Minor Jersey Mayhem

This is a big weekend for specialty jerseys around the minor leagues. Let's start in the AHL!

Game photo from Rockford IceHogs (via Flickr)

Rockford celebrates Los IceHogs Dos!

How can we not start here? The Rockford IceHogs donned these numbers for Los IceHogs Dos this weekend. If you missed "Uno," check out this post from last year. They are really something.

I talked with IceHogs' communications director Mike Peck who said the team partnered with the Latino Leadership Coalition in Rockford for the event. In fact, they inspired the jersey design.

"They really wanted to highlight the strong musical aspect of the Hispanic/Latino culture," said Peck.

The IceHogs wore this uniform on Friday night and auctioned them off afterward with "proceeds being donated to La Voz Latina, an organization dedicated to serving the Rockford region’s Hispanic community through education, workshops and youth programming," according to the press release.

The great thing about these specialty jersey nights around the minors is that these teams are always raising money for charity. So no matter how silly the team may look on the ice, at least it's for a good cause.

Photo from Worcester Sharks (via Facebook)

Worcester raises autism awareness

The Worcester Sharks wore these jerseys on Friday and Saturday to benefit The Autism Resource Center of Central Massachusetts. The puzzle piece pattern is the standard symbol of autism awareness.

Photos from Texas Stars

Texas dons player-designed stars and stripes

This Veterans Day weekend was marked by a number of patriotic or military-themed jerseys. The Texas Stars called it Stars & Stripes Military Appreciation Weekend and wore these jerseys on Friday and Saturday. The subsequent jersey auction is benefiting the Texas Stars Foundation.

The cool part of this uniform is who designed it. Remember Taylor Vause? He played for the Swift Current Broncos a couple seasons and ago and was responsible for designing some fo the team's specialty jerseys. He's continued that hobby since graduating to the pros.

Vause spent most of last season with the Stars but is currently with the club's ECHL affiliate, the Idaho Steelheads. So unfortunately, while he designed this jersey, he didn't get to wear it this weekend.

Images from Springfield Falcons and Hershey Bears

Falcons and Bears go patriotic for Veterans Day

The Springfield Falcons and Hershey Bears honored military veterans in different ways this weekend. The Falcons wore the Hometown Heroes Night jerseys above while being shut out 3-0 on Friday. (This is the only photo I've been able to find of the jersey so far.)

The Bears, on the other hand, are going the camouflage route with tonight's set. I have yet to see any photos of the actual jersey, but the rendering above was posted to their Facebook page on Thursday.

Bakersfield can't stop making odd jerseys

And finally, we wrap up in the ECHL where this is happening tonight.

Image from Bakersfield Condors (via Facebook)

Had to make it huge so you could truly appreciate it. The Bakersfield Condors are always trying to go outside by the box with specialty jerseys. And I really don't know what to say about this one. Perhaps I could address the irony of the sponsor being Dignity Health. Because that's just what the players won't have after they wear these for three hours.

If you can't get enough, the Condors have a photo gallery on Pinterest.

I know there are some I've missed so I'll have a follow-up to this post likely later this evening. In the meantime, what do you think of these? Any favorites in the bunch?

Update on Sunday · Nov 10 · 2013 | 7:32 PM PST by Chris

As promised, I wanted to follow up with a few more recent minor league event jerseys.

Photos from Toledo Walleye (via Facebook)

ECHL clubs compete on epic Star Wars Night

Last weekend, the ECHL's Toledo Walleye and Michigan K-Wings coordinated a one-of-a-kind Star Wars Night. This is a schtick that's been done many times before. In fact, just the week before, the Orlando Solar Bears hosted one of their own!

What made this one interesting was how both teams came together for this event in Toledo, Ohio. I have to be honest. I've never been a Star Wars fan, so I don't really understand all these teams doing this or even the references involved. But I can understand it's a big part of popular culture and many fans get a good kick out of it.

I read that the Walleye are dressed as X-Wing pilots (in orange) while the K-Wings are dressed up a Darth Vader. Of course as names go, wouldn't it be more appropriate to have the K-Wings dress up as X-Wing pilots? But then the game was in Toledo, so the Walleye can't be the baddies.

