NHL Unveils Classic Logos!

The NHL released its 2010-11 schedule today and, in a graphic posted to NHL.com (above), also unveiled some new event logos for the season. You can see the Ovechkin and Crosby staring deep into each other's eyes with only the 2011 Winter Classic logo between them on the top right. And bottom left, it's Mike Cammalleri facing off against Jarome Iginla on either side of the new 2011 Heritage Classic mark.

Also included in this graphic are the NHL Premiere logos for the games taking place in Helsinki, Prague and Stockholm to open the season. They're nothing more than carryovers from previous European Premiere events. You may also note that one block of the image features only a Carolina Hurricanes jersey, implying that the 2011 NHL All-Star Game logo isn't yet ready for public consumption.

But that's not the only thing I wanted to mention this afternoon. Friday is the NHL Entry Draft, but it's also a day for parties and jersey and logo unveilings.

Islanders to unveil new road jersey

Isles unveiling new sweaterThe New York Islanders will officially unveil their new road sweaters at a draft day party on Friday at 5:30 PM Eastern.

An ad appearing on their website (right) serves as a pre-order form for fans not wanting to wait for theirs. Season ticket holders get 15% off.

I don't think it's any secret that this new jersey will be a white version of their royal blue third jersey — which is expected to become the new home uniform this year.

All will be revealed Friday night. But wait, do you see that in the draft party ad? Is that a logo for the 2010 New York Islanders Draft Party? Join me in the next story...

Draft Party logos? Really?

Islanders 2010 draft party logoYes, it seems at least three teams have kept their graphic artists busy at season's end, designing official draft party logos.

As seen above, the Islanders are all about it. Maybe its intent is to carry over the excitement from last year's draft when they had the first overall pick and everyone went crazy over John Tavares. They're down to 5th this year. All I'm saying is I'm just not sure people are going to be buying their 2010 Draft Party t-shirts in droves or anything.

Rangers and Oilers draft party logosBut as I said, the Isles weren't alone in this. Both the New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers are also promoting their draft parties with special logos.

The Rangers came up with something very open and simple. The Oilers pretty much based theirs off of the NHL Entry Draft logo — at least the text part of it.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it and none of these teams made the playoffs, so it's not like the designers have had anything else to worry about since April, but I just found it a little strange.

Other teams hosting draft parties include the Blue Jackets, Predators, Thrashers, Sabres, Blues, Hurricanes, and Coyotes. And of course the Kings are hosting the biggest draft party of the year — the draft itself.

Anyway, that's not all that's going down on Friday...

Greenville to unveil newest ECHL team

The ECHL's newest member, based in Greenville, S.C. finally reveal all on Friday when they unveil the team's name, colors and logo!

The team accepted name submissions from fans but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. This team, formerly the Johnstown Chiefs, was relocated to South Carolina this summer and will begin play in the ECHL's 19-team 2010-11 season. They'll take on my Florida Everblades in their home opener on Oct. 21.

You can of course count on Icethetics for full coverage of the unveilings both on Long Island and in Greenville. So check back for all that late on Friday.

Classic Uniforms of the Future

We kicked off our week with the unveiling of the new Maple Leafs jersey, but there are still more big unveilings to come. Today I've put together a brief rundown.

Caps to unveil Winter Classic uniform

The Washington Capitals will unveil their 2011 Winter Classic uniform at the 2010 Capitals Convention on Oct. 2.

The announcement made on the Caps' website offers no details about the design of new sweaters, but traditionally teams look to past jerseys for inspiration at this event. The Capitals have two distinct design eras prior to the 2007-08 rebranding.

From 1974 to 1995, the Caps wore the red, white and blue they have today, but the logo and uniforms come straight out of the '70s — as you would expect. They are most noted for wearing white pants with their red jerseys early on in their inaugural season. In 1995, the Capitals adopted a darker blue and dropped the red in favor of bronze and black.

My bet is that both the Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, who are hosting the New Year's Day game at Heinz Field, will select something from the '70s or '80s for their outdoor game threads. But don't expect to see Washington wearing white pants. (As funny as it might be.)

Flames to don special Heritage sweater

Canada is finally getting its game back! By now, we all know there will be a second outdoor game during the 2010-11 season called the Heritage Classic. The Calgary Flames will host the Montreal Canadiens at McMahon Stadium on Feb. 20, 2011.

On Friday, Flames president Ken King said his team will be donning a special sweater for the big game. Details by way of the Calgary Herald:

A new jersey is a certainty.

“We’re going to have a very special heritage uniform,” King said. “We’re not going to tell you what it is, but I think people will really like it.

“It will be tied to the history of Calgary long before the Flames were here.”

Long before the Flames, you say? Interesting. Major league hockey was first played in Calgary in 1921 when the Calgary Tigers were formed. They won a few WCHL championships, including one in 1924 after which they challenged the very same Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup. And lost.

Fifty years later, in 1975, the WHA's Vancouver Blazers relocated to the Stampede City and became the Calgary Cowboys. They were significantly less successful than the Tigers and folded after just two seasons. Calgary developed a proclivity for taking other city's sloppy seconds (just a joke!) when the Atlanta Flames were relocated in 1980. So there's some interesting history there.

The 2011 Heritage Classic will be the first time Canada has hosted an outdoor NHL game since 2003 when the Edmonton Oilers challenged the Canadiens. (Is it just me or should the Flames be playing the Leafs in this one?)

King did not say when this jersey would be unveiled, but one would expect it to be well prior to February.

Update on Saturday · Jun 19 · 2010 | 9:32 PM PDT by Chris

One more thing I just came across. While no logos have been publicly unveiled for either outdoor game, there is a temporary logo being used on the Penguins and Capitals' websites to promote the 2011 Winter Classic.

It's by no means final artwork, but it does bear the traditional look with WINTER in a script type and CLASSIC in something a little more futuristic/gothic. Just wanted to throw that out there. I have no information on when logos for either the Winter Classic or Heritage Classic will be made public. But it shouldn't be long.