A Certain Kind of Crazy

Yesterday I posted a handful of notes relating to the recent rash of specialty sweaters both in the NHL and the minor leagues. I saved a couple for today because they're just a certain kind of crazy that deserve a post all their own.

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Tomas Kaberle #15This one, too, begins with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Earlier tonight, they joined couple of other NHL clubs who have paid tribute to the military with special camouflage warm-up jerseys in 2009-10.

Don't misunderstand, these teams always seem to have their hearts in the right place when they do these things, but I do think it's sometimes a bit nuts.

The Leafs offered a few more details regarding the reason for tonight's military-themed sweaters.

More than 360 Canadian Forces personnel attended the game at the invitation of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Gen. Walter Natynczyk officiated the ceremonial puck drop before the game, and was visited at centre ice by former Leafs goaltender Johnny Bower, who was in full military garb.

If you're interested in more pictures from the warm-ups and pre-game ceremonies, the team's web site is happy to oblige.

For the record, it appears, to me at least, that the Leafs were wearing the same Reebok-made camo jersey that the Blackhawks and Ducks wore earlier this season.

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Icehawks' Star Wars jerseyAlso tonight, the IHL's Port Huron Icehawks hit the ice wearing what I can only describe as a visual atrocity.

At least most teams are bringing awareness to an important cause or donating auction proceeds to a worthwhile charity. The Icehawks are just dressing up in Star Wars-themed jerseys for an evening!

All right, to be fair, these jerseys are being auctioned for charity — the Cherry Beach Council on Aging. And before you scoff, think of your grandmother.

Still, Star Wars Night? Really? TheForce.net — not kidding — posted a press release about the event, which included the following:

Star Wars jersey in actionThe Port Huron Icehawks are hosting their 3rd annual Star Wars Night on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at McMorran Arena. The players will be wearing specialty Star Wars jerseys to be auctioned off for charity. Proceeds benefit the Cherry Beach Council on Aging.

Bounty hunters from all over the galaxy will want this one-of-a-kind piece of Icehawks/Star Wars memorabilia! The action goes into hyperspeed as the Icehawks take on the Flint Generals at 7:30 p.m.

These extremely cool jerseys were designed by Great Lakes Garrison member Scott "Crow" Withers TK-1491.

Two things: 1) Playing fast and loose with the term "extremely cool," aren't we? 2) This is the third time they've done this?! It's true. A photo gallery, for those among you who would dare to boldly go where no... wait, that's not right.

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Finally, we end the night with the OHL's London Knights. These guys normally wear green and gold, but when it comes to raising cash for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, they're all about the blue and gold.

For those who can't read the text on the image, here's all of the information we have relating to the special jerseys.

On Saturday, February 6th, be part of the House of Blue in support of the Make A Wish Foundation of South Western Ontario, presented by The Brick.

Knights players will wear blue jerseys which will be up for auction following the game with all proceeds going to Make A Wish. Join the London Knights and wear Blue!!!

I'll keep an eye out for pictures of these special jerseys next weekend.

Thanks to Ryan for the Knights tip, Victor for sending along the Icehawks link and Shaun for drawing my attention to the Leafs' military night jerseys.

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.

Jersey News You Can Use

We're going to continue our run of weird minor league jersey news in just a minute — and trust me when I tell you this one's a doozy — but first I have a few NHL items to get to.

The Boston Bruins wore their Winter Classic jerseys yesterday afternoon (January 23) in front of the indoor home crowd as they faced the Ottawa Senators.

Bergeron #37 and Alfredsson #11Interestingly, going into that game the Bruins hadn't won a home game since the Winter Classic itself when Marco Sturm netted the overtime winner. Yesterday, the jersey did not, in fact, bring good luck and simply extended the Bs' losing streak.

Anyway, watching this game only cemented the notion in my head that these gold sweaters need to Boston's third next season. They look incredible — especially when compared with the current black alternates.

They have what may well be the best home/road jerseys in the NHL. To have such an awful third is just below them. Fingers crossed, Bruins fans!

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The Flyers also wore their Winter Classic jerseys in front of their fans in Philadelphia when they hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 6.

Schenn #2 and Hartnell #19They looked great as well but I think it's a foregone conclusion that these will be given regular use as the club's road jersey beginning next season. Hopefully then we'll get to see it without the Winter Classic patch.

It's strange they wore that patch for a normal regular season game but it may just have been to indicate to fans that this was a special sweater, and isn't yet ready for full-time use.

