CHL Adds the 3rd Jersey

Retailers across Canada are reporting that the CHL junior leagues (WHL, OHL and QMJHL) will all be adding third jerseys for the 2010-11 season. Yes, this comes just one year after all 60 teams got brand new Reebok Edge jerseys in the first place.

Tracking all 60 unveilings will be an impossible task for me alone. If the minor pro leagues aren't my forte, then the Canadian junior leagues really aren't. Heck, it was easy last year. The league posted all 120 jerseys in one convenient location on their website for all to enjoy. I can only hope they'll do it again.

If they don't, I'll be counting on the best fans in the hockey blogosphere to help out. Indeed, that is you. If you see something, say something. I'll do my best to get it on the blog. Meanwhile, there are five teams that have either unveiled a third jersey recently or are about to. I'm going to try and speed through them — in no particular order. (And I'll do my best to credit the tipsters.)

Attack unveil throwback jerseyFollowing up on an earlier report, the OHL's Owen Sound Attack unveiled their Owen Sound Mercury's throwbacks.

The new sweaters were revealed on Aug. 18 and the following is from the official release on the team's website:

Attack captain Garrett Wilson was on hand to introduce the Attack’s new third jersey for the upcoming season.

The Mercury’s jersey will be worn for every Wednesday night home game for the 2010-11 season, along with other specified dates throughout the year, including the home opener on Saturday, Sept. 25 vs. the Guelph Storm.

The Mercury’s operated from 1947-1957, winning the Canadian Sr. Men’s Hockey Championship (The Allan Cup) in 1950-51 and produced many players who either had strong local ties at that time or created those ties while playing here in Owen Sound. Many of the Attack’s year end awards are named after past Mercury players and still presented by their family members.

A cool, retro look. Hard to find any faults. Thanks to Blair W. for the tip.

Pats unveil vintage jerseyOn the same day, the WHL's Regina Pats unveiled their throwback thirds for the 2010-11 season.

Garrett Mitchell and Jordan Weal sported the new threads at the team's press conference. The vintage look is pulled all the way from 1925. Here are some details from the release:

With over 90 years of history, there are many different jerseys the Pats could have picked from. The selected uniform is from the 1924-25 and 1925-26 seasons with the Pats winning the Memorial Cup in this jersey in 1925.

The jersey is cream coloured with the traditional red and royal blue piping. There are specially designed letters that spells “PATS” on the front between the horizontal red piping through the middle of the jersey. The current Pats logo will be on the shoulders. The socks are also cream coloured with red piping and will be worn with blue pants and either the red or blue helmets.

There are more pictures on the Pats' website, including some old photos of the 1925 team — I guess as proof they weren't just making this design up. A bit plain, but it's hard to go wrong with a retro third. Kudos to Kev S. on this one.

Raiders reveal third jerseySticking with the WHL, the Prince Albert Raiders were the third CHL team to unveil a third jersey last Wednesday.

They are celebrating their 40th anniversary this season with a special new sweater, though according to their website, it doesn't appear to be getting much use. 

Highlights of this season’s birthday bash include Dec. 11 and Feb. 18 home games against the Everett Silvertips and Moose Jaw Warriors, respectively. On both nights, the Raiders will wear specialty jerseys. The Dec. 11 birthday tilt will be one night prior to the anniversary of the Raiders’ first game, a 9-2 win over the Regina Pat Blues on Dec. 12, 1971.

That's literally all they say about the jersey. There's barely a picture of it. The photo above comes by way of John MacNeil of the Prince Albert Daily Herald. That's Raiders marketing director Bruce Vance showing off the sweater.

And for the record, the Daily Herald says the Raiders will first wear this jersey on Oct. 22 against the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Raiders' website says nothing about that. My thanks to Brad D.

Wildcats unveil third jerseyThe QMJHL's Moncton Wildcats will be celebrating 15 years with a brand new third jersey for the 2010-11 season.

A brief posting on the club's website features a photo and explains the jerseys were unveiled Aug. 13. There's really nothing beyond that:

The 2010-11 season marks the 15th anniversary for the Moncton Wildcats in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and in honor of this anniversary the Moncton Wildcats unveil their new jersey today.

Actually, I think this one is my favorite of the bunch — if only for the logo on the front. In terms of overall sweater design, I'd probably pick Owen Sound.

