Loose Threads: Looking Over October

I admit it. I failed October. It's not fair to say there was no Icethetics-related news in the tenth month of 2011. It is fair to say I was too busy to write about it. When I wasn't at work I was on vacation or watching hockey games (best excuse for this crowd, probably) or otherwise preoccupied. It was good to have that little break, but it's time to get back and update everyone on what's been going on.

Pittsburgh to Host 2012 Entry Draft

In a press conference held on Oct. 27, the NHL announced the Pittsburgh Penguins and their new CONSOL Energy Center would host the 2012 NHL Entry Draft this summer. And more pertinent to Icethetics readers, the league unveiled the event logo as well.

The logo is sticking to the same format first introduced in 2010 in Los Angeles which was followed up by the 2011 draft in Minnesota. Same font design and overall layout with some tweaks to customize the mark for the host city in some way.

Seems like the only way the NHL has to indicate the city of Pittsburgh graphically is with its bridges. The 2011 Winter Classic logo featured a stylized version of the Fort Pitt Bridge. It appears the 2012 draft logo is depicting one of the Three Sisters, or at least the tower design they all share. (Pittsburghers, correct me if I'm wrong.) Of course the skyline makes an appearance here as well.

I believe next summer's draft will be held June 22-23. Pittsburgh last hosted the NHL Draft in 1997.

Team Canada Goes Retro Again

Team Canada alums Jeff Shantz, Martin Gelinas and Gord Sherven model the new third jersey

Canada's 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship team will be sporting throwback jerseys for at least one game when the tournament kicks off in a couple months. The alternate sweater is a refined version of one worn by the team between 1982 and 1994 and was unveiled on Oct. 25.

Here's the word from Hockey Canada:

The three maple leafs on the front of the jersey represent the three steps of the Program of Excellence, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year — the regional under-17 program, National Men’s Under-18 Team and National Junior Team.

In addition, the bottom trim includes a graphic that incorporates the logos from each of the 15 IIHF World Junior Championships that Canada has won since 1982, and the current Hockey Canada logo appears on each shoulder.

I especially like the detail in the bottom trim. Wish I had a better picture of that to share.

Canadians, do you approve?

ECHL Expands to Orlando

Now we go back south of the border. Way south. Back to my home state, which has just been approved for another ECHL franchise. Orlando — home to Disney World and, at one time, the IHL's Solar Bears — will join the minor pro hockey ranks once again.

On Tuesday, the league's Board of Governors approved the Orlando expansion giving Estero's Florida Everblades their first in-state rival since the Pensacola Ice Pilots went away a few years ago. The club will play home games starting next fall at the Amway Center, which they'll share with the NBA's Orlando Magic should they solve their differences by then.

The Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Louis Blues met for a preseason tilt at the Amway Center and I recall the Lightning broadcasters gushing about the building and how perfect it is for hockey.

At the moment, the new team doesn't have a name or logo, but their new website is decked out in Orlando Solar Bears colors. That team played their first season in 1995 and disappeared when the old International Hockey League did in 2001.

The Solar Bears had such a kooky name and logo. A polar bear wearing sunglasses? You can't beat that. Plus the color scheme seemed intent on irritating hockey traditionalists of every stripe — as if it weren't already bad enough they had to deal with hockey in Mickey Mouse land. And by the way, those colors had names like Solar Eclipse Black, Solar Purple and Sunset Orange. How can it not leave you with a silly grin? But it's certainly not the mid-90s anymore, so I'll expect something a bit tamer when the time comes.

Along with Orlando, you'll recall San Francisco will be entering the ECHL stage as well next fall. In September it was announced that the San Francisco Bulls will hit the ice for the 2012-13 season.

That's all I've got. If I've missed something, shoot me an email. (By the way, I know I said I'd get to Jacob Barrette's interview today, but I'm going to put that off until Friday in lieu of today's blog update.)

Update on Friday · Nov 4 · 2011 | 10:19 AM PDT by Chris

One more thing on the new ECHL club in Orlando. A reader named Justin pointed out in the comments that the domain solarbearshockey.com was bought by the new owners in September. More specifically, the buyer was The Bold Marketing Group, whose president is Bob Ohrablo, one of three partners in the group that owns the Orlando franchise. (For what it's worth, his bio says he previously worked with Howard Baldwin and the AHL's Connecticut Whale. So there's that.)

