Back to the Minors

It's once again times to revisit our friends in the minor leagues. They've always got unique jerseys for us.

Wranglers girl scout jerseysUp first, the ECHL's Las Vegas Wranglers spent last Friday dressed up as girl scouts. Remember that?

Now we get to see them in action and it's an absolute riot. I'm as fascinated as anyone by the special auctionable jerseys the minors have become known for, but sometimes I can't help but laugh.

This photo (right) comes from the Las Vegas Sun, which has a bunch more pictures, I know you're dying to see.

There's yet another on the Wranglers' official website along with a write-up of the game, which they won 5-4. How do the Condors feel about getting beaten by a bunch of girls?

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Mudbugs "go green" jerseysOne team I can always count on for a crazy specialty jersey is the Central Hockey League's Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs. And just this week they decided to "go green."

And by that I mean they wore jerseys depicting and open field and wind turbines. So let's waste resources by manufacturing yet another new hockey jersey. Makes sense. If they were smart, they would've worn jerseys made out of recycled plastic bags or something. (Now that I'd like to see!)

If you find yourself in need of a Mudbugs "go green" jersey, auction details can be found here. And for the record, the Mudbugs are actually a pretty good hockey team. They wore these jerseys on Sunday, winning 5-4, and again on Tuesday with a 5-1 win that catapulted them past the first round of the CHL playoffs.

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Monsters go pinkAnd lastly, the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters will hold Pink the Rink Night this evening.

As the graphic (right) says, the ice will be painted pink and the team will wear special pink jerseys to be auctioned off following the game.

I will try to track down photos after the game to share here in this post so check back tomorrow for that.

By the way, as I do my best to keep my thumb on the pulse of minor league hockey jerseys, I'm always looking for more. I know we've got a lot of readers in minor league towns, so feel free to drop me a line when your team is up to something.

Update on Friday · Mar 19 · 2010 | 10:06 PM PDT by Chris

Monsters wearing pinkAs promised, here's a look at the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters in pink tonight.

And there's more where that came from. The team has posted a handful of photos from tonight's game on Flickr for your enjoyment.

For what it's worth, the Monsters were not so successful in the pink. They lost to Hamilton 5-3. But to be fair, the Bulldogs are apparently the best in their conference.

Speaking of the AHL, the Hershey Bears wore special St. Patrick's Day jerseys tonight, according to commenter Phemknap.

Unfortunately, I'm having trouble finding a decent photo. Best one so far is on the game recap page on the Bears' website. The jersey's definitely green. And the Bears definitely won, 8-2 over the Albany River Rats — or soon-to-be Charlotte Checkers.

Update on Monday · Mar 22 · 2010 | 9:22 PM PDT by Chris

Green chocolateThe Hershey Bears have posted pictures on Facebook from their game on Saturday in which they wore special St. Patrick's Day-themed green jerseys.

Oh, but wait. Really study that picture because there's so much going on. I mean it's not just the green jersey, is it? No. That is one incredible mess.

Sure it's got four-leaf clovers on the sleeves and some crazy Irish-looking pattern around the bottom. But check out the knees and the rest of the socks.

Really, I'd rather just stop there and let you guys come up with some colorful commentary. In fact, I believe I will.

Only Real Men Wear Pink

Pink seems to be a popular subject around Icethetics these days. You guys have been a great help in tracking down photos of some unique minor league uniforms. The best and most common theme seems to be breast cancer awareness — in other words, an excuse for grown men to wear pink. That's what we've got today.

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Stingrays pink jerseyThe ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays held Pink in the Rink night back on February 20.

Icethetics reader Jeff forwarded along this photo (right) of the Stingrays' pink jersey. I know I chopped off the guy's head, but he's not as important as the jersey, right?

The Stingrays were successful in pink, beating the Toledo Walleye 6-0. And according to their website, there was a record crowd in attendance for the win.

If you're interested in more pictures, and I know you are, Facebook is the place to be. On the team's official page is a gallery showing the process of painting the ice pink. They've also got tons of fan photos from the game. Including this one:

Stingrays players thank the crowd for their pink support

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Jarret Lukin #40In the Central Hockey League, the Allen Americans wore pink just this past Friday — but failed to find the win.

