Let's Catch Up on the Week

The reason you haven't heard from me this week is simple: relocation. I've been packing all my stuff, moving it to a new place, and then unpacking it. All while working. Didn't leave a lot of time for Icethetics. But not to worry, I'm back!

Time to catch up on what I've missed. And there's been quite a bit.

NHL to hold Winter Classic press conference Sunday

First, we'll start with the newest news. Apparently, the NHL has called a press conference for Sunday morning and those in the know are speculating it will be the official announcement that the NHL Winter Classic — scheduled to be played in Ann Arbor, Mich. between the Red Wings and Maple Leafs three months ago — will be rescheduled for Jan. 1, 2014. Or so says Michigan Live's Ansar Khan.

More importantly to Icethetics readers, Khan says the jerseys will be unveiled as well. And assuming the designs weren't changed after the recent leaks, this is what we can expect them to look like

The press conference is scheduled for 10:30 AM ET on Sunday. You can be sure I plan to update the blog with official images as soon as humanly possible.

Thanks to @Levesque_B and @adam_rickert for their helpful tweets this morning.

Dallas Stars' whiff on April Fools' joke

As if their poor fans haven't endured enough these days, the Dallas Stars decided to play a nasty joke on them Monday. It was an April Fools' Day prank that might've been funny in another context.

At this point, it's widely known the Stars will have new uniforms next season. What's not known is when they plan to unveil them. Then the team tweeted this Monday night. 

The third period is gonna be an exciting one! twitter.com/DallasStars/st…

— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 2, 2013

Now, April Fools' Day being what it is, most of us were understandably suspicious. You don't make big announcements on April 1 because no one will believe you. Still, many people were taken in by the idea that the Stars might reveal their new threads that night.

With any hope of making the playoffs quickly fading and the Stars being shut out 3-0 by Anaheim, the promise of a look at the club's future was enough to blind a lot of folks to the calendar. Unfortunately, what they got was a look at their ridiculous past when — as Dallas Morning News beat writer Mike Heika put it — "out of a curtain jumped a guy in a horse head wearing the old alternate sweater — 'The Mooterus,' as it is called in disgust by fans."

Yeah, under the circumstances, not so funny. Chris at SportsLogos.net got into a little more detail on his blog — including some unwelcome fan backlash.

Stars jersey leak prank fools logo website's readers

Speaking of our good friends at SportsLogos.net, Chris decided to join the April Fools' fray on Monday morning, thinking it would be funny to post a phony leak of the Stars' new uniforms.

April Fools' Day prank via SportsLogos.net

Essentially, it's a Tampa Bay Lightning jersey in green with the Dallas Cowboys logo on the front. Can't give him points for creativity, but I can give him points for execution. The grainy "cell phone photo" was intended to look like a shot of an official NHL branding sheet, complete with "CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT RELEASE UNTIL Q3 2013" watermarked all over.

I thought we'd all have a laugh and move on. Until my inbox starting filling up (thanks, Chris) with people asking if I'd seen the leak. I think many of Chris' readers simply looked at the pretty picture, downloaded it, and posted it to other web forums and such — without bothering to read all the way to the bottom of the page.

Yes, folks, it was a joke. Did you really think the Stars could so blatantly infringe on one of the most valuable identities in all of sports? And spend so much time developing a new brand that simply ripped off other brands? We all know better than that. It was a decent joke, but nothing more.

Penguins may not add new third jersey in 2013

Contrary to what was reported in the last NHL JerseyWatch post, the Pittsburgh Penguins might not be adding a new alternate uniform next season. While they are definitely retiring their blue third at the end of this season, its replacement may still be a couple years away.

This all comes from one succinct tweet by Pittsburgh Tribune-Review beat writer Rob Rossi yesterday.

No #pens trade, but about uniforms that didn't make notes: No alternates at all next season. Maybe new ones in future. Vegas gold staying.

— Rob Rossi (@RobRossi_Trib) April 3, 2013

All the bad news you can fit into 140 characters. New new thirds. And the Vegas gold is staying. Sorry Pens fans, this is apparently not your year.

But briefly on the subject of the JerseyWatch post. I must admit I was making an assumption regarding a new third jersey. All Reebok tends to say in January when it comes to jersey changes is "TBA" — to be announced. All it tells us for sure is that the existing jersey won't be around next season. The question of whether it would be replaced immediately is not answered with "TBA." I just jumped to conclusions.

That's not to say a new third wasn't in the works for 2013. The team may have had something in development that was scrapped before December. We'll probably never know for sure.

