Is This the Best Winter Classic Leak Yet?

All right, I know a few days ago I posted a rendering of what I thought to be the Philadelphia Flyers' Winter Classic jersey — and it looks nothing like this. But if this one is a fake, it's the best I've ever seen.

Could this really be the Flyers' 2012 Winter Classic jersey?

A reader named Joshua Smith emailed in this morning with a link to an ebay posting. (In case that posting disappears, I've posted all the photos to our Facebook page.) At first glance, I assumed it was another knock-off based on a fan concept. However... There are some details of this jersey that have me convinced it's a legitmate Reebok product.

It doesn't appear to be based on any jersey the Flyers have previously worn. Perhaps that's why it's been so hard to predict. The tags... the stitching...  even the detail in the collar, which has become a new trend since the Blue Jckets did it on their third jersey. But when you get down to it, you just don't see this kind of quality on Chinese counterfeits. 

So I'm amending Monday's graphic to look like this:

And actually, the black numbers make a lot more sense now.

Islanders Launching New 3rd on 11/16

Leaked photo of Isles jerseyFinally, the announcement we've all been waiting months to hear. When will the New York Islanders unveil their new third jersey? The answer: in 8 days.

The answer came this morning in an online press release from the team, announcing the Islanders Winter-Wear Wonderland event being held Wed., Nov. 16 at the Nassau Coliseum's new team store.

As you know, this jersey has been one of the worst-kept secrets in all of hockey this year, especially since it's currently appearing in printed editions of the River City Sports catalogue. They're reponsible for the leaked image seen here (right).

But that wasn't the first time we saw it. Here's a quick rundown of how the Isles' third jersey story unfolded:

• Aug. 2010 — Isles director of retail operations reveals a new third jersey is in the pipeline.
• March 2011 — Isles blogger Chris Botta confirms a third jersey is still in the works.
• May — A fan with a friend at a sporting apparel store spills the beans, reporting the jersey will be black. I am highly skeptical.
• Aug. 4 — An ex-Isles designer posts a uniform mock-up to his Flickr account. It appears to be the new black alternate uniform. The image soon disappears from the account but lives on forever in cyberspace.
• Aug. 21 — Icethetics independently confirms details of the new look, including features changed from the ex-designer's mock-up (i.e.: white shoulders swapped for gray).
• Oct. 12 — The River City Sports product catalogue is distributed and features official photography of the unreleased Islanders' third jersey.

That brings us to today's announcement. And by the way, if these leaks weren't enough to convince you this jersey will, in fact, be black, why not let the Islanders hint at it for you?

Why else would Michael Grabner be decked out in black? If that's not a hint, I don't know what is. Perhaps it's just the Isles' new Winter-Wear collection? Perhaps not.

Islanders' 40th anniversary logoFurthermore, there's another point I don't think has been discussed here yet. This is the logo the New York Islanders are using to mark their 40th annivesary season (right).

The text in the circle that reads "celebrating 40 years of Islanders hockey" is set in a familiar font. It's the same font used in "Islanders" on the front of the leaked jersey. It's called Franchise.

The next question you probably have is this: since the leaks have been out for so long and the response as been less than favorable — and the team knows this — might they have changed the design between the leak and next week's release?

I think based on its appearance in the River City catalogue, that would be a clear no. Not to mention the fact that the Tampa Bay Lightning got an earful from fans over their new look, and despite wanting to make some alterations, said it was too late in the process to do so. That was February.

In other words, if the Bolts didn't have enough time between February and October to make changes, how could the Isles possibly have enough time between August and November? That's my take, anyway.

So has your opinion of this jersey changed since the first time you saw it? Because in eight days, it turns from Internet speculation into the real deal.

Isles 3rd Jersey Leaks Again

What's been called the worst hockey jersey design in history has become the NHL's worst kept secret of the year. And now there's another leak of the New York Islanders' forthcoming third jersey.

This time it's a photo I can actually post on the blog. According to Glen Cuthbert, who tweeted it tonight, it comes to us by way of River City Sports. Looks like a page from the retailer's catalog — and it probably shouldn't feature that unreleased jersey quite yet.

