The Only Acceptable Knights?

One can be forgiven if the number of Star Wars theme nights in minor-pro hockey has reached the "too many" stage. Granted, there are a vast number of teams who simply select a character and don a jersey in that character's image, so I can understand the apathy towards Star Wars theme nights. However, when teams like the Knight Monsters and Silver Knights are picking their team names, I doubt they're focusing on theme nights, so what the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights pulled off on Saturday is nothing short of brilliant as they had part of their name on their Star Wars-themed jerseys!

We've seen all sorts of jerseys that have cashed in on the Star Wars theme, and they include Wookie jerseys, Storm Trooper jerseys, and Rebel Alliance jerseys, but Henderson seemed to have stepped up their game this year as they took the ice on Saturday as the Henderson Jedi Knights! Check out these jerseys they wore!

Anytime a team can work its name or part of its name into the theme and logo, it should be done. Yes, there was no "Silver" mentioned, but the Jedi Knights are a great spin on Henderson's name. Considering that 3000 fans were given light sabres upon entering the arena, I'd say the Silver Knights did a great job in becoming the Jedi Knights!

The only down side to this game was that the San Jose Barracuda came into Lee's Family Forum and promptly laid some smack on the Jedi Knights like they were the Sith and the Empire. Scott Sabourin scored in the first period before Andrew Poturalski added a pair of goals in the second period to make it 3-0. The Jedi Knights would respond with two goals of their own before the end of the middle frame, but a pair of Lucas Carlsson power-play goals in the third period saw the Jedi Knights fall to the Barracuda by a 5-2 score.

"Hold on, Teebz," I can hear a few of you saying. Yes, I realize that the helmet in the Jedi Knights' logo has nothing to do with Jedis whatsoever. That's a Rebel Alliance helmet worn by pilots of the rebel faction, but it's a pretty easy jump to go from Rebel Alliance to Jedis when it came to who most of the Jedis were backing. Of course, here was at least one Jedi who wore that helmet in the movies as some Skywalker kid blew up the Death Star while wearing that lid. In short, it works for the theme despite it being somewhat inaccurate.

You may be a Star Wars fan and staring at the jersey above, wondering how you can get one of those stylish sweaters. It seems that the Henderson Silver Knights are selling them through the Vegas Team Store at $170 USD per jersey. That's a little pricey for my blood and I'm hardly a huge Star Wars fan, so I'll opt out of buying one. However, if you have a Jedi at home and need a pretty cool gift, this might fit the bill for your Jedi Knight!

While the results weren't there for the Jedi Knights on Saturday, they certainly looked good as they played in their Star Wars-themed jerseys. The Barracuda may have won the game, but there's no doubt that the Force is strong in these jerseys!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!