Some people like sports team uniforms more than the actual sport.  And some people like the sport so much, they can barely remember the uniforms the teams wore.  There are fans of traditional (Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks) and fans of way out there (Oregon Duck football).

My opinion on uniforms is all about the flair.  At the youth level the White Bear Lake Squirt A team has orange helmets…that is flair! The Edina AA teams had yellow state tournament ensembles last year…very nice.  A new trend we are seeing statewide is the “third” jersey for Sunday games. And finally a popular trend we are seeing on the rinks are the sublimated socks with logo marks, funky stripes, etc. I’m in favor any new design concepts if you are going to be “out there” then go all the way and be out there.

Editor’s note: my favorite professional sports uniform of all time is the Quebec Nordiques. The color blue was very unique, their logo was truly was a timeless classic and the lower bordered fleur-de-lis is the knock out punch of knock out punches when it comes to uni design.

Other favorite logos: Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and the Boston (or should I say Portman?) Bruins.
Other favorite jerseys: LA Kings (purple and yellow with yellow helmet), Montreal Candieans (red), and Buffalo Sabres (yellow and blue).

5. Reebok Nationals -a terrific ensemble of two of my favorite pro jerseys, the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs.  The Nats kept a hint of their early 80′s Toronto Blue Jays numbering style from last year.  They have a lot of nice touches to the jersey.  ”Nats” on both shoulders is my favorite besides the obvious Blackhawk coloring and stripes they have on both the jersey and the socks.

4. Skate to Excellence – The Skate to Excellence AAA club has always had a great looking uniform.  For years they have been tied closely with the northern suburbs and Centennial Hockey, thus having a black and red look.  STE expanded south this year to a girls U10 program and to build their own identity they went with a slightly different color scheme.  Some call it loud, I’d prefer to call it noticeable.  The Safety Green color is a great and daring look.  The sublimated socks with the STE logo on them were a clincher for our selection committee.

3. Legacy - Legacy Hockey is a program out of the northern suburbs of St. Paul…a lot of White Bear kids, but not limited to just Bears by any means. Their uniform this year is full of eye candy.  The canadian flag logo is very cool, the red shoulders with American Flag, numbered sleeves and the stars that surround the entire jersey is also great to look at. The designer of the Legacy jersey went all out this year…adding a full sublimated (say that 10 times) sock as well.  These kids look very sharp every time they take the ice.

2. Minnesota Icemen – if you like classic jerseys then you will love the Minnesota Icemen uniform.  First of all, I love the Rugby style uniform.  Second, the navy blue and baby blue combo is very chic.  This uniform reminds of the Ottawa 67′s jersey, but almost better.  Their patch has each individual player’s number (which drives the manufacturing cost up at at least 10 times for the patch) and my favorite part is the old school “USA” patch on the right chest. I almost forget the alternating stars at the bottom making a cool Quebec Nordique looking trim. This uniform was a good pair of socks away from #1.  The designer ran with the plain black sock, which went out of style with the full length Cooper-Alls.  The jersey gets an A+++++, the socks need a little work.

1. Walser - A major departure from your every day hockey uniform, that is the Walser uniform.  Walser Automotive sells 14 brands of car and to promote all 14 on one uniform would be impossible, but the people at Walser did it.  In a cool European style jersey, Walser does it right, they sprinkle their 14 brands onto a very classic uniform (royal blue, white and gold).  Add in the sublimated socks and you got yourself the most daring and fashion forward look in the state. It’s like watching the HC Lokomotiv hit the ice in the Russian pro league (KHL).  My favorite touch is the size of the numbers.  In an age where the number size is massive, the Walser number is so small the ref can barely read it (possibly helpful for some of the aggressive kids in the Walser program).