IceHL Artist Makes Mark in ACHA

Neat story to share today. It's about one of the artists who contributed his work to the IceHL Project and what he's been up to these days.

Back in 2008, Nick Matarese created just one entry for the IceHL logo design contest. It was for the North Carolina Nighthawks. And it won. Nick's black and neon green bird struck apparently a chord with Icethetics voters. Even today, it remains one of the league's best logos.

But that was then. What's he been doing since? Well if you've ever heard of the Fightin' Blue Hens, you might recognize elements of the logo above. Currently, Nick is the goalie coach for the men's ice hockey team at the University of Delaware — where he actually tended goal for four years. The team is a Division 1 member of the ACHA (American Collegiate Hockey Association).

This season, Nick tells me the organization is celebrating its 40th anniversary. So he pitched in with a logo and jersey design to help mark the occasion. You've seen the logo, so how about the uniforms?

Photo by Tisa Della-Volpe

Nick says the original design he pitched was a little more intricate and not so much of a Montreal Canadiens knock-off, but the cost of such a custom jersey would've been a bit high for a college team.

"I am kind of over the old school look throughout hockey design," Nick tells me, "but it is a big anniversary year and we are playing in an outdoor game in a month so I am ok with it."

Photo by Tisa Della-Volpe

The crest is actually a retired logo no longer in use by the University of Delaware. Nick said he "had to jump through a million hoops" to be able to use it. But it definitely adds to the retro theme of the sweater. Certainly better than just running text across the front as well.

When Nick's not coaching the Fightin' Blue Hens' goalies or designing their anniversary sweaters, he's running his own design firm, Matarese Designs. Right now, he caters to mostly corporate clients, but is hoping to make a run at some minor league hockey or baseball teams in need of a rebrand over the coming year.

It's great hearing from Nick and getting to see what he's up to. With any luck, maybe he'll join us in the first round of IceHL rebranding that will be starting soon.

Portland Pirates Celebrate 20 Years

Over the weekend, I wrote up a post outlining the variety of theme jerseys the AHL will see this season. During my research, I discovered the that Portland Pirates have already worn their share of creative sweaters for this season.

Pirates mark 20th anniversary with special logo and jersey

The Pirates were actually founded in Pennsylvania in 1975 as the Erie Blades. In 1982, they moved to Maryland and became the Baltimore Skipjacks. Then in 1993, the club arrived in Portland, Maine. That's the anniversary the Pirates are celebrating this season.

So they needed a logo. But the final version you see above didn't just happen. As with any logo, a lot of options were created and considered. In fact, a member of the team that designed the mark has given us a peek inside the process. Scott Lyle posted these photos on his blog.

Photos by Scott Lyle

Lyle also lists these other members of the design team: Adriana Warner, Alyssa Harvey, Christopher Moore, Kelsey Raymond, Lucy Henson, Paige Wojcukiewicz, Rachel Carter, and Sheyenne Rivers.

That project also included designing this colorless 20th anniversary sweater.

Rendering from Portland Pirates (official Facebook)

I'm not sure why they decided to drop the red — a key part of the Pirates' color palette for all of its 20 years. Might've made this jersey stand out a little bit more.

Throwback and Pink in the Rink theme night jerseys

Earlier this season, the Pirates held a couple of theme nights that saw them wearing special uniforms.

On Sat., Oct. 27, it was Pink in the Rink, their sixth annual Breast Cancer Awareness Night. Naturally, the players had their pink-infused jerseys on. What's funny is it also happened to be Boy Scout Night.

Photo credits: AHL official Facebook page (left); Pirates official Facebook page (right)

Then a week later, on Fri., Nov. 2, it was Throwback Jersey Night. The Pirates brought back the 20-year-old sweaters from their inaugural season in Portland. I kind of miss the simplicity of old logos like that.

Happy Holidays from the Pirates

That about wraps up today's coverage of the Pirates. Now I'd just like to leave you with this.

Bears Unveil Outdoor Classic Jersey

Hershey Bears revealed design online Monday

The AHL's Hershey Bears are hosting hockey's only outdoor game of the 2012-13 season. The Outdoor Classic at Hersheypark Stadium will take place on Sun., Jan. 20, 2013. And just two days ago, the Bears unveiled the special uniform they'll be wearing for that game — complete with white pants and oodles of chocolate stripes!

