Loose Threads: News & Notes

When jersey news accumulates, I find the blog in need of an outlet with some kind of generic title. This is first of likely many editions of Loose Threads. Just a quick rundown of anything the blog may have skipped over earlier in the week.

Flyers to "unveil" new road sweater

Claude Giroux #28They're not making a big deal about it, but the Philadelphia Flyers will "unveil" their new road jersey when training camp opens on Sept. 17.

I use the "sarcastic quotes" because it's no secret that the Flyers will be promoting last year's Winter Classic sweater to full time road jersey — as first reported by Icethetics back in January.

The Flyers confirmed the date with the following posting on their website:

On Friday, September 17 at 3:00 p.m. the Flyers will officially open training camp and unveil the new 2010 road jersey.

They don't specifically say that it will be the Winter Classic jersey — maybe in order to be mysterious to folks unlike ourselves who do not follow this aspect of the sport so closely — but I'd be shocked if they actually designed something new. Plus, readers say it's already been seen in EA Sports' NHL 11 video game as the road uniform.

Presumably, the old white jersey will disappear while the black one will continue serving as the alternate sweater next season.

Baby Penguins try on another new third jersey

WBS Penguins unveil new thirdThe AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are redesigning their third jersey for the new season.

The new sweater was unveiled last week and the Penguins tweeted a link to this photo. Didn't realize blue was one of their colors.

Despite the color mismatch, it's not a terrible sweater overall. I like the idea of breaking the penguin out of the stripe-y circle, though the stick sticks out awkwardly.

But it does make me wonder if it might have a link to what the Pittsburgh Penguins will wear in January at the 2011 Winter Classic. Are the Baby Pens giving us a preview here? Something to think about.

By the way, earlier this month, the AHL Pens posted images of past third jerseys to their website. You can check out the 2006-07 design as well as the more recently 2008-09 alternate. See a pattern developing? Next new Baby Pens third coming in 2012.

Falcons reveal Indian throwbacks

Falcons throw back to IndiansAlso in the AHL this week, the Springfield Falcons unveiled a special throwback jersey, paying tribute to the Springfield Indians of 1936.

Here are a few details from the announcement on the team's website:

As part of their annual summer barbeque exclusively for ticket package holders and corporate partners, the Springfield Falcons unveiled the special throwback jersey they will be wearing for their first two regular season games on Friday, October 8 at Providence and Saturday, October 9 at home against Providence.

The special jersey unveiled pays homage to the 1936 Springfield Indians and will be highlighted during the American Hockey League’s 75th Anniversary weekend.

As mentioned there, this jersey will be one of a handful of throwback sweaters being worn by AHL teams to mark the 75th anniversary of the league. Also being included in the opening weekend celebration are the other five oldest AHL cities, which are Providence, Syracuse, Cleveland (Lake Erie), Hershey and Rochester.

This probably means we'll see the following throwback transformations:

• Lake Erie Monsters → Cleveland Falcons/Barons
• Providence Bruins → Providence Reds
• Syracuse Crunch → Syracuse Stars/Warriors
• and of course, Springfield Falcons → Springfield Indians

The Hershey Bears and Rochester Americans have never had any other names — nor have the cities — but they certainly have vintage jerseys I'm sure we'll see.

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And finally, in case you don't follow the Facebook page, Eric B. posted a link to photos of Marty Turco's new Blackhawks masks — seeing Turco leave the Stars is a lot like seeing Modano leave.

If I missed anything else, drop me an email and I'll update this post.

Sabres Hide Hints in Plain Sight

By far, the new Buffalo Sabres third jersey is the most highly anticipated of this year's crop. I'm sure it has to do with the "slug" finally being "salted," but it's given fans passionate about the logo a reason to be happy again.

Many are just dying to see the new sweater — unwilling to wait for the magical date of Sept. 18 when all will be revealed. No wonder the rumors are running rampant.

Time for Icethetics to join the fray. I read a lot — A LOT! — of speculation from all sorts of places. The way I see it, it's my job to wade through it all and provide you guys with the most (hopefully) accurate information. I only write about what I believe has any validity. How often have I steered you wrong?

Having said that, here's my take on Buffalo. They've been hiding hints in plain sight. Have you noticed? Look closely, as the graphic above comes from the Sabres' website splash page about ticket sales. And it's telling us a lot.

The latest, most reliable rumors say the Sabres' new alternate sweater uses these three colors: Royal blue, gold (yellow) and vintage white (dingy white). The jersey itself will be royal blue, allowing us to assume the navy blue will remain on the home sweater.

Number styling on Sabres 3rd jersey?The back — this is where it gets interesting. See the strange stitching pattern on the years (enlarged, right) in that above graphic?

Apparently, that's how the numbers will be styled on this new sweater — vintage white with blue stitching inside the numerals. A bit odd perhaps, but it's one of those cool little details you'll only notice up close.

What about the nameplate? Blue block letters on gold material — on a blue sweater. Think of it as similar to what the Flyers have done with their home and road jerseys with the untraditional nameplates.

The Sabres did tell us this one would be different.

I'm not comfortable calling it yet, but the most widely held rumors say the old Buffalo Bisons script will be emblazoned across the front of the sweater. I'm happy to wait for better details.

One final note. It appears that, unlike their past anniversaries, will not have a specially-designed 40th anniversary logo. Instead, it looks as though they're going with the classic primary logo with "1970" added inside the blue — also as seen in the image above — to mark anything celebrating their first 40 years.

I hope this will tide you guys over until either more information comes out or the jersey is revealed 24 days from now.

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.