Rebels unveiling third soonThe WHL's Red Deer Rebels also have a third jersey on the radar.

The splash graphic on their website promotes the unveiling of an alternate sweater as an upcoming event. However, as you can see, it's not entirely clear whether it will happen when training camp opens next week or some other unspecified time.

The divider between the training camp and third jersey lines is what makes me question this. But we'll keep an eye on it and I'm sure Scott B. will email in again when the sweater is unveiled.

New York, New York

All three Empire State teams have third jerseys on the horizon. Some sooner, some later. We'll start with the Sabres, who I glossed over last week as word came down while I was busy packing for my trip.

Sabres to unveil third jersey Sept. 18

The Buffalo Sabres announced last week that a new third jersey will be unveiled on September 18.

The new sweater is meant to celebrate the team's 40th anniversary and will make its official introduction at Puck Drop 2010, the team's 2010-11 season kickoff party.

Specific details of the design were not made available, but the following description was included in the press release on the Sabres' website:

The Sabres will unveil the team’s new 40th anniversary third jersey at an open practice that morning. This classically-designed uniform is a tribute to not only the history of Buffalo hockey, but early NHL jersey designs. The 40th anniversary jersey will now serve as the team’s alternate jersey.

Fans will be able to purchase the 40th anniversary jersey in the Sabres Store beginning that day. The team is also scheduled to take part in a scrimmage following the jersey unveiling.

That's all we really have to go on at this point, so let's break it down. It's described as a "classically-designed uniform" that's a "tribute to not only the history of Buffalo hockey, but early NHL jersey designs." That all but confirms some sort of textual element as the primary feature of the sweater. Those old-timey hockey sweaters were always using words over symbols.

Concept art by A.J. BloomquistPair that with the part about the history of Buffalo hockey, and a picture starts to emerge. Rumors have swirled for a long time that the Sabres may look to their AHL predecessor, the Buffalo Bisons, who played from 1940 to 1970. This concept (right) probably best exemplifies what we're likely to see based on the above release.

Having said that, it goes against the description leaked to Icethetics back in March. But a lot can change in that amount of time. Luckily, we only have less than a month to wait before we see it.

And of course, we can't talk about Sabres jerseys in 2010 without talking about the standard home and road sweaters. It's practically a foregone conclusion that the "Buffaslug" is dead. However, he still appears on the team's website so I'll hold off on calling it just yet.

That being said, we're expecting last season's third jersey to be the new home sweater while a white version of it will be worn on the road. We've said this over and over. My guess is that this will be made official as sort of an "oh, by the way..." type of thing at the Puck Drop event.

If I hear or see anything before then, you know where to find it. And by the way, this expectation that I "should" have a "leak" by now... laughable, folks. We'll see the jerseys when we see them. What's the rush?

Rangers' third rumored to arrive in November

SNY Rangers Blog said on Tuesday that the New York Rangers will unveil a new alternate jersey in mid-November. The writer cites an anonymous source for the approximate release date and offered no details on the design.

Possible designs for Rangers 3rd jersey?However, if you've been keeping up with JerseyWatch 2010, you already know that Bleacher Report blogger Greg Caggiano claimed in March to have seen a mock-up. He says it will be almost identical to the current home jersey except that RANGERS is replaced by NEW YORK in diagonal text running down the front.

The rest of us are hoping the "Lady Liberty" jersey from the '90s makes some sort of comeback. That was truly a cool sweater — regardless of whether the statue is technically in Jersey or not.

And let's not bee too closed-minded here. It's entirely possible that the Rangers could come up with a totally new sweater design. Likely? Maybe not. But certainly possible.

Islanders plan third jersey for 2011-12

Now that the New York Islanders have fixed their jersey design failures by reverting to their original design twice since 1997 — they're going to mess with it again.

A new article posted yesterday on the Isles' website follows a day in the life of the team's director of retail operations, Terry Goldstein. It's a fun read for jersey geeks like us. Among other things, Goldstein says work began in April on the design of a new alternate sweater which will launch in 2011 — assuring that Icethetics will never ever run out of content. Ever.

He's a little cocky...

“As the Director of Retail Operations, my design ideas are the ones that help create new player jerseys and the different items found in our Team Stores,” Goldstein said. “In the past six years, every Islanders apparel item that you have seen our players or our fans wear at the games, on television or in print has began with my ideas.”

