Today is a big day for hockey fans everywhere…or a horrible day, depending on how people view Fanatics. We got our first look at how NHL uniforms will look under the umbrella of the company, who are now the official outfitter of on-ice uniforms for the NHL for the next 10 seasons.

The uniforms will still be hand-stitched and made in Canada, as they have been for the last 50 years. Fanatics is excited to take over for Adidas, as they look to shed their past reputation.

“I couldn’t be prouder to unveil the first-ever Fanatics branded NHL uniforms,” said Fanatics CEO, Michael Rubin. “These jerseys were meticulously crafted in lockstep with NHL players, the NHLPA, equipment managers, teams and the NHL. Their feedback on what they were looking for in their next uniform completely drove our design, which was validated when we went back to all 32 teams during the past season to the show players and the reaction was overwhelmingly positive.”

I’m not a jersey guy, so I’ll let everyone else be the judge of how these look. I know there’s a lot of folks out there that have not had a good experience with Fanatics, so I imagine a lot of fans are in “wait and see” mode. Here’s another photo for a better idea of how the Avalanche uniform will look on the ice next season.

These uniforms will make their debut at the NHL Draft, as each player drafted will receive an official Fanatics jersey by their new team when their name is called. Fanatics is also redesigning practice uniforms, so we’ll see how different they look next season.

Fanatics worked with teams and players over the last few months to get their insights, giving them the opportunity to try on the new uniforms.

“Fanatics did a great job designing these jerseys. They feel comfortