Pink in the Rink

I've had a few days to recover from my awesome trip to Las Vegas last weekend. Wish I didn't have to come back. Ever. The sooner I can get out of Florida, the better.

In going through my email this week, I noticed a couple of notes regarding "pink in the rink" events going on throughout the hockey world. Traditionally, we see this most heavily in October, as that is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But maybe it's January in Canada? I don't know.

The ECHL's Victoria Salmon Kings and WHL's Lethbridge Hurricanes (and possibly others) will be wearing pink-infused jerseys in action tonight which will later be auctioned to support breast cancer research. Yay for good causes!

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Icethetics reader Stuart writes in about the Salmon Kings, providing a link to details of the jersey auction. The highest bidders will be winning the sweaters right off the players' backs — well in at least one case.

Salmon Kings' pink jersey

Only one live auction will take place tonight in Victoria. The winner of that will take goalie David Shantz's pink jersey.

Two silent auctions will kick off tonight at 6 PM (Pacific time) for jerseys being worn by Patrick Coulombe and Wes Goldie. Bidding closes when the second intermission ends and winners get their due right after the game.

Two online auctions, which began on Tuesday and end tomorrow, will see the winners cash in on sweaters worn by Olivier Latendresse and Jimmy Sharrow.

The team's web site is quick to point out that this is the first time in the team's six-year history that the players will skate in pink. Money raised from the event tonight goes to the B.C. Cancer Foundation. More photos are available by clicking here.

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But wait, there's more. The Lethbridge Hurricanes, a junior club in the Western Hockey League, are also doing a Pink in the Rink event for the first time this weekend.

Hurricanes' pink jerseyThe two-night event began last night and continues tonight. Fans can bid on the pink-infused sweaters in a silent auction. The jerseys will be distributed to the winners following tonight's game.

More details are available on the team's official web site.

Proceeds from the jerseys will support the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Along with the proceeds from the jersey auction, funds will also be raised through the intermission promotions and donations.

Also, in a player-driven initiative, a number of the Lethbridge Hurricanes have stepped forward and volunteered to have their heads shaven at the end of the second game to show their support and commitment to this cause.

The head-shaving thing is a nice touch.

My thanks to Joshua for providing the tip and the link to Canes broadcaster Pat Siedlecki's blog, from where I nabbed the above photo. Joshua also said he'd send along some pictures from tonight's game. If he does, I'll be sure post them right here. (Scroll down.)

Update on Saturday · Jan 16 · 2010 | 7:11 PM PST by Chris

Nearly missed this one. As Fraser52 points out in the comments, the Tampa Bay Lightning-affiliated Norfolk Admirals held their third annual Pink in the Rink night this evening. The AHL club played on a literal rink of pink tonight against the Adirondack Phantoms.

Admirals' pink rinkDetails are available on the team's web site.

Events leading up to and during the game include a breast cancer informational session, survivor participation during game night, "Hockey 101: A Clinic for Women" and a silent auction for player-autographed Tampa Bay Lightning items. Even the ice will be pink.

The "Hockey 101: A Clinic for Women" will be held starting at 6:15 p.m. Seating is based on a first-come, first-served basis.

Admirals' pink rink nightHere you can see Ryan Craig in action on the pink ice as the Ads faced the Phantoms.

I like the pink tape on the stick of the Phantoms' Stefan Regein. That was nice of him to participate in the night's cause.

If you're dying for more photos of the pink-tinted hockey rink, the Admirals posted a bunch more on their Facebook page from this morning's practice.

Any others I'm missing this weekend? Drop me a line.

Update on Sunday · Jan 17 · 2010 | 9:28 AM PST by Chris

Mitch Maxwell #6As promised, Joshua Schroeder of CanesCast has provided a ton of photos from the Lethbridge game via his Flickr account today.

This shot of Mitch Maxwell gives you a pretty good overall look at the uniform from pink tape on the socks and stick to pink laces on the skates.

And sure enough a bunch of players even got their heads shaved right there on the ice after being shut out 3-0 by the Calgary Hitmen. Joshua has pictures of that too.

He also tells me that $23,000 was raised for the Canadian Cancer Society this weekend. Go Hurricanes!

Sneak Peek at New Pats Jersey?

If you haven't heard, Wednesday is the big day for all three Canadian Hockey Leagues. The OHL, QMJHL and WHL teams that have yet to unveil their new Reebok Edge jerseys will do so on 9/9/09. It's going to be a busy day here at Icethetics.

However, it seems Regina Pats fans may not have to wait that long for a sneak peek. The WHL team's new sweater may have been inadvertently leaked by their own play-by-play announcer today.

On his blog, Rod Pederson posted what I would imagine is some kind of marketing photo. It depicts a wild, screaming Pats fan decked out in red face paint and, interestingly, a red Reebok Edge jersey with the Pats' secondary logo on the front. Take a look.

Pederson writes:

I love this photo. Get used to it because I'm going to be using it LOTS this fall/winter whenever discussing the Regina Pats.

You can't see much, but it's definitely red and it definitely lacks the "Pats" wordmark fans have become accustomed to seeing on the front. Instead, it looks like the secondary mark has taken its place.

You can see in this picture to the right — taken last season — it does appear to be the same logo (facing in the opposite direction of course).

I'm not much of a WHL fan but I've always thought of the Pats in blue so it's a little strange to see the jersey in red. However, I can't really say for certain that this is the new dark jersey. Perhaps it's a third? Maybe nothing more than a marketing thing?

Icethetics reader Curtis wrote in with the link to Pederson's blog and even himself questioned the validity of the photo. Obviously we'll know for sure one way or the other on Wednesday. But I at least wanted to share the picture in the meantime.

What do you guys think? I'd especially like to hear from Pats fans. I know you're out there. Are you happy with a change to red in the Age of Reebok and all the piping that goes along with it? Or are you distraught by the hostile corporate takeover of the last remaining bastion of decent hockey sweater design?

(Were those questions a little too leading?)

Update on Friday · Sep 4 · 2009 | 11:31 AM PDT by Chris

Brett LefflerI've warned you guys I'm horrible when it comes to minor leagues — even worse for juniors. As Dustin and Jorden point out in the comments, it seems this jersey was introduced on a promotional night late last season.

As you can see in the picture at right, taken from the Regina Pats' official web site, there's nothing new about this jersey. However, it's still a Reebok Edge jersey worn during the season prior to the WHL's Age of Reebok. 

Therefore, who's to say this isn't going to be introduced as the Pats' new Edge jersey? Perhaps even just something similar.

Still, the red makes better sense in context for that one event — having to do with Canadian soldiers. Here's the description from the web site:

The Regina Pats are proud to put on special red jerseys Friday night [March 6, 2009] against the Medicine Hat Tigers, all in support of the Canadian Forces Soldier On Fund (CFSOF). The jerseys have the Pats bulldog on the front with the Pat logo within the Canadian flag on one shoulder and the Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry patch on the other.

So maybe it is more likely that a blue Edge jersey is in the cards for the Pats and this was nothing more than me not knowing my CHL facts.

But I do appreciate the corrections in the comments. You guys always manage to set me straight to make sure Icethetics isn't doling out inaccurate information. So thanks for that.

Meantime, as I said, Wednesday is the big day for the entire CHL. We'll see over 100 new Edge jerseys and I'm sure most of us will be disappointed by the vast majority.