...but at least now we have a legitimate scapegoat for the striping atrocity that was the Islanders' original Reebok Edge uniform. Mike Milbury is still to blame for Fishsticks.

As we all know by now, the Isles are returning to their original colors and uniform design, featuring that classic royal blue and orange combination. It's nice seeing bright colors making their way back into the NHL. Now to the part of the article about the upcoming alternate uniform.

By returning to the team’s original colors, the Islanders now have only two jerseys for this coming season and Goldstein is looking to create a new third jersey for the 2011-12 season.

“The planning started 4 months ago to re-introduce a third jersey. We currently have a committee of people that are deciding on the style,” Goldstein said. “We have all types of designs. We’ll make samples of the jerseys, then make the final decision. This will become part of what you see on the ice in the 2011-12 season.”

With the way things have been trending lately, I shudder to think the final design may be some scripty text. But next season is still a long way off.

Meantime, the article also includes this gem:

More than 15 months ago, Goldstein started working to create a camouflage practice jersey for this coming season. The Islanders will debut the practice jersey on the ice for pre-game warm-ups, prior to facing off against the Flyers on November 6 in honor of Military Appreciation Night. Once the pre-game skate is over, fans will have the opportunity to bid on the jerseys with the proceeds going to the Wounded Warriors Project.

“Tied in with the warm-up jerseys, we are creating four other military camouflage items for our team stores,” Goldstein said. “We are going to have a John Tavares camouflage shirt, a hat and a generic shirt. We are trying to create some fun items that we have never done before.”

Dude, over a year for a camouflage warm-up jersey? Really? Anyway, if you want to know more I recommend giving it a read.

And yes, I have minor league jersey news to get to as well. But that'll be for another day. I have to go to work some time.

Update on Thursday · Aug 19 · 2010 | 9:56 PM PDT by Chris

Quick follow-up to this post. Icethetics reader Jeremy M. pointed out to me that it seems Reebok has redesigned the standard NHL practice jersey. All 30 teams now have replicas for sale. I've posted pictures in a brand new Jersey Gallery.

Of course the "Buffaslug" is nowhere to be found on the Sabres' new jersey, but what's interesting is that the Lady Liberty logo is on the Rangers' practice jersey! An awesome sign of things to come perhaps? 

Even if they don't end up using it on the new third jersey, I'm at least glad to see it's not completely dead. Also worth noting is that the Canucks are using their secondary logo, the modernized "stick-in-rink," while the Predators going with the simplified version of their primary mark — introduced on the third jersey, and expected to be on the new home uniform.

That is all.

Ducks Detail 3rd Jersey Debut

The Anaheim Ducks have officially confirmed that their new alternate uniform will be unveiled when they hit the ice on November 26.

The third jersey announcement was made on Wednesday via the team's website. The new sweater will be worn 14 more times during the season following the game against the Blackhawks. For the record, the Ducks will wear their regular home jersey during warm-ups so the new uni truly won't be seen until game time.

A general description of the new jersey design was included in the release.

“After introducing a new name, logo and colors to our fans four years ago, we felt it important to give our original look due time to establish itself in the market,” said Ducks Vice President of Sales and Marketing Bob Wagner. “At this point, we’re excited to introduce an additional look for the team in 2010-11, one we feel confident our fans will embrace.”

Since the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim became the Anaheim Ducks on June 22, 2006, the club has worn a jersey with a color palette of black and metallic gold with orange accents as a metaphorical link to Orange County. The primary logo emblazoned across the front of the jersey is a strong typographic mark anchored by a stylized “D” that echoes the image of a duck’s footprint.

The third jersey will put an alternative spin on the traditional colors and logo, also paying homage to the club’s history.

Ha! You mean the "strong typographic mark" that Icethetics readers just can't get enough of? That one? Funny. But I digress.

Paying homage the club's history? Likely a popular choice. Who thinks Wild Wing is making his glorious return? I still have that old jersey in my closet. But while a Disney character is unlikely on the new uniforms, it's cool to see the owners are willing to revisit that chapter.

The last line of the pull quote above makes my head spin, though. An "alternative spin" on the "traditional" colors and logo? Is this to say jade and purple could be as much in the Ducks' future as in their past? Or maybe a Duck-shaped goalie mask incorporating the orange and gold?

