The Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks are turning the clock back almost 100 years with throwback jerseys they’ll wear next week.
The Winterhawks unveiled the jerseys on their website and social media channels on Friday, March 1. They’re an homage to the 1925-26 Portland Rosebuds, who played in the original Western Hockey League, and will be worn when the Winterhawks host the Wenatchee Wild on Oregon Hockey History Night.
The throwback jerseys combine the Rosebuds’ crest from 1925-26 with the Winterhawks’ current-day color palette.
Featuring a black base, the on-ice uniform features a fully stitched crest that matches the shield shape and iconic rose of the classic Rosebuds sweater, with an updated color scheme to the Winterhawks’ red and gold. The crest is embroidered with gold stitching accents throughout the rose petals. Squall gray striping adorns the sweater in multiple patterns, from a three-hoop motif around the center of the torso to five evenly spaced stripes down the arm.
— CHL.ca
White felt names and numbers are applied on the sleeves and back of the sweater. They also have a wave pattern embroidered into them with white thread to enhance the vintage feel.
The jerseys also have a patch on the shoulders with a hawk’s head and the initials “WAHA” for the Winterhawks Amateur Hockey Association. Game-worn jerseys with the embroidered crest will be given away in a raffle on March 23, with proceeds from ticket sales going to the WAHA.
Sublimated replica jerseys will be available for purchase in the Winterhawks’ team store starting this Saturday, March 2. Other Rosebuds-themed merchandise will be available at the March 9 game.
The initial iteration of the Portland Rosebuds played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association starting in 1914 after the franchise moved from New Westminster, B.C. They were the PCHA champions in 1916 and became the first U.S.-based team to play for the Stanley Cup, losing to the Montréal Canadiens. The PCHA Rosebuds suspended operations in 1918, and were replaced by the Victoria Aristocrats.
The Rosebuds were revived in 1925 when the Regina Capitals of the Western Canada Hockey League moved to Portland, forcing the league to change its name to the Western Hockey League. But the WHL folded in 1926 and its players were sold to the National Hockey League. Rosebuds players were kept together to make up the roster of a new expansion franchise: the Chicago Black Hawks.
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