Yesterday I thought I'd follow up with a trademark search. And as luck would have it...

Filed on September 13, 2011, the ECHL now owns the Orlando Solar Bears trademark and logo. So maybe my wish to see the Solar Bears make a comeback wasn't so outlandish. Hey, they brought back the Trenton Titans. Granted, the Solar Bears haven't existed in 10 years, but I'm sure there are still plenty of fans that remember them fondly.

Unfortunately, I can't offer you a direct link to the page seen in the above screenshot, as that's not how the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) works. But a quick search will get you there.

The Big Bad Draft Recap of 2011

I can't remember the last time an NHL draft yielded so many new jerseys. Eight different teams used the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in St. Paul to showcase something new. So settle in, there's a lot to cover.

Oilers Go Full-On Retro

1 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 19 Oscar Klefborn, 62 Samu Perhonen, 92 Dillon Simpson

After 16 years, the Edmonton Oilers once again look like they did when they entered the NHL in 1979. The Oilers used the first overall pick in the draft to select Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as well as to unveil their new retro road sweater — which now matches their home uniform, with the colors reversed.

This is exactly what Edmonton fans wanted and I'm happy to see them get it. The jersey looks fantastic! On the team's website, Oilers president Patrick LaForge said, "We listened to our fans and know they will be happy to see the set complete with the new road vintage jersey." Truer words were never spoken.

The Oilers also announced that the previous road jersey is officially retired. And while they didn't say so specifically, it's likely the navy and copper third jersey will remain in use next season.

Seeing Red in South Florida

3 Jonathan Huberdeau, 64 Vincent Trocheck, 76 Logan Shaw, 87 Jonathan Racine

Earlier this month, the Florida Panthers launched their "We See Red" marketing campaign — an effort to return to the franchise's color roots. This weekend, it culminated with the reveal of their new red home sweater, which was given to each of their 2011 draft picks.

The Panthers didn't do an all-out redesign with this jersey, but more of a color swap. The sleeves are now blue, but there is no piping on — a refreshing change of pace from the old jersey. So that's a big plus. All in all, I think this is easily the best jersey in the Cats' arsenal at this point.

But that's not to say it's perfect. The elbow striping is an element of the Reebok Edge template that I just don't like. Maybe if it went all the way around the arm. I also think gold piping would've looked sharp and added contrast between the red and blue on the sleeves. But these are not dealbreakers.

I don't yet know about the fate of their other jerseys. I would assume the white road uniform will remain unchanged. They could use the old home jersey (the blue one) as a third jersey, but I think the blue alternate they already have is superior. So I'd bet the old home sweater is retired.

On Behalf of the Winnipeg Jets...

78 Brennan Serville, 7 Mark Scheifele, 119 Zachary Yuen, 157 Jason Kasdorf

The new Winnipeg franchise used the occasion to announce their new name — or should I say old name? The Winnipeg Jets are once again an NHL team. How about that. Unfortunately, while the team had a name ready to go, they couldn't say the same about a logo and jerseys.

Each of their draftees were given generic black jerseys with the NHL shield on the front. Rest assured, this will not be the uniform of the Jets come the fall. True North chairman Mark Chipman has said it may be a while before we see the new uniforms and logo.

Illegal Curve tweeted some details from Chipman yesterday. He said they wanted to have a prototype jersey ready for the draft, but were worried about knockoffs showing up before they were able to put official merchandise on sale. So production time is likely the reason we'll have to wait to see the new branding.

The team has also said that the colors "won't be completely different" from the old Jets. I take that to mean possibly a darker shade of blue and the addition of a third color such as silver. So another red and blue team, then. Fun. I may sound bitter, but at least the Thrashers and their too many colors were unique.

Earlier today, TSN's Darren Dreger tweeted, "I haven't seen the Winnipeg Jets new logo or sweater design, but I'm told it's very impressive." I'm sure it is. And I'm sure a lot of money is being spent to make sure of that. To be honest, I hope it doesn't leak so as to avoid the knockoff issues.

