Adidas teases eco-friendly NHL All-Star jerseys
/On Monday, Adidas began teasing the release of the 2019 NHL All-Star jerseys. The date has been set for tomorrow, Jan. 9. In the meantime, we’ve been treated to a handful of teaser images. Though we’re only a day away from the reveal, I’m gathering everything I’ve been able to find in this post.
First, here’s the teaser video Adidas released on Monday.
This video told us Adidas is bringing its Parley partnership to its Adizero NHL jerseys. Parley For The Oceans is an organization that “addresses major threats towards our oceans.” As part fo the partnership, Adidas has produced shoes and European soccer jerseys using thread made from plastic and rubber waste found in the sea. It’s classic recycling — though Parley prefers the term “upcycling,” according to its website.
In other words, it sounds like the newest iteration of NHL All-Star uniforms will be the most eco-friendly we’ve ever seen. As an aside, I’ll say it would’ve been cool if they’d figured this out last year when the All-Star game was in Tampa, another city on a bay. But this one’s being hosted by the Sharks — whose mascot lives in the oceans so that works too!
This morning, Adidas and a smattering of NHL teams shared new teaser images of the forthcoming eco-jersey. Here are a few that focus on the collar — arguably the least aesthetically pleasing part of the Adizero template and further proof that it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
I’m not sure whether the Adidas | Parley logo lockup in the collar will be present in the game jerseys or is just meant for promotional purposes here, but we’ll find it out tomorrow. My guess is it will be on the game jerseys. And that the Pacific division will be dressed in this black one.
Here are a few shots of the body and sleeve striping.
The heathered grey stripes made famous by the North American team jersey in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey seems to be back for the 2019 NHL All-Star threads. And given the lack of color present, I’m wondering if we should expect a quartet of single-color jerseys tomorrow.
I saved the shots of the back of the collar for last because they’re really just an Adidas advertisement.
To be honest, these jerseys look mostly the same as the existing Adizero jerseys, so I’ll be curious to know more about how the Parley partnership works and what threads were made from recycled ocean plastic. Maybe the crest or numbers, which aren’t seen in these teaser images.
Update 1/8
Later in the afternoon, Adidas tweeted more photos showing a white version of the black jersey we saw this morning. Are these two of the four divisional jerseys we’re expecting for the All-Star game? I have to admit they’re looking a little generic so it’s hard to be sure. But with the crest area not yet seen, I won’t rush to any judgments.
As you can see, it’s a simple reverse of the black jersey with the say heathered grey stripe on the body and sleeves. But where’s the color? The All-Star division logos really did leave me thinking we’d have some bright color accents on the sweaters. We’ll find out tomorrow.
Meantime, a handful of teams have shared a variety of different photos of the white jersey.
Nothing to get too excited about yet, but we’ll keep an eye on it.
One random thought: If the concept behind these jerseys is to go easier on the environment, I could see them going back to two All-Star jersey designs and find some other way of using color accents to distinguish the divisional teams.
It’s not unprecedented. When the 3-on-3 format was introduced in Nashville, there was one black jersey and one white jersey rather than four distinct ones. Maybe they go back to that? I don’t know. Just trying to make sense of the blandness of these two jerseys.