Early Cats Concept Art

Panthers unveil Den of HonorThis past weekend, the Florida Panthers unveiled their Den of Honor, a tribute to the brief but colorful history of hockey in South Florida.

Among the many exhibits at the BankAtlantic Center is a display that showcases some of the team's early logo concepts — of obvious interest to Icethetics readers.

Some early Panthers conceptsIt features two framed canvases with over a dozen different sketches of potential logos, designed back in the early '90s. 

These images come from a video about the unveiling of the Den of Honor, posted on the Panthers' website Saturday. Click here to watch it.

One of the most unfortunate sketches appears to be that of a panther stretching in a downward position, head on the ground and hind quarters way up in in the air. The witless puns almost write themselves.

More Cats concepts on displayThankfully, based on the majority of the concepts, it seems clear that management was in favor of a leaping panther. The only question dealt with the positioning of the paws.

Take a look at the sketch in the center of this image (right), the differently-positioned paws may be more anatomically realistic, but leave the logo feeling a bit unbalanced. And anatomical realism has no place in sports logos anyway.

See the small logo just above that one? It's nice to see they avoided the temptation to go with the three-quarter view — unlike some teams (Ottawa).

Personally, I think the Panthers have one of the coolest hockey logos despite its intricacies. And after 17 years it's neat to see the team finally showing us what could have been.

Just call it a third already

Bruins don classicsThe Boston Bruins broke out the Winter Classic threads for the fourth time this season on Sunday.

The Bruins donned their specially-designed duds before the home crowd, beating the New York Rangers 2-1 in their first indoor win while wearing gold.

At this point, they just need to call it the third jersey — officially. After all, the current black thirds could use replacing. The Bs arguably have the best home and road sweaters in the NHL along with the worst alternate.

Whether it returns this fall for the 2010-11 campaign remains to be seen, but it might be a safe bet that we'll see it again before this season is out. All the previous occurrences of the jersey were weekend matinee games.

Of course, the Fenway Park game was an afternoon match. The Bs wore the golds next on Saturday, Jan. 23 for a 1:00 PM start against Ottawa and again on Saturday, Feb. 6 for another 1:00 PM start against the Canucks. Yesterday's game against the Rangers started at 12:30 PM.

The Bruins now have two more afternoon home games left on the schedule. The first is Mar. 27 against the Flames and the other is Apr. 10 against the Hurricanes. Could it show up again at one or both of these games?

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.

Rock Your Green!

Splash graphic on Devils website featuring red-green jersey

Devils break in the greenIt's St. Patrick's Day and that means wear green or get pinched.

The New Jersey Devils will certainly not get pinched tonight, as they'll be wearing replicas of the red and green uniforms not seen in NHL action since 1992.

And they've been teasing us with photos in the weeks leading up to tonight. Just yesterday, the players broke in some of their their throwback gear during practice, including red helmets, special socks and green pant shells. The Devils posted photos on their website.

The Devs have also revamped their website with a bunch of green — I'm guessing for today only. But it features a picture of Martin Brodeur as a rookie in 1991! Here's a look at the background image, in case it disappears before you get a chance to see it.

Devils limited time green-infused website

By the way, he'll be wearing a helmet with that same design tonight. Definitely a game you won't want to miss. Makes me glad to have a subscription to NHL GameCenter.

Preds, Thrash Warm Up to Green

Preds don the greenThe Nashville Predators took the ice for warm-ups prior to last night's game against the Flyers in their green threads.

Couple of things to note about these jerseys. First, it's not a typical shade of green — which is cool. It's almost a really dark teal, a little bluer than the Sharks' teal.

But more importantly, check out the crest. It's the logo from the third jersey. Does this signal a shift in the Predators' primary logo?

You'll remember back in December that Howard Berger said the Preds would be making a "significant alteration" to their uniforms next season. Will the thirds get the full-time treatment so soon? Will the gold and orange disappear for good? Am I reading too much into a warm-up jersey?

Green for Atlanta too!The Atlanta Thrashers also wore green during their pre-game skate last night. Here (right) you see Maxim Afinogenov in the special jersey.

The sweaters were subsequently autographed and auctioned off during the game, resulting in $16,000 for the Thrashers Foundation.