They lost to the Mudbugs, who've been featured on Icethetics a lot recently for some outlandish specialty sweaters.

The Americans' website said the following with regard to the jerseys:

The players wore pink specialty jerseys as part of the "Pink in the Rink" night. The effort with Susan G. Komen for the Cure aims to raise awareness about breast cancer. The proceeds from the live jersey auction following tonight’s matchup benefited Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Anyone else notice that the pink socks don't quite match the pink jersey? Just saying.

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Jordan Evans #5The WHL's Swift Current Broncos refuse to be left out of the pink party. They wore theirs on February 19.

However, they got whacked by the Chilliwack Bruins 3-0. Notice the trend? A big win for the Stingrays, a big comeback (but in the end a loss) for the Americans. And a big loss for the Broncos.

I know this photo isn't the best quality, but it's what they have on their website. You can see more here.

Just look at those things. Obviously we've seen a lot of pink jerseys so we're getting pretty good at telling the good from the bad. This has to rank squarely in the bad. Pink ribbons on the socks!

But if you think that's bad, just wait until you see what's next.

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Pink ExpressThe Atlantic Junior Hockey League's Walpole Express may take the cake for pinkest pink jersey of all time — you know, if there were a cake available for such an accomplishment (for what it's worth, I'm sure it would be pink too).

Normally Icethetics doesn't cover much junior hockey outside of the Canadian Hockey League, but the Express sent me these photos directly and they were too good not to share.

The thing about these jerseys is their almost hot pink. I'm told by the team they were supposed to be a lighter pink, but a deadline snuck up on them and they got stuck with this color.

Anyway, that's not the most interesting thing about Walpole's Pink in the Rink event.

Refs wear pink too!This is.

Even the officials got i on the action, donning their own pink garb. I'm told the AJHL was in full support of the Express' pink event, which took place November 1, 2009. They raised over $6,000 for breast cancer research and $2,000 alone from the jersey auction.

So good for them!

As always, if you've come across any pink jerseys worth sharing, don't hesitate to send them along. Obviously everyone's really getting a kick out of this series.

Maybe some sort of poll is in our future to decide which team has the best use of pink in a hockey jersey. If nothing else, it would just be a laugh to see dozens of teams wearing pink.

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Icethetics returns to its roots. 3.8.10

Pink All Over the Rink & More

I know it's hard to care about anything but Olympic hockey right now, but there is minor league jersey news to catch everyone up on. So let's get started.

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Everblades wearing pinkMy current hometown team, the Florida Everblades held their Pink in the Rink event last night.

Shockingly, I couldn't find any decent photos from the team's website to share. So you'll have to settle for the best my iPhone can offer. Shot this (right) during warm-ups before the game.

A friend of mine said it looked like the Everblades accidentally washed their jerseys with a red sock. It was her first ECHL game.

Also interesting, though I wasn't able to get a picture, the Kalamazoo Wings were wearing blue jerseys with oversized McDonald's logos on them during the pre-game.

Any Michiganites out there that can shed a little light on this? Surprising to see a team go with a warm-up jersey like that on the road.

For the record, it was a great game. Blades battled to a 4-3 shootout victory. Unfortunately, I was not up on my ECHL rules and didn't realize their shootouts are five rounds, not three. Cheered a little prematurely when Colin Nicholson scored in Round 3 for the 2-1 advantage. Oops.

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Mudbugs wearing pinkIn the last minor league report, which was exactly a week ago, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs of the Central Hockey League were big news as they had two ridiculous specialty jerseys on deck.

They've worn both since then, including this Pink in the Rink night jersey, twice this week. It's probably the worst pink-infused jersey we've seen (and we've seen a lot) but the Mudbugs were able to pull out wins both nights.

If you're just dying to see what the back looks like, here's another photo. For the record, if it looks familiar, the Lightning wore that exact numbering and lettering style between 1995 and 2001. Just saying.

