A Capital Idea: W.C. in D.C.

Caps vs Rangers, please!Think of Ovi in a beanie toque. (I'm a Floridian. We don't really wear them here.)

The New England Hockey Journal is spreading rumors that Washington, D.C. could be up next to host the Winter Classic.

An article posted February 20 cites the ever-eager anonymous source, who also claims the Pittsburgh Penguins could be back in outdoor action just four years after their first foray. Let me be the first to say I would be horribly disappointed by that.

I would love to see the Caps host a Winter Classic. Despite their placement in the Southeast Division, it gets plenty cold there. Americans bore witness to the fury of the D.C. winter when the government actually shut down for snow days. Plus, they deserve it, according to the Journal's Kirk Luedeke.

I can tell you that there were a lot of disappointed folks in the nation's capital last summer when it became known that the Bruins' opponent would be the Philadelphia Flyers, so this should soothe the hurt feelings a bit if/when it becomes official.

But I'm not wild about Sidney Crosby getting another parade. It's funny, my wife can't stand him. She's just barely a hockey fan and even she knows he's overhyped. (An incredibly talented player, obviously, I'm just not sure why he gets all the praise.) On the other hand, she can't get enough of watching Alex Ovechkin. And neither can I.

So assuming the rumors are true, who should Ovi and the Caps face on January 1, 2011? It simply must be the New York Rangers. How is it that the NHL's most famous franchise has been left out of the league's biggest event? And while Canada rings in 2011 with their own outdoor game in Calgary, let Americans bask in the flood of red, white and blue in our nation's capital. What could be more fitting?

And if it's names the NHL wants, forget Crosby. Consider Ovechkin and Semin going nose to nose with Gaborik and Lundqvist. An epic winter battle in another American ballpark, to be sure.

That's really all I have to say on the subject. I'm sure you guys all have opinions of your own and I'd love to hear them. Feel free to share them below.

Scott Walker #24But first, just before the Caps edged out my Bolts tonight, the boys from D.C. skated out in camouflage for warm-ups. You can see what new Cap Scott Walker thinks of it. It's written all over his face.

Actually, the best comment on these jerseys probably came from Tampa Tribune beat writer Erik Erlendsson, who tweeted this tonight:

Not what those jerseys are the #Caps are wearing tonight for warmups, but I'm getting dizzy tryiing to figure out what they are????

He followed up with a clarification from his Washington Post counterpart.

According to @TarikElBashir those are military jerseys and will be auctioned off to military charities; look more like hunting fatigues tho

The Blackhawks and Ducks did the same thing earlier this season, wearing exactly the same jerseys. Only the logos and numbers have been changed. Reebok's taking care of everybody.

By the way, I've got minor league jersey and logo news to come. So keep an eye out for that. Also... I might finally explain the cryptic messages that keep appearing on the blog and Twitter. Hmm...

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Icethetics makes old school new again. 3.8.10

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?

Devils Vintage Jerseys Revealed!

Devils 1980s jerseysHa! It worked! In my last post, I said don't count on seeing the New Jersey Devils' throwback sweaters until the night they wear them — March 17 — hoping to jinx it.

And it seems to have worked!

The Devils revealed their vintage red and green sweaters tonight on their official web site. They announced the sale of 82 player-worn practice jerseys from the 1980s — sample seen in the photo above.

Now before you go crazy about the iron-on crests, let me point out that these are not the jerseys the Devils will wear in March.

Devils throwback jersey (Glocally Newark)This is! (Sort of.)

Glocally Newark posted pictures tonight. Apparently, the Devils Den team store just received their shipment and they will go on sale tomorrow!

You'll notice this is NOT a Reebok Edge jersey. This is a genuine old school CCM sweater. Now, does that mean the item pictured is a replica or could it actually be an authentic?

Can't say yet. Unfortunately, Glocally Newark doesn't appear to have that information. However, they do have a lot more pictures and I would encourage you to have a look for yourself.

So keep in mind these are two unrelated items I've posted together here: 1) The Devils have announced player-worn practice jerseys from the 1980s are on sale now, and 2) Glocally Newark has pictures from the Devils Den store of the throwback jerseys that will also be on sale.

I'll post more details and information as they become available. Thanks to those of you who emailed in on this tonight!

Update on Friday · Feb 12 · 2010 | 8:31 AM PST by Chris

The Devils have posted a full photo gallery on their web site of the throwback jerseys.

Get Ready for Green!

Devils throwback promoThe New Jersey Devils are offering a little sneak peek at their throwback jersey night on their official web site.

In case you haven't heard, the Devils will be wearing their original red and green jerseys this St. Patrick's Day, March 17.

This ad — featuring a sneak peek at the green-injected sweater — just started showing up on their web site, promoting the "one night only" event when the Devils host the Pittsburgh Penguins. It links you to a page where you can purchase game tickets.

That's all we've got so far. I don't think we'll see the actual jerseys until the players step out onto the ice for that game. In the meantime, we already know what it's going to look like — it'll just be Reebok Edgeified.

Not sure if the jerseys will be available to purchase, but the Devils could use the money. They need to re-sign Ilya Kovalchuk this summer and the man's already turned down $100 million.

Thanks to Tom!

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Related: Devils announce plans to go green!