Top
Resources
Extras

Entries from August 21, 2011 - August 27, 2011

Thursday
Aug252011

Aeros Unveil New Uniforms

DateThursday · Aug 25 · 2011 | 12:58 PM PDT Comment18 Comments

Aeros unveil new jersey / AerosThe AHL's Houston Aeros unveiled new uniforms today which include a further integration of their brand with their NHL affiliate's.

The updated sweaters were unveiled at a press conference today and pictures were posted on the team's Facebook page. They're already getting great feedback from fans. Lots of compliments and excitement.

Here are some direct links to the original photos they posted:

Because of the way the jerseys are laid out in these photos, it's difficult to make out some of the details. The white and green jerseys look like hybrid Reebok Edge templates while the the third jersey is a reversed version of the Wild's.

The Aeros have even modeled their alternate logo off of the Minnesota Wild's. Now we know what their green jersey would look like in white. Not a bad look but I prefer their current white sweater. It's the only one that retains any of their original look from 2000.

But back to Houston. Their previous home and road jerseys, matched those sweaters the Wild used when they joined the league 11 years ago. They were nice, but I can see the Aeros wanted to advance their own brand a little. Still, there's no question the alternate was inspired by Minnesota's.

I think it's a nice mix of originality and paying tribute to their parent club. What do you guys think of them?

Now a couple of quick NHL-related stories...

Blackhawks dropping 3rd jersey in 2011-12

The Chicago Blackhawks will not be sporting a third jersey at all this season, according to ESPN Chicago.

This information was previously reported on the blog but it's worth noting that others are now reporting it as well. Here's an excerpt from Monday's "mailbag" post on the Chicago Blackhawks Report by Jesse Rogers:

Q: I cannot wait for the season to start. Do you know if the Blackhawks will ever bring back the black alternate jerseys or are they sticking with the Winter Classic alternate look again this year? -- Andrew (Chicago)

A: The answer is neither. The Hawks are going with just two jerseys this season -- the home red and road white.

Apparently, the Hawks front office weren't huge fans of the 2009 Winter Classic jersey which had been adopted as a third in 2009-10. Personally, it was my favorite Blackhawks jersey. I'll be sorry to see it go. Still, we got two good years out of it and that's better than none.

Kings to wear four jerseys during 2011-12

We also have more confirmation from the Los Angeles Kings on the four uniforms they'll be wearing throughout the 2011-12 season. That's right, four.

Yesterday on the LA Kings Insider blog, Rich Hammond laid out the Kings' new wardrobe for fans. He confirmed the old black-and-purple home jersey will now be the new alternate and the vintage purple-and-gold sweater will get a reprieve after we spent most of the summer thinking it was a goner.

Kings COO Chris McGowan told Hammond that the throwbacks will be worn on three occasions during the upcoming season. He didn't specify which games. I recommend a read of that post, but if you're too lazy to click, here are a couple of interesting excerpts:

McGowan: “We’re introducing a new look, but in a way we’re not. The look has already been introduced, with the alternate jersey, the black version of it with the L.A. crest on the front. So we simply just produced a reversed version of that, in white, because of positive feedback from multiple people that are involved with the jerseys, including our fans, our ownership group, the players, the NHL, Reebok. … Then we will still keep the purple elements in our organization. Not primary, but we still want to keep them because there are people who like the purple part of the Kings brand.”

Also, McGowan talked about the players' input on the new look.

Question: I’d heard that the players actually voted to wear the black jerseys in the playoffs the past two seasons. Is that true? Did that factor into things?

MCGOWAN: “They did vote. If you notice, the last two years we wore the black jerseys in the playoffs. You want the players being comfortable with what they’re wearing, and you want them to like what they’re wearing. They didn’t dislike our old jerseys. They just simply liked the alternates better. Then we started showing them mock-ups of what a reverse, a white version, of that would look like. We did the camera tests and the designing of it. You could just see it in their eyes, that that’s the one they want to wear primarily. They definitely played a part in the decision. ..."

Nice to hear the guys who wear the uniforms actually get to have a say in them. Though I worry what the league would look like if the players got to make every uniform decision. Perish the thought.

That's all for now. I know the Winnipeg Jets jerseys are still at the top of everyone's mind. Shouldn't be more than a couple of weeks now.

Tuesday
Aug232011

Piece of Jets Uniform Revealed

DateTuesday · Aug 23 · 2011 | 12:00 PM PDT Comment29 Comments

Photo tweeted by Blake WheelerAs we wait for the Winnipeg Jets to unveil their new uniforms, it seems Blake Wheeler is there for those dying for a leak.

Today, the Jets forward tweeted a photo of what are presumably his new uniforms pants. They're dark blue with the alternate wordmark which was officially unveiled a month ago by the team.

The photo was posted today at about 1 PM Central time to Wheeler's Twitter account, @BiggieFunke:

Here it is...What do you guys think? http://lockerz.com/s/132236390

We still haven't seen the jerseys yet despite the numerous reports of leaks. I'll say it again. Any online retailer claiming to be selling the unreleased jerseys is a fraud. That's really all there is to it.

And you don't have to believe me. The Jets have repeatedly stated that the alleged "leaks" are "not even close" to real thing. This article from Sun Media goes into detail with the club's management.

Here's a good excerpt regarding the third jersey questions:

The Winnipeg Jets will have only two uniforms this coming season: home and away.