Mudbugs go Mardi Gras!The Mudbugs also wore specially-themed jerseys to ring in Mardi Gras last weekend. Just as terrible as expected. Here they've opted for the Predators' font for the numbers and nameplates.

And once again, if you just have to see more angles of this jersey, the Mudbugs are happy to provide photos.

As much as we mock them, it is fun to see the ridiculous things minor league teams will wear on the ice in honor of a good cause. By the way, bidding on those Mardi Gras jerseys ended earlier this evening. So sorry, but you can't have one.

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Hitmen wearing pinkSince we can't get enough of pink jerseys, the Calgary Hitmen have us covered. On Sunday, March 7 they'll go pink for Hockey Mums Fight Breast Cancer Night.

The cancer awareness promotion began in October and runs through next month. So if you are going to bid, I'd be ready to start high.

And for what it's worth, all the information you could possibly ever want about this event, including how to bid on these special sweaters, is just a simple click away.

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Cyclones celebrate RedsThe ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones celebrated their Salute to the Reds night back on December 5.

Icethetics reader Andy just sent in a photo (right) of what the jerseys looked like. Imagine if the Cincinnati Reds played hockey. Probably what they'd look like.

If you want a better look, there's also this picture of the Mark Voakes modeling the sweater — possibly just before getting his mug shot done.

I couldn't find a detailed write-up on the Cyclones' website so I don't really know what the deal was — whether the jersey were auctioned off and what charity benefited — can't say.

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And finally, Icethetics reader Chip writes in to let us know that the Edmonton Oilers are re-activating their dormant AHL franchise for the 2010-11 season, but this time in Oklahoma City. So that will be another new logo and set of uniforms to look forward to when JerseyWatch 2010 kicks off this summer.

Chip says he hopes the yet-to-be-named club will get the Blazers moniker that has existed in some form since the 1960s and, most recently, as a team in the Central Hockey League. Any thoughts on that?

The Minor League Report

It's been a busy week for me outside of Icethetics. So I have a bunch of minor league jersey news to get through this afternoon.

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Checkers and Canes join forcesOn Wednesday, it was officially announced that the AHL's Albany River Rats will be moving to North Carolina this fall, at the urging of their NHL affiliate, Carolina Hurricanes.

The club has been sold to Michael Kahn, owner of the ECHL's Charlotte Checkers. The River Rats will begin play in 2010-11 in Charlotte under the Checkers name, competing in the American Hockey League.

It's not clear what will happen to the ECHL franchise and its players. Capital District Sports CEO Garen Szablewski is efforting a team back to Albany for 2010 — hoping for an AHL franchise, using the River Rats name. I don't know the odds of that happening but it does appear there will be a couple dozen ECHLers without a team to play for when all this goes through.

Why is this Icethetics news? It will mean a new logo and jerseys in the AHL. No word yet on whether they're keeping the ECHL look, but it's a good one so they probably will.

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Glads dress as Knights on pink iceSpeaking of the Checkers, they're playing the ECHL's Gwinnett Gladiators this weekend, who are knocking out two promotions at once.

It's Pink in the Rink Weekend, where the ice has gotten a nice cotton candy-colored coating. And they're celebrating minor league hockey history in Georgia's capital by wearing black and powder blue throwback jerseys in honor of the old Atlanta Knights of the IHL.

Gladiators' Knights throwback jerseyAs you can see here, they've kept the logo pretty much the same, changing only the team name, obviously. If you want to see more pictures of this one-time jersey, check out the Gladiators on Facebook.

And for the record, the Knights hold a special place in my heart as they were the original minor league affiliate of my Tampa Bay Lightning. That team saw the likes of ex-Bolts such as Cory Cross, Stan Drulia, Shawn Chambers, Roman Hamrlik, and even Brent Gretzky.

They went to the playoffs all four years they spent in Atlanta and even won the Turner Cup as league champions in their second season of existence. Why that couldn't translate to wins for the big club is beyond me. But they moved to Quebec to become the Rafales in 1996 and folded after two seasons.

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I promise to be less verbose for these last two items.

Rebels specialty jerseyThe WHL's Red Deer Rebels will be wearing specially-designed jerseys on Friday, February 19 for Jerseys Off Our Backs Night.

