No News is NHL 10 News

After 55 hours without anything newsworthy to post, I've decided to turn to pseudo-news. If you've been following Icethetics for any length of time, you know the one thing I don't like is rumors based on video games. Sadly, I have nothing else to tell you about at the moment.

Eric and Alex both wrote in this week to tell me about some things they noticed while watching preview videos for the forthcoming NHL 10 video game by EA Sports. I understand the game designers really try to get things correct when it comes to uniforms, but I'm always cautious against taking it as gospel.

Still, I write tonight on the subject just in case there's any truth to it.

Let's start with the Calgary Flames. Eric tells me something's up with their socks. Yes, their socks.

When the Rbk EDGE Uniform System was first introduced two years ago, the Flames (and Lightning too) were afflicted with a rather untraditional sock design. From the front, stripes appeared to run horizontally around the leg, but when you got a look at the back, there was a little surprise.

Matthew Lombardi leans in for a closer look at Owen Nolan's shocking socks

The collective reaction to this was a confused WTF? In the last two years, many fans have bemoaned this issue, apparently, onto deaf ears. Or are they? (Deaf, that is.) A screenshot from NHL 10, offered up via EA's official web site, depicts something different.

Dion Phaneuf skates with confidence knowing his sock stripes are no longer afraid of his calf

These stripes wrap all the way around the leg. It begs the question: As a person who's never played the game, did NHL 09 feature accurate stripes, or did they wrap fully as these do? Perhaps someone in the know can assist with the answer so we can better speculate on the state of the real-life uniforms.

While we wait for that, Alex tells me NHL 10 suggests the Flyers may be making a minor change to their orange jerseys. This is by no means reason to stop any presses.

First, we do know that it will be promoted from third jersey to home jersey this season (as the black sweater switches to an alternate role). A noteworthy feature of the sweater is its white nameplate, as seen below.

Flyers break the mold by wearing white nameplate on orange jersey

The nameplate isn't the only thing that sets this jersey apart from the rest of the NHL. (It's also orange. Not blue or red or black or white. Orange.) But another video from EA Sports is making us question whether this nameplate madness is going by the wayside.

Flyers get glue to fix broken mold and switch back to matching nameplate

If they are losing the white nameplate, I hope they learn that white is easier to read on orange than black. Especially on TV (hint). Though it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they ignore this fact.

So there it is. Take it for what's it worth. If it ends up being inaccurate, you didn't hear it from me. If it ends up being true, you heard it first on Icethetics.

While we ride out this newslessness spell, do your civic duty and cast some votes for the IceHL.

Update on Monday · Jul 27 · 2009 | 7:22 AM PDT by Chris

I've got a couple of updates to this post this morning.

As Steve points out in the comments, it looks like the Flames' socks are likely getting a makeover. Not only does NHL 10 have the horizontal stripes (after having used the old version in previous games), but NHL 2K10 also appears have them too.

Looks like we're a go for the confidence-inspiring stripes

So that's one theory I think we can run with. Flames fans, what do you think? Are the folks in charge finally listening?

As far as the Flyers, that part of this post was almost unnecessary. It appears the white nameplates will remain on the orange jerseys in NHL 10, but in a screenshot from a newer video, they will evidently span from shoulder to shoulder, as opposed to simply being the length of the player's name.

NHL 10 goes with white shoulder-spanning nameplates after all

I know it's hard to see, but right in the middle there is No. 6, Randy Jones. If you click on the image, it takes you to the YouTube video where I grabbed this screenshot. Then you can watch more of the Flyers/Lightning gameplay.

Anyway, if you're still questioning my aversion to using video games as uniform news sources, take the Flyers as a prime example. Last year, in NHL 09, the weight of the typeface on the nameplate was inaccurately heavy. Sounds like this year they've fixed that, but now the nameplate itself is inaccurately wide.

The Flyers kick off their preseason in Detroit on September 16, then play as the "home team" in London, Ontario a night later. I expect one of those nights we'll see the orange jerseys for the first time this season and I wouldn't expect them to be any different than they were last year.

Sweater Switch '09: Part 4

First, check out Part 1: Pronger, Havlat, Tavares, Hedman, Ashton, Part 2: Bouwmeester, Ohlund, Walker, Cammalleri, Gomez, Smyth, and Part 3: Gaborik, Mara, Moen, Gionta, Gill, Spacek.

It's been nearly a week since the previous edition, but the summer blog series trudges on with another handful of players who are getting new jerseys this off-season. We'll begin with a picture that's been out there a while.

Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky

Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky were introduced to the Windy City last week after Part 3 was posted and I've been hanging on to this picture ever since. Both players carry over the sweater numbers they used with the previous red Original Six team they played for.

Hossa wore No. 18 for all of the first 10 seasons of his NHL career, which began in 1997, including seven with the Senators, three with the Thrashers and a dozen games with the Penguins. He joined the Red Wings in 2008, but had to swap his digits for veteran Wings winger Kirk Maltby. Hossa will be forced to keep No. 81 in Chicago as his preferred No. 18 has been retired by the Hawks in honor of Denis Savard (a former Bolt!).

