Arizona State Hockey’s 2019-2020 regular season is set to begin fresh off a 2018-2019 NCAA Tournament appearance. The 20th ranked Sun Devils open the season at home against Mercyhurst this weekend.
I was fortunate enough to have Sun Devil Hockey Media Relations Manager Mitch Terrell and Sun Devil Hockey Equipment Manager Jon Laughner open their doors to me. When visiting with the hockey equipment staff, I was able to see all of the hard work that they do and got a taste of the vast amount of uniform combinations they have available. I also saw a few things that piqued my interest. As a result, we now have the first-ever Uniformity piece covering Sun Devil uniforms outside the sport of football. The excitement is overwhelming! Let’s get this thing started.
Something New
Since joining the NCAA, the Sun Devils have teamed with adidas to provide some of the most unique, striking, and impressing looks in all of college hockey. They’re already taking it up a notch this weekend in the opening weekend of the 2019-2020 regular season. As the Devils take the ice against the Mercyhurst Lakers, they will do so in a new sweater and 2 new helmets. The new sweater and one of the new helmets have already been released via social media in prior days, but the biggest secret was just released today.
Without further ado, here’s a look at this new gear, starting with today’s helmet reveal.
New Gold Helmet
This brand-new gold helmet is something that has never been done by any of the programs within Sun Devil Athletics. For the first time ever, a modified Sparky decal is will be on a helmet. An oversized Sparky face decal is on the right side of the helmet, truly setting the tone for the entire helmet. On the left side of the helmet are maroon player numbers in Sun Devil Bold font with white outline and a jersey material stylization to match the player numbers on the sweater. The front of the helmet has a black “CCM” logo, black chin strap, and a black cage, or facemask. The gold helmet seen here will be worn on Saturday.
For a better look at the complete decal, here is a picture of the helmet without the black cage.
New Maroon Helmet
On Wednesday, the Sun Devil Hockey program was too excited to keep both of their new helmets under wraps until today’s big reveal, so they released photos of the new maroon helmet to the public on social media. I understand their excitement and willingness to share… This is a clean helmet.
It has a very throwback, classic hockey look to it. Simple, yet undeniably identifiable. The right side of the maroon helmet is free of any decal, while the left side boasts the same maroon player numbers in Sun Devil Bold font with white outline and a jersey material stylization to match the player numbers on the sweater seen on the gold helmet above. It also features a two-tone center stripe decal with a thick gold stripe between two thin, white stripes. The front of the helmet has a white “CCM” logo on it, a black chin strap, as well as a white cage.
New Gold Sweater
In late August, the Sun Devils revealed a new gold sweater. They will wear that sweater for both games this weekend. The front has maroon “Arizona State” stacked text outlined in white. Captains will have a maroon map of Arizona patch outlined in white with a white “C” on it on the left side of their chests. The bottom of the sweater has a bold maroon stripe which wraps around the entire sweater with thinner gold and white stripes above and below it. There is a white adidas logo at the base of the maroon collar, and the phrase “Forks Up” is in gold text on the inside of the collar.
The sleeves have maroon player numbers in Sun Devil Bold font with white outline and a jersey material stylization on the shoulders and stripes wrapping around the elbows which mimic the stripes on the bottom sweater.
The back of the sweater has larger maroon player numbers and a nameplate with maroon Sun Devil Bold font. It also features a small maroon map of Arizona outlined in white below the base of the collar. Within the map of Arizona is a maroon pitchfork with gold trim inside of it.
Gloves and Pants
The team will wear gloves with a maroon base and gold accents. There is a thick gold stripe that runs on the index finger, a small gold stripe across the thumb, and gold accents on the back of the hand. There are two “CCM” logos on the gloves: A bold, gold logo outlined in white on the wrist-wrap, and a small, gold logo with no outline on the tip of the thumb. A small “Sun Devils” in Sun Devil Bold font at the base of the wrist.
Along with the gloves, the Sun Devils will also wear maroon pants. The maroon pants have a two-tone stripe running vertically along both sides of the pants. The stripe is white in the middle bordered by two gold stripes on either side. There is a white “CCM” logo at the base of the left pant leg and a small maroon pitchfork with gold trim at the base of the right pant leg.
Reaction
I am absolutely thrilled and grateful to Sun Devil Hockey Media Relations manager Mitch Terrell, and Equipment Manager Jon Laughner. Both have been incredibly gracious and inviting by allowing me access to their incredible work.
Furthermore, I am thrilled about these uniforms. They are incredible looks. They are innovative, classic, and sometimes both at the same time. The helmet featuring a large Sparky is something that Sun Devil fans have long-awaited, and even though the decal may not be on a football helmet as many have hoped, they should be equally appreciated and celebrated. I can’t really express how impressed I am by the end result of the hockey Sparky helmet.
The maroon helmet smacks of classic hockey. When you see it, you are transformed back in time, yet it still accomplishes having a feel of sleekness and modernity, which is a direct result of Jon Laughner and his vision.
The gold sweater is simply done right. Between the stylization of the player numbers, the captain patches, the state map on the back of the neck, and the “Forks Up” detail on the inside of the collar, this sweater is a complete and utter win. It’s simple and understated but packs a punch of “wow factor.” That’s all you could ever ask for from such a uniform element.
Though ASU is one of the youngest programs in NCAA Hockey, it continues to draw top talent which only gets further developed by head coach Greg Powers. However, it is a sweater like this and helmets like these that are attention grabbers. Jon Laughner mentioned that adidas has a heavy hand in helping with the design of all the details from head to toe, including the helmets. The effort is a strong one, and it shows. Leading in uniform innovation and brand recognition in college hockey truly draws in recruits to play hockey in the desert.