New Bolts Get New Blues 

148 Nikita Nesterov, 27 Vladislav Namestnikov, 178 Adam Wilcox

The Tampa Bay Lightning unveiled completely redesigned blue and white uniforms back in January. This weekend, they handed them out to their new draft picks in St. Paul.

There is one element of the jerseys that has changed since we last saw them at the January press conference. The numbers now feature an inner black outline after enough Bolts fans complained about the lack of black in the new threads. (I wasn't one of them.)

As much as I've praised these new sweaters, I was disappointed by one thing I noticed this weekend. Based on the previous pictures I've seen, I thought the blue was a lot lighter than it is. Turns out it's basically identical to the Maple Leafs' blue. Really not happy about that. Don't get me wrong, I'm still buying one, but I was hoping Stevie Y would do something to make us stand out.

Predators Decide to Simplify

38 Magnus Hellberg, 52 Miikka Salomaki

The Nashville Predators didn't have a pick in the first round this year due to the Mike Fisher trade, so we had to wait a day to see their new road jersey. As the NHL draft picked up with Round 2 this morning, the Preds gave the new sweater to their draftees, who became the first players to wear them.

While both new jerseys were sort of leaked on Thursday, we learned they weren't the final versions. Today we can play spot the differences. The biggest one (and only one that I could spot) would be the left shoulder which featured the word NASHVILLE in small text. On this version, it's only seen on the back of the collar. Everything else is basically how we first saw it.

Prior to the jersey leak, the new logos were officially unveiled, so I won't spend anymore time discussing them. I did want to note, however, that the new guitar pick logo is only used on the right shoulder of the road uniform. I suspect it will be the same on the gold home jersey.

Kings' Worst Kept Secret is Official

49 Christopher Gibson, 110 Michael Mersch

The Los Angeles Kings will have a new road uniform next season and their 2011 draft picks became the first to sport it for cameras today. (Like Nashville, they lacked a first round pick.) And for what it's worth, it was the worst kept secret of the year. We first saw this jersey way back in October!

Well a version of it, anyway. An Icethetics reader snapped a photo of what appeared to be prototype jerseys in Luc Robitaille's office at the Kings' practice facility before last season even started. To be fair, though, there's an L.A. pee wee team that's been wearing something similar for a while now.

They're nice. That's really all I can say. By dropping the purple from their palette, I think the Kings have done themselves a disservice. But the new jerseys aren't bad. But for the waist stripes, this new road sweater nearly matches the black and silver alternate the Kings have been wearing for a couple of years. It will become the new home jersey.

The old black and purple home sweater will become a third jersey and the old road sweater will be retired.

Isles, Sens Add Patches to Mark Special Occasions

5 Ryan Strome, 127 Brenden Kichton, 21 Stefan Noesen

The New York Islanders have created a new 40th anniversary shoulder patch while the Ottawa Senators will wear an All-Star Game patch for the 2011-12 season. The new add-ons were first spotted on the teams' first round draft picks on Friday night.

This is our first time seeing the Islanders' new 40th anniversary mark and I'm still waiting to get a better look. So far the above pictures are the best I've seen. The Isles entered the league in 1972 with the Atlanta Flames, but Calgary tends to only recognize the Calgary years with their anniversary logos.

Ottawa hosts the 2012 All-Star Game next season but the logo was first unveiled way back in September. The Senators are also celebrating their 20th anniversary, but it seems that logo will be trumped on the jersey this season. Perhaps they could change it after the All-Star break?

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If you've made it this far into this post, you're clearly the kind of person who will be interested in the following minutia. I'm talking about the breakdown of what jerseys were handed out by teams to their draftees.

• 21 teams gave colorful home jerseys to their draftees, 1 of which was seen for the first time (Florida).
• 7 teams gave white road jerseys to their draftees (Buffalo, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Nashville San Jose and Vancouver), 3 of which were unveiled at the same time (Edmonton, Los Angeles and Nashville).
• 6 teams gave jerseys that have never been used in a game before, one of which will never be used in a game (Winnipeg).
• And 1 team gave an alternate jersey to its draftee. And that would be Minnesota. Perhaps a privilege of being host of this year's festivities.

