Pictures And Links

Today is a lazy Thursday thanks to my preparations for a long drive tomorrow. As you may know, I will be heading down to the city of Houston, Texas! Yes, the same Houston that is home to the AHL Aeros, and was once home to Gordie Howe and the WHA's Houston Aeros! While neither edition of the Aeros will be playing hockey while I'm in the great state of Texas, I will be posting hockey information about each of my stops. It starts tomorrow, so here are a few links and pictures to keep you busy while I hit the open road!

• Uni Watch Blog reader and long-time uniform expert Terry Procter has penned a very comprehensive uniform history of the AHL's Rochester Americans going back to 1956! Honestly, there should be a list like this for every single pro hockey team out there. It is this attention to detail that the serious fans and collectors appreciate, especially when lookng for a game-worn jersey or creating their own from a blank jersey. Well done, Mr. Procter!
• Longest name in the NHL ever? It could be Rangers prospect Mats Zuccarello Aasen if he cracks the Broadway roster. The young man from Norway played with Modo, and can be seen in the second commercial here about the restaurant Mammamia. He was voted as the MVP for the Elitserien (Swedish Elite League) in 2009-10!
• I might be late to the party on this one, but the Penguins will be wearing a patch to commemorate the opening of the Consol Energy Center this season. It's nice, but it had better not show up some place that makes it stick out. A quiet addition to a shoulder would be nice in this case.
• I am loving the Detroit-octopus tie-in on Jimmy Howard's new mask paint! As I'm sure you're aware, Doctor Octopus was Spiderman's arch-enemy in comic books. The legend of the octopus in the Stanley Cup Playoffs has become a Detroit tradition now, so combining these two images together makes perfect sense! Now ony if we could get Stephen Valiquette onto another NHL team for this season, preferably a Central Division team....
• Cool image seen in the next link as a team of professionals apply paint to the ice to create the Chicago Blackhawks center ice logo. I know for a fact that most NHL teams do this. However, the AHL's Manitoba Moose reportedly use plastic as it lasts longer than the paint does. I wonder how much painting the ice actually costs, and how often the teams are required to apply a fresh coat?
• Check out this picture of the Quebec Nordiques battling the New England Whalers in the WHA! How can anyone say that the sweater the Nordiques are wearing is not gorgeous? I love the fleur-de-lis on the goalie's mask as well!
• More old-time paint jobs include a reprint of the Calgary Cowboys' logo on the mask of their goaltender. Doesn't have the same effect as the fleur-de-lis did above, but it does the job, I suppose.
• Can we end this ads-on-the-glass thing? Highly annoying and very distracting. I know traditionalists aren't thrilled with the ads on the boards, so now we add ads to the glass? Less is more, people.
• You know everything is for sale when the Islanders' Ice Girls are selling ad space on the shovels they use to clean the ice. I suppose if it's a white space, it's a place for some sort of advertisement. I'm just not too pleased about it.

There's a few pictures and links to keep you busy for the day. I'm out as I have many preparations to go through! See you tomorrow in Wahpeton, North Dakota!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!