LAS VEGAS – The NHL and new official league outfitter Fanatics unveiled the on-ice uniforms players will be wearing next season and the reaction on social media was, predictably, mixed.
They do not necessarily think the jerseys the NHL players will be wearing will be substandard, but they seem to fear the quality of the merchandise available to the public will be less-than-ideal.
Asked by this news organization, in a highly unscientific way on Twitter/X, for a reaction to a picture of the Sharks home teal jersey Fanatics designed and manufactured, some fans said the outfitting giant has much to prove.
“Wanna see the name and numbers. I fear it’ll be tiny and look off,” one reader posted. “Fear the quality too, but mostly the number/names looking too small.”
“Solid. At least no more orange,” another wrote, “My favorite is still the original.”
“Jerseys look fine, scared about the world-famous Fanatics quality,” a reader wrote.
More dueling opinions: “Fanatics is notorious for selling absolute crap quality products,” and, “I know the fanatics rep is bad but these are nice sweaters.”
“On ice, I think it will be fine,” another fan wrote. “It’s the other fan merchandise that we know is going to suffer quality-wise.”
The Fanatics Sharks jersey. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/cARKtPEPgE
— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) June 26, 2024
Such is the reputation — fair or otherwise — Fanatics might have after the uniforms they manufactured for MLB players, ones designed by Nike and introduced earlier this year, were criticized for having smaller lettering and looking sweat-soaked at times. The player pants, not tailored to each athlete like before, were also denounced for being somewhat see-through.
The player complaints, echoed by the MLB Players’ Association, led MLB and Nike to announce that the uniforms for the 2025 season will have larger lettering on the backs of jerseys, with pants again being individually customized. Fanatics sent a memo that said the uniforms were “entirely a Nike issue.”
Fanatics said in a news release that is using the same factory — Quebec-based SP Apparel — that has made hockey sweaters for decades.
Earlier this season, players from all 32 teams tested the jerseys and gave feedback. The NHL Players’ Association gave its stamp of approval Wednesday, posting on its Twitter/X account that “The New Fanatics On-Ice uniforms are player approved.”
“The players got to see it — not every player but (more than 100) players got to see it — before the playoffs,” Keith Leach, Fanatics’ NHL VP and general manager, told the Associated Press. “That way, there’s no surprise of, ‘It just showed up in my locker room in training camp and there’s my jersey.’”
Fans will soon get to see how it looks on a player at the NHL Draft. After their name is called on stage inside Sphere in Las Vegas, all drafted players will receive the official Fanatics jersey of their new team.
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The first will be Macklin Celebrini, who will be taken No. 1 overall by the San Jose Sharks on Friday.
It remains to be seen whether that’s enough to convince the public to buy a Fanatics jersey.
“Until we can see in person nothing matters,” a fan wrote, “could be great, could be terrible.”
“That’s beautiful. Love the detail on the stripes,” another fan posted.
“At least I’ll be saving my money,” another fan wrote, “I’m not buying a Fanatics jersey.”
The San Jose Sharks jersey sleeve, designed by outfitting company Fanatics, is displayed. Fanatics and the NHL released images of the new jerseys that will be worn by the league’s players during the 2024-2025 season.(Photo courtesy of Fanatics)
