There's a new article now on NHL.com featuring yours truly (and Icethetics) discussing this season's new third jerseys. In it, staff writer Dan Rosen talks about the 18 clubs getting new part-time threads for the 2008-09 season and I'm quoted a few times in the piece.

Nice to see Icethetics getting a mention on NHL.com. Big day for us.

Here's an excerpt from the article.

The history is stitched on the stick.

The one major difference between the jerseys the New York Islanders wore in the mid-1970s and the ones they unveiled last month as their new third jersey is the stick built off the Y in their logo now has four small lines on it.

Why, you ask? Four Stanley Cup championships, of course.

It's a subtle change, but supremely important to the past, present and future of the franchise.

... Six more third jerseys are still to come, the details of those jerseys to be announced in coming days.

"It's terrific that the original uniform is being brought back and celebrated," said Edmonton President of Hockey Operations Kevin Lowe, who scored the first NHL goal in Oilers history in a jersey resembling the one the club debuted last month. "All of the things we take so much pride in today were accomplished in that uniform."

Third jerseys became popular in the late 1990s, and ever since every team but the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils have sported something unique for at least a handful of games.

In the article, I talk about how most fans seem to be loving the throwback thirds more than anything else.

Chris Smith, who operates the Web site www.Icethetics.info, which is dedicated to the aesthetics of hockey, such as jerseys and logos, said he's been following the development of the third jerseys since the summer.

In an e-mail to NHL.com, Smith wrote, "Overwhelmingly fans seem to love the throwback third jerseys. They don't sound happy about the new-style jerseys we're seeing with Atlanta and Ottawa (what's been leaked anyway) — though fewer complaints for Tampa Bay's. They love what the Oilers, Islanders, Canucks, Penguins and Sabres are doing and I can't say I disagree."

Great article, but then I'm biased I guess.