Red Wings honor Gordie Howe with No. 9 sweaters

And finally, we'll finish where we started. Michigan. The Detroit Red Wings honored legend Gordie Howe on his 85th birthday Sunday. Every player donned his No. 9 sweater during warm-ups prior to their game against the Blackhawks.

Photo from Detroit Red Wings official website

It was kind of an interesting sight and a neat way to wrap up this post.

When Hockey Sweaters Go Green

It's a time for green beer and greener hockey jerseys. Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! The only way I can think to celebrate here on Icethetics is by sharing the many green warm-up jerseys being worn around the NHL this weekend. Enjoy!

First up — alphabetically — are the Boston Bruins. On Saturday night, ahead of their game against the Capitals, the Bs skated out for warm-ups sporting a color far from their existing palette.

Photos from Boston Bruins via social media

The team shared a number of photos of these green jerseys online today. A shot of the uniforms hanging in the locker room showed up on Instagram along with another of Shawn Thornton on ice. Then on Twitter, they shared a shot of Dougie Hamilton inspecting his own green threads.

Photos from Boston Bruins official website

UPDATE (3/17): Following last night's game, the Bs added a handful of action shots on their website.

The Columbus Blue Jackets couldn't keep their Irish-themed jerseys off of social media. The team suited up in green ahead of their scoreless affair with the Coyotes on Saturday.

Photos by Alison Pegg via Twitter

Team publicist Alison Pegg was perhaps the most prolific sharer of photos, including these shots of the sweaters from the locker room and auction table. She even offered up a moving picture through Vine. Of course green was not absent from the official Twitter account of the Blue Jackets.

And Icethetics reader Dan Caron even shared some of his own photos with us on Twitter. Needless to say, Columbus' St. Patrick's Day jersey was well-covered on social media.

The Dallas Stars were entertaining as ever with their St. Patty's jerseys on Saturday night. No surnames needed. Just add some Ireland-inspired nicknames to the backs of these bad boys.

Photos from Dallas Stars via Facebook

The Stars posted a picture of every player's jersey on their Facebook page. I pulled a couple of my personal favorites to post above — "McJagger" for Jaromir Jagr and "O'Romeo" for Aaron Rome. They're up for auction starting today if you find yourself in need of one.

The Edmonton Oilers are hosting the Predators tonight and may be among those teams donning green duds during warm-ups this weekend. On Instagram, the club posted a shot of a St. Patrick's Day prize pack which includes a green Oilers practice jersey. They also shared pictures of more St. Patty's-themed team merchandise on Twitter.

Conspicuous on this St. Patrick's Day was the noticeable absence of a recent tradition of the New Jersey Devils. Since 2010, the Devils have sported a throwback jersey which featured their original colors — red and green — every year for a home game on or near St. Patrick's Day. But not this year. And they were home hosting the Canadiens last night and everything. Would've been a perfect game for it.

Beating everyone to the St. Patrick's Day punch were the New York Islanders, who celebrated in green last weekend, when they hosted the Capitals on March 9.

Photo from New York Islanders official website

The Isles posted another great photo on their Facebook page after the game last night.

Photo from New York Islanders via Facebook

The jerseys were auctioned online leading up the big game.

Photo from Ottawa Senators via Instagram

UPDATE (3/17): The Ottawa Senators also joined the St. Patty's Day celebrations with the above photo posted on Instagram this morning. I presume they'll be wearing them during warm-ups today prior to their game later against the Jets.

Photos from Ottawa Senators official website

The Sens posted a couple of photos of the players skating in green on their website.

Later today, the Pittsburgh Penguins will host the Bruins. But before they do, the players will skate a little while wearing the green practice jerseys seen below.

Photos from Pittsburgh Penguins

According to the team: "The unique warm-up jerseys feature a green skating Penguin crest with Celtic lettering and numbering — and shamrocks on each shoulder." They will be put up for online auction beginning Friday.

Photos from Pittsburgh Penguins official website

UPDATE (3/17): This morning, the Penguins shared some more shots of the green on Instagram. There's one in the locker room and another of Craig Adams on the ice. Later, they posted a few more in the game's photo gallery.

UPDATE (3/17): The San Jose Sharks have been celebrating the Irish all week. The Sharks Foundation has been coordinating auctions of these green jerseys on March 9 and 14.

Photos from San Jose Sharks via Twitter and Facebook

Just today, the team tweeted a shot of the players wearing green at a recent morning skate. They've been a bit more prolific on Facebook with close-ups of the backs of these special sweaters, showing Patrick Marleau as well as Douglas Murray and others. (Thanks to @puckguy14 for the help!)

The Tampa Bay Lightning also joined the ranks of St. Patrick's Day teams on Saturday night by warming up in green before taking on the Hurricanes. The team did share some photos with us as well.