Over the summer, I posted a image that depicted the sweater's design. It was based on a photo from Reebok — the same photo seen on the catalog page above. I was not permitted to put that particular photo on the blog but I was able to provide my own graphic rendition of it.

It's believed the Islanders will officially unveil the jersey in late November. Every year since third jerseys came back, there has always been a team or two that holds out until Thanksgiving (US) or Black Friday for the big reveal — obviously hoping to capitalize on the Christmas season.

As for the design itself. It's been widely criticized primarily by Islanders fans. As you'd expect. It has black and grey in it. (Perhaps they're just using those colors to maintain balance in the universe since the Lightning dropped them.) It's very much untraditional and that tends not to sit well with Icethetics readers.

Now the opinion part — which you're highly likely to disagree with. So stop reading if you're not interested in an alternative perspective. Fair warning.

I like it. Not the jersey design, that's pretty hideous. But I like that a team like the Islanders is still willing to experiment with their uniforms even after all the trouble that's gotten them into in the past. Now that they've perfected their home and road uniforms, why not use the third jersey for which it was originally intended? Showcasing an alternate color.

If it doesn't catch on, so what? Try it for a year or two and surrender it to the pages of history. Wouldn't be the first time. Won't be the last. Yeah, maybe black was the wrong way to go, but maybe it's just bold enough to gain traction with the nontraditional fans and build up a struggling market. Or maybe I don't know anything at all. Wouldn't surprise me.

Clearly the Islanders are no longer interested in catering to the traditionalists. And good for them! They've done that for the past few years and it made everyone very happy. Myself included. Now why is it so wrong that they want to try something new? The world doesn't move forward without things trying new things.

So... I like it. A lot. I know this won't be a popular stance, but when have I ever spoken for the majority? But rather than going on, I'll just leave you with another look at the Isles' newest ugly sweater.

AHL: New Thirds for Bears, Stars

While I was away on vacation last week a couple of AHL teams unveiled new third jerseys.

The Hershey Bears announced they are bringing back another retro look as their new alternate sweater for the 2011-12 season. It will make its game debut on Saturday, Oct. 15 for the club's home opener as they host the Norfolk Admirals.

On Wednesday, the Bears tweeted a graphic that showed the design, though an actual photo of the jersey itself has yet to surface. It features the "skating bear" logo that's been seen on a number of sweaters throughout the club's long history.

The Bears previously wore a maroon version of this jersey as their alternate. Presumably they're switching to white to make it easier to wear at home. In the AHL, teams wear dark uniforms on the road, so if a club wants to don a dark alternate on their home ice, they need to work out logistics with the visitor in advance.

Lately, it seems whenever a new Reebok Edge jersey is introduced, the game we play is which NHL team's template is it based on? I'll give you a minute. If you came up with the Buffalo Sabres home/road jerseys, you got it. The colors may be different, but the design is the same.

AHL Stars' new jersey and logoThe Texas Stars are also introducing a new white third jersey this season. 

Like the Bears, the Stars unveiled their new sweater online on Wednesday. But just over a week earlier, they first showed the new alternate logo seen on the shoulder. It's a wordmark that reads TEXAS with a star replacing the X.

Though this week's press release doesn't mention a specific date for the new sweater's debut, it does reference tonight's home opener a number of times. I'll keep an eye out for game photos.

Now a couple of pull quotes. Here's what the team says about the new secondary logo:

The new design was developed in coordination with the Texas Stars marketing department and the official jersey provider, Reebok. The new design will feature a centered two-tone gold star as the ‘X’ in Texas and will be comprised of the team’s existing colors with the addition of a new dark gold. 

“We are excited to unveil the new secondary logo for the Texas Stars,” said Texas Stars President Rick McLaughlin. “The new design is important to our team’s branding and establishing a new way to identify us. The new design looks great and will help us stand out in the league.”

And the new jersey:

The alternate jerseys are primarily white and dark green, with gold accents. The Texas Stars primary logo serves as the jersey crest, while the Stars new alternate logo (unveiled earlier in the off-season) serves as the shoulder patch on the new jerseys. The nameplates will consist of dark green lettering on the backs of the jersey.

