The NWHL has long since been host to some of the freshest threads (a phrase I can’t believe I even just typed) in hockey — and with a source closed to the NWHL telling us that each team is getting home and away jerseys ahead of season six, we took our talents to the drawing board to come up with some ideas as to what each team could hypothetically wear during the 2020-21 NWHL season.

(For a brief refresher on what each franchise’s jerseys have looked like in the past, make sure you check out the embedded tweet from Michelle — she’s dutifully catalogued each team’s look throughout the league’s history.)

all four og #nwhl teams jerseys through all four seasons pic.twitter.com/en31kODi3m

— Michelle Jay (@michelle_jay3) September 27, 2019

Boston Pride

The Pride have switched it up a lot over the years in terms of jerseys, but have stuck with the same one since season four. I got pretty nostalgic when it came to Boston uniform redesign, so please bear with me.

I’d be pretty surprised if the Pride switched things up again from their gold jerseys for their home uniforms in season six. The vertical stripe along the sleeves has become such a classic look for the Boston-based squad, and sets the team apart from their competitors, who have typically stuck with the horizontal stripes most men’s hockey fans are familiar with.

With the report that teams will stick with a darker color for their away jerseys, it was only natural that we reverted to the Pride’s black season three uniforms. In my opinion, these were the absolute cleanest jerseys in the league in season three — and yes, that’s including the Whale’s whites — so I’d be pretty hyped if Boston brought back their black kits with the yellow collars. I switched things up a little in my own interpretation, integrating the sleeve stripes from season two onto the all-black jerseys, just because I found the sleeves on the original black iteration to be a little bland.

Since the Six opted for having white as their alternate, I stuck with that theme when I designed the alternate for the Pride. Boston had some pretty sweet white jerseys in season two, but by the end of the season, the white had faded into an off-white and what once looked clean was now a little iffy. If the whites do make a comeback, I think keeping the sleeves colorful could hopefully put a stop to a little of the fading while also keeping things creative.

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Buffalo Beauts

There’s no doubt that Beauts blue has become the classic look for Buffalo’s squad over the past couple of years, and for good reason. When designing the three main jerseys the Beauts’ season six debut, I clung to the classics a little bit — and I’m not ashamed of it either.

Look, before you (and I’m looking at resident fashion and design expert Sydney Kuntz here) say anything about the absolutely atrocious alternate logo, give me a hot second to explain the rest of my choices.

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First, I kept it classic and comfortable with the home jerseys — what’s not to love about the Beauts’ current look? The baby blues have come to symbolize one of the most iconic teams in hockey, and the simplicity of the logo only compounds that. There’s nothing really to switch up here because it’s honestly pretty perfect.

As much as I praised the season two jerseys, for season six’s away uniforms I stuck with a season one-inspired design that also draws inspiration from season two. There’s not much to elaborate upon here, only that I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t get to recreate the iconic season two jerseys given the constraints of home vs. away uniforms.

And now we arrive at the alternates. Look, I’m somewhat limited when it comes to my own artistic ability, and for the record, buffalo faces are really hard to draw. But I think incorporating an alternate logo would really make a third jersey for Buffalo something special, especially if we stick with the whites as an alternate base. The sleeve and hem stripes are reminiscent of the home jersey without being a direct copy, and the pop of blue drives home the fact that this is Fort Beaut.

Connecticut Whale

The Whale made a splash this season by replacing their fan favorite white jerseys with an almost all green one. In terms of my designs, I tried to incorporate some of the old with some of the new, and I finally settled on these three.

It should be noted that I abandoned the well-loved wave stripes on the sleeves and the hem of the jersey in favor of something a little more traditional with all three of my jerseys. That was due in part to the fact that I’m still a Photoshop novice, but I also thought the Whale’s jerseys could use a bit of a refresher. That’s why I stuck with the lighter white for the body of the home jersey, while relying on green shoulders and sleeves to give the uniforms a pop of color.

Since the away jerseys have typically been darker in color (black, dark gray, etc.), I decided to stick with the dark green of season five when I took to the Whale’s away jersey. I kept the same rough design of the home jersey but flipped the colors so that the sleeves and shoulders were blue, while the body was green.

For the alternates, I drew some inspiration from the classic style of a local team, the Yale Bulldogs. The Bulldogs’ simple lettering and the placement of the number on the front of the jersey is a pattern that’s been replicated by a number of teams across the Ivy League, including Cornell and Dartmouth. I decided to take that style to the pros and replicate it for the Whale’s third jersey design.

Metropolitan Riveters

From the iconic season one whites to a return to those roots in season five, the Riveters’ uniforms have seen a lot of change over the years. Naturally, I brought some more changes to the table.

Please don’t yell at me.

For the home jerseys, I’ve gotta say — the red is a classic. I wanted to stay away from aligning the design with the Devils’ jerseys, so I looked to the NCAA for inspiration. You might notice some similarities between my home iteration and the Ohio State Buckeyes’ away jerseys, and you’d be correct. I was really into the look of the season two Metropolitan squad’s navy shoulders, but felt that sticking with a red, black, and white color scheme might suit the home jerseys a little better. That being said, I did draw some inspiration for the sleeves and hemline from the Buckeyes’ away jerseys because whew, are they clean or what?

I’m sticking with the “dark away jersey” precedent established by the Six and the above teams, but decided to go with a bit of a twist when it came to the Riveters and opted for navy instead of black. The sleeves were somewhat of a fan favorite this year, so I stuck with the design of the four wing stripes on the left and the right and tied things together with the white hem stripe.

Finally, I threw caution to the wind for the third and just kind of did what I wanted. I’ve mentioned how much I — along with a lot of NWHL fans and media — was super into the Riveters’ season one threads, so I kept a little bit with the white body and navy shoulders, and spruced the design up with some non-traditional sleeves. I’m a big fan of bringing navy in as the secondary color for the Riveters, so I really wanted to emphasize that with this alternate jersey. It’s not as exciting as Toronto’s alternate, but I’m still pretty pleased.

Minnesota Whitecaps

Minnesota has only had their own NWHL franchise for two years, and their jerseys have stayed constant since their introduction. It’s time to spice things up.

I decided to throw caution to the wind and completely redesign Minnesota’s home uniform, magnifying the hint of blue on the primary logo and using it to completely color the jersey’s body. I kept the classic wavy shoulder pattern, and tied in the logo’s black background with a thick stripe on the bottom of the sleeves.

In keeping with the dark away jersey theme, I swapped out the Whitecaps’ season four and five jersey for their away uniforms. I debated spicing things up a bit by switching to the original, independent Whitecaps logo, but, honestly, the team’s season four and five jerseys are so clean as is so I stuck with the primary logo. Also because Leighann told me to.

Finally, I drew some inspiration from local(-ish) college teams with the alternate jersey, namely St. Cloud State. I really like the three stripes on the sleeves and at the hem that the Huskies have got going on, so I replicated that design in the Whitecaps’ colors, and stuck with the black shoulders.

All jersey designs made with the help of the Hockey Uniform template, available for purchase on SportsTeamplates.net.