Get Ready for Green!

Devils throwback promoThe New Jersey Devils are offering a little sneak peek at their throwback jersey night on their official web site.

In case you haven't heard, the Devils will be wearing their original red and green jerseys this St. Patrick's Day, March 17.

This ad — featuring a sneak peek at the green-injected sweater — just started showing up on their web site, promoting the "one night only" event when the Devils host the Pittsburgh Penguins. It links you to a page where you can purchase game tickets.

That's all we've got so far. I don't think we'll see the actual jerseys until the players step out onto the ice for that game. In the meantime, we already know what it's going to look like — it'll just be Reebok Edgeified.

Not sure if the jerseys will be available to purchase, but the Devils could use the money. They need to re-sign Ilya Kovalchuk this summer and the man's already turned down $100 million.

Thanks to Tom!

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Related: Devils announce plans to go green!

Snow Day for Caps' 35th Patch

Caps' 35th anniversary logoBy now, some of you may have noticed that the Washington Capitals did not, in fact, wear the special 35th anniversary patches we were promised tonight. The previously scheduled auction did not happen either.

The Caps and MeiGray, the group organizing the event, decided to postpone things until after the apocalyptic snowstorm bearing down on the capital city this weekend.

Icethetics reader Drew tells me that MeiGray sent out an email earlier today informing fans of the postponement. It reads as follows:

Due to the impending heavy snowstorm, the Capitals and MeiGray have postponed the 35th season commemorative patch celebration night and auction until Saturday, March 6, when the Caps play the NY Rangers at Verizon Center.

The auction will run as planned in the building on March 6, and we will keep the pre-auction bidding open until Friday, March 5.

If you've already placed a pre-bid, it will remain valid. If you cannot attend the game, but want to bid on a jersey, you now have a month to do so.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call us toll-free at 888-463-4472, or e-mail us at sales@meigray.com.

So the 35th anniversary celebration gets a snow day. We'll revisit this in a month.

One thing does not have an answer yet, however. I'm waiting to hear from any Icethetics readers who braved the storm tonight to make it to the game. Were those classic jerseys on display, as previously announced? Or are we postponing that to March as well?

Hartford Taps Icethetics Artist

The AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack unveiled a new specialty jersey on Monday designed by a prolific Icethetics concept artist.

The always impressive Mike Ivall won the jersey design contest put on by the Wolf Pack. For his trouble, Mike gets a personalized version of his jersey as well as tickets to the game where it will be worn.

Screen shot from official team web site

Mark your calendars for February 26 and 27, when the Wolf Pack will hit the ice in this special edition sweater. The jerseys will be auctioned right off the players' backs on the 27th to benefit the March of Dimes. Last season, the Wolf Pack raised more than $10,000 for that organization.

Congratulations to Mike for being a part of that! And also for winning this contest! It's nice to see his work on the blog as opposed to the Concepts page (since it means his creation is coming to life).

Special Jersey Caps 35 Seasons

A week from Friday, the Washington Capitals will celebrate their 35th anniversary with a special one-game-only commemorative jersey.

The details of the big night — which is February 5 — were just released yesterday via the team's official web site. However, the release does not go into particulars with regard to the jersey itself. Only that it's red (probably meaning it's the regular sweater with a special patch).

Caps 35th Anniversary LogoThe Washington Capitals will be wearing a special, one-game-only set of red jerseys containing a unique 35th season commemorative patch when they take on the Atlanta Thrashers Friday, Feb. 5 at Verizon Center. Fans attending the game can leave the arena that night with their favorite Capitals player's one-of-a-kind, game-worn jersey.

It will be Game-Worn Jersey Night in Verizon Center, as MeiGray and the Capitals will be hosting a special exhibit at Section 119 in the concourse: 35 Seasons of Capitals' Game-Worn Jerseys. 

On display will be jerseys worn throughout the years by the Caps, including jerseys worn during the team's inaugural 1974-75 NHL season, jerseys worn during the 10th anniversary and 20th anniversary seasons. There will be jerseys on display that were once worn by Bob Carpenter, Mike Gartner, Dale Hunter, Rod Langway, Scott Stevens and many more.

