbus, the NHL unveiled the 2013 All-Star Game logo in front of a surprisingly large crowd.

The logo is par for the course on NHL All-Star logos over the past decade. Nothing surprising. The designers honed in on a recognizable symbol (Ohio's state flag) and were sure to work in some other elements of the host team's identity.

The star and crossed hockey sticks were lifted off the Jackets' shoulder patch. Though technically the sticks are an emblem on a Union soldier's hat, but you get the picture. Plus you wouldn't want anyone in Columbus to see the logo and mistake it for another sport.

All right, I'm not trying to take potshots at the logo. It's a good logo. It's just not mind-blowingly impressive or anything. To quote a fittingly tired phrase, it is what it is.

A big crowd takes in the logo unveiling ceremonyEarlier, I expressed surprise at the size of the crowd, not because of the rotten seasons the Blue Jackets have been having (ergo, jaded fans), but rather because this was nothing more than an unveiling for a logo with a shelf-life of 275 days.

Goes to show that hockey fans in Columbus don't need a winning team to be great hockey fans! My fellow Lightning fans from the '90s and I know a thing or two about that. Granted, there probably weren't as many of us back then.

I didn't hear any mention of the All-Star uniforms today. If I had to guess, I'd say we get the same ones for a third year in a row — which would be a first since the mid-90s. Those teal and purple jerseys were used from 1994 to 1997.

I'm not saying it's necessarily bad thing that we'll get them again. I actually like them a lot. But it would be one less new NHL design to anticipate in 2012. But I assume Reebok spent a lot of time on those 2010 jerseys, so they want to get their money's worth.

If you missed the live-streamed unveiling today, you can watch the cannon fire here.

I'd love to know what everyone else thinks. Share your critiques in the comments.