As promised, the Minnesota Wild officially unveiled their brand new third jersey today to fans at the State Fair. The sweater was first leaked by Icethetics on Tuesday.

The new official pictures from the Wild offer us a better look at the new crest. Elements from it — such as the new stylized "M" — are set to make their way onto a bunch of new merchandise this season.

Here's a closer look at the front from the team's official photo gallery.

Minnesota Wild third jersey (photos by Bruce Kluckhohn)

In the previous leak, we never actually got to see what that "M" really looks like. Now that we have, I'm not so sure about it. It may grow on me but it just feels more Wild West than Minnesota hockey at the moment.

Back of new third jerseyThe new third makes use of the same numbering and lettering style seen on the red home jersey — the old third. You can see an example on jersey model Derek Boogaard here to the right.

This whole uniform very much lacks red — a plus, if I'm the one being asked. You see it very sparingly on the new crest and right at the collar behind the laces. Technically it's also on the gloves as well but that's just because players aren't going to get new gloves every time they wear a different jersey.

Even the socks are devoid of red, as you saw the in the leaked pictures this past week. The Wild's release had this to say about the new sweaters.

Based in the Wild’s Forest Green with Wheat trim and a hint of Iron Range Red, the jersey’s classic sports look was the overwhelming favorite of Wild fans surveyed during the summer of 2008. The jersey crest features a script “Minnesota” with “WILD” emblazoned below. The script look, including the classic “M”, harkens back to historic Minnesota teams of the past including Minneapolis and Saint Paul teams of the 1930s and 1940s. The familiar “north star” element, borrowed from the primary Wild logo, dots the “I” and adds a decorative detail to the stylized “M”.

“We wanted to provide our fans with a new look and feel for our third uniform that is uniquely Minnesota and true to our brand — authentic, classic, contemporary and truly worthy of The State of Hockey,” said John Maher, Vice President of Brand Marketing.

The new third jersey was designed by New York City-based SME and produced by Reebok, the exclusive provider of jerseys to all NHL clubs. SONY is proud to partner with the Wild for the introduction of the third jersey. Look for SONY high-definition displays throughout Xcel Energy Center beginning this fall.

Minnesota will debut the jerseys on Wednesday, Oct. 21 against the Colorado Avalanche on FOX Sports North and wear them 15 times this season (13 home games and two road contests). The Wild will continue to wear their original white jerseys for most road matches and their Iron Range Red jerseys for the remaining home games.

When/if the team releases a full third jersey schedule, look for it here on Icethetics.

Overall, it's an incredibly well-designed third uniform and should rank among the likes of the Penguins and Sabres in terms of current alternates. It may well rank among the best third jerseys in NHL history.

I'd like to do a complete ranking of all-time NHL third jerseys later this year after all of this year's new ones have been unveiled. Let THN try to stomp all over our turf, but nobody does logo/jersey tournaments better than Icethetics!