I imagine that is going to be one kick-ass display. If you've got tickets and a digital camera, we'd love to see what they have set up. And we'd be forever in your debt.

I plan to set up a jersey gallery in the Specialty Jerseys section over the weekend following the game if you're interested in seeing what it looks like. Speaking of which, let's start the speculation. What will this red jersey look like?

If the Caps are going for the "heritage" look, they don't have many options. They spent their first 20 years in the original red, white and blue and never really changed the jerseys. It's probably safe to assume that 1974 sweater with the white shoulder yokes will be making a one-time-only comeback  (however, let's hope they don't opt for white pants).

Or could they be planning something entirely different? You'll notice that 35th anniversary logo (above) contains only the secondary Weagle logo that we love so much. Could this special jersey be more of a tribute to the next 35 years? Perhaps hinting at a future where the wordmark is a thing of the past?

We'd love to hear some more theories. Post yours below.

Update on Saturday · Feb 6 · 2010 | 8:57 PM PST by Chris

Yeah, so this didn't happen as scheduled. Postponed to March 6. Want to know why? Click here.

Wolves Test Powder Blue Waters

The minor league jersey news just keeps coming, this time out of the AHL.

The Chicago Wolves honored their everyday heroes on Saturday night with special Police & Fire Forces jerseys, which feature special shields on the shoulders.

Peter Mannino #33And yes, they're the same powder blue color that's been sweeping the NHL. It started with the Pittsburgh Penguins recapturing their youth, wearing their original colors at the Winter Classic in 2008, then later as an alternate sweater. Then the Panthers hopped on the bandwagon this season adding the hue to their new third jersey.

A couple of pictures of the jerseys in action were available on the Wolves' web site so I grabbed them to share with you.

I don't think they look awful, but I do think the red is too bright. You've got a really bright blue jersey so your accent color should be muted a bit — or at least that's my two cents. But that's what you get designing a jersey in-house.

Brett Sterling #29I might've gone with something closer to the Wolves' own brand of maroon instead of that bright red. But then again it is fire engine red, so maybe I'm out of line.

This shot of Brett Sterling offers an even better look at the sweater. You can even click to enlarge it slightly.

The jerseys must have brought Chicago good luck because they beat the Peoria Rivermen 3-2 in a shootout before a record crowd on January 2.

Chris Chelios #7They're probably hoping for more luck as this won't be the last the Wolves will wear these sweaters. They'll be used on three more occasions this month before being auctioned off for charity.

Fans will see them next on January 9, 10 and 17 — all home games. You can read the full release on the Wolves' web site.

By the way, how weird is it that Chris Chelios is playing in the minors? I guess I just thought he retired, but it turns out he declined an NHL offer just last month to keep playing for the Wolves. The guy's pushing 50 and he's just doing what he loves. No pressure, just having fun.

Before I go, I will leave you with this photo of the new powder blue jerseys hanging on the rack — straight from the aforementioned release.

Thanks to Reilly for passing along the info!

Update on Wednesday · Jan 6 · 2010 | 12:06 AM PST by Chris

How I do love the minors. Daniel writes in with a quick note regarding his Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs who also paid tribute to their local cops and firefighters this past weekend.

John DeCaro #1The Mudbugs play in the Central Hockey League and I'm not even kidding when I tell you Saturday was Guns N Hoses Night. Here's the actual release from their web site:

Join us Saturday, January 2 for "Guns N Hoses Night" as the Mudbugs play their first home game of 2010.

Guns N Hoses Night is when we recognize law enforcement officers and firefighters from all over the Ark-La-Tex with a special night themed around their service.

The game will even feature a tug-o-war between police and firefighters at intermission, and the 'Bugs will wear specialty jerseys that will be auctioned off to the fans after the game.

Not that any fan would necessarily want to own one. But a good cause is a good cause. And a tug-o-war was involved. That's what I really want to see pictures of. In theory, the firemen should be the easy victors.

Anyway, you can see more photos of this special sweater in action by clicking here. Thanks again to Daniel for the link.