The Bolts posted some close-up photos on Instagram and a shot of the full locker room decked out in green gear on Twitter. There are several photos of players wearing the sweaters on the team's website.

Photos from Tampa Bay Lightning official website

Thanks to everyone who pitched in with links on Twitter yesterday! Let me know if you've spotted any teams I've missed and I'll be sure to add them. I'm also working on a separate post to highlight St. Patrick's Day jerseys around the minor leagues.

UPDATE (3/17): Also joining the St. Patty's Day fray were the Washington Capitals, who hit the ice in green tonight prior to defeating the Buffalo Sabres in the nation's capital.

Photos from Washington Capitals

Earlier tonight, the team tweeted a shot of a couple of jerseys hanging up in the locker room. Later, all of the green sweaters were on display at the arena so they could be auctioned off. And for more photos, check out the game's photo gallery.

20 Years After the Redesigned Penguin

Design firm reveals work that led up to new logo in 1992

It was the summer of 1992. The Pittsburgh Penguins had just completed two consecutive Stanley Cup victories. Enter a controversial new owner and a controversial new logo. Now, the company that Howard Baldwin hired to design that new mark is taking a look back at how it all came together.

First of all, believe it or not, it wasn't Baldwin's idea to rebrand the Penguins in the first place. He was just following through on a plan that had already been set in motion prior to his arrival. Vance Wright Adams was the Pittsburgh firm he called upon to come up with the team's modern new look.

And no matter what you think of that look, it's always refreshing to see the design process and some of the options that were rejected on the way to the final look. Vance Wright Adams is now sharing a few of them with all of us two decades later.

A nickname jersey proposed before it was "cool"

These are some of the hand-drawn options that were considered during the design process. Note that Vance Wright Adams came up with a "PENS" jersey long before those "BOLTS" and "SENS" jerseys ever became a reality. And what do you think of the more realistic looking penguin trapped inside the gold triangle?

Vance Wright Adams proposed the Penguins use 4 jerseys

According to a video produced by the Penguins to introduce their new look, VWA actually proposed four jerseys that season — two homes and two roads. The NHL wasn't too keen on that, of course. But those four sweaters might've looked a little something like what you see above. Really like the black one on the right!

Vegas gold was a possibility long before it was a reality

And here's proof that Vegas gold was in the running long before the third jersey it was introduced with in 2000. That third jersey, by the way, resurrected the classic skating penguin eight seasons after it was retired. Only two years after that, the new streamlined penguin was relegated to the shoulder patch by owner Mario Lemieux. And when Reebok came along in 2007, it disappeared from the uniforms for good, ending a 15-year run.

See more concepts and sketches from Vance Wright Adams

You can find more high-resolution uniform concepts and sketches from Vance Wright Adams by visiting their website. I highly recommend it. I also have to send up a huge thanks to those guys for posting their old work. It's not often we get to see this stuff but always a treat when we do.

Vance Wright Adams is also responsible for creating the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins logo as well as logos for a number of other teams.

Now I'll leave you with the video the "Back-Checking the Penguins" video produced by the team to launch their new look back in 1992.

Loose Threads: Looking Over October

I admit it. I failed October. It's not fair to say there was no Icethetics-related news in the tenth month of 2011. It is fair to say I was too busy to write about it. When I wasn't at work I was on vacation or watching hockey games (best excuse for this crowd, probably) or otherwise preoccupied. It was good to have that little break, but it's time to get back and update everyone on what's been going on.

Pittsburgh to Host 2012 Entry Draft

In a press conference held on Oct. 27, the NHL announced the Pittsburgh Penguins and their new CONSOL Energy Center would host the 2012 NHL Entry Draft this summer. And more pertinent to Icethetics readers, the league unveiled the event logo as well.

The logo is sticking to the same format first introduced in 2010 in Los Angeles which was followed up by the 2011 draft in Minnesota. Same font design and overall layout with some tweaks to customize the mark for the host city in some way.

Seems like the only way the NHL has to indicate the city of Pittsburgh graphically is with its bridges. The 2011 Winter Classic logo featured a stylized version of the Fort Pitt Bridge. It appears the 2012 draft logo is depicting one of the Three Sisters, or at least the tower design they all share. (Pittsburghers, correct me if I'm wrong.) Of course the skyline makes an appearance here as well.

I believe next summer's draft will be held June 22-23. Pittsburgh last hosted the NHL Draft in 1997.