Anyway, it was visually a rather interesting game. No denying that.

Cancer awareness night jerseys also popular

If you're a team trying to raise money for charity, the best you can probably do is cancer research. The Providence Bruins and Portland Pirates recently held their Pink in the Rink Nights — an event that a vast number of hockey teams have started to latch onto in recent years.

But taking the crown this weekend were the San Antonio Rampage who focused on cancer affecting children. Because there's no bigger bummer on which to end a blog post. But you know what, when the jerseys are sold, it's money those researchers wouldn't have otherwise had. So good on these teams for their efforts!

Providence Bruins Update Uniforms

P-Bruins tout tweaks to all three kits for 2013-14

Back on the minor league beat this weekend, the AHL's Providence Bruins launched a new mini-site to promote and explain the updates they've made to their uniforms for the coming season. And because they did it in three elegant graphics, that makes less work for me.

The big takeaway from the new home jersey is that the P-Bruins will no longer wear white at any time. (I think they did a bit of that last season, but now it's official.) The AHL is going to prove that you don't always need one team to be wearing white to tell the opponents apart. When will the NHL get on board? We're looking at you, Nashville.

The road jersey is pretty close what we see with their NHL affiliate in Boston. Unfortunately, they've gone with that awful opposite-color name plate. This is a terrible trend that doesn't seem willing to die.

Finally, there's the black alternate jersey. It's a bit plain — not unlike what Boston's third suffers from — but I like what they've done with the collar. It's different. And I really like the complete lack of white in this jersey. There's a bit in the logos, but no white stripes. This is totally a black and gold sweater and it looks great.

What do you think? Did Providence hit the mark with their updates?

Providence Bruins Update Logos

The parade of new minor league logos this summer continues with the AHL's Providence Bruins, who made their updated look official on Monday.

The new primary and secondary marks have been in use on the team's alternate jersey since 2010 and the upgrade is a welcome change. And it's all about simplifying the club's look, which is derived from its NHL affiliate, the Boston Bruins. Presumably, that third jersey will become the primary dark sweater now alongside a new white one.

The new secondary logo is based on the mark used in Boston since the Bs' 2007 facelift.

Founded in 1992, the Providence Bruins are celebrating their 20th anniversary. Perfect time for a sharp new identity. Even if it isn't completely original. Here's a blurb from the press release:

This new logo also represents a fundamental shift in focus for the Providence Bruins brand towards a more traditional, “old-time hockey” look and feel. This move coincides with the 2013 Dunkin’ Donuts AHL All-Star Classic, hosted by the Providence Bruins the weekend of January 25-28, which also reflects the new direction of the team’s visual identity.

Ah, yes the 2013 AHL All-Star Classic. We have the logo for that, too.

No surprise it features the Bruins' new refined spoked P logo. It's a really nice All-Star mark, actually. Too bad it had to be marred by a corporate sponsor who's colors are neon orange and hot pink. So how do you feel about the new look of pro hockey in Rhode Island?

AHL: 75 Years of Identity Issues

Over the past two weekends, the AHL has been celebrating its 75th anniversary by calling on its six oldest teams — sort of — to sport special throwback uniforms. Some for the better, others not so much. 

For those of you that enjoy Icethetics history lessons, boy do I have a doozy, but first let's review what these six teams looked like in their retro threads.

Springfield Indians vs Providence Reds

Why is it the Peoria Rivermen should've played as the Indians, instead of the Springfield Falcons? And do the Connecticut Whale really have a better claim to the Reds than the Providence Bruins?

Syracuse Stars vs Cleveland Barons

Plus, are the Buffalo Sabres responsible for killing the Syracuse Stars? And are the Worcester Sharks more worthy of skating as the Barons than the Lake Erie Monsters?

Hershey Bears vs Rochester Americans

And finally, two teams just the same as they've ever been for more than a half-century. What more could you need to know?

All of these questions will be answered. It's time for that history lesson.

When the AHL was formed in 1936, known then as the International-American Hockey League, eight cities were represented, six of which have teams today that took part in the anniversary festivities: Springfield, Providence, Syracuse and Cleveland. Hershey and Rochester joined later but most of the other teams are suffering through an identity crisis of some kind. Let's break this down.