You can see it modeled here in the photo (right) by the Rebels captain Colin Archer.

The proceeds from the jersey auction will benefit Ronald McDonald House Central Alberta. If you want to watch a brief video about the event, the Red Deer Advocate has you covered.

Fans will be able to bid on jerseys throughout the game. Winners will be led down to center ice to claim their sweaty prize following the game.

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And finally, the OHL's Sudbury Wolves held their Pink in the Rink event this week with great success. They raised over $30,000 for the Janis Foligno Foundation and breast cancer research.

The Wolves' web site claims this is a photo gallery, but I can't seem to make it work. If anyone else has any luck, let me know. In the meantime, there's this.

Specialty Sweaters in Excess

First, a big thanks to all the readers helping me out with all the specialty jersey news lately. You guys are great. That being said, there's a lot to cover today so I'll try to keep it brief.

On Tuesday, January 26 the Toronto Maple Leafs wore special throwback sweaters during warm-ups.

Leafs' throwback jerseyIn this photo, you see Francois Beauchemin, who usually wears #22, likely wearing Borje Salming's #21 sweater, as Icethetics reader Chris points out. Salming's sweater was honored (not retired) on October 4, 2006.

The following information was posted on the Leafs' web site:

As part of a pre-game tribute to better times, retired fan favourites Dave "Tiger" Williams, Lanny McDonald and Norm Ullman were invited to conduct the ceremonial opening face-off. Toronto players had worn throwback uniforms from the 1970s in their pre-game warm-up.

A reader named Michael, a Rangers fan, asked if this could be a sign of things to come. While obviously I can't say for certain, I do know I like it better than their current home jersey. But maybe they could use a dark third as well?

But don't get your hopes up. Don't forget, these were only worn during warm-ups, not even for an actual game. But it is still nice to see them every now and then. There are a couple more pictures in this Leafs' photo gallery.

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In less-awesome jersey news, the San Jose Sharks are auctioning off special edition Valentine's Day jerseys through the Sharks Foundation.

Sharks' Valentine's jerseysThey're white practice jerseys, autographed by the players, featuring names in red and small red hearts on the jersey numbers on the back. In fact, this photo to the right depicts very clearly what they look like.

Fans can bid on them in a silent auction format. The first half will be available during tonight's game and the other half go up on Tuesday night.

If you're a collector or just a fan who wants more details, click here. Of course this isn't the first or last time the Sharks Foundation will hold a special edition jersey auction. Details here.

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Now we move into the minors where all the real fun starts.

My local team, the ECHL's Florida Everblades, will hold their Pink in the Rink Night on Saturday, February 20.

Everblades' Pink in the Rink NightPlayers will wear these pink-infused jerseys when they take on the Kalamazoo Wings. The jerseys will then be auctioned off immediately following the game.

Icethetics reader Ian writes in to point out a neat element of the jersey's design. Normally, interlocking alligator teeth make up the middle stripe at the bottom of the sweater. For this special edition breast cancer awareness jersey, alternating pink ribbons give the same effect.

Having said that, if you enlarge the image, you'll notice that the right sleeve reads "2009 Pink in the Rink." Presumably, this is the jersey design used last season, or meant for use before January 1.

I imagine the jerseys worn next month will feature the updated year. I'll also try to grab some game action photos to share.

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Another ECHL club, the Johnstown Chiefs, announced plans on Wednesday to wear special jerseys for their Pink in the Rink Night event on January 29.

Credit: The Tribune-DemocratThey did so to the tune of a 5-2 defeat last night at the hands of the Charlotte Checkers.

The Chiefs have been holding their annual Pink in the Rink night since the 2007-08 season, and as always the jerseys were auctioned off after the game. This year's event will benefit the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center.

Chiefs' pink jerseyHere's a better look at the special edition sweater. It's basically a Boston Bruins home jersey with gold swapped out for pink. 

The wordmark is a nice touch, with the attached pink ribbon.

That wraps things up for now. There's a lot of other minor league jersey news that I'll be getting to later on. So check back soon for that.