Sweater Switch '09, Part 2

First, check out Part 1: Pronger, Havlat, Tavares, Hedman, Ashton

Jay BouwmeesterTonight, we start with the Calgary Flames and their recent addition of blue-liner Jay Bouwmeester. Great picture to the left, by the way.

He was traded by the Florida Panthers in exchange for Jordan Leopold on June 27. Both players were set to become free agents on July 1 but both have since signed deals with the teams they were traded to.

Bouwmeester donned a Flames sweater when he was introduced at a team press conference. His name stretches from shoulder to shoulder across the back of his No. 4 jersey — the same number he wore during his six seasons with the Panthers.

Unfortunately, the article (linked above) doesn't address his reasoning for wearing the number. If anyone can find an explanation, email or comment. I know lots of folks are enjoying the stories behind the sweater numbers.

We continue with the Flames' opponent in their most recent attempt at a Stanley Cup run. The Tampa Bay Lightning added Mattias Ohlund and Matt Walker this summer, both of whom were on hand to meet fans tonight at the Young Guns Camp.

Matt Walker and Mattias Ohlund

They're not wearing their new Bolts sweaters here, as they speak to TV announcer Rick Peckham. However, fan giveaways included a No. 2 Ohlund sweater, seen below.

A fan holds up her Ohlund jersey

This means either Lukas Krajicek will be getting a new number this year, or this is a placeholder for Ohlund. But Ohlund has seniority.

Interestingly, Krajicek and Ohlund played together in Vancouver during the 2007-08 season. For the record, Krajicek wore No. 5 then, which is currently available in Tampa.

Regarding Walker, I believe he wore No. 8 last season in Chicago and No. 28 prior to that in St. Louis. Neither is being used by Lightning players at the moment.

Side note: Am I starting to take jersey numbers to seriously? Really, there's not much else to talk about at this point and I want to keep updating the blog.

Either way, the Montreal Canadiens have an entire article up on their web site dedicated to the jersey numbers of two of their newest members. Mike Cammalleri has worn No. 13 his entire career, with both the Kings and Flames (and even before that), and will continue to do so with the Habs.

Scott Gomez has a longer story. Since normal numbers are getting harder to come by for the NHL's most storied franchise, Gomez could use neither of his previous numbers. He began his career in New Jersey with No. 23 and switched to No. 19 when he joined the Rangers. As the article points out, his current GM and former coach have had those numbers retired. Instead, Gomez will do a reversal and wear No. 91 in Montreal.

The article also mentions that he is the first player in team history to do so, leaving a mere 11 numbers still yet to be used. Sadly, there are not yet pictures of either player in his bleu, blanc et rouge. (Though if you want to see Gomez in red, white and blue, he was just with the Rangers.)

Ryan SmythWe'll finish off Part 2 with new L.A. King Ryan Smyth. Smyth recently posed for pictures with his his new jersey. It doesn't appear to have a number on it, but there should be nothing stopping him from keeping the No. 94 he's worn throughout his career as he heads to Los Angeles.

Smyth actually wore No. 10 for the three games he played for the Edmonton Oilers in the abbreviated 1995 season. Ever since then, he's stuck with the No. 94, including his brief stint with the Islanders prior to joining the Avalanche.

And all that useless information should wrap things up for Part 2 of Sweater Switch '09. I hope to have a Part 3 soon but that will all depend on the speed at which pictures of new free agent signees pop up.

As always, if you see anything, please drop me a line. My email address can be found at the top of the page.

Update on Tuesday · Jul 14 · 2009 | 8:47 PM PDT by Chris

Ryan SmythSeveral people have sent in this photo of Ryan Smyth holding his new No. 94 Los Angeles Kings jersey. I finally got around to posting it tonight.

I'm also finally getting around to possibly having enough content for Part 3 of this series, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

A couple of things to note about this jersey. First, I can't quite tell if it's an authentic or premier, but it does appear to be the real deal. If that is in fact the case, the Kings have made a minor change.

The numbers on the back feature heavier borders than they did last year. It makes the purple look like a lighter shade and gives the appearance that the overall numbers are larger.

Of course this is pure conjecture because who knows who made this one Smyth's holding. Since he's standing in an L.A. Kings office area, I'm assuming it's official in some way, but we'll have to wait for October to know for sure. Just thought it might be worth a mention. 

For reference with regard to the numbers, check out Michal Handzus in the following photo.

It's even possible the same thing has been done to the numbers on the sleeves. I'm anticipating Part 3 to debut on Wednesday or Thursdsay.

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!