Hockey's new look is all wet

RBK Edge Uniform System is sleeker, but pools moisture in skates, gloves

The clothes are expected to make the man on the ice faster, dryer and reveal his shape better this season.

The Rbk Edge Uniform System, which finished two years of research and testing, became the official, and significantly different, new look of the NHL and its 29 AHL teams this fall.

Jerseys and socks are made with stretch material that hugs the player's body and repels water have lighter pads underneath. The traditional straight bottom on the jersey is replaced by a tailored cut similar to a dress shirt. Pants are scaled-down.

"These aren't sweaters anymore," said Rivermen equipment manager Joel Farnsworth, as he showed the new gear in the team's locker room in late September. "They really are called jerseys now. There's no more cotton in them. It's 100 percent polyester, all man-made material.

"There are some challenges to working with this stuff, but a lot of guys like the feel and the look."

NHL and AHL players, including the Rivermen, are noticing an interesting side effect. Visitors to Peoria's locker room after games will see players draining water/sweat from their skates.

"The water-resistance of the jerseys and socks is truly amazing," Farnsworth said. "But we're seeing something I don't think anyone planned for: water and snow from the ice, and perspiration, is running down the socks and channeling inside the skates now. Same thing with the jersey sleeves. It's running right inside the gloves now. Guys come off the ice, and they turn their skates upside down and water drips out. We're going to have to go to wristbands to reduce that effect with the gloves."

Last weekend the company began shipping modified jerseys that replaced the front panel with the more absorptive material used in the old uniforms.

Other plusses and minuses, according to Farnsworth:

The new jerseys weigh about one-half pound, roughly a 50-percent reduction from the old style.

The old socks, a cotton-polyester weave, were made on a one-of-a-kind machine in Canada as a one-piece unit. The new sock is water resistent polyester, and basically looks like the end of a jersey sleeve cut off. They are ordered in three sizes. Because it is stitched together, it can be produced by cheap labor overseas.

"We're seeing 8-10 socks with holes in them after one day of practice," Farnsworth said. "The old sock cost $7 to replace. These new ones are $25."

The old style game jersey was $125. The new ones are $135. Practice jerseys increased $35 to $115.

Repairs: "The old jerseys, when they tore or got holes in them, were sewn together," Farnsworth said. "The new ones have to be patched differently. If you watch closely, when guys rub hard along the boards - that's how most tears happen with jerseys - the new jerseys get what looks like a burn hole in them. It's the way the new material reacts to friction from the boards."

An Rbk logo now occupies the back of the jersey, at the base of the player's neck. That triggered changes in the nameplates and uniform numbers. With less space to work with the letters on the nameplates are much narrower. And names like Beckford-Tseu and Komadoski and Lemtyugov will have to be reduced to fit.

The uniform numbers on the back of the new jersey are 10 inches high, reduced by two inches to fit in the smaller area.

While the new RBK Edge system includes lighter pads underneath, Farnsworth says most AHL teams are staying with the traditional pads. And the new pants - thigh-hugging, like football pants - are not mandatory. So far, only Charles Linglet is wearing them with the Rivermen. There is debate over whether the new pants contain enough padding in the rear end, where some areas now could be exposed to slapshots or opponents' sticks.

One other thing, not related to RBK. The AHL ordered American flag stickers be placed on players' helmets after 9-11. The 2007-08 season marks a change, as that sticker now will show the American and Canadian flags crossed.

"All things said, the material in the jersey and socks from RBK is amazing," Farnsworth said. "It's light years ahead of what we were using."

Source: PJ Star, 11/03/07