Epaulette Captaincy

The practice of wearing epaulettes dates back to the 17th century when military coats sported decorative ribbons to prevent shoulder belts from slipping. The ribbons were often tied into a knot with the frayed ends left dangling around the upper arm, and various military units adopted the epaulette as a way to show rank within those units. Airline pilots use epaulettes in modern days to denote the rank of the crew member with captains wearing four gold bars, first officers wearing three, second officers, additional flight crew, and/or flight engineers wearing two, and third officers and/or trainees wearing a single bar. As one gains more experience in the air and attains certain credentials, additional bars may be added as one's rank increases.

Why am I talking about epaulettes on a hockey blog? What if I told you that there's a team that wore its captaincy designations on top of the shoulder as opposed to on the chest or front of the shoulder area?

Ok, the above question may not be entirely true. Normally, we see hockey teams designate their captains with a C, alternate captains with an A, and Russian captains for the Soviets with a K that is worn on the upper chest above the logo of the player's respective team. It seems, however, that Tarin Podloski, scoring sensation for the University of Alberta Pandas, played at least one game with her captaincy shown where one would normally wear an epaulette.

At first, I thought it could just be the capital "A" that the University of Alberta uses as a secondary logo, but if that were the case the "A" would be set to follow the sleeve with the point of the "A" pointing towards Podloski's head as opposed to the "A" facing the front of the jersey. With little other options for what the "A" could be, it seems that hr captaincy is indeed being worn on the shoulder!

Now this phenomenon might have only last for one game for Podloski since I can't find any other images of her wearing the "A" on her shoulder in this style. She has worn other jerseys with the secondary "A" logo on them in images I could find, but this one picture is all I could find with the alternate captaincy on the shoulder.

If anyone can confirm this happened for more than a game, a whole season, or some other length of time, leave comments - and photo evidence if possible! - below in the comments. Maybe I am wrong and this is supposed to be the "A" logo for the University of Alberta, but seeing how the pattern matches the diagonal "Pandas" word and the numbers on Podloski's jersey, I'm sticking with my guns on this one.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!