Team Canada Goes Retro Again

Team Canada alums Jeff Shantz, Martin Gelinas and Gord Sherven model the new third jersey

Canada's 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship team will be sporting throwback jerseys for at least one game when the tournament kicks off in a couple months. The alternate sweater is a refined version of one worn by the team between 1982 and 1994 and was unveiled on Oct. 25.

Here's the word from Hockey Canada:

The three maple leafs on the front of the jersey represent the three steps of the Program of Excellence, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year — the regional under-17 program, National Men’s Under-18 Team and National Junior Team.

In addition, the bottom trim includes a graphic that incorporates the logos from each of the 15 IIHF World Junior Championships that Canada has won since 1982, and the current Hockey Canada logo appears on each shoulder.

I especially like the detail in the bottom trim. Wish I had a better picture of that to share.

Canadians, do you approve?

ECHL Expands to Orlando

Now we go back south of the border. Way south. Back to my home state, which has just been approved for another ECHL franchise. Orlando — home to Disney World and, at one time, the IHL's Solar Bears — will join the minor pro hockey ranks once again.

On Tuesday, the league's Board of Governors approved the Orlando expansion giving Estero's Florida Everblades their first in-state rival since the Pensacola Ice Pilots went away a few years ago. The club will play home games starting next fall at the Amway Center, which they'll share with the NBA's Orlando Magic should they solve their differences by then.

The Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Louis Blues met for a preseason tilt at the Amway Center and I recall the Lightning broadcasters gushing about the building and how perfect it is for hockey.

At the moment, the new team doesn't have a name or logo, but their new website is decked out in Orlando Solar Bears colors. That team played their first season in 1995 and disappeared when the old International Hockey League did in 2001.

The Solar Bears had such a kooky name and logo. A polar bear wearing sunglasses? You can't beat that. Plus the color scheme seemed intent on irritating hockey traditionalists of every stripe — as if it weren't already bad enough they had to deal with hockey in Mickey Mouse land. And by the way, those colors had names like Solar Eclipse Black, Solar Purple and Sunset Orange. How can it not leave you with a silly grin? But it's certainly not the mid-90s anymore, so I'll expect something a bit tamer when the time comes.

Along with Orlando, you'll recall San Francisco will be entering the ECHL stage as well next fall. In September it was announced that the San Francisco Bulls will hit the ice for the 2012-13 season.

That's all I've got. If I've missed something, shoot me an email. (By the way, I know I said I'd get to Jacob Barrette's interview today, but I'm going to put that off until Friday in lieu of today's blog update.)

Update on Friday · Nov 4 · 2011 | 10:19 AM PDT by Chris

One more thing on the new ECHL club in Orlando. A reader named Justin pointed out in the comments that the domain solarbearshockey.com was bought by the new owners in September. More specifically, the buyer was The Bold Marketing Group, whose president is Bob Ohrablo, one of three partners in the group that owns the Orlando franchise. (For what it's worth, his bio says he previously worked with Howard Baldwin and the AHL's Connecticut Whale. So there's that.)

Yesterday I thought I'd follow up with a trademark search. And as luck would have it...

Filed on September 13, 2011, the ECHL now owns the Orlando Solar Bears trademark and logo. So maybe my wish to see the Solar Bears make a comeback wasn't so outlandish. Hey, they brought back the Trenton Titans. Granted, the Solar Bears haven't existed in 10 years, but I'm sure there are still plenty of fans that remember them fondly.

Unfortunately, I can't offer you a direct link to the page seen in the above screenshot, as that's not how the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) works. But a quick search will get you there.

Loose Threads: Jets, Pens, Avs & Sens

I'm working on a huge Icethetics side project right now that should be released in the next few weeks. So while there are a number of things to cover today, I'm going to make this post quick.

Jets Hold Real Jerseys a Week

Young Jets get practice unisWinnipeg Jets players took the ice competitively for the first time yesterday in the Young Stars Tournament, though not wearing their new jerseys as we expected. Instead they donned practice jerseys with some extra patches sewn on.

So after weeks of listening to the team say the new uniforms had to be unveiled before the tournament so the players could wear them, we still have to wait a week to see them in action.

The following comes from the game recap on the Jets' official website:

The young stars did not debut the new Jets sweaters, instead wearing practice jerseys. The Winnipeg Jets will wear their new jerseys for the first time on September 20th against Columbus.

We've waited this long. What's another week?

Some of you have written in asking about the sock design — as if that could single-handedly change the entire look of the uniform. But as you can see in this photo, the sock stripes appear to match the sleeve stripes from the real uniforms.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I'm surprised that a week after the jersey was unveiled, only one person has asked what I think of it. Don't get me wrong, you'll still get my take eventually — just not yet. I was going to write something up last week but I'm holding off to see the jerseys in action before I dive in with my critique. It may surprise you, actually. May.

