Flyers Unveil Winter Classic Jersey

Modeling the new sweater / Schuyler BaehmanAfter a long wait, the Philadelphia Flyers finally unveiled their 2012 Winter Classic sweater. And interestingly enough, it lived up to the leaks.

The new sweater has no place in Flyers history, but then neither did the Bruins' or Penguins' second outdoor game uniforms. Though unlike those teams, this one isn't even based on anything in the team's 44-year history.

And to explain a little about why that's the case and what inspired them, here's a what the team has to say:

Designed by Reebok, the jersey’s primary color is the team’s current recognizable orange with secondary colors black and a vintage off white.

The Flyers primary front crest and player numbers are executed in rich felt black and vintage white appliqué. The player name and number name bar is a contrasting off-white color on the core orange jersey body.  This is a design element unique to the Flyers current and past uniforms.

The shape of the jersey consists of a new silhouette and striping pattern that has never been worn by the team in its history. The heritage striping is inspired from a sock design worn by the Flyers in the late 1980's. A very strong retro inspired neck lace closure will ground this jersey’s place in NHL Winter Classic uniform history. 

So, striping from a sock design, eh? All right. Can't say that's not getting creative.

Flyers Winter Classic jersey unveiling — photo gallery

I like the black shoulders. It's an element that's never been part of a Flyers uniform and I've always thought it should be. It's a good look. Overall, I'm a fan of the design. You've heard me bemoan the "vintage white" to no end (and I still don't like it here) so there's no need to go on about that.

But that's just my take. What about yours?

Update on Tuesday · Nov 22 · 2011 | 1:13 PM PST by Chris

Here's another, more complete look at the Flyers' full Winter Classic uniform.

The photo of the back comes from the Flyers' official website. The shot on the right of the full uniform on display at the arena comes from @kevind182 on Twitter.

Flyers Revealing New Sweater 11/21

The wait is almost over for the official unveiling of the Philadelphia Flyers' 2012 Winter Classic jersey. According to the NHL, it's happening in just three days.

On Monday, Nov. 21 at 11:30 AM ET, last week's leak will either be proven right or wrong. (But I'm pretty sure it'll be right.) The uniforms will be modeled by players at Citizens Bank Park, home of the outdoor game on Jan. 2, 2012.

Personally, I'm steadfastly standing by this design, which surfaced last Thursday:

We're still waiting on something solid from the Flyer's Winter Classic opponent, the New York Rangers. It doesn't seem like they'll be ready to unveil in time for the Black Friday shopping rush. However, earlier rumors are still holding up, based on T-shirt designs available in the NHL's online store.

Winter Classic T-shirts on sale look a lot like the leaks / shop.nhl.com

Some people refer to these types of tees as "shirseys" — as in a shirt that's meant to resemble a jersey. It doesn't have any of the striping, so it's nothing definitive, but so far the Flyers leaks have been a match.

I wouldn't think the Rangers would wait until game day to unveil the jersey as they'll want to get the word out so fans can buy them before the Winter Classic. But we'll keep waiting. This is actually the longest we've had to wait. In the past, Winter Classic jerseys have been unveiled over the summer at the press announcement, or before the first week of the hockey season.

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.

Share Your Winter Classic Theories

The 2012 NHL Winter Classic is now just 56 days away and we still haven't seen the official jerseys yet. It's a little surprising, but rumor has it we'll see them before this month is out. In that spirit, I thought I'd share what details I've been able to cobble together from rumors and speculation over the last few months.

Regular readers know I don't like to base posts off of speculation, but I have a lot of reason to believe these are very close to what we'll see when the jerseys are officially released.

Rumored Winter Classic 2012 jersey, New York Rangers / icethetics.info

Rumored Winter Classic 2012 jersey, Philadelphia Flyers / icethetics.info

Again, understand these are based on what I believe to be true. Feel free to tell me how wrong I am. Share your thoughts, opinions and relevant links in the comments.

NHL to Announce 2012 Winter Classic

On Monday, Sept. 26 the NHL will make a major announcement from a ballpark in Philly. Why are they beating around the bush? It's the worst-kept secret in hockey.

The league will announce that Citizens Bank Park will play host to the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers for the NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2, 2012. I think this may be the longest we've had to wait for official word on the annual outdoor game. The press conference usually happens during the summer.

Before I go on, credit where it's due. The Philadelphia sports blog Crossing Broad seems to have been the first with details, such as the confirmation of the new Winter Classic logo and a number of other details.

Yesterday, they posted a logo found on a fan-operated Winter Classic Facebook page. While they couldn't initially confirm its legitimacy, it sure looked like the real thing. Later in the day more details started to emerge, including a YouTube video labeled as the "official teaser" for the 2012 Winter Classic. It featured the new logo at the end.

Winter Classic presser preview / Matt GelbThen came this photo of the Citizens Bank Park scoreboard from Philadelphia Inquirer writer Matt Gelb. I assume there was some testing being done in advance of Monday's press conference. Either that, or someone punched up a graphic they shouldn't have.

Either way, it proves the Winter Classic logo is legitimate while also giving us a sneak peek at the throwback logos to be used by each team. For the Flyers, no surprises. They haven't changed their logo since they joined the NHL in 1967. The Rangers, on the other hand, have gone through a number of iterations of their classic shield mark. This particular shield design was used by the Blueshirts between 1926 and 1947.

Now the jersey speculation can truly begin. There's almost no doubt in my mind the Flyers will stick with their current orange home sweater. It's based on their original look and it's as retro as they're going to get.

For the Rangers, there's a little wiggle room. According to NHLUniforms.com, the Rangers never wore a white jersey until 1951. And since then, the only one they've used that didn't resemble what's still worn to this day was in 1976 and 1977 when the shield was used as a crest. But I don't see them going that route.

Instead, may we'll see a break from tradition. The first Winter Classic in 2008 was the only time the home team has worn white out in the elements. Will the Flyers don white again in 2012, as they did in 2010 when they played the Bruins at Fenway? If so, it would allow the Rangers to simply use their current dark blue retro third jersey, meaning we wouldn't be treated to any new uniforms at all.

Of course, even if the Flyers wore their home orange, the Rangers could still sport their regular road whites. Either that or they could introduce a white version of their new third. It's hard to say for sure right now. We should know on Monday. But I don't imagine we'll be all that surprised.

Should we expect one or two of these jerseys to appear at the 2012 Winter Classic?

What do you guys think? Are my expectations too conservative? Think the Rangers and Flyers have something special in mind that we haven't thought of yet? Speculate away!