NHL to Announce 2012 Winter Classic

On Monday, Sept. 26 the NHL will make a major announcement from a ballpark in Philly. Why are they beating around the bush? It's the worst-kept secret in hockey.

The league will announce that Citizens Bank Park will play host to the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers for the NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2, 2012. I think this may be the longest we've had to wait for official word on the annual outdoor game. The press conference usually happens during the summer.

Before I go on, credit where it's due. The Philadelphia sports blog Crossing Broad seems to have been the first with details, such as the confirmation of the new Winter Classic logo and a number of other details.

Yesterday, they posted a logo found on a fan-operated Winter Classic Facebook page. While they couldn't initially confirm its legitimacy, it sure looked like the real thing. Later in the day more details started to emerge, including a YouTube video labeled as the "official teaser" for the 2012 Winter Classic. It featured the new logo at the end.

Winter Classic presser preview / Matt GelbThen came this photo of the Citizens Bank Park scoreboard from Philadelphia Inquirer writer Matt Gelb. I assume there was some testing being done in advance of Monday's press conference. Either that, or someone punched up a graphic they shouldn't have.

Either way, it proves the Winter Classic logo is legitimate while also giving us a sneak peek at the throwback logos to be used by each team. For the Flyers, no surprises. They haven't changed their logo since they joined the NHL in 1967. The Rangers, on the other hand, have gone through a number of iterations of their classic shield mark. This particular shield design was used by the Blueshirts between 1926 and 1947.

Now the jersey speculation can truly begin. There's almost no doubt in my mind the Flyers will stick with their current orange home sweater. It's based on their original look and it's as retro as they're going to get.

For the Rangers, there's a little wiggle room. According to NHLUniforms.com, the Rangers never wore a white jersey until 1951. And since then, the only one they've used that didn't resemble what's still worn to this day was in 1976 and 1977 when the shield was used as a crest. But I don't see them going that route.

Instead, may we'll see a break from tradition. The first Winter Classic in 2008 was the only time the home team has worn white out in the elements. Will the Flyers don white again in 2012, as they did in 2010 when they played the Bruins at Fenway? If so, it would allow the Rangers to simply use their current dark blue retro third jersey, meaning we wouldn't be treated to any new uniforms at all.

Of course, even if the Flyers wore their home orange, the Rangers could still sport their regular road whites. Either that or they could introduce a white version of their new third. It's hard to say for sure right now. We should know on Monday. But I don't imagine we'll be all that surprised.

Should we expect one or two of these jerseys to appear at the 2012 Winter Classic?

What do you guys think? Are my expectations too conservative? Think the Rangers and Flyers have something special in mind that we haven't thought of yet? Speculate away!

IceCaps Unveil Familiar Uniforms

IceCaps jerseys unveiled / Dave SalterThe AHL's St. John's IceCaps officially unveiled their uniforms today. It should surprise no one that they are identical to those of their NHL parent club, the Winnipeg Jets.

IceCaps owner Danny Williams and player Jason King were on hand this morning to model the new sweaters for cameras. And for an AHL team, they look incredibly good.

Now a moment ago I said "identical," but obviously that would be silly. The IceCaps have their own primary logo on the front and the Jets' logo on the shoulders. Add in an advertisement or two and that's it as far as differences.

Here's how the new look was described in a press release on the AHL's website:

The jerseys, which are modeled after the parent Winnipeg Jets uniforms, consist largely of two shades of blue. The primary navy blue base of the home dark jerseys is referred to as Polar Night Blue. The lighter, secondary blue is called Aviator Blue. Each jersey includes sleeve piping, accenting the colors. 

The IceCaps will wear the white jerseys at home and the blue jerseys for road games. 

“I could not be more pleased with the final product we are unveiling today which will be the signature look of the St. John’s IceCaps,” said Mr. Williams. “These are incredibly sharp looking jerseys that are sure to catch the eye throughout the league.”

If you haven't been following along this summer, the IceCaps were known as the Manitoba Moose until that club was displaced by the purchase and relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg. The team, still owned by True North along with the Jets, moved to St. John's, Newfoundland and unveiled their logo on July 29.

As I said yesterday, I like the Jets' new uniforms, so naturally I like the IceCaps' as well. I almost like them better because I like their primary logo better. But despite my understanding that advertising is necessary to the business aspect of an AHL franchise, I've never liked it on the uniforms. Otherwise, solid look.

IceCaps uniforms nearly identical to Jets / AHL

But wait, there's more minor league news...

San Francisco Bulls joining ECHL in 2012

San Francisco Bulls joining ECHLYesterday, the ECHL Board of Governors approved the membership of a new franchise to begin play in the 2012-13 season. They're called the San Francisco Bulls and appropriately, they'll play at the Cow Palace.