From the press release:

When the Chocolate and White lace up their skates for the 2013 Outdoor Classic game on Sunday, January 20 they will be wearing commemorative jerseys. The jerseys will be brown and white stripe, and have the Outdoor and 75th Anniversary logos on respective sleeves. These game-worn jerseys will be signed and auctioned off following the game, with proceeds donated to charity.

Rendering from Hershey Bears (official website)

The Bears will be facing off against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for this game. But I've yet to find the jersey the Pens will be sporting — and you know they'll have one! This is a team that will wear a special sweater just because it's Wednesday. Heck, you need only look back to this past weekend to see them in their Christmas sweaters.

So what's your take on Hershey's Outdoor Classic jersey?

Update on Thursday · Dec 13 · 2012 | 1:47 AM PST by Chris

Bears' Outdoor Classic uniform will NOT feature white pants

All right, so it turns out the Bears won't actually be wearing the white pants depicted above.

Photo by Andy LongenbergerDave Sottile of The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Penn. did some digging. He learned today from the Bears that they will wear their standard brown pants for the Outdoor Classic next month. And let's face it, that's probably a good thing.

Along with the photo (right), here's some what was in Sottile's report:

On Wednesday, marketing manager Andy Longenberger said Hershey would wear its normal dark brown pant shells for the game, not white ones.

The brown and white striped jerseys feature the Outdoor Classic logo on the right shoulder and the Bears' 75th anniversary logo on the left shoulder. The center crest features the familiar prowling bear on all fours, as used on previous Hershey uniforms.

Longenberger said the jerseys will be auctioned off after the game, weather permitting. Proceeds from the sale will benefit Hershey Bears Charities.

He also points out the brown is much darker than it appears in the rendering that was posted on the Bears' website. You can definitely tell in the photo.

So are you disappointed about the lack of white pants? Think there's still a place for that sort of thing in modern hockey?

NHL Draft Logos for 2013 and 2014

Apparent 2013 NHL Draft logo turned up online in September

First up is this gem. It appears to be the logo for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, which will be hosted by the New Jersey Devils this summer. I say "appears to be" because I haven't yet been able to track down and a solid source for where the logo came from.

(UPDATE: Turns out this was a concept designed by a fan that got picked up by more than a few sites since the NHL took its time releasing the real one.)

From what I've been able to find, it looks like the logo first showed up online in early September in a blog post on PuckCentralHQ. It was a post discussing preseason draft rankings. But there's no reference to where they got the logo which appears at the top of the page (and as a repeated background image).

It has also popped up on a number of other minor websites and blogs (which you can find via a quick Google search). But no official NHL sources or media outlets have posted this logo. That said, it certainly looks like it should be the real thing.

It has the same design theme we've seen on past draft logos. However, what's interesting is the typeface that identifies the city and year. It's not the NHL's standard font. This could indicate a change moving forward, or it could be that this logo isn't the real thing. You can draw your own conclusions.

Abbreviated draft logos for 2013 and 2014 seen on NHL websites

During the 2012 draft, held in Pittsburgh, the NHL announced the next two draft hosts as New Jersey and Philadelphia. Photos showing the 2013 and 2014 draft logos showed up in photo galleries on the host teams' websites shortly thereafter.

The photo on the left was posted on the Devils' website. The photo on the right can be found on the Flyers' website. The two logos seen in background of these images are the simplified versions. The current NHL draft logo standard was introduced in 2010 when Los Angeles hosted.

For each, the abbreviated versions are the same shape and design but with the host's name and color (except for Los Angeles, which was blue). The full shield versions have all been unique shapes. You can see all three previous logos below. The 2013 logo at the top of this post fits in nicely.

By the way, it's disappointing to think that if this NHL labor dispute doesn't get resolved soon, the draft may just be next NHL event that takes place.

23 AHL Theme Jerseys for 2012-13

The lack of any NHL action so far this season has a lot of us turning to the American Hockey League for our hockey fix. And the variety of specialty sweaters that pop up in the minors is fascinating. I've been covering them a lot lately here on the blog.