Tomas Kopecky played his first NHL game with Detroit in the 2005-06 season, wearing No. 32. The following year saw him in No. 28 for a couple dozen games, and in his first full season he relinquished No. 28 to Brian Rafalski for the opposite, No. 82 — also his birth year — which he's been wearing since. No. 28 is available in Chicago, but Kopecky is opting to keep No. 82.

Enough blocks of text... more pictures!

The Philadelphia Flyers signed a pair of new goalies this summer, and gave them their new sweaters to debut at the announcement of the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park.

Brian Boucher is actually returning to the club that drafted him in 1995 and will return to the No. 33 he first wore as a rookie in 1999. Since leaving for Phoenix in 2002, Boucher has logged a lot of miles. He managed to keep his number there and for three games in Calgary, but lost it in 2006 to Adrian Aucoin in Chicago and then Fredrik Modin in Columbus, where he donned No. 31 and No. 35, respectively. He finally got it back with San Jose two years ago.

Ray Emery made his NHL debut with a few games in the 2002-03 season in Ottawa, wearing the traditional No. 1. He kept it for all of his five season in the capital city before spending a year in the KHL. Now in Philly, Emery has opted for No. 29 since Bernie Parent was honored with the retiring of No. 1 by the Flyers in 1979.

Ian Laperriere with GM Paul Holmgren

The Flyers also added winger Ian Laperriere who's known more for penalty minutes than anything else. Though it's not clear in this picture, Laperriere will wear No. 14. He debuted with the St. Louis Blues in 1994 with No. 22 on his back, keeping it during a brief stint with the Rangers in 1995 and during his nine-season tenure with the Kings. Following the lockout, Laperriere joined the Avalanche where No. 22 belonged to Steve Konowalchuk. He's worn No. 14 since then.

That brings us to one of the most recent free agent additions of the summer. The Ottawa Senators swiped Alex Kovalev from the Montreal Canadiens and they've already put him in front of the cameras with his No. 27 sweater — all three of them, in fact.

Alex Kovalev

From his rookie year with the Rangers, Kovalev has worn No. 27 throughout his 17-season NHL career. He has since played for the Penguins before a brief return to Manhattan, and more recently, he was a member of the Canadiens. No surprise to see him keep the same number.

That's all I've got for Part 4 and I'm a little concerned it may be the last one for a while. We'll see if any other teams get their new signees into new uniforms anytime soon. August may be a slow month. But we've got the return of the IceHL to follow as well as any third jersey-related developments.

Fenway Will Host Bruins, Flyers

The Winter Classic 2010 will be held January 1 at Fenway Park between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers. This should come as a shock to no one who regularly reads Icethetics. I'm posting it today because the NHL is making the official announcement this afternoon.

Additionally, the Boston Globe posted pictures online, giving readers a sneak peek. They come from NHL communications manager Schuyler Baehman's Twitter account. You can see them right here as well.

Winter Classic 2010 via Boston.comThe logo (upper left) takes on a slightly new look from years past. Certainly a more vintage feel. The photo on the bottom shows the layout of the rink on the baseball field while in the outfield you can see the blow-up jerseys that indicate the Flyers as the Bs' opponent.

The press conference will likely yield more information. I'll update this post later tonight.The NHL will release the 2009-10 season schedule later this afternoon as well.

And one more note. Part 3 of the Sweater Switch series will be posted tomorrow. It will include Gaborik, Havlat and the other new members of the Canadiens.

Sweater Switch '09, Part 1

I've gotten a lot of great suggestions from you guys about new features for Icethetics. Obviously, I haven't lost sight of our other unfinished projects (IceHL, logo tourneys, etc.). They'll be back soon enough. In the meantime, Evan writes in with an idea that's much closer to the heart of Icethetics than the Summer Moves Tracker.

We're all about jerseys here, right? Tonight marks the first edition of Sweater Switch '09, a summer series taking a look at players wearing new uniforms — and sometimes new numbers. As teams hold press conferences to introduce blockbuster free agent signees and other new players to their local media, I'll start gathering photos to share.

This should come as no shock, but I'm kicking things off with my team. Today, the Lightning introduced first round draft picks Victor Hedman and Carter Ashton to the public.

Carter Ashton (seated, left) and VIctor Hedman

Hedman opted for the No. 77 jersey because he "always looked up to Ray Bourque," according to the Lightning's Facebook page. Meanwhile, Ashton has declared he will not choose a number until he actually makes the NHL. Wise.

John TavaresDrafted first overall by the New York Islanders was John Tavares.

He was also introduced to fans and media on Long Island at the Nassau Veterns Memorial Coliseum. He donned his No. 91 sweater. No surprise there.

Tavares wore the same number through juniors and while I haven't been able to track down his reasoning, I can tell you it's not his birth year. He was born in 1990.

If anyone knows, drop me a line and I'll update this post. UPDATE: Scroll down to the comments and look for Jacob's extended explanation of Tavares' choice.