For now, though, I have a couple of third jersey schedules to share.

Penguins Officially Announce New 3rd

We've kind of taken for granted all summer that the Pittsburgh Penguins would be switching their third jersey to their most recent Winter Classic sweater. It was never really official until today.

The Pens said in the release that fans told them "they love the new look, the new shade of blue, and the blending of different eras of Penguins hockey." Based on what I've read from Penguins fans on this site, it sounds to me like you've been telling them you love the black and gold from the late 1980s. But they can't seem to hear that for some reason.

Sidney CrosbyNo matter. I think it's a great looking uniform. And  came the schedule for the new third jersey in the 2011-12 season. We'll be seeing it for 12 home games:

• Sat., Oct. 15 – vs. Buffalo Sabres
• Thu. Oct. 27 – vs. New York Islanders
• Tues., Nov. 15 – vs. Colorado Avalanche
• Fri., Nov. 25 – vs. Ottawa Senators
• Tues., Dec. 27 – vs. Carolina Hurricanes
• Fri., Jan. 6 – vs. New York Rangers
• Sat., Jan. 7 – vs. New Jersey Devils
• Fri., Jan. 20 – vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Sat., Feb. 11 – vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Sun., Feb. 12 – vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
• Wed., Mar. 7 – vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Thu., Mar. 22 – vs. Nashville Predators

Nice spread over the course of the season. I like that they're wearing them on a couple of back-to-back nights, and of course, against my Tampa Bay Lightning. That'll be one good-looking hockey game.

There's another third jersey schedule floating around out there...

Avalanche Set 2011-12 Third Jersey Dates

The Colorado Avalanche recently posted the game schedule for their blue alternate jersey, which will be entering its third season in use.

Interestingly, they even included details about the design that I don't remember reading when it was unveiled in 2009. They include information about the designers and prototypes. Have a read:

The third jersey design is a collaboration of ideas from the Colorado Avalanche (including Kroenke Sports Enterprises Creative Imaging), the National Hockey League and Reebok. ... Two rounds of sweater prototypes were tested and ran on ice before the final version was made.

Milan HejdukNow here are the 12 home dates in which the sweater will see action during the coming season:

• Fri., Oct. 28 – vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Wed., Nov. 2 – vs. Phoenix Coyotes
• Wed., Nov. 23 – vs. Vancouver Canucks
• Fri., Dec. 2 – vs. St. Louis Blues
• Tue., Dec. 13 – vs. San Jose Sharks
• Tue., Dec. 27 – vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Wed., Jan. 18 – vs. Florida Panthers
• Thu., Feb. 2 – vs. Minnesota Wild
• Mon., Feb. 27 – vs. Anaheim Ducks
• Sat., Mar. 10 – vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Tue., Mar. 20 – vs. Calgary Flames
• Thu., Apr. 5 – vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Panthers will be the only true Eastern Conference team to see the Avs sporting blue this year. They have Stanley Cup Final history together. (Though I guess strictly speaking, the Jets are still in the East for this year.)

One final item for today...

Sens Give Another Glimpse of Heritage

One final item for today. A reader tweeted a link to a page on the Ottawa Senators website, offering the new Heritage Jersey for sale without really showing it to us.

From what I can tell, this is the same photo that was used in the team's own sneak peek way back in March. Only difference is now we get it in full color without any distortion from projector screens or compressed Flash video.

First, you can see that vintage white is, in fact, in use. And second, the shoulder patches seem to contradict my earlier report which said that they were bilingual, English on the right shoulder, French on the left.

I'm staring at a photo (which I can't show you until after the official unveiling) that clearly shows one patch is in French, so what's the deal? One of two things: either 1) there was a change made between this photo and that one, or 2) we're actually looking at two jerseys laying side-by-side in this photo. It's hard to tell for sure on that.

Meanwhile, the Senators say the Heritage Jersey will be available on Oct. 1, meaning the official reveal will have to take place on or before that date. I'll be keeping an eye on it, obviously.

Update on Wednesday · Sep 14 · 2011 | 11:55 AM PDT by Chris

And with a definitive answer to question above, today the Senators announced that the Heritage Jersey will be unveiled on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Specifically, it will be shown to fans at the Puck Drop event at Scotiabank Place. Even more specifically, the unveiling itself will happen at 10:30 AM.

If you've been keeping an eye on the blog, you already know what the jersey will look like, but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how it looks on the players.

I'll be sure to share pictures with you that morning. And to any Sens fans that will be in attendance, feel free to send along any photos of your own.