The ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings took a page from their parent club’s history last weekend.
The Wings, who are affiliated with the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, sported retro Canucks-style jerseys in their home game against the Iowa Heartlanders on Saturday, January 10. With a black base and yellow and red striping, the sweaters drew heavily on the Canucks’ road uniforms from 1989 to 1997 (which also serves as inspiration for the team’s third jersey introduced in 2022).
The centerpiece of the jersey is a flying skate logo fashioned after the one the Canucks introduced in 1978. However, instead of “CANUCKS” under the streaking skate, Kalamazoo added “WINGS” in a retro font.
Red and yellow stripes of equal width, separated by a narrower black stripe, ran around the sleeves, waist and black socks. The numbers on the back and sleeves were yellow with red and white outlines, while names on the back were one-colour yellow.
A yellow-and-red version of the Canucks’ current primary logo sat on the right shoulder, while a similarly recoloured version of the Wings’ primary logo appear on the left.
The Canucks and the Wings have been affiliated on and off for nearly 40 years. They first worked together from 1985 to 1987, when the Wings were in the International Hockey League. They came back together between 2012 and 2015, and then again in 2017 until 2021, when the Wings temporarily suspended operations due to COVID-19. Their latest affiliation stint began in 2023.
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