St. Pats All Over

If the jersey to the left seems fairly familiar, you likely have seen it in NHL arenas. The Toronto Maple Leafs occasionally don the green-and-white of the Toronto St. Pats team from their past, and they've looked pretty good doing it over the past few seasons. Obviously, the image to the left isn't that of Toronto, but of a St. John's team that does have ties to the Maple Leafs as the ECHL's Newfoundland Growlers decided to don a jersey that not only has ties to their NHL affiliate, but to a local team in Newfoundland! Anytime a team can work local history into a jersey decision along with a secondary reason for wearing a style or colour scheme is always appreciated by me, so let's see what prompted the Growlers to go green-and-white for their St. Patrick's Day game on March 11!

These strapping lads are the 1959-60 St. Pat's hockey team from Newfoundland. This particular iteration of the team holds a distinction in the history of hockey in that province thanks to what they accomplished that year. The St. Pat's entered the Boyle Trophy Final as the heavy underdogs to their opponents, the St. Bon's, who were the 16-time defending champions.

Lo and behold, the St. Pat's did the unthinkable and upset the St. Bon's in the championship to win the Boyle Trophy in 1960, and successfully defended that championship when they won it again in 1961. Those two championships would be the only times in the St. Pat's history that they captured the Boyle Trophy, so the St. Pat's who won the Boyle Trophy have a pretty cool historical tie-in to The Rock.

As you can see to the right, the uniforms that the Toronto Maple Leafs wore while playing as the St. Pats look virtually similar to that which the Growlers will wear later this week. Obvious changes include the St. John's name on the front and the Growlers logo on the shoulders, but it would appear that the Growlers are going with their standard black breezers and gloves as opposed to the green breezers and gloves seen worn by the Maple Leafs. The socks are similar, though, and all the striping is a replica of what the Leafs wore as the St. Pats, so I tip my cap to the Newfoundland Growlers for taking a good hockey sweater and keeping its elements intact.

As we know, it's also St. Patrick's Day on Thursday, March 17, so the green-and-white will fit the theme for the Growlers' St. Patrick's Day game on Friday. Yes, it may be a few days early, but they'll host Trois-Rivières all weekend before hitting the road where they'll actually play on St. Patrick's Day against those same Trois-Rivières Lions! There haven't been any announcements about what the Lions will wear that night, but it would seem that the St. John's jerseys won't travel with the Growlers as the game in Trois-Rivières is the first of a seven-game road trip. Extra baggage for ECHL teams is rarely seen in those cases, and there's a second good reason you likely won't see them either.

If you're interested in owning one of these jerseys, there's a game-worn jersey auction taking place after the game on Friday, March 11th! You do have to register for the auction if you're wanting a limited-edition St. John's jersey, but I'm thinking these jerseys will fetch some nice coin based on how good they look.

Normally, I'm against the idea of a minor-league team adopting the look of its major-league affiliate, but this is one of those times where the St. Pats and the St. Pat's makes complete sense in St. John's!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!