Hawks Jerseys & Soldier Tributes
Never ones to miss a Black Friday cash-making opportunity, the Chicago Blackhawks have announced plans to officially unveil their new third jersey. And they're not going to make us wait long at all.
The Hawks have posted on their web site that the new alternate sweater will go on sale Friday, November 27 — tomorrow — and that Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa will be featured in a video about it.
Patrick Kane at the '09 Winter ClassicI'm assuming the short notice goes to the fact that the design has been long-rumored to be based on the special Winter Classic sweaters worn on New Year's Day last season (pictured to the right) against the Red Wings. While they don't say so specifically here, I'd be shocked if they do anything different.
Obviously, Icethetics will have coverage of that tomorrow. So check back for details and pictures.
For whatever it's worth, this is my favorite Winter Classic jersey yet — and quite possibly my favorite NHL jersey of all time. I'm not sure why. I just know I want to own one.
Also while we're on the subject of the Blackhawks, I got an email from a reader today on a topic I never made it around to covering a couple weeks ago.
Why were the Hawks wearing these camouflage jerseys during warm-ups on November 11?
Well I think the answer is obvious. The Hawks were honoring American soldiers on Veterans' Day. But if you'd like more details on the tribute, click here.
For the record, the Anaheim Ducks did the same thing the week before. On November 3, they donned camouflage jerseys in their pre-game skate. The sweaters were then auctioned for charity.
In case you were wondering, they are the exact same jerseys — only with different logos and numbers. And from the cut of the collar, it appears Reebok was in on the whole thing as well — which explains why both teams wore the same jerseys.
Anyway, I know I'm late on this story. And I apologize to all of you who sent in emails this month which seemed to go ignored. I read them but I just never managed to find the time to get it posted.
Actually, I had prepared an entire post talking about the lack of updates lately. It then got accidentally deleted before I could post it. Then I figured, who really cares anyway. You've heard it all before and I'm sure you guys are just happy when there's new content.
And this happens every hockey season. Work gets busy for me and when I do get home at almost midnight, the last thing I want to do is have to write more. Plus, I have a hockey team to follow too, you know.
One last note regarding KractIce. A couple of you have asked why it disappeared. Unfortunately it was due to a lack of interested just like the IceHL. And I understand that. The hockey season is back in full swing and no one really cares about logos and t-shirts anymore. We just want to see our teams to win.
We'll shoot for another competition this summer. In the meantime, enjoy the season and I'll keep posting new stuff whenever I have the time — except in January. I'm getting married in Las Vegas in January and I have no plans to keep the site updated during that time. I'll be back after though.
Quick follow up. Just read a good question that came up in the comments. Alex asked when Nashville is expected to debut their new third jersey on the ice.
As a matter of fact, it's this weekend. The Predators will wear the new alternates against the Blues tomorrow and the Panthers on Saturday — or so says the current splash page of their web site.
By the way, I've got one more item to mention.
If you haven't been following along with the Twitter updates in the sidebar, you may have missed the revelation that the Pittsburgh Penguins are evidently scrapping one of the best third jerseys currently in use in the NHL.
In an article posted on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's web site, writer Rob Rossi mentioned that the Panthers debuted their third jersey in Monday night's game and that the Penguins' alternates would be replaced in the 2010-11 season.
The Florida Panthers unveiled an alternate uniform last night. The color scheme mirrored the Penguins' original colors: baby blue, dark blue and white. Those colors are part of the Penguins' popular current throwback-themed alternate uniforms, which will be replaced next season.
That's as much as it mentions so there's no word yet on what the jerseys will be replaced with. And as far as I know, there's been no official mention of this from the team.
Pittsburgh Penguins' third jerseyPersonally, I thought they should've made the switch to these jerseys full time. But obviously the team disagrees — though I can't imagine why. Fans seemed to go nuts over it.
As you may know, the baby blue sweaters (pictured at left) originally debuted in the inaugural Winter Classic on New Year's Day 2008. They were such a big hit, the team opted to use them another dozen times both last season and this season.
It also means the Age of Reebok's Third Jersey Extravaganza won't end this season after all. We'll see a new alternate uniform in Pittsburgh at the very least come 2010.
Other teams for which I'm hoping to see replacement third jerseys — the Lightning, Senators, Stars, Bruins and Thrashers. But we can all keep dreaming.