Naturally, the jerseys worn by Chris Chelios and Evander Kane nabbed the highest dollar figures at $1,200 a piece.

Perhaps taking advantage of the Irish's luck, both the Predators and Thrashers walked away with wins last night after donning the green.

Update on Friday · Mar 19 · 2010 | 9:40 AM PDT by Chris

Devils throwback jersey in actionThe Devils' green-infused throwback jerseys were a big hit the other night. It's always cool to seeing the past come back to life on the hockey rink.

Devils specialty jersey gallery

In fact, the Devils weren't the only team rocking the vintage threads this season. The Calgary Flames also wore their '80s sweaters five times against Canadian rivals. 

And the team just announced that these jerseys are coming back another dozen or so times in 2010-11 as a third jersey. The Devils are probably happy to keep this a one-time deal, but imagine if they went a little further. That got me thinking...

Devils vs Flames, 1984This photo was taken in 1984 and the 1991-92 season was the last time we would see those jerseys on the ice together. Now, 20 years later, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that we could actually see it again.

Maybe at some point teams like this will see that the 1980s was the pinnacle decade for the hockey sweater. They were bright, colorful and easily identifiable.

Today almost every team wears some shade of blue, red or black. How original and diverse. I know it's all about the money grab with these jerseys, but I'm all for it if it means the NHL looks like it should again.

It's great to see hockey jersey designs trending back toward the classics these days. Anyone else agree?

Prepare the Cannon!

BlueJacketsXtra, the Columbus Dispatch's NHL hockey blog, broke more third jersey news over the weekend. 

Turns out the Columbus Blue Jackets' 2010-11 alternate sweater will have yet another new crest, with the primary element being a cannon — a mainstay of Blue Jackets concept art here on Icethetics for a while.

Typical of Civil War imagery, it's not surprising to see Columbus work a cannon into their identity as they celebrate a decade of mediocrity with the sixth sweater in franchise history.

Here's what beat writer Aaron Portzline had to say on the matter:

NHL sources tell The Dispatch the Blue Jackets' new third sweater, to debut next season, will feature a cannon as the central part of the main logo.

It's unknown what the base color of the sweater will be, but it's unlikely to be red or silver for fear of looking too much like Ohio State.

Whenever the Blue Jackets tinker with their sweaters, fans should be compelled to raise a toast to former team president and general manager Doug MacLean. If not for MacLean, the main logo when the Blue Jackets took the ice in 2000 would have been Stinger.

First, I think it's unlikely the jersey will be red or silver simply because the team is called the Blue Jackets. It would be like the Red Wings wearing green jerseys. It would hurt my brain. Personally, I always liked the blue-black-red combo on the old third jersey from 2003. Maybe they go back to something like that?

Second, that's cool about Doug MacLean keeping the bug off the front of the jerseys. Somehow that little tidbit escaped my radar all these years. It's like how Mike Keenan kept that awful Blues jersey from ever seeing the light of day.

Who's on board with forming the Icethetics Hall of Fame? We honor those who have made hockey look better. Keenan and MacLean should be the first inductees for taking preventive measures to protect us against ugly jerseys.

Anyway, here's a cannon logo for you. Think Keenan or MacLean would let that fly? (Out the window, maybe. Zing!)

A Whopper of a Jersey

Wayne Gretzky #99Speaking of bad hockey uniforms...

One guy who will never get into the Icethetics Hall of Fame is Sam McMaster — the GM of the Kings in 1995 who approved this atrocity, then proceeded to let Wayne Gretzky actually wear it in NHL games.

Over the weekend, it seems a group of dedicated Los Angeles Kings fans held Burger King Appreciation Day — a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the 15-year-old third jerseys.

And if you don't believe me, The Royal Half and Life in Hockeywood have incredible write-ups on it as well as incredible photos of fans swarming in these sweaters.

Some really dedicated Kings fans (Life in Hockeywood)

Such brave souls.

A Hell of a Jersey

Devils' throwback uniformDon't forget, the New Jersey Devils will finally break out their red and green throwback jerseys on Wednesday night.

The one-time-only vintage sweaters, designed in the Reebok Edge style unlike the Flames' throwbacks from this season, will hit the ice on St. Patrick's Day when the Devils take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins — and then probably go back into hiding for another 20 years.

