Updating The Monsters

With every Hollywood remake of horror movies involving monsters, there seems to be a redesign of the monsters in question. Some of that is due to new technology such as CGI and modern fabrics that allow for more life-like realism for the monsters, but some of it is simply due to those monsters needing a new look. The AHL's Cleveland Monsters fall into that last group - they needed an update - and there was one produced on Wednesday that certainly looks much better than what they wore before.

The white jersey is a very needed update as the old jersey, seen to the left, feels very uncolourful. While the burgandy and gold were very much the colours of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, the tie-in with the blue to link the Blue Jackets to the Monsters makes more sense. The blue and gold contrast each other nicely, but don't overpower the logo on the chest. The hem stripe gives the jersey more of a traditional hockey jersey feel, and far more evident than on the previous jersey. This is an upgrade. Thumbs-up from me.

I honestly never understood why the Monsters opted for the diagonal word design for their dark jerseys, but it feel incomplete to me with its lack of striping and seemingly zero design elements. We can forget about those because the colour is back on the black jerseys, we have a chest logo once again, and things feel more like a hockey jersey with the new design. The gold colour feels a little less vibrant on the black jersey, but the blue and gold still provide good contrast and break up the monotony of the black. I do like the gold highlights on the logo, though, as that pops nicely against the black background. Again, this is a very good upgrade for the dark jerseys, and it too gets a thumbs-up from me.

The Cleveland Monsters, including their time as the Lake Erie Monsters, have worn a vast number of alternate jerseys. Whether gold, burgandy, with a logo, with a "C", in the style of the Blue Jackets, or celebrating Ohio, they certainly have sported a number of different looks. However, when they introduced their jersey in February for the outdoor game last year, everyone seemed to like it, and I was one of those people. When the Monstersa announced on Wednesday that they were going blue and brought out the outdoor game jerseys as the new alterate jersey, they hit the jackpot with what will likely be their best-selling jersey this season. I would have preferred this jersey and logo to be their primary dark jersey, but the fact that it will be in the rotation for at least a year validates the upgrade to their look. Major thumbs-up here!

Overall, I feel like this might be the best uniform set the Monsters have ever worn in the history of their franchise in Ohio. While I likely would have mothballed the black jersey and opted for the throwback to the right as the alternate with the outdoor game jersey being the primary dark jersey, I'm not against this recolouring and redesign for the Monsters. The colours are bold, the jerseys look like hockey jerseys, and the Monsters should look very good taking the ice this season in Cleveland and across the AHL. If nothing else, they have an identity they can call their own that doesn't mimic their NHL affiliate, and that outdoor game jersey could be the best-selling jersey across the AHL this season based on the initial reactions on social media to the re-introduction of the jersey!

I can't tell you how good the Monsters will be in the standings, but I do know they'll look fantastic on the ice after introducing a new colour and using it to its full potential. For the first time in a long time, a professional hockey team didn't introduce a horror show of a new uniform design. Well done, Monsters!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!