Whatever it is, I'm excited to see it. It's just too bad we have to wait three months. In the meantime, got any concept ideas? Email them my way.

Thanks to all of you who sent in this story today while I was busy working.

Sabres to Launch New 3rd!

The Buffalo Sabres will unveil a new third jersey on September 18, in tribute to their 40th anniversary. The new sweater will become the club's permanent alternate uniform.

I wish I had time to write up a full blog post right now. Instead, here's a snippet about the jersey design from the release on the team's website:

This classically-designed uniform is a tribute to not only the history of Buffalo hockey, but early NHL jersey designs. The 40th anniversary jersey will now serve as the team’s alternate jersey. Fans will be able to purchase the 40th anniversary jersey in the Sabres Store beginning that day.

I'll try to fill this post out later tonight. In the meantime, discuss!

Update on Thursday · Aug 12 · 2010 | 12:29 PM PDT by Chris

Hey guys, I'd love to cover this more right now but I'm actually not going to be able to update the site until after the weekend. I'll be out of the country until Monday. But next week... I'm all over it!

Update on Thursday · Aug 19 · 2010 | 4:30 PM PDT by Chris

If you're still waiting for an update to this post... give up! After more than a week, I've got a new post featuring third jersey news for all three of New York's NHL clubs — Sabres included.

Pens Sticking with Powder Blues?

A new report from a Pennsylvania-based retailer says the Pittsburgh Penguins are dropping plans to launch a new third jersey for the 2010-11 season.

House O' Hockey in Monroeville, Pa. sent an email to customers today, claiming that the Penguins will be sticking with their current powder blue third jersey for at least another season. Here's a pull from the actual email:

Breaking News! The NHL Pittsburgh Penguins have decided not change their 3rd Jersey for the 2010/2011 season but will wear the light Blue 3rd Jersey (Columbia blue) again for another season.

Here to stay at least another year?As reported on Icethetics, it was first revealed in December that the Penguins were planning to ditch their current third jersey in favor of another alternate uniform, also based on a past design. 

These rumors were then confirmed by Reebok. While the manufacturer offered no specific details, they did say the Pens' third jersey was "TBD" for 2010-11, alluding to a new design in the works.

So if this report from House O' Hockey is true, what are the implications? Could it be a response to fan outcry? The jerseys are very popular and this rumor of a redesign has been churning for months. Plus, if the team were to stop wearing them, wouldn't fans who just spent their hard-earned recession money on one be annoyed?

My sneaky suspicion has to do with the next Winter Classic. Another report recently said that the Penguins and Capitals could be meeting for the next outdoor game on 1/1/11. If that's true, it might make more sense for the Pens to hold off and debut a new alternate uniform then. Of course the NHL has released absolutely no information on a Winter Classic in 2011, so this is just speculation on top of speculation.

What's your theory on the Pens scrapping plans for a new third jersey?

Thanks to Gary P. for passing along this information.

Update on Wednesday · Apr 21 · 2010 | 7:02 PM PDT by Chris

Just watching the Boston Bruins come back against Sabres tonight on Versus. How I do love overtime playoff hockey! But I saw something funny during the broadcast.

Bruins or Killer Bees?After one of the Bruins' goals, they showed some cutaways of cheering fans. I'm not sure who this guy was actually rooting for.

He was holding a poster that said Killer B's. What was odd was that it had a "killer bee" on it. And not just any bee. Take a look at the screenshot to the right. (Click to enlarge.)

That's the logo of the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League. So that's weird. And random.

And it's not just that he's using another team's logo to cheer on his team. It's that it's a logo that doesn't represent his team at all. I know that fans often call the Bruins the B's, but they don't mean the insect.

Anyway, I just thought it was funny. And kudos to the Killer Bees for getting their logo on national TV.

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Collect them all!Also worth checking out if you're bored, there's a new board game out by CSE Games in which the goal is to collect various historic Hockey Canada jerseys. 

RPS 27: Rock-Paper-Scissors Jigsaw Battle (Hockey Canada 2010 Edition) — yes, that's the name of the game — is a puzzle game for kids.

Basically, you play rock-paper-scissors to collect pieces from your opponents to complete a puzzle. And the pieces have hockey sweaters on them.