The numbers on the sleeves and the backs of the sweater will be dark green with gold trim. The Stars will wear black pants, black gloves and white helmets with their new alternate jerseys.

“We are excited to unveil the new alternate jersey for the Texas Stars,” said Texas Stars President Rick McLaughlin. “The new jersey is an important extension of our brand in central Texas, using a combination of our original logo and our new secondary logo. Fans will be able to identify us in a whole new way.”

This one uses the template of the Phoenix Coyotes' third jersey. It's not a bad look and I like that they're using their actual logo on the front of this one rather than the text they use on their home and road sweaters much like the Dallas Stars.

UPDATE (9:05 PM): The Stars did not debut their third jersey during tonight's 7-0 blowout of the Oklahoma City Barons. Guess we'll have to keep an eye on them over the coming weeks to get a glimpse of it in action. Their next home game is Friday, Oct. 14.

Any AHL fans reading? What do you think of these new thirds? 

Senators Unveil Heritage Third Jersey

Senators unveil Heritage third jersey / Senators

Today, the Ottawa Senators officially unveiled their new Heritage Jersey, their alternate sweater from here forward. The new look syncs up with the leaks that have trickled out this summer, as the team previously confirmed.

The uniform design is a clever mix between modern aesthetics and the classic sweaters worn by the original Ottawa Senators club a century ago. While those early uniforms had stripes from top to bottom, nowadays, we see that as a rather garish look. So it's been simplified to a black jersey with wide stripes of red and "vintage white" around the chest, sleeves, waist and socks.

Jacob Barrette, the fan who helped develop the jerseyIn the past, I've maligned the overuse of this "retro" shade of white — meant to evoke aging fabric — but in this instance, it works very well. And regarding the question of whether it actually is off white, let me quote the team: "The uniform features the club’s official colours of black red and white, with the heritage jersey using an antique white that reflects uniforms of the past."

Senators Heritage Jersey photo gallery

Possibly the best part about this whole uniform is that it was a fan's concept that got the ball rolling on it.

The Senators not only credit graphic designer Jacob Barrette with helping to develop the uniform, but even included him in their press releases. In paying attention to their fans this way, I think the franchise just made a bunch of new fans here among Icethetics readers.

And I'm one of them. Bravo!

Unlike Barrette's concept, which featured the 2D version of the Senators logo introduced in 2007, the shoulder patches of this jersey are modeled after the "World's Champions" patches that the old Sens would sport after winning one of their many Stanley Cups.

Each patch reads "Ottawa Senators," but while the one on the right shoulder is in English, the one on the left is in French. Would that make this the NHL's first bilingual uniform?

If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend watching the video the Sens produced. It goes into detail about the history of the original uniform and how this one was developed. There's even a shot of Icethetics in it!

They show the third jersey poll we held a couple years ago. (It pops up at the 1:35 mark if you're looking for it.) Unfortunately they've framed out the name of the site. Still, Icethetics gets its first reference on an NHL team's official website, so I'll take it.

Daniel AlfredssonOne last thing. The Sens also released a 13-game schedule for the Heritage Jersey. Several of the dates are quite different from the partial schedule I posted back in August.

• Thurs., Oct. 13 – vs. Colorado Avalanche
• Sun., Oct. 30 – vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Fri., Nov. 4 – vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Wed., Dec. 14 – vs. Boston Bruins
• Fri., Dec. 16 – vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
• Tues., Dec. 27 – vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Tues., Feb. 7 – vs. St. Louis Blues
• Sat., Feb. 11 – vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Fri., Mar. 2 – vs. Chicago Blackhawks
• Wed., Mar. 14 – at Montreal Canadiens
• Fri., Mar. 16 – vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Sat., Mar. 17 – vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

With four games on the schedule, it's the Habs who will face this jersey most often. They won't get to see the Sens' standard red at all, in fact. And the only time Ottawa will sport the Heritage look on the road will be in Montreal. So how about that.

Now that you've seen the new alternate uniform in full, has your opinion changed from the first leak of the design? I'm of the opinion this is the best sweater the Sens have ever worn. Am I on my own there?