Minor-League Updates

There have been some updates to uniforms in the minor leagues, and I wanted to point these out today. Just to clarify, the senior citizen to the left was not signed by the Hershey Bears, but he is wearing the new uniform they unveiled last summer. I guess it all ties together in some convoluted way in my mind, but who knows what I was thinking when I saw that image? Let's get to the new uniforms for two minor-league teams.

We'll start in the minor-pro CHL, not the Canadian junior circuit. The Tulsa Oilers decided to update their look, and they will sport the following uniforms.

Nothing overly innovative here for Tulsa, but I do like the alternate jersey. It's got a throwback-esque feel to it, and the simple oil can sleeve patch is a nice touch.

The regular logos have been updated slightly, modifying the look of the logo to be more modern. The shoulder patches look good while not being overstated, and the font is legible on the back of the jerseys. While this feels a lot like what the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs wear, the Oilers pull off a good look in a uniform template that we've seen before. Again, that alternate jersey is unique in terms of logo and color, so this rebranding would be a success in my books as the Oilers kept things simple.

We'll skip over to the AHL for what I am anticipating to be one of the best changes in all of sports this calendar year. The Providence Bruins unveiled their new looks for the season, and this teaser first caught my eye because of what is missing!

What you don't see on that teaser is a white uniform! At first, I thought that maybe the Bruins were just showing off their new road and alternate uniforms, but the Bruins actually launched an entire site to explain their uniform choices for the upcoming season!

The key note on page two of that presentation is that the Bruins are officially abandoning the white uniform in favor of the gold color! That means that anytime the Bruins play at home, we're going to see a color-on-color match-up. Games in Providence might be the most aesthetically-pleasing hockey games seen on the planet this season. Teams like the Nashville Predators should take notice in terms of how well this experiment works.

The road jersey simply inverts the colors of the gold uniform. They did, however, employ a contrasting name plate for the road jersey. I'm not sure why this phenomenon continues to grow. I get that the Flyers used it in the 1970s, but there's honestly no reason for teams to employ it today if there is no historical reason to do so. To me, it just looks wrong because of how much it stands out. Teams always tell players to play for the name on the front, not on the back, yet the Providence Bruins are highlighting the name on the back. That's the wrong message to be sending to players who learning the professional game. I realize this probably isn't the intention, but the road to hell is paved with millions of good intentions.

Speaking about that road to hell, the alternate uniform is decidedly black despite the Bruins stating that "[t]he alternate uniform redesign centered on removing white to put the focus on black (and) gold". Right idea, poor execution. There's almost no gold on the alternate uniform despite the focus being on the color scheme. It almost reminds me of the corporate jerseys that the Canadian women wore at the last World Championship. More gold? Yes, please!

Overall, the Bruins will look sharp in yellow at home this year. I can live with the black road jersey, and I'll stomach the blacker-than-black alternate simply because there's going to be a ton of gold at the Dunkin' Donuts Center this year. This has been long overdue in terms of seeing a bright color replace a white jersey, so kudos to the Providence Bruins for this move!

What say you readers: likes or dislikes when it comes to Tulsa's and Providence's new looks?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!