Jerseys Gallery Launched!

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Icethetics just keeps on giving this Christmas. As promised, today marks the launch of a brand new feature. It's located in a tab at the top of the page simply called Jerseys.

Right now it consists of only one jersey gallery. In time, there will be galleries for every NHL uniform — not just the alternates. But I figured I'd begin with the league's newest sweater — the Florida Panthers' third.

Screen shot of the first Icethetics Jersey Gallery

Better Than 2D Displays

There are a couple of great sites out there that serve as a "database" of NHL jerseys. The best is NHL Uniforms.com but SportsLogos.net is also building a decent catalog. I'm not about to take on those guys. My intention is to go in a different direction.

They've got the two-dimensional aspect down. It's great for a top-to-bottom look at the overall design of a sweater. But how often do we really see hockey jerseys laid out flat that way? Most of the time we see jerseys on actual players in game action. That's how we remember them.

So I say it's time for a gallery that celebrates the jersey in its most awe-inspiring state — on the ice! Each jersey gallery will feature photos of all players (or as many as is practicably possible) who have worn it. That's the goal. It will likely be a work in progress for a long time to come.

The Presentation

I think you'll be pleased by the presentation of the photos. Clicking on one of the galleries takes you to a page full of thumbnails. From there, click one to see it enlarged. Then cycle through the rest using the navigation arrows on the left and right side of the window.

As for the photos themselves, they've been cropped to the same dimensions to avoid jarring transitions. Most important is the environment of the jersey. While it is the basis of these galleries, it can also be distracting. I've desaturated everything in the frame but for the player who is the focus of the shot. I believe this best helps the jersey and the player wearing it stand out in the image.

The caption includes the player's number and name and photos are arranged in numerical order. As time goes by and players come and go, numbers will be duplicated. I have no plans to list the year(s) a player played for the given team as that is available on sites such as NHL.com or HockeyDB.com.

New Updates One at a Time

I'll be adding new galleries one-by-one as I'm able to create all the graphics for it. Within a few weeks, I hope to have all current third jerseys. Within several months, all current home and road jerseys as well. As I post new galleries, I will make mention of it via Twitter — which can be seen in the sidebar.

Beyond that, we'll start diving into the past. I doubt we'll really get past the mid-90s as good pictures will be hard to come by, but that gets us into the days of the original third jerseys as the very least.

So there you have it. I hope you guys do enjoy the new Jersey Gallery feature. (And I apologize for all this text, I just figured I should explain myself.)