002: Islanders' Stadium Series Uniform Unveiled

All pictures from: Islanders.com

 Today, the New York Islanders officially unveiled what they will wear against the New York Rangers on January 29th at Yankee Stadium for the "2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series". They were initially unveiled by the New York Daily News at midnight (Eastern) last night but officially unveiled on the Islanders' website this morning at 10 AM.

The first thing I noticed was the logo. It's the chrome logo that the NHL released a couple of weeks ago. The logo itself is screen printed onto the fabric patch, similar as to shoulder patches on Reebok premier jerseys. I think they went in that direction instead of using the normal method because of the same reason the Rangers had to stop using their Liberty Head logo on their practice jerseys because the cost of the shiny thread material used... That's just my guess, but I'm sure Reebok has their reason.

The shoulder yoke is similar to the yoke used on the new Calgary Flames new alternate jerseys which is a new style this season. On the right shoulder is the New York Stadium Series logo. I'm guessing that all the Stadium Series jerseys will use it on the shoulder and not as a chest patch, which also leads me to believe that the Rangers jersey could feature the chrome accented shield logo on the front... Although I hope that is not the case. You can also see the Isles' crest in better detail in this photo.

The Left shoulder features the Islanders primary logo that we all know. But at a quick glance, you may see a normal lace-up collar. Look closer:

The collar is a lace up collar we've never seen before. The collar itself is shaped a little differently and the laces themselves are oriented differently. If you ask me, they sort of look like the collars on the shirts of the characters from the old cartoon show, "The Jetson's".

The arm and pants striping is different too. If you look at the photo at the top of the page, you can see that the arm striped don't go all the way around the arms and that they are at an angle. The pants get the same treatment along with the chromed "NY" logo in the left leg.

 My only gripe with the jersey is the reversed colored name plate... Since the Flyers started using it in the 2010 Winter Classic it has been use a lot on specialty jersey around hockey. Whenever I see them, I'll always think about the Flyers. But as always, as time passes and the game happens I might change my mind but we'll see... The player numbers on the back also seem to be the stretched out numbers that are in the player shirts being sold on NHL.com.

So overall, I like the uniform. It's nothing the Islanders have ever worn in their history but look like something they've worn (If that makes any sense). It's modern with a nod to the past and I think it would look really good on the ice in January... I'm just worried about the Rangers Stadium Series jerseys. Especially with the odds of having the dreadful chromed shield logo on the front. I'd rather have the normal shield.