Springfield Falcons

The Springfield Falcons were founded in 1994 so they certainly aren't among the AHL's oldest franchises. But last weekend, they played as the Springfield Indians, who were. In fact, the current Falcons team has no ties to that original franchise, which now exists as the Peoria Rivermen. So how did that happen?

  

The city of Springfield, Mass. has had pro hockey since before the AHL formed. The Springfield Indians were founded in 1926 and played in the Can-Am, or Canadian-American Hockey League, under that name until 1951 when they were renamed the Warriors. That lasted only three years before the club reverted to Indians moniker.

In 1967, the name was changed again, this time to the Springfield Kings. But a classic name dies hard and this time seven years passed before the Indians name was brought back once more. Then finally, in 1994 the franchise was relocated to Worcester, Mass. and dubbed the IceCats. Because it was the '90s and minor league teams did that sort of thing. Not willing to go down without a fight, ex-Indian players were granted a new franchise, now named the Falcons.

The IceCats moved to Peoria, Ill. in 2005 and so goes the story of the Indians franchise. However, the league couldn't very well dress the Rivermen in their old Indians uniforms while hockey was still going strong in Springfield. So the Falcons paid tribute to their city's past in style.

Providence Bruins

The Providence Bruins franchise was founded in 1987 but has only been playing in Rhode Island since 1992. Again, it's definitely not one of the league's original teams. Actually, just like Springfield, this city had pro hockey long before the AHL in the form of the Providence Reds, who are now about to become the Connecticut Whale. What?

  

Just like Springfield's story, it all began in 1926 in the Can-Am. The Providence Reds were one of the eight teams that joined the new International-American Hockey League in 1936. They were successful and stuck around a long time. But when they affiliated with the New York Rangers in 1972, things were changing. And it started with a new arena.

Then in 1976, the team name was changed to Rhode Island Reds. But that would be the team's final season in the Union's smallest state. When the North American Hockey League folded in 1977, the owners of a Binghamton, N.Y.-based franchise, called the Broome Dusters (not kidding), bought the Reds and shifted them about 300 miles west and appropriated their own name for the club.

The Binghamton Dusters became the Binghamton Whalers in 1980. Then a decade later, they were named after their NHL affiliate, the Rangers. In 1997, the team became the Hartford Wolf Pack, and later this year, Howard Baldwin will officially rename them the Connecticut Whale. What a lineage. Ouch.

Once again, the Providence Bruins will only wear Reds jerseys as a tribute to their town rather than their own team heritage — a team which began life in 1987 as the second incarnation of the Maine Mariners and relocated in 1992.

Syracuse Crunch

The identity crises don't end in Providence. The Syracuse Crunch is a franchise only slightly older than the Falcons, having been established in 1992. And would you believe this? The team once known as the Syracuse Stars was actually killed by the Buffalo Sabres in 1970.

  

The Stars' story is long, but not all that complicated. Founded in 1930 as a member of the International Hockey League, the team from Syracuse, N.Y. hooked up with the I-AHL in 1936. By 1940, they were on the move, however, to Buffalo. Renamed the Bisons, the new team was a replacement for the club of the same name which disbanded in 1936 when its arena collapsed.

The Buffalo Bisons were effectively sent to slaughter in 1970 at the announcement of the Buffalo Sabres NHL franchise. They vacated the Memorial Auditorium for the new major league team and that's the end of their story.

Meanwhile, the Syracuse Crunch were founded as the Hamilton Canucks in 1992. After just two seasons in Ontario, the club relocated to New York. Just like the Falcons and Bruins, they don Stars attire not as a tribute to their own past but to their city's and that of the AHL.

Lake Erie Monsters

Once again, we have a club still in its teens masquerading as one of hockey's oldest. The Lake Erie Monsters franchise was founded in 1994 but only moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 2007. The actual Cleveland Barons were founded in 1929 and the lineage of that name can be quite confusing as you're about to learn.

  

The Cleveland Indians were a member of the International Hockey League from 1929 until 1936. However, they were known as the Cleveland Falcons for the last two years in the IHL and in their first season as a charter member of the I-AHL.

