What to watch for at the 2019 NHL Draft
/A couple of people have asked me if I expect any new sweaters to be unveiled tonight at the 2019 NHL Draft in Vancouver. Unfortunately, I’ll be on an airplane tonight while the draft is underway, so I won’t get to follow along live—and I’ll probably have a bunch of Twitter alerts waiting for me when I land!
That said, I did want to talk a little bit about what you might look for tonight. It’s based mostly on NHL JerseyWatch 2019, so if you haven’t read that yet, it’s a good place to start. On the other hand, if you can’t be bothered to click away, I’ll cover everything you need to know right here.
Last week, I would’ve said the Canucks were a definite yes to unveil something tonight, but since they’ve already unveiled everything for 2019-20, we’ll have to check out some other teams.
The Sabres are a good possibility. The team has said their 50th anniversary celebrations would begin with the draft, so maybe that rumored third jersey will be on display tonight. They’ve also launched a new look on their website and social media channels, featuring the navy blue and metallic gold palette expected for the new third jersey. It’s also been rumored the new sweater will be primarily white—which aligns with the wallpaper graphics the team tweeted yesterday.
Buffalo picks 7th so keep an eye on them.
Elsewhere, the Blackhawks have updated home and road jerseys on the way for 2019-20. I don’t anticipate anything more than an update to the collar—as seen in the inset image at left.
I don’t know for sure that we’ll see it tonight, but it would make sense. Chicago picks third overall tonight barring any trades, so we should get our answer pretty early on in the proceedings.
The Hurricanes have a new road jersey in the pipeline but I’m not sure we’ll see that tonight. Carolina picks at 28 so we could have a considerable wait ahead of us.
The Ducks, Bruins, Oilers, Panthers, Predators, and Golden Knights all have third jerseys in the works according to the Adidas catalog sent to retailers. However, I haven’t heard anything that leads me to believe any of them are planning to launch those tonight. But the list is here so we’ll keep an eye on all of these teams.
Speaking of thirds, the Rangers, Red Wings, and Wild were also listed in that Adidas catalog. But I’ve since heard through various sources that, for one reason or another, these teams may have put alternate uniforms on the back burner for 2019-20. (Sorry to break the bad news.)
Last thing, of course, are the outdoor games. Between the Heritage Classic, Winter Classic, and Stadium Series, six teams will have new one-off jerseys but we’re not likely to see any of those tonight. They typically come later on.
That’s all I’ve got for now but pay attention for any surprises!
Update · 11:00 PM
Well, that was genuinely surprising. For the first time since I can recall, not a single new sweater or logo debuted at the draft tonight. Not one. And there were some good candidates!
The Sabres, perhaps not wanting to step on the toes of their host, opted against showing off their own 50th anniversary jersey—or even a 50th patch. The Blackhawks, weirdly, handed out their existing jersey to a top-three pick who will undoubtedly be all over magazine covers throughout the summer. And literally no one else did anything of any branding consequence… whatsoever.
The Canucks did present their new home jersey to their first round pick, but it’s not like it was our first time seeing it. Though I will say it does look far better than the old design.
Anyway, I suppose this does leave us with more reveals coming throughout the summer. I, for one, always enjoy that. Keep an eye on the JerseyWatch!