I'm working on a huge Icethetics side project right now that should be released in the next few weeks. So while there are a number of things to cover today, I'm going to make this post quick.

Jets Hold Real Jerseys a Week

Young Jets get practice unisWinnipeg Jets players took the ice competitively for the first time yesterday in the Young Stars Tournament, though not wearing their new jerseys as we expected. Instead they donned practice jerseys with some extra patches sewn on.

So after weeks of listening to the team say the new uniforms had to be unveiled before the tournament so the players could wear them, we still have to wait a week to see them in action.

The following comes from the game recap on the Jets' official website:

The young stars did not debut the new Jets sweaters, instead wearing practice jerseys. The Winnipeg Jets will wear their new jerseys for the first time on September 20th against Columbus.

We've waited this long. What's another week?

Some of you have written in asking about the sock design — as if that could single-handedly change the entire look of the uniform. But as you can see in this photo, the sock stripes appear to match the sleeve stripes from the real uniforms.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I'm surprised that a week after the jersey was unveiled, only one person has asked what I think of it. Don't get me wrong, you'll still get my take eventually — just not yet. I was going to write something up last week but I'm holding off to see the jerseys in action before I dive in with my critique. It may surprise you, actually. May.

For now, though, I have a couple of third jersey schedules to share.

Penguins Officially Announce New 3rd

We've kind of taken for granted all summer that the Pittsburgh Penguins would be switching their third jersey to their most recent Winter Classic sweater. It was never really official until today.

The Pens said in the release that fans told them "they love the new look, the new shade of blue, and the blending of different eras of Penguins hockey." Based on what I've read from Penguins fans on this site, it sounds to me like you've been telling them you love the black and gold from the late 1980s. But they can't seem to hear that for some reason.

Sidney CrosbyNo matter. I think it's a great looking uniform. And  came the schedule for the new third jersey in the 2011-12 season. We'll be seeing it for 12 home games:

• Sat., Oct. 15 – vs. Buffalo Sabres
• Thu. Oct. 27 – vs. New York Islanders
• Tues., Nov. 15 – vs. Colorado Avalanche
• Fri., Nov. 25 – vs. Ottawa Senators
• Tues., Dec. 27 – vs. Carolina Hurricanes
• Fri., Jan. 6 – vs. New York Rangers
• Sat., Jan. 7 – vs. New Jersey Devils
• Fri., Jan. 20 – vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Sat., Feb. 11 – vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Sun., Feb. 12 – vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
• Wed., Mar. 7 – vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Thu., Mar. 22 – vs. Nashville Predators

Nice spread over the course of the season. I like that they're wearing them on a couple of back-to-back nights, and of course, against my Tampa Bay Lightning. That'll be one good-looking hockey game.

There's another third jersey schedule floating around out there...

Avalanche Set 2011-12 Third Jersey Dates

The Colorado Avalanche recently posted the game schedule for their blue alternate jersey, which will be entering its third season in use.

Interestingly, they even included details about the design that I don't remember reading when it was unveiled in 2009. They include information about the designers and prototypes. Have a read:

The third jersey design is a collaboration of ideas from the Colorado Avalanche (including Kroenke Sports Enterprises Creative Imaging), the National Hockey League and Reebok. ... Two rounds of sweater prototypes were tested and ran on ice before the final version was made.

Milan HejdukNow here are the 12 home dates in which the sweater will see action during the coming season:

• Fri., Oct. 28 – vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Wed., Nov. 2 – vs. Phoenix Coyotes
• Wed., Nov. 23 – vs. Vancouver Canucks
• Fri., Dec. 2 – vs. St. Louis Blues
• Tue., Dec. 13 – vs. San Jose Sharks
• Tue., Dec. 27 – vs. Winnipeg Jets
• Wed., Jan. 18 – vs. Florida Panthers
• Thu., Feb. 2 – vs. Minnesota Wild
• Mon., Feb. 27 – vs. Anaheim Ducks
• Sat., Mar. 10 – vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Tue., Mar. 20 – vs. Calgary Flames
• Thu., Apr. 5 – vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Panthers will be the only true Eastern Conference team to see the Avs sporting blue this year. They have Stanley Cup Final history together. (Though I guess strictly speaking, the Jets are still in the East for this year.)

One final item for today...

Sens Give Another Glimpse of Heritage

One final item for today. A reader tweeted a link to a page on the Ottawa Senators website, offering the new Heritage Jersey for sale without really showing it to us.

From what I can tell, this is the same photo that was used in the team's own sneak peek way back in March. Only difference is now we get it in full color without any distortion from projector screens or compressed Flash video.

First, you can see that vintage white is, in fact, in use. And second, the shoulder patches seem to contradict my earlier report which said that they were bilingual, English on the right shoulder, French on the left.

I'm staring at a photo (which I can't show you until after the official unveiling) that clearly shows one patch is in French, so what's the deal? One of two things: either 1) there was a change made between this photo and that one, or 2) we're actually looking at two jerseys laying side-by-side in this photo. It's hard to tell for sure on that.

Meanwhile, the Senators say the Heritage Jersey will be available on Oct. 1, meaning the official reveal will have to take place on or before that date. I'll be keeping an eye on it, obviously.