And if it is used on the road next year, I sincerely hope they fix the nameplate. It works on the orange ones, but not the white ones.

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As part of their 100th anniversary celebrations, which have been going on since the beginning of the 2008-09 season, the Montreal Canadiens are scheduled to wear historic jerseys every so often throughout the year.

According to a Special Events calendar handed out to fans at the beginning of this season, last night was a scheduled Centennial Jersey Game. The Habs should've worn their red 1910-11 jersey against the Rangers. But they did not! (I posted the schedule back in October.)

I'm a little confused as to why this change was made. I haven't read anything about it, but if there are any Habs fans out there who have, please fill us in. Meantime, we'll just have to keep an eye on them and see if they make up for missing this one.

For the record, I've got a few jersey galleries in the pipeline for the Habs' centennial sweaters. Expect to start seeing them this week.

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Now onto the minors. Two things.

What in the world is going on in Las Vegas?! The ECHL's Wranglers have become notorious for bizarre specialty jerseys and that streak will continue when they dress like — that's right — girl scouts!

Wranglers' girl scout jerseyAccording to the ECHL's web site, the Wranglers will wear these (right) Girl Scouts-themed sweaters on March 12 when they host the Bakersfield Condors.

Looks like they've earned their wrangling badge.

To be fair, there will be a silent auction and a portion of proceeds will benefit the local Girl Scouts organization. But isn't there some kind of line these men have crossed by agreeing to wear these to a professional hockey game?

Now normally I'd go into more detail with something like this, but Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy has already taken the liberty. He's got details from the Girl Scouts and even a television commercial about Girl Scout Night at Orleans Arena. But my favorite part is when Greg refers to the puck as a "thin mint." Do read it.

My thanks to Jeff for pointing this story out to us.

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And finally, Mark writes in regarding his hometown Albany River Rats of the AHL. There could be some drama here ripe for JerseyWatch 2010.

I'll let him tell you rather than trying to paraphrase.

While I have not seen anything online about this, word is that the Albany River Rats have been sold and will be moving to Carolina next season. Seeing as how I have never seen them over 50% capacity, I can see why.

So that's an interesting development. The River Rats have been in upstate New York for two decades. They were the Capital District Islanders from 1990 to 1993.

But here's the real deal as far as what's been reported by more legitimate media outlets. The News & Observer in Raleigh says that the River Rats currently have a four-year deal in place in Albany. It ends after this season. The report goes on to say the following:

Hurricanes management in the past has expressed a desire to have an AHL team closer to Raleigh and in North Carolina, if possible. 

Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said Thursday [January 21] that he would neither confirm nor deny that the move to Charlotte will be made.

Rats owner Walter Rabb has said he would be willing to sell the AHL team but only if the franchise remained in Albany. But it appears the franchise will be sold and moved to Charlotte.

If this happens, it'll be interesting to see what it means for the ECHL's Charlotte Checkers. Canes Country reports that Checkers owner Michael Kahn may well purchase the River Rats in order to bring them to Charlotte, but does not go on to say what would become of the ECHL franchise.

The Charlotte AHL team could be named the Checkers if that franchise is disbanded or sold. If you trust Wikipedia — and I don't know why anyone wouldn't (wink, wink) — another name being considered is the Charlotte Beach Rats.

Walleye Playing Dress-Up

Icethetics reader Ian writes in with some specialty jersey news relating to his home team. The ECHL's Toledo Walleye will be wearing tuxedos in action on Saturday!

Well, not exactly. Ian tells me it's Prom Night in Toledo so the team will be wearing special tux-themed jerseys for their game against the Elmira Jackals. The game-worn sweaters will then be auctioned off immediately following the game, benefiting the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

Toledo Walleye: Prom Night & Pink in the Rink Night jerseys

I'm assuming the Walleye logo will be on the shoulders of the tux jersey? But that's not all, as you can see. On March 5, they're breaking out the "light red" attire for Pink in the Rink Night.

The lucky fans in attendance at that game will get pink glow sticks. Also the ice will be painted pink and the pink-infused jerseys will be auctioned off with proceeds going to Komen for the Cure.  Pink, pink, pink.

If I remember, I'll try to track down some game action photos for both of these specialty sweaters.

Toledo Walleye: Pink jersey

Minor league teams are nothing if not charitable.

Update on Thursday · Jan 28 · 2010 | 10:05 AM PST by Chris

Adam Hobson #18Take a look at Walleye alternate captain Adam Hobson in his tux jersey on January 23. Perhaps fittingly, Toledo was beaten 8-2 by the Elmira Jackals while wearing these jerseys.