Sticking with the draft day theme, it was then that Chris Pronger was told he'd be joining a new team.

Chris ProngerOn Monday afternoon, Philadelphia media got their first look at him in his new orange Flyers jersey.

Pronger will wear the No. 20 sweater this season to honor his father who wore it in a senior hockey league.

He previously wore No. 25 with the Ducks, now worn by teammate Matt Carle. And earlier in his career Pronger was No. 44 during his long tenure with the St. Louis Blues. Kimmo Timonen wears that one in the black and orange.

We'll end Part 1 with new Minnesota Wild member, Martin Havlat, seen below.

Martin HavlatI haven't been able to track down much on Havlat's intro to the local media, aside from this picture and the fact that it took place last Friday, July 3. According to the team's web site, he's got the No. 14 jersey, though you can't tell here.

Last year in Chicago, Havlat wore No. 24, but Derek Boogaard already has that one tied up in Minnesota.

And that wraps things up for this edition of Sweater Switch '09. As ever, if you've got any pictures or links to share, you have my email address. Part 2 will be about as soon as I have another handful of players to talk about. I can tell you that Mattias Ohlund and Matt Walker arrive in Tampa on Thursday. When pictures from their presser surface, I'll have them.

One more thing. Thanks again to Evan for the idea of this series!

Flyers at Fenway?

Flyers fan Sal wrote to me this afternoon with a slew of good questions.

I was just wondering if you've heard anything about what the Flyers were going to do this season. I've heard different grumblings that the orange retro jersey would become our home sweater and the black jersey would be used for special occasions. Does this mean the Flyers will change their away jersey to match the retro design? Also, since the Winter Classic game at Fenway Park between the Bruins and the Flyers seems to be official, what jerseys do you think the Flyers will wear?

So I sat down to do a little quick research. Looking into the Icethetics archives, I reported back in February that the Flyers would be making the third jersey swap this fall. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The orange retros will be the new standard home uniform while the blacks will take on a secondary role. As far as the road whites, I have no new information at this time that would indicate a redesign to match the throwbacks. If I were to guess, I'd say they will remain the same as last year, at least for now. But hold that thought.

That brings us to the 2010 Winter Classic. We know the Bruins are hosting it at Fenway Park, but that may only be half the story. On June 19, TSN reported that the Calgary Flames would be also be hosting an outdoor New Year's Day game, creating hockey's first open-air double-header.

The Flames' opponent remains a mystery, but that may no longer be the case for the Bruins. It's not official yet, but on Tuesday, Delaware County Daily Times beat writer Anthony J. SanFilippo wrote on his blog that the Flyers would be making the trip to Fenway Park — not the Rangers, as I would've expected.

By the way, I highly recommend a read of SanFilippo's article as he goes into detail regarding the circumstances that led to this. Apparently, the NHL wanted the Capitals so they could promote Ovechkin but NBC was unhappy with the Rangers-Capitals TV ratings during the playoffs.

So this brings up an interesting question. All four teams that have participated in Winter Classics have done so donning classic attire. With the Flyers taking their classic attire full-time this season, how will they manage to make this special occasion stand out?

Unfortunately, while I have no solid answer for you at this point since nothing is official yet anyway, remember that thought I told you to hold on to earlier? This would be the perfect opportunity for the Flyers to introduce a white version of the orange retro sweater. With the Bruins hosting, they will likely be in gold or black. And in case you missed it, I posted a great concept on Twitter, showing a uniform the Bruins could wear. (Great work by Bruins 37.)

While we're on the topic of the Winter Classic, don't forget that the Chicago Blackhawks said that last year's black third jersey will be replaced by their Winter Classic sweater. Those will be fantastic to see on the ice more than once a year. Unfortunately, there are no plans for the Red Wings to do the same.

That reminds me. At some point this week, I'm going to have a post to get everyone up to speed on which teams we're expecting third jerseys from this season. And I'll be accepting concepts for what they might look like. Who's excited?

So we've got some theorizing to do in the comments today. What will the Flyers wear to the Winter Classic? What will the Bruins wear? Who will face the Flames in Part II of WC '10? And will anyone look cooler than the Blackhawks in their third jerseys this year?

Update on Sunday · Jun 28 · 2009 | 2:05 PM PDT by Chris

Looks like I didn't do my homework on one aspect of this post and I apologize for that. Several of you have written in to point out that the TSN article suggesting there would be a second outdoor game at the 2010 Winter Classic hosted by Calgary was not set in stone. A follow-up story this past week pointed out that in fact there will be no Flames-hosted match. At least not on January 1, 2010.

The NHL's competition committee met last week to discuss the topic, saying that there may still be a second special event on New Year's Day in a Canadian city. Perhaps the Habs playing a game at Montreal's Olympic Stadium as part of their 100th anniversary celebration? Maybe against the Flames. Or Leafs?

Once again, I apologize for not being up to speed on this and I appreciate the help from those of you who wrote in to set me straight.