Toledo Walleye reveal amazing Batman theme night jerseys

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Image from Toledo Walleye

Last month, I wrote about a handful of must-see minor league theme nights in 2014-15. Among them was Heroes Night from the Toledo Walleye.

This week, the ECHL club unveiled the specialty jerseys they'll be wearing for that game coming up on Sat., Nov. 22.

And they are epic.

The Walleye will sport sweaters modeled after the 1960s Batman suit made famous by Adam West in the wildly popular TV series.

Even their opponent will participate. The visiting Evansville IceMen will wear jerseys inspired by the well-known Batman villain, the Riddler.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of Batman's first comic book appearance.

From the team's announcement:

The game worn jerseys will be sold after the final whistle during a live auction, with proceeds benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association, March of Dimes and the Walleye Wishing Well. A limited number of replica Batman themed jerseys will be available at The Swamp Shop on Monday, November 3.

I rarely say this about minor league theme jerseys, but I really want these. Both of them!

Up next from the Walleye, Cosby Show-themed jerseys are coming in January. Meanwhile, the IceMen will have Pi Day jerseys in March.

Get ready for 7 amazing minor league jerseys this season

They're as certain as death and taxes. Theme night jerseys in minor league hockey. And the 2014-15 season looks promising with a handful of sweaters we won't want to miss. I've combed promotional schedules around the AHL and ECHL to find these seven gems.

Among them: a pair of NBA-themed jerseys, a pair of sitcom-themed jerseys, and a jersey based on a mathematical constant. So you should keep reading this.

Reign take the crown

From Stanley Cup champion to ECHL novelty, the Los Angeles Kings' crown takes a mighty fall from grace as the Ontario Reign celebrate affiliate night.

The Reign will sport these Kings-inspired jerseys on Sat., Oct. 25. But even these simply can't compete with the most epic Kings' affiliate jersey of all time. The AHL's Manchester Monarchs wore a replica of L.A.'s infamous 1996 third last February.

A jersey about nothing

The Bakersfield Condors have surely seen their share of oddball theme jerseys — including the time they dressed like convicts on Rod Blagojevich Night in Las Vegas. But this season the ECHL club is honoring the classic sitcom Seinfeld.

On Sun., Nov. 16, the Condors will skate out sporting Jerry's famous puffy shirt. Because who wouldn't want to dress like a pirate? The club is going all out with this Seinfeld Night. Instead of player surnames, the back of each jersey will feature the name of a character from the show.

It may sound silly, but nights like this actually do a lot of good. The Condors, owned by the Edmonton Oilers, tout that they've raised almost $900,000 for local charities over the team's history. And that's not nothing.

Duh-nuh duh-nuh, BATMAN!!

The Caped Crusader will skate in Toledo on Sat., Nov. 22. Prepare for Heroes Night from the ECHL's Toledo Walleye, who will sport Batman-themed sweaters for the game. And to make things even more fun, their opponent, the Evansville IceMen, will wear villain jerseys!

I'll be looking forward to the release of those jersey designs. But until then, take a trip down memory lane and check out the "Gotham City Crusaders" jerseys worn by the CHL's Tulsa Oilers in 2012.

But I get the feeling the Walleye's jerseys will be more Adam West than Christian Bale.

Hardwood to hockey: Charlotte

A couple weeks ago, visitors to the Concepts page were treated to a collection of hockey sweater designs for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets by Justin Wiltron. They were a huge hit and one of the highest-rated concepts of the year.

But that little fantasy will become a reality on Sat., Nov. 29 when the AHL's Charlotte Checkers celebrate Hornets Night with special jersey inspired by the local basketball franchise. I don't mean to say the Checkers are using Justin's designs — just that we're going to see an actual Hornets hockey jersey soon.

The Checkers even released a version of their logo in Hornets colors. All we can do is hope their jersey is half as cool as the ones Justin designed.

Cosby sweaters on ice

December will be dotted with the traditional ugly Christmas sweaters, but they've got nothing on the sweaters the Huxtable family made famous in the 1980s. On Sat., Jan. 24, the Toledo Walleye will grab our attention again with Cosby Sweater Night!

The Walleye have yet to release images of their Batman or Cosby jerseys, but I can't wait to see what they come up with. The concepts alone present a world of amazing possibilities. I'm betting the charities benefiting from the auctions will be well taken care of.

Hardwood to hockey: Cleveland

Another NBA franchise will get the hockey sweater treatment as Cleveland's Lake Erie Monsters celebrate Cavaliers Night on Sat., Feb. 7. That night, the AHL club will give away what promises to be a hilarious bobblehead of a Cavs player in a Monsters jersey.

And wearing number 3.14159265359...

Pi Day. It's that thing your math teacher pretends is some kind of fun holiday. Or maybe just an excuse to bring pies to school. Really, it's the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. And it always equals about 3.14 — or what one might read as March 14 on the calendar.

It's particularly "interesting" this year because the next two digits in the sequence are 1 and 5 — 3.1415 (if you're not rounding), or March 14, 2015. So the ECHL's Evansville IceMen are cashing in with Pi Day jerseys!

This is a new one even for me. I truly have no idea what a Pi Day jersey looks like. So I'll be eager to see what the IceMen come up with. Meantime, I'd love to post some concepts if you have any bright ideas.

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Look for another blog post like this closer to the season after more minor league teams announce special jersey nights! 

The Force Guides IceMen to Victory

Evansville IceMen wore Star Wars jersey on Dec. 1

The ECHL's Evansville IceMen used The Force over the weekend to defeat the Kalamazoo Wings. It was Star Wars Night at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. on Saturday. And the IceMen were decked out in special sweaters to mark the occasion.

Game photo by Steinhaus Fotographie

The IceMen hold these Star Wars Nights each season, but don't always have a special uniform like they did over the weekend. You can find more photos from this game via Steinhaus Fotographie. (Too bad about the excessive watermark even if it is understandable.)

Thanks to Icethetics reader Jason Jones for the tip.

Mississauga Steelheads Unveil Logo

Earlier this month, the OHL's Mississauga St. Michael's Majors were sold to new ownership who decided the nine-syllable name was too much of a mouthful. Beginning this fall, the team will be called the Mississauga Steelheads, and will have a sharp new logo to go with the new name.

The name was selected through fan voting and announced just after the sale of the franchise. Then on Tuesday, the new Steelheads logo was unveiled.

After the previous blog post — the unveiling of the Denver Cutthroats logo — I have to ask why trout are suddenly taking over hockey branding. Is it just the names? Granted, Steelheads and Cutthroats sound pretty menacing but when your logo is a silly-looking fish... Is it just me?

By the way, just because the fish looks silly doesn't mean the logo does. I'm a big fan of this one — you know, as far as fish logos go. And it's miles beyond the Cutthroats logo. Uniforms for the Steelheads are still to come.

In other news...

The ECHL is in the middle of another one of its growth spurts. Aside from the two expansion teams beginning play this year — whose branding efforts we've been following over the past few months — the league as also picked up two more graduations from the Central Hockey League.

Joining the Orlando Solar Bears and San Francisco Bulls as newcomers in 2012 are the Fort Wayne Komets and Evansville IceMen. I don't expect any significant logo or uniform changes for these teams as the graduate into a bigger league. By the way, the Colorado Eagles made the jump from the CHL to ECHL last year and now they're hosting next season's ECHL All-Star Classic.

As of the 2012-13 season, the ECHL has 23 teams in 16 states — including Alaska!