But before you get too excited, the logo being used to represent the new California club on the ECHL's website is absolutely atrocious. It's not design. It's just a sad mess.

The bull head looks like some sort of futuristic, metallic thing while the font couldn't look more dated. And the crossed hockey sticks look like a tacked-on afterthought. Painful is what it is.

I'm hoping that by the time next summer rolls around, they'll have a real logo to show us. And maybe a revised color scheme? Who thought gold, red and black used in this way was a good idea? The 49ers do it right. This doesn't.

In any case, next year the ECHL celebrates its 25th anniversary and it's cool to see them adding new teams in west coast markets after so many have come and gone in the recent past. Heck, if the Florida Everblades were to visit, I might even fly down to see a game. 

Jets' New Look Hits the Ice

It was 112 days from the announcement of the Atlanta Thrashers' demise to the first time its' players would suit up as Winnipeg Jets. And for a blog like this one, watching the branding process unfold before our eyes was nothing short of a rollercoaster ride.

I'm not from Winnipeg. Or Canada. Or Atlanta. So I didn't really have a stake in the team itself. I was only interested in watching the first NHL relocation (since I started the blog) play out. Once the jerseys were unveiled, I went back to looking at them the same way I look at any other team. An enemy the Lightning need to beat. Even moreso this season since they're a division rival.

But that's not the end of the story. I haven't told you what I think of the uniforms yet. And many of you have been asking. Now that they've seen their first game action, I have no reason to hold out any longer.

Blake WheelerIn a funny twist, the Jets' first pre-season opponent was the Columbus Blue Jackets. Funny, because sentiment among many readers is that Winnipeg's new sweaters are a bit of a fusion of Columbus' uniforms.

And I see what they mean. The crest is blue, red and silver. On the road jersey, blue covers the top of the sleeves from the neck line to the wrist. Just like the Jackets.

There are light blue sleeve and waist stripes wrapped in silver. Just like the Jackets' third jersey. Even the font is hauntingly reminiscent of what's on the alternate Columbus sweater — only more rounded.

But those are other people's opinions. You wanted mine. And many of you have been waiting patiently for it. So I have to get it right. Not that it has to be popular, just an honest assessment.

It's no secret I'm not a fan of the primary logo, the crest. I made that quite clear when it was unveiled. And got a lot of hassle for it, I should add.

There's a lot I dislike about it. The central element, the jet, has no distinguishing features. The jagged maple leaf it sits atop is red, making it look like the plane is exploding. And worst of all, it's set in a circle.

I understand the impulse to go with a circle when your team is named Oilers or Islanders. But Jets? It's a name that conjures so much whether you were a hockey fan in the 1980s or not. Jets! They're meant to fly freely but instead this one is locked up inside a fat blue circle. Why?

Because True North liked Winnipeg's military connection and wanted to take advantage of that. It's one thing to have a military night and give free tickets to soldiers and have the players warm up in camo-colored jerseys that are auctioned to support the people that serve their country. I'm 100% behind that.

I'm just not sure an NHL franchise should market itself (read: try to turn a profit) by capitalizing on the iconic imagery used by the people who put their lives on the line almost daily. To me, it's just wrong. I know the Jets aren't the first team to use military-inspired marks, but I'm not making comparisons here.

Whether you agree or disagree with the military theme, the fact is the design itself is quite poor. It looks like a compromise. One guy wants the roundel. Another guy wants a red maple leaf. And the other guy says, "wait, don't forget to get a jet in there too." I don't mean to harp on it, especially considering they had to rush to get this done. All I'm saying is I stand by my initial review of that logo.

Now, the uniforms. Those I like. I like the two-tone blue and silver color scheme. I like that the red is nothing more than an accent color on the crest and shoulders. It really pops that way. I like the shoulder patches and the socks. And the fact that the sleeve stripes wrap completely around the arm. I even like the new number and nameplate font. All of these things bring some much-needed originality to this club's look.

Everyone wants to call the Jets unoriginal for using dark blue, the new "in" color, apparently. Actually, the only other teams that will have dark blue home jerseys this season are the Sabres, Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets. Granted, there are five teams that have dark blue thirds. But really, the biggest color offender is red. Eleven different teams use it on their jerseys in some form. And for 10 of those 11, it is the primary color of the home jersey. Let's praise the Jets for avoiding that color and looking more like Columbus than they already do.

There are some things about the uniforms that I don't like. Just a few. I don't like that the collar tie is the same color as the jersey. No contrast there. And I don't like the wordmark on the pants. Or the wordmark at all. I don't mind them using a wordmark on the pants, but I just don't think this particular custom font works well. It doesn't feel as modern as I would've expected.

So there you have it. My view on the Jets' new uniforms. Some of you will agree, others will not.