Via their web site, the Walleye confirm that the tuxedo jerseys were auctioned off following the game, benefiting the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of Northwest Ohio.

At least some good came out of these.

I've made a note to track down a photo or two of the Walleye's Pink in the Rink jersey when they wear it in March. It will be added as an update to this post.

Pink in the Rink

I've had a few days to recover from my awesome trip to Las Vegas last weekend. Wish I didn't have to come back. Ever. The sooner I can get out of Florida, the better.

In going through my email this week, I noticed a couple of notes regarding "pink in the rink" events going on throughout the hockey world. Traditionally, we see this most heavily in October, as that is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But maybe it's January in Canada? I don't know.

The ECHL's Victoria Salmon Kings and WHL's Lethbridge Hurricanes (and possibly others) will be wearing pink-infused jerseys in action tonight which will later be auctioned to support breast cancer research. Yay for good causes!

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Icethetics reader Stuart writes in about the Salmon Kings, providing a link to details of the jersey auction. The highest bidders will be winning the sweaters right off the players' backs — well in at least one case.

Salmon Kings' pink jersey

Only one live auction will take place tonight in Victoria. The winner of that will take goalie David Shantz's pink jersey.

Two silent auctions will kick off tonight at 6 PM (Pacific time) for jerseys being worn by Patrick Coulombe and Wes Goldie. Bidding closes when the second intermission ends and winners get their due right after the game.

Two online auctions, which began on Tuesday and end tomorrow, will see the winners cash in on sweaters worn by Olivier Latendresse and Jimmy Sharrow.

The team's web site is quick to point out that this is the first time in the team's six-year history that the players will skate in pink. Money raised from the event tonight goes to the B.C. Cancer Foundation. More photos are available by clicking here.

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But wait, there's more. The Lethbridge Hurricanes, a junior club in the Western Hockey League, are also doing a Pink in the Rink event for the first time this weekend.

Hurricanes' pink jerseyThe two-night event began last night and continues tonight. Fans can bid on the pink-infused sweaters in a silent auction. The jerseys will be distributed to the winners following tonight's game.

More details are available on the team's official web site.

Proceeds from the jerseys will support the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Along with the proceeds from the jersey auction, funds will also be raised through the intermission promotions and donations.

Also, in a player-driven initiative, a number of the Lethbridge Hurricanes have stepped forward and volunteered to have their heads shaven at the end of the second game to show their support and commitment to this cause.

The head-shaving thing is a nice touch.

My thanks to Joshua for providing the tip and the link to Canes broadcaster Pat Siedlecki's blog, from where I nabbed the above photo. Joshua also said he'd send along some pictures from tonight's game. If he does, I'll be sure post them right here. (Scroll down.)

Update on Saturday · Jan 16 · 2010 | 7:11 PM PST by Chris

Nearly missed this one. As Fraser52 points out in the comments, the Tampa Bay Lightning-affiliated Norfolk Admirals held their third annual Pink in the Rink night this evening. The AHL club played on a literal rink of pink tonight against the Adirondack Phantoms.

Admirals' pink rinkDetails are available on the team's web site.

Events leading up to and during the game include a breast cancer informational session, survivor participation during game night, "Hockey 101: A Clinic for Women" and a silent auction for player-autographed Tampa Bay Lightning items. Even the ice will be pink.

The "Hockey 101: A Clinic for Women" will be held starting at 6:15 p.m. Seating is based on a first-come, first-served basis.

Admirals' pink rink nightHere you can see Ryan Craig in action on the pink ice as the Ads faced the Phantoms.

I like the pink tape on the stick of the Phantoms' Stefan Regein. That was nice of him to participate in the night's cause.

If you're dying for more photos of the pink-tinted hockey rink, the Admirals posted a bunch more on their Facebook page from this morning's practice.

Any others I'm missing this weekend? Drop me a line.

Update on Sunday · Jan 17 · 2010 | 9:28 AM PST by Chris

Mitch Maxwell #6As promised, Joshua Schroeder of CanesCast has provided a ton of photos from the Lethbridge game via his Flickr account today.

This shot of Mitch Maxwell gives you a pretty good overall look at the uniform from pink tape on the socks and stick to pink laces on the skates.

And sure enough a bunch of players even got their heads shaved right there on the ice after being shut out 3-0 by the Calgary Hitmen. Joshua has pictures of that too.

He also tells me that $23,000 was raised for the Canadian Cancer Society this weekend. Go Hurricanes!