Blackhawks Winter Classic Jerseys Leaks
The Chicago Blackhawks will be participating in yet another outdoor game later this year when they host the St. Louis Blues at Wrigley Field in the Winter Classic on New Year's Eve.
Of course, that means another Blackhawks specialty jersey is on the way, although that jersey may have just leaked early.
On Saturday morning, images of a never-before-seen Chicago jersey with a Winter Classic patch on the shoulder began circulating. The images came from an Instagram account under the name 95takengive, an Indonesian-based re-seller of sports jerseys, and according to Icethetics, the jersey is legitimate.
Chicago has participated in six outdoor games since 2009, including three Winter Classics. However, all of the jerseys the team wore for those games were either black or white, whereas this one is the iconic red. It does maintain that old-timey look, though, thanks to the abundance of stripes on the chest and the off-white accent color. Blackhawks fans will be delighted to know that the logos on the chest and sleeves maintain the distinctive chain-stitching.
It also marks the first look at a Fanatics-designed outdoor game jersey, as the company took over manufacturing jerseys from Adidas this offseason. Many hockey fans have expressed concern over Fanatics taking over, but at least for our money, this jersey looks pretty nice.
December's Winter Classic will be the second to take place at Wrigley Field, home of MLB's Chicago Cubs, as the Blackhawks hosted the Detroit Red Wings there in a 6-4 loss on Jan. 1, 2009. Wrigley Field is now the second venue to host multiple Winter Classics, joining Fenway Park in Boston.
That said, this game will surely be an all-new experience compared to the one all those years ago.
“Those who attended in 2009 are going to get a completely different experience,” NHL senior executive vice president and chief content officer Steve Mayer said, per NHL.com “Aside from the fact they're going to watch a hockey game and the Blackhawks are playing in the game, not much will be the same.”