The Devils have a few photo galleries on their website showcasing the green-infused jerseys, including one just posted today. It shows jerseys belonging to Martin Brodeur and Zach Parise. Notice there's no black to be found — just like in the old days.

Brodeur's throwback maskI think the coolest thing is Marty Brodeur's throwback helmet — painted to match the original mask he wore as a rookie in the early 1990s before the black and red one that would later become an NHL icon.

And there's also this small gallery in which you can see Parise's helmet and some more angles of the jersey.

I'll try to have this Devils jersey gallery up right away this week. I know I've been slacking off in that area, but I really wanted to spend the time getting the new NHLToL going. And yes, I will be finishing up the Olympic jersey galleries in the near future.

Flames Bringing Vintage Back

Olli Jokinen #21The Calgary Flames have officially stated their third jersey intentions for the 2010-11 campaign. And it's all about bringing retro back.

The Flames made the announcement via Facebook today. Here's an excerpt:

The Calgary Flames announced today their third jersey for the 2010-2011 season will be the Flames Vintage jersey. In celebration of the Flames 30th Anniversary season this vintage jersey was worn five times in games versus the other five Canadian teams.

The new third jersey for the 2010-2011 season will feature Vintage jersey striping and colours on the new innovative fabrics and cut that was introduced by Reebok for the 2007-2008 season. The Edge Uniform System was introduced to better complement today’s game and to help improve player performance.

The third jersey will be worn up to 15 games next season.

The release also mentioned that tonight was the final time the Flames would wear the vintage jersey this season. After the game, the jerseys were handed out to a couple dozen lucky fans, selected at random.

So, what's changing? The biggest thing is that it will be a Reebok Edge jersey next season. It wasn't for the five games in which it was worn this season. Also, Olli Jokinen won't be wearing it, it's probably safe to say. But most importantly, Flames and throwback jersey fans alike will get to see more of it!

Now if only they could put that flaming "A" on the front, that would really take us back.

The Flames have also posted an article on their website about the third jersey. It has no new information. However, there is this cool locker room photo.

Calgary Flames vintage locker room

The only thing disappointing about this announcement is we won't be anticipating a big unveiling of a fresh new jersey design. In fact, it flies in the face of what Flames president and CEO Ken King said some time ago. That being they were in the process of designing a black third jersey with a brand new logo.

He said it would've been "a different look" for the Flames, and I always think that's cool to see. But it looks like they'll be putting that off for a while. Maybe we'll get a look at some of the prototypes one day. Fingers crossed.

Coyotes Go Green for Charity

I'm glad that news came today, otherwise this next bit of info would've been by itself at the top of Icethetics for a while. And that would have been sad.

Coyotes go green!The Phoenix Coyotes will be auctioning off another set of special edition, autographed practice jerseys — this time to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

I know I mocked them the last time they did something like this, and it didn't go over well. But this time I'm keeping my mouth shut. Is it silly? Yes. Is it for a good cause? Yes. Let it be.

Here's what the Yotes say about the auction:

Each Coyotes player has autographed a one-of-a-kind St. Patrick’s Day jersey with his name and number on the back. The jerseys will be available for bidding beginning at 9 AM Thursday, March 11. The auction will close at 10 PM on Tuesday, March 23.

Proceeds from the auction will benefit Coyotes Charities, which is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life throughout Arizona communities by supporting non-profit organizations that promote healthcare, education, cultural arts and sports-related programs for children.

Also take note of the number on the front in a little four-leaf clover, leaving no stone unturned for the leprechaun coyote (he's even gold!).

Bryzgalov's leprechaun jerseyNow I can't let you go without seeing the back of these bad boys. It's got the little leprechaun hat and everything.

The good news for Bryz and his teammates is that they won't actually have to wear these in public. They're simply being customized, autographed, and sold to the highest bidder.

And if you want a shot at being one of those bidders, you can find all you need to know at auction.nhl.com. They even have a Sean Burke #1 "alumni jersey" on offer. Interesting.

All right, that about wraps it up, but I do have one more link for you. If you'd like to see the full jersey design, MVPToday.com has you covered. Though beware their green is not quite the green seen in these photos.

Thanks to Dan for letting us know about this.