No Thorns On These Roses

Hockey really isn't a sport where there are flowers exchanged by opponents. We have seen "The Flower" play some exceptional hockey in the 1970s and 1980s as Guy Lafleur wowed crowds with his skill and scoring. The newest "Flower" in the NHL is none other than Marc-Andre Fleury as he's worn a fleur-de-lis on his helmet. The fleur-de-lis was featured prominently on the uniforms for the Quebec Nordiques, and the Trois-Rivières Lions use a blended fleur-de-lis with a lion for their logo. The poppy, though, gets featured on the CHL's Memorial Cup host jerseys, so maybe there's hop. Outside of those examples, though, hockey just isn't very floral when it comes to logo used by teams or imagery used by teams in their identities. Until today when the ECHL saw the number of flower logos increase by 100%!

Back on September 3, 2021, I wrote of how I was impressed with the Iowa Heartlanders' uniforms prior to them playing their inaugural season in the ECHL. They looked sharp in the publicity photos, and they've continued to be a solid look on the ice for the Heartlanders. I did mention in the September article,

"It should be noted that the Heartlanders will be unveiling an alternate jersey at some point, so keep your eyes peeled on their site for those details. Based on the Pantone colours for the team, might we see a "coral" jersey based on their official colours?

"I wouldn't complain if they did a coral jersey with the deer on the front. That would be highly unique, and certainly would be noticeable as an alternate jersey. Time will tell if this happens, so keep your eyes peeled for that Iowa Heartlanders alternate jersey!"

Today is the day upon which the Iowa Heartlanders revealed an alternate jersey in that coral colour they teased us with back in September, so let's take a look at the alternate jersey they'll wear moving forward including tonight and this weekend as they close out their regular-season home schedule!

Iowa will look classy as they take to the ice for their final three home games in this "limestone sand"-coloured uniform. The wild prairie rose, Iowa's state flower, is unmistakable as the team's logo on this alternate jersey, and the rich coral colour of the flower's petals stand out against the lighter sand-coloured jersey colour. The yellow stamen in the middle of the flower pops as the secondary logo of the Heartlanders is prominently placed in the middle of each player's chest. While I'm not crazy about the green stem, it's appropriate considering that real prairie roses grows on a short stalk that is normally adorned with leaves as well. In short, the logo works well on this unique jersey colour!

While I'm not overly taken with the black and gray used for the stripes, they do work and do lend a nod to the main colours worn by the Heartlanders. The number font is very easy to read in terms of the contrast between the dark numbers and sand uniforms, but the dark gray outline is rather useless as it disappears once the players are on the ice as evidenced by image next to the previous paragraph. The name is also legible as the inverted colours still are readable, but I'm not certain why the Heartlanders insisted on the contrasting name bar when a name with simple one-colour lettering would have worked well. This element of the uniform feels a little unnatural when looking at the back, but I'm not certain I've ever liked the contrasting name bar on any team. In my view, it doesn't help here.

How do they look while fans are sitting in the stands, you ask?

As stated above, that two-colour number design really doesn't show up, and the contrasting name bar actually makes the name a little harder to read. Beyond that, though, these new alternate jerseys look pretty darn sharp on the ice, and that rose stands out nicely on the front! I'd say this alternate jersey accomplishes its goal in being a unique look from their normal jerseys for the Heartlanders!

These uniforms will go up for auction starting tonight through to April 9 when the Heartlanders play their final home game this season, and I imagine they'll fetch some nice money for the on-ice authentics. There are also a limited number of replica jerseys available in the Heartlanders' store if you're looking to acquire one, so head over there now to get yours!

For the first jersey to feature a flower as a logo, the Iowa Heartlanders created a pretty solid alternate jersey. I'm not sure that Wheeling, Kalamazoo, and Indy will feel the same way as they'll meet the Heartlanders while wearing these jerseys, but it would seem that the Heartlanders are representing the city of Coralville and the state of Iowa well with this jersey!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!