Pats In Red

Unbeknownst to me mostly because I've been focused on other stuff this week, the WHL's Regina Pats decided to unveil a new jersey to add to their collection today! The Regina Pats will wear red this season, but it won't be the jersey seen to the left. That was the red jersey worn in 2013 when they held "Red Fridays" at the Brandt Center by donning "a new red third jersey celebrating the teams' namesake, the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, as the military division heads towards its 100th Anniversary in 2014". Clearly, there's some history with red jerseys in Regina despite it looking odd for the Pats.

Knowing that there is a history of red jerseys in the club's history, here's the new uniform that the Pats debuted today. According to their release, "[t]he design of the jersey is a reflection of the team's 104 year history that dates back to when the club was founded in 1917 as the Regina Patricia Hockey Club — namesake of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry during the First World War"... or, in simpler terms, the very same thing the last red jersey was meant to honour. Why do we need a new one then? Why are we honouring this military connection with new uniforms dedicated to the same thing every few years?

I want to be clear that I'm not here to rain on the connection the team has to the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry unit, but they wore the jersey honouring the PPCLI in the lede photo in 2013-14. They honoured them again in 2018 with jerseys worn at the Memorial Cup. They honour the military unit with shoulder patches on the everyday uniforms they debuted in 2015-16. Why are the Pats continuing to sell new merchandise - let's be honest with what they're doing here - while recycling this "honour the PPCLI" reason?

According to the release, the new red jersey "features a colourful version of a WWI era PPCLI military badge on the front. This is referred to as a 'sweetheart badge or brooch' that was pinned on clothing. A Canadian military chevron is present on both sleeves and a diagonal stripe across the jersey pays respect to the sash worn in ceremony by infantry soldiers. Additionally, the tone on tone Pats shoulder logo is a subtle nod to the team that doesn’t distract from the overall design."

Or, if you're looking at the pictures linked on this article, they took the logo off the 2018 Memorial Cup sweater, slapped it on a red jersey, and threw a white sash on the front to break up all the red on the jersey. They can take all the military elements they want and rationalize putting them on a new red jersey, but the fact of the matter is that they're introducing a new jersey this season that people will buy, they'll see a windfall of merchandise money come in, and the bottom line for Regina Pats Incorporated get stronger. Personally, in no way should they be leaning on the PPCLI for those pennies from heaven when it comes to selling jerseys.

And while we're discussing this topic of the Regina Pats and capitalizing off the PPCLI, this whole effort of honouring a military unit that isn't even based in Regina seems a wee bit disingenuous. Excuse me while I go on a bit of a rant.

For history buffs, the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) was founded in 1914 in Calgary with the Princess lending her name to the regiment to use. The regiment was mostly made up of British immigrants and fought with the British during the First World War, so there's very little "Canada" and even less "Regina" in the founding of the PPCLI outside of the regiment being part of the Canadian military.

Further to this, the Canadian government decided to keep the PPCLI going after the war had ended, but the regiment needed a permanent home. Regina was one of the locations considered, and Regina residents rallied together to plead their case as the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Ladies Auxiliary was formed. Unfortunately, Regina lost out to the city where the PPCLI was founded - Calgary - so the PPCLI remained in the Alberta city as opposed to setting up shop in the Saskatchewan city.

In more modern times, there are three battalions of the PPCLI, and none of them call Regina home. Edmonton has both the First Battalion, which is mechanized infantry, and the Third Battalion, which is light infantry. Shilo, Manitoba has the Second Infantry - mechanized infantry - and this is where the Regina Pats usually visit when they need to get in touch with their military roots... which seemingly don't exist.

When the Pats were founded in 1917, they were originally named as the Regina Patricia Hockey Club, and that "Patricia" name came from Princess Patricia of Connaught. Outside of the city of Regina campaigning the Canadian military and government to move the PPCLI regiment to Regina post-WW1, the name "Pats" worn by the hockey team has absolutely nothing to do with the military regiment whatsoever. And I don't fault the team for being huge supporters of the PPCLI and the Canadian military in general in modern times, but it annoys me to see things like the tweet below when the "roots" and "namesake" links they make literally are not in the team's history.

Ok, rant over. I just needed to get that off my chest because I respect all that the Pats do to support the military, in particular the PPCLI, but when people start talking about how the Pats were named after the PPCLI when the hockey club was founded while the PPCLI were still fighting in the First World War it drives me mad.

After all that, the Regina Pats will wear red this season. I'm glad they honour the PPCLI for what they do for this great country because the battalions deserve a nod for all the good they do, but let's stop dedicating every new jersey to them when it's simply a cash grab for the hockey club with no discernable benefit for the military regiment, their families, or the bases at which they live.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!