Today I decided to check up on all 30 AHL clubs and compile a list of theme jerseys in the pipeline. Turns out, there are quite a few. But be aware that this list is not comprehensive as I'm relying on promotional calendars posted to the individual team websites. They may or may not be complete.

December

• 12/15: Peoria Rivermen, Jersey Auction
  Rivermen will wear winning jersey from a fan design contest held over the summer.
• 12/22: Connecticut Whale, Military Night, Teddy Bear Toss & Jersey Auction
  Jersey theme for Whale is unclear but an auction suggests a special design.
• Milwaukee's retro jersey12/22: Lake Erie Monsters, Cleveland Lumberjacks Night
  Throwback to old IHL team that played in Cleveland, 1992—2001.
• 12/27–28: Milwaukee Admirals, Retro Jersey Auction
  Commemorating 35 years of pro hockey with retro jersey from 1979-80.
  Auction proceeds to benefit Power Play Foundation.
• 12/31: Grand Rapids Griffins, New Year's Eve Celebration
  Traditionally, the Griffins wear something special on the last night of the year. This year is no different.

January

• 1/16, 18, 19: Chicago Wolves, Military Appreciation Jersey Auction
  Jersey auction and raffle to be held over three nights.
• 1/19: Rockford IceHogs, Pink in the Rink Night
  IceHogs will wear special pink jerseys to be auctioned off after the game.
• 1/26: Lake Erie Monsters, Hawaiian Beach Party Night (special jersey)
  Does this mean a Hawaiian-style jersey? It's also Boy Scout Night at this game.

February

• 2/1: Oklahoma City Barons, Special Olympics Night
  Theme night includes post-game jersey auction.
• 2/2: Worcester Sharks, Pink in the Rink
  Sharks will wear a special pink jersey. Post-game auction proceeds to benefit Cup Crusaders.
• Monarchs' pink jersey2/9: Charlotte Checkers, Pink in the Rink
  Checkers join the pink jersey party on the same night they welcome the Girl Scouts. Coincidence? 
• 2/9: Manchester Monarchs, Pink in the Rink Night
  Monarchs will wear pink and purple on this night. 
• 2/23: Lake Erie Monsters, Cleveland Browns Night
  Could this concept actually become a reality?!
• 2/23: Worcester Sharks, Specialty Jersey Night
  No word on the jersey design but post-game auction proceeds will benefit Autism Resource Center of Central Massachuetts.

March

• Wolves' St. Patrick's Day jersey3/9, 10, 17: Chicago Wolves, St. Patrick's Day Jersey Auction
  Wolves will wear commemorative green jerseys for three home games in March.
  Auction proceeds to benefit Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago and Chicago Wolves Charities.
• 3/16: Binghamton Senators, St. Patrick's Day Celebration
  Senators will wear special St. Patrick's Day jersey. Post-game auction to follow.
• 3/17: Hershey Bears, St. Patrick's Day Jersey Auction
  Bears will presumably be wearing green prior to the auction.
• 3/17: Lake Erie Monsters, Monsters Celebrate St. Patrick's Day (special jersey)
  Probably safe to assume the Monsters will be sporting green.
• 3/17: Peoria Rivermen,  St. Patrick's Day with the Rivermen
  Rivermen will wear special [green] jerseys to be auctioned off after the game. 
• 3/30: Norfolk Admirals, MDA Jersey Auction Night
  No word on jersey design, but if there's an auction it's probably something special.
  Auction proceeds to benefit Muscular Dystrophy Association. 

April

• 4/6: Peoria Rivermen, Blues Specialty Jersey Night
  Rivermen will wear special Blues jerseys to be auctioned off after the game.
• 4/13: Lake Erie Monsters, Autism Awareness Night
  Monsters will wear special blue jerseys for this game. 

If there are any other jersey nights I missed, drop me a line and I'll be sure to add them.

Update on Tuesday · Dec 11 · 2012 | 10:51 PM PST by Chris

Just updated this list based on what you guys let me know about. Thanks for that! We're now at 25 so the headline is no longer accurate. Whoops.