I hope that answers all of the jersey- and logo-related questions you had about this year's draft. If it doesn't ask in the comments and I'll do my best to answer.

6 Things To Watch For at the Draft

Currently, I'm tied to my desk at work with no access to the draft feeds on either Versus or TSN. So I'm going to have to follow along on Twitter and catch up later. But in between my bouts of productiveness, I've found a moment to update the blog.

Here are six things we're expected to see at the draft, which gets underway shortly:

1. Edmonton — The Oilers have the first and 19th overall picks. They haven't said so specifically, but I wouldn't rule out the possiblity of seeing their new road sweater on the backs of their newest players. It's widely expected they will launch a new white jersey to match the blue and orange home threads.
2. Florida — The Panthers pick third and will be using that occasion to unveil their new red home uniform. It's already out there on Twitter if you're dying to see it. I'll have pictures on the blog later tonight.
3. Winnipeg — The recently relocated club will reportedly announce the team's new name just prior to announcing its first ever draft pick, 7th overall. TSN and other sources are reporting that they will be the Jets. No big surprise there.
4. Los Angeles — The Kings would've had the 19th overall pick, but they handed it over to the Oilers. Still, the new white road jersey is making the rounds on the draft floor. See the Icethetics Twitter feed for a look at it.
5. Nashville — The Predators would've picked 21st if they hadn't traded it for Mike Fisher. Still, the team will apparently unveil its new road jersey at some point tonight. Yesterday, we got a look at prototypes that I'm told are pretty close to the final version.
6. Tampa Bay — The Lightning will pick 27th overall and should give the new blue jersey to their draftee. The Bolts' new threads were unveiled back in January but won't hit the ice until the fall.

Obviously, trades are still possible and Los Angeles and Nashville could back first round picks that way. Be sure to tune in to see what happens. A very exciting night ahead!

Kings Draft Night Surprise

Forbort gets throwback jerseyThe host of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft surprised jersey geeks tonight when the Los Angeles Kings gave a purple and gold throwback jersey to their first round draft pick.

It's been rumored for some time that the Kings will wear a throwback jersey during the 2010-11 season opener against the Vancouver Canucks, as the two teams celebrate the 40 years since their first meeting. It seems this is an indication from the team of such intentions.

Derek Forbort (right) was taken 15th overall earlier tonight as the Kings took up hosting duties at the Staples Center for the draft. After posing for a couple of pictures, Forbort was given the standard black/purple home jersey before he went off to do interviews.

While I was watching the draft tonight, I managed to grab a quick photo that I shared on Twitter. In case you missed it, click here. And if that's not enough, the Kings have posted a photo gallery from the draft featuring Forbort in the gold and purple threads.

Update on Friday · Jun 25 · 2010 | 11:14 PM PDT by Chris

Just thought of a few other noteworthy draft night items. Most teams handed their new draftee the standard dark home jersey. But some strayed from the pack.

Most notably, the Buffalo Sabres gave 23rd overall Mark Pysyk the royal blue third jersey, which has been long-rumored to be taking full-time duty beginning this fall. Was that a hint?

If not, perhaps the big draft board itself was. The "slug" was nowhere to be found. Only the retro logo was used up there. The current primary logo — "Buffaslug" — was on the big board last year in Montreal.

Brock Nelson gets Isles' new road jerseyIn addition to the Sabres, the Minnesota Wild and San Jose Sharks gave third jerseys to their draft picks. The Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets jerseys also featured their 10th anniversary patches. The Edmonton Oilers gave Taylor Hall the retro home jersey while the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche joined the New York Islanders in handing out road sweaters. For the Isles, it was the new sweater just unveiled at the team's Draft Party earlier in the night.

The Hurricanes, Stars, Bruins, Panthers, Coyotes, Canadiens, Ducks, Capitals, Blues, Red Wings, Penguins, Blackhawks, Rangers, Lightning and Thrashers gave regular home sweaters to their newest members. The Flames, Devils, Senators, Flyers, Maple Leafs and Canucks did not have first round picks this year.

