Third Jersey Weekend

What I'm calling Third Jersey Weekend is well underway at this point. It kicked off this morning with the launch of the Sharks' new alternate sweater and will end Monday morning when the Bruins unveil theirs. So here's some things to you need to know to stay on top of the latest news.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have a new splash page on their web site with the first official indications that we'll be seeing a blue jersey on Sunday. With the primary logo on the shoulder, this could lead casual fans to wonder what's on the front.

If you're visiting Icethetics for the first time, I hate to disappoint you, but it's going to say BOLTS. I suggest checking out pictures in the Lightning's gallery at Third Jersey Central.

I'm psyched about the blue sweater, I just wish they could've used the secondary logo on the front. That's all I'm saying.

The folks at LetsGoKings.com are keeping us busy with Los Angeles Kings third jersey news. LGK's Carla Muller sat down with the designer of the Kings new alternate sweater, Todd Howk. It's really interesting to read about the process of creating this rather simple uniform. I highly recommend a read.

Now once you've done that, if you're just itching to see how the players will look on the ice and you really can't wait until tomorrow night when they face the Avs, check this out.

Now obviously, this is just concept art. The Kings haven't actually wore these in a game yet. It's just more of a preview than anything. And a rather good one. You almost can't tell it's fake.

But anyway, great job going on over there at LetsGoKings.com. They serve Kings fans well from what I can tell.

Last thing. I just wanted to share a shot of the St. Louis Blues in their new third sweaters. They made their debut tonight against the Ducks.

Those jerseys really look great. Seeing them in action, the only thing I'd change is the shade of blue. I really like the royal blue used on their home uniforms. I feel like these would've looked so much better without the really dark blue.

Anyway, that's all for tonight. Third Jersey Weekend trudges on. You can count on Icethetics to have news, pictures and all that cool stuff throughout the weekend.

And to everyone who misses the concept art. Trust me, I'm right there with you. Once all this third jersey buzz dies down in December, my next big undertaking is to create a Concepts section of Icethetics and introduce our Featured Artists.

I've been getting some really great artwork lately that I just haven't had the time to share. That will end soon.

Bolts, Bruins, Blues All In The News

I have several items for you this afternoon.

First, the Tampa Bay Lightning have released their third jersey schedule. The Bolts have indicated 14 different dates for their new blue sweaters this season. I'm excited because I'm going to the Avalanche game in December so I'll be wearing the same jersey as my team.

For what it's worth, the Lightning will wear their alternates on the day Icethetics originally had for the debut — Wednesday, November 26 against the Rangers. The actual debut is Sunday against the Devils.

The Boston Bruins are heavily promoting the unveiling of their not-so-secret new third jersey for Monday, November 24 at 8 AM on their web site. The sweaters will then go on sale on to the public that afternoon with Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Milan Lucic, Phil Kessel, Marc Savard, Tim Thomas and Blake Wheeler staffing the Boston Bruins Pro Shop.

The black alternates will then make their debut on Black Friday. There's a "teaser" picture now appearing on the web site.

Why tease a jersey we've seen pictures of many times? Well, this would be a good time to remind everybody that not every hockey fan is a jersey fanatic who visits Icethetics five times a day. But I'm proud of those of us who are.

One final bit of news. This is just a reminder that the St. Louis Blues will debut their new third jersey tonight against the Ducks. I'll have game pictures here on the blog and at Third Jersey Central later tonight for those of you interested.

And I think that about wraps it up. Sorry about the delay in getting this posted, I know many of you have emailed me. But I do have a real job and sometimes I actually have to do work there.

Sharks Unveil Third Jersey!

The San Jose Sharks became the 13th team to unveil an alternate jersey for the 2008-09. They did so by releasing pictures and a short video on their web site, describing in detail the Sharks' uniform history. I wish every team did one of these. So much better than the Icethetics Live Chat history lessons.

Here's Patrick Marleau trying on his BlackArmor.

Nothing surprising for Icethetics regulars. We've had pictures for a few days now. It's black with the full-body Sharks logo on the front (the first time the Sharks have used anything but their primary logo on a sweater). It's got the SJ-fin logo on the shoulders and "Deep Pacific Teal" and white stripes around the elbows.

And if you're interested in checking out the video, I've posted it below, but prepare yourself for Jeremy Roenick's pimping of the new threads.

You've been warned. If you don't buy your BlackArmor, I cannot stop Jeremy Roenick from hunting you down. More pictures will be available at Third Jersey Central.

The Blackness

Two quick items tonight — both dealing with new black jerseys.

First, the San Jose Sharks will unveil their new BlackArmor third jersey Friday morning at 10 AM on their web site. That's local time meaning it'll be 1 PM in the east if I've done my math right — though the countdown on their site seems to be indicating a 5 AM PST release. I'm not holding my breath.

I'll snag pictures from their web site tomorrow and have them for you here. But you've actually already seen this new black alternate sweater a few different times now thanks to the oodles of leaks.

Glad this isn't a ship.

In other news, the Boston Bruins sent out an email to fans informing them that Black Friday will be Blackout Friday at the Garden. We hope they don't mean an actual blackout, though this wouldn't be the worst time of year for that at a hockey game.

Seriously though, they want you to wear your black Bruins jerseys because the Bruins will be wearing black jerseys. Wait a minute, how is that— nevermind. Yes, the black third jersey we thought was the first to be unveiled way back when will actually turn out to be the last. I know, ironic.

I'm hearing Monday, November 24 for this unveiling but I'm not sure we have confirmation. It does appear that the new sweater will make it's official debut on Friday, November 28.

As always, you can rely on Icethetics for further news. More in the morning.

Citizen Runs Leaked Sens Pic

The leaked picture of the Senators' third jersey was printed in this morning's Ottawa Citizen if you can believe that. The Icethetics-watermarked image is next to two other concept designs that are labeled as "possible colours" for the Sens.

I can assure you they aren't. The one I posted the other day is the real deal. Here's what was printed in the paper today, via the Digital Edition.

You can read the story on the newspaper's web site.

And while I'm on the subject, it appears several stores across Canada are already selling unreleased third jerseys. Several readers sent in pictures. Here's one of them. I'll be adding more to the Sens' Third Jersey Central gallery.

So there won't be any surprises on Saturday. Here are the Kings and Sharks third jerseys also found on store racks.

Thanks to everybody who's been sending in pictures. You guys rock!