Although it’s become common over the past several years for NHL and other pro sports teams to don third jerseys for some games, it doesn’t look like the Jets will follow suit, at least not this year.

“There will likely not be a third alternate jersey this year, just due to the process of getting the main two done,” said Scott Brown, director of communications for True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Jets. “We’re going to hopefully focus on the main logos and the main jerseys.”

As far as when you'll be able to get your hands on the actual jerseys, you have more waiting to do:

“The authentic jerseys won’t be available until October, and replica jerseys likely not until November. That comes from the manufacturer,” said Brown. Nevertheless, photos purporting to be leaks of the new Jets jerseys have been circulating on the Internet for weeks.

Brown said a common one showing a dark blue jersey with the main plane logo in the middle is “not even close” to legitimate. The same goes for any other supposed sneak previews.

Over the weekend, I posted graphic representations what all of next season's jerseys will look like, even the unreleased ones — except the Jets. They're the most tightly-guarded jersey designs in history, I think. I'm very impressed with True North, Reebok and the NHL for keeping this under wraps until they're ready.

Speaking of fakes...

Fake Leafs Third Hits the Web

Fake Maple Leafs jersey / LeafsHQThis morning, Jeff of LeafsHQ posted a photo of what appears to be the Toronto Maple Leafs' new third jersey (right). I can assure you this is a counterfeit job.

Even if I hadn't already seen the real jersey myself, it would be quite obvious that this is a phony. I suppose over time you get pretty good at spotting the red flags. For example, the Reebok vector on the sleeve will not be on any new jersey in 2011.

But since I'm able to tell you which details are wrong, I will. First, and most obvious is the crest. On the real jersey, it's a modernized version of that 1967 logo. There's a silver inner-outline and more spacing between the letters in TORONTO.

The top and bottom stripes on the sleeves and waist are thicker here than they should be, and the piping around the wrists doesn't exist on the actual sweater.

Obviously, we're looking at the work of a counterfeiter who's read multiple online reports of the fact that the Leafs' new third will resemble the 1967 jersey. So while this design is on the right track, it's still all wrong. Just thought you should know.

Sunday
Aug212011

New Looks for a New Season

DateSunday · Aug 21 · 2011 | 7:48 PM PDT Comment98 Comments

As a long summer starts winding down, we're now less than a month away from training camps across the NHL getting underway. But before that, I wanted to do a quick run-through of all the new jerseys we'll be seeing this fall. And believe it or not, I have a few surprises in store.

Edmonton Oilers

Fans have been begging for it for years, and the Oilers have responded. This new road jersey pays tribute to the original white sweater the Oilers wore from their NHL inception in 1979 to 1996.

Florida Panthers

Like the Oilers, the Panthers are fixing their uniforms as well by returning to their roots with a red home uniform. The chest and sleeve piping as also been removed from both the home and road sweaters.

Though the red sweater was unveiled at the draft, the road jersey design below is still unofficial. We know the blue piping is going away but it's not clear if the jersey will see any other changes.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings are undergoing an identity overhaul in 2011, though they're only adding one "new" jersey. The white road sweater is based on the black alternate which launched in 2008.

Nashville Predators

The Predators are also making sweeping changes by introducing new home and road jerseys.

New York Islanders

We got our first glimpse at the Isles' new third jersey when a prototype design was leaked recently by a former team employee. But I've recently been made aware of some new details and can confirm report this is what the final version looks like. (Accidentally broke one of my own rules there. I can't "confirm" anything. That's for the team to do. However, this is an accurate representation of the final design.)

Ottawa Senators

We've known for some time that the Senators have had a Heritage Jersey in the works, meant to pay tribute to the original Senators from the 1930s for their own 20th anniversary season. You got your first look at a photocopy of the design earlier this month. This is what it looks like in color.

The shoulder patches have been the source of much of the speculation surrounding this jersey since the team itself offered up a sneak peek back in March. I can report that there are two of them, both in the shape of a shield. One reads Ottawa Senators, the other is in French: Sénateurs d'Ottawa.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pens will be promoting their 2011 Winter Classic jersey to alternate status this season. It replaces the light blue third which debuted at the 2008 Winter Classic.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning unveiled their new branding back in January but the jerseys still aren't available in stores. Here's a refresher of what they'll look like.

Toronto Maple Leafs

And finally, one of the worst kept secrets of the summer has been the Leafs' new third jersey. It pays tribute to the 1967 design which was only used for a few seasons. Take note of the silver inner-outline of the throwback leaf crest. Other than that, it's practically identical to the old jersey.

Obviously, the odd man out on this post are those elusive Winnipeg Jets jerseys. Plenty of you have emailed and tweeted to tell me the counterfeiters already have them. I refer you to my earlier post about phony leaks. Everyone's favorite thieves are simply manufacturing jerseys based on concept art. As I've said before, this would not be the first time. And it surely won't be the last. Be patient; don't waste your money.

For what it's worth, I can't say how close the fakes will be to the real thing as I haven't seen the final designs yet. They could be close or miles away. But since the Jets haven't scrambled to assemble a press conference on short notice, I'm guessing it's the latter. 

I also expect to have another edition of JerseyWatch posted before the end of August, but aside from one busy week, there hasn't been a lot of news this month. Hopefully this will hold you over until then.