Draft Day Checklist

It's NHL draft day and a handful of teams around the Hockeyverse have jerseys and logos to unveil at some point tonight. So what good would Icethetics be if it didn't offer you a checklist of what's coming?

So here's how the schedule shakes out:

• 5:30 PM - Doors open at the New York Islanders Draft Party, where John Tavares, Matt Moulson and Trevor Gillies will be on hand to officially unveil and model the team's new white road sweater. A raffle will give fans the chance to go home with these jerseys right off the guys' backs, complete with a fresh autograph. [details]
• 6:00 PM - The AHL's Charlotte Checkers are unveiling their new uniforms at a draft day party at Buffalo Wild Wings in Charlotte. It's widely expected they will adopt a uniform design similar to that of their new NHL affiliate, the Carolina Hurricanes. [details]
• 7:00 PM - Hockey Greenville will unveil the name of its new ECHL franchise, formerly known as the Johnstown Chiefs. An email sent to fans today doesn't specifically say whether colors or a logo will also be revealed, but it is expected. The event takes place at the Hyatt Regency Plaza in downtown Greenville. [details]

Did I miss anything? Drop me a line if so. Otherwise, these are the new logo and sweaters we're keeping an eye out for tonight.

Update on Friday · Jun 25 · 2010 | 4:08 PM PDT by Chris

It's just after 7 PM and we can check everything off of our Draft Day Checklist above.

Islanders unveil new road sweater

Islanders unveil new road sweaterThe New York Islanders unveiled their new road jersey at their Draft Party tonight.

As promised, last year's No. 1 overall pick John Tavares was on hand to model it alongside Matt Moulson and Trevor Gillies. A couple of photos were posted to the Islanders' Facebook page.

As expected, the new sweater is a white version of the blue jersey introduced two years ago as an alternate uniform. Both are throwbacks to sweaters worn by the Isles during the first 20 years of their existence — colors and all.

Charlotte Checkers unveil 3 jerseys

Checkers unveil new uniformsThe AHL's Charlotte Checkers have unveiled their new home, road and third uniforms along with a special alternate logo.

They did so at their NHL draft party tonight in Charlotte. And as predicted, the home and road jerseys are carbon copies of what their NHL affiliate Carolina Hurricanes wear.

There was a surprise, though, that came by way of the third jersey. The black sweater features a brand new logo, which combines elements of Checkers and Hurricanes identities — incorporating the Canes' red storm flag.

Checkers' new alternate logoThe jerseys and logo were revealed by way of the Checkers' Twitter account tonight. The team has planned an overhaul of its website in July. While it currently features relevant news, the design is a carryover from their recent years in the ECHL when their colors were blue and red.

And on a personal note, I have to say I'm impressed with the new logo. Yes, it may seem weird that a polar bear is carrying a tropical storm flag on a hockey stick, but I just think the mark itself looks great!

The integration is nice so long as the Checkers and Hurricanes remain affiliated. When/if that ends, the logo becomes obsolete since, again, it's a polar bear with a tropical storm flag.

Greenville welcomes Road Warriors

The Greenville Road Warriors was revealed as the long-awaited name of the newest member of the ECHL tonight.

The team's name colors and logo were unveiled in an announcement by owner Neil Smith to fans in Greenville at the big event and on the club's new website, greenvilleroadwarriors.com.

A press release on that new site explained the symbolism of the team's name and colors, as chosen by the fans among the more than 5,000 name-the-team entries:

The name pays tribute to Greenville-Spartanburg’s current day business and cultural presence, while the logo features an intimidating warrior ready for battle. With the highway behind him, the fearless fighter appears on the road to victory.

The area hosts an integral piece of the South’s growing automotive industry — BMW manufacturing, tire manufacturer Michelin and Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research all make enormous contributions to the local economy — as well as a large and supportive communities geared towards cycling and race car enthusiasts.

Additionally, the team’s blue, white and copper colors mirror items unique to South Carolina. The blue and white represent the colors in the South Carolina state flag, while the copper highlights are similar to the sunset found on the state’s license plate — and typically on the horizon.

It wouldn't have been my first choice, but I don't live in Greenville. And you know what? It's better than Grrrowl. Isn't it?