The Future of the NHL Jersey Part II

[lafountain]

In today's Arizona Republic, hockey beat writer David Vest gives us this (which is not really news to us)...

"The Coyotes have sharp uniforms. It's too bad they are going to be altered for next season. In fact, every team in the NHL will have a new look for 2007-08 as the league attempts to update its image with new tapered duds that have been designed to be less bulky and give players more flexibility. According to reports, the new streamlined uniforms, designed by Reebok, will first be worn by players in next month's All-Star Game. Look for the Coyotes to lose the three stripes that encircle the bottom of their sweaters, and possibly even the stripes on their socks."

Makes me wonder about the Ducks and the Sabres. We know it won't be a drastic overhaul for them next season. More than likely it will be just transitioning the new look over to the new jerseys is my guess.

[JeffB]

I'm gonna take a wait and see approach to these things. I didn't think the ones in the olympics were half bad actually.

No, they weren't half bad, they were all bad!

Honestly, I hated them. The fonts for the numbers were generally terrible, those weird swilry side panels were ugly, the vertically striped socks looked dumb, I really, really hated that the striping on the sleeves went only part way down the sleeves and then just stopped for no reason at all, I saw them in the stores and didn't care for the material.

There just really wasn't a single element to the entire Nike Swift package that I thought added anything that was better than the way things were. When you compare the Swift look to what they had at the 2005 World Championships, it practically makes me want to cry. The 2005 Worlds introduced some of the best International jerseys of all time, a real peak of style in my opinion, followed by the worst collective look in history soon after.

http://frosken.com/hockey/

Scroll down and check out Austria, the Czechs, those awesome German jerseys(!), Russia & Slovenia to see what rocks.

JeffB

[ZoomZoom18]

I'm gonna take a wait and see approach to these things. I didn't think the ones in the olympics were half bad actually, wasn't too big on the horizontal striping. With that being said, I just want to see each team keep their OWN UNIQUE designs and logos.

I take that back, if they're gonna make teams redesign or lose certain elements of their jersey design, then this is a stupid idea and I'll have to make sure to buy my last jerseyes this year. I don't like the thought of the Coyotes losing the stripes around the waist of the jersey. The new Coyotes jerseys are pretty nice actually. Everytime I think about some of the things Bettman wants to do, I want to slap him.

No, they weren't half bad, they were all bad!

Honestly, I hated them. The fonts for the numbers were generally terrible, those weird swilry side panels were ugly, the vertically striped socks looked dumb, I really, really hated that the striping on the sleeves went only part way down the sleeves and then just stopped for no reason at all, I saw them in the stores and didn't care for the material.

There just really wasn't a single element to the entire Nike Swift package that I thought added anything that was better than the way things were. When you compare the Swift look to what they had at the 2005 World Championships, it practically makes me want to cry. The 2005 Worlds introduced some of the best International jerseys of all time, a real peak of style in my opinion, followed by the worst collective look in history soon after.

http://frosken.com/hockey/

Scroll down and check out Austria, the Czechs, those awesome German jerseys(!), Russia & Slovenia to see what rocks.

JeffB

The striping sucked, I agree. I was expecting the jerseys to be tighter, but some still looked pretty loose which is why I didn't think too much about them. I haven't gotten to see what they looked like not on TV. I definitely agree with you that the designs or styles really didn't add anything, and have yet to figure out why vertical striping is necessary. I remember reading an article about the jerseys on yahoo I believe that talked about how some players needed help getting into the originals. To me there is nothing cooler than watching someone take off with half their jersey tucked in and it flying everywhere. I guess I just don't know hockey like Nike or Reebok!

I definitely liked the 2005 Worlds from that site, those were sharp! I do have to say, I never thought I'd ever see a Turkey, Thailand, South African, Spanish or Mexican hockey team jersey! That's cool!

[DesertRat]

I take that back, if they're gonna make teams redesign or lose certain elements of their jersey design, then this is a stupid idea and I'll have to make sure to buy my last jerseyes this year. I don't like the thought of the Coyotes losing the stripes around the waist of the jersey. The new Coyotes jerseys are pretty nice actually. Everytime I think about some of the things Bettman wants to do, I want to slap him.

The striping sucked, I agree. I was expecting the jerseys to be tighter, but some still looked pretty loose which is why I didn't think too much about them. I haven't gotten to see what they looked like not on TV. I definitely agree with you that the designs or styles really didn't add anything, and have yet to figure out why vertical striping is necessary. I remember reading an article about the jerseys on yahoo I believe that talked about how some players needed help getting into the originals. To me there is nothing cooler than watching someone take off with half their jersey tucked in and it flying everywhere. I guess I just don't know hockey like Nike or Reebok!

I definitely liked the 2005 Worlds from that site, those were sharp! I do have to say, I never thought I'd ever see a Turkey, Thailand, South African, Spanish or Mexican hockey team jersey! That's cool!

Go to the Hockey Hall of Fame, you'll see some of those internationals in person. They have some displays for international hockey and I was amazed to see some of the countries represented.

I never liked the Swift jerseys, the vertical stripes or the skinny number font. It's one thing to look sleek and streamlined, but I just don't understand. If I played and wore those, I may think differently. Those were Nike (whose sneakers I love), anyway.

[ZoomZoom18]

Go to the Hockey Hall of Fame, you'll see some of those internationals in person. They have some displays for international hockey and I was amazed to see some of the countries represented.

I never liked the Swift jerseys, the vertical stripes or the skinny number font. It's one thing to look sleek and streamlined, but I just don't understand. If I played and wore those, I may think differently. Those were Nike (whose sneakers I love), anyway.

I am wanting to go there someday. Closest I've ever been was Niagara Falls, when I got to go to Buffalo to watch the Sabres play the Maple Leafs. Turkey is one of the last countries I'd expect to see. Some of those designs were gorgeous IMO.

I'm trying to take a wait and see approach, but I mean, if some teams have to give up their logo designs or jersey designs, what's the point? I don't want to see one uniform design all across the board but different colours represented. That makes it boring. I was ticked off enough when the Arizona Cardinals had a chance to change their jerseys to something cool and IMO, their dark ones don't look much different than the Atlanta Falcons jerseys.

[DesertRat]

The Arizona Cardinals uniforms are cool (better to look good than to play good), way better than the old ones, even if they look too much like Atlanta's, but to stick to the original topic...

From today's Arizona Republic...

The Coyotes practiced Tuesday wearing the new, sleeker uniforms that are expected to be unveiled during the Jan. 24 All-Star Game and introduced league-wide next season.

Defenseman Keith Ballard liked the tighter-fitting socks but wasn't as keen on the jersey.

"I like a little more of a loose feeling," he said. "It didn't breathe that well, not as well as I thought it would."

Player feedback, finally.

[Finny]

Awesome!

[ZoomZoom18]

The Arizona Cardinals uniforms are cool (better to look good than to play good), way better than the old ones, even if they look too much like Atlanta's, but to stick to the original topic...

From today's Arizona Republic...

The Coyotes practiced Tuesday wearing the new, sleeker uniforms that are expected to be unveiled during the Jan. 24 All-Star Game and introduced league-wide next season.

Defenseman Keith Ballard liked the tighter-fitting socks but wasn't as keen on the jersey.

"I like a little more of a loose feeling," he said. "It didn't breathe that well, not as well as I thought it would."

Player feedback, finally.

I'd love to come across pictures of that jersey other than the ones shown at the Preds practice. I had heard somewhere that many players in the olympics wore oversized jersies because they didn't like the tight feeling, I wonder how many players will do that next season?