Quebec Does It Classy

The final four teams in the Canadian Hockey League have been determined as the Memorial Cup starts tonight. The WHL is represented by the Kelowna Rockets, the OHL is represented by the Oshawa Generals, and the QMJHL has the Rimouski Oceanic as their representative. The final team is the host team, and that would the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL. As part of the tradition of hosting, the Remparts debuted their Memorial Cup jerseys that honour the sacrifice made by the young men and women so many years ago. And like the many host teams who have carried on this tradition before them, the Remparts did an excellent job on their special one-game uniforms.

I am lucky enough to own one of the Remparts' cream-colored jerseys, but those are worn on the road and the Remparts were designated as the home team in the opening game of the 2015 Mastercard Memorial Cup against the WHL's Kelowna Rockets. That means they'd be wearing red as they do at home, leaving me with concerns that the red poppy patch worn on the jerseys might lose its pop on a red background.

Here's the graphic they published in announcing the Memorial Cup uniforms. Again, note the poppy.

The uniforms are simple and clean. I like them, and the white outline on the poppy keeps it from bleeding into the surrounding red jersey. However, this graphic is just the blueprint. After all, seeing them in action could be an entirely different story if CCM, not Reebok, can't make them work. However, I do have faith in CCM, so let's see what they looked like tonight.

Wow. They look phenomenal! The poppies really do jump off the uniform with that white outline. The crest, while harder to see, really accentuates the maple leaf while the three soldiers of the branches of the Canadian military, inspired by the National War Memorial, are prominently featured on the maple leaf. The jerseys, in the red and white, really feel more like Canada jerseys as opposed to Remparts jerseys, so I'd say they hit the mark in a big way. They also are styled in the same design as the old Remparts uniforms when the team played from 1969-1985 in Quebec City.

The best part is that these jerseys will be auctioned off after the game with the proceeds of the auction going to Quebec military veterans. That's one of the greatest things that the Memorial Cup does every year, and I totally would buy one of these jerseys each and every year if I could afford it. Military veterans deserve the help for providing up the freedoms we have, so get over to the auction and bid on one if you can afford it.

Well done, Quebec. Very classy jerseys.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!