The following season, in 1937, the Cleveland Barons were born. And that's where things get interesting. Everything was fine until 1972 when the WHA and the Cleveland Crusaders came along. This spelled instant death for the minor league franchise, which was forced to relocate midway through the 1972-73 season. Unfortunately, they moved to Jacksonville, Fla. so they only got in one more full season before folding. The bloodline ends there.

As a side note, the Cleveland Barons name was revived in 1976 when the NHL's California Golden Seals relocated to Cleveland, forcing the Crusaders to St. Paul, Minn. But the Barons lasted only two seasons in the NHL before disappearing again. Ironically, the players from the disbanded team went to the Minnesota North Stars.

One more attempt was made to revitalize the Cleveland Barons moniker when the AHL's Kentucky Thoroughblades were bought by the San Jose Sharks in 2001 and relocated. Five years later, the Sharks moved the club to Massachusetts and renamed it after themselves. So technically, the only existing team that came claim the Cleveland Barons name in their heritage is the Worcester Sharks.

Yet the Lake Erie Monsters, founded in 1994 as the Denver Grizzlies, donned Barons duds last weekend. The Grizzlies played in Colorado only one season before the Quebec Nordiques announced they were to move there. So the Grizzlies went to Salt Lake City, Utah for the next 10 years.

The club suspended operations for two years while it looked for a new owner, who would then put the club in the home of the departing Cleveland Barons. By the way, don't confuse these Utah Grizzlies with the ECHL club of the same name. They have a long history of name changes and relocations but actually began life as a charter member of the East Coast Hockey League.

Hershey Bears

At last, a true original AHL franchise. Almost. The Hershey Bears joined the I-AHL in 1938, two years after its founding. End of story, right? Not quite.

  

The Bears were actually founded in 1932 as the Hershey B'ars. Then it was changed the following season to Hershey Chocolate B'ars in case the original name was too subtle for you. Then back to Hershey B'ars once again in 1934.

The Bears nickname actually came about by way of New York sportswriters who thought the B'ars name was overtly commercial. Gee, you think? In 1936, it stuck. Officially. And though the Hershey Bears have endured minor uniform, logo and color alterations over the last 72 years, the name has remained the same. 

Rochester Americans

The Rochester Americans didn't join the American Hockey League until 1956, but at least they're not masquerading as some other team just to celebrate an anniversary.

  

Now in their 55th season, the Amerks, like the Bears, have been through logo and uniform changes over the years but have always kept the name. It's refreshing to see that some teams can exist over long periods of time like this. We could all wish for more of them, but that would just make for a much duller history lesson, wouldn't it?

Hope you enjoyed this post, by the way. Spent over two hours working on it this afternoon. But it was rather fascinating.

Update on Sunday · Oct 17 · 2010 | 5:04 PM PDT by Chris

Just did a quick bit of research after posting this. Clearly, not all of the teams wearing throwback jerseys for the 75th anniversary are the oldest members of the league. In fact, that's a rather different list. So who are the oldest six teams in the AHL?

• They got it right with the Hershey Bears (1932) and Rochester Americans (1956).
• The Peoria Rivermen, as stated above were founded in 1926 as the Springfield Indians/Warriors/Kings. They were the Worcester IceCats from 1994 to 2005.
• The Hartford Wolf Pack/Connecticut Whale were the Providence Reds in 1926. Between 1977 and 1997, they were the Binghamton Dusters, Whalers and Rangers.
• The current incarnation of the Hamilton Bulldogs were founded in 1969 as the Montreal Voyagers. They were the Nova Scotia Voyagers from 1971 to 1984 and the Sherbrooke and Fredericton Canadiens between 1984 and 1999. From then until 2002, they were the Quebec Citadelles.
• The Milwaukee Admirals were founded as an amateur club in 1970. The didn't become a pro team until 1977 when they joined the IHL, so if you only want to count pro seasons...
• In 1972, the Binghamton Senators were founded as the New Haven Nighthawks. They changed their name to Senators in 1992 when Ottawa joined the NHL then moved to Prince Edward Island the following year. They shut down in 1996 and were resurrected in 2002 in New York.

Seems like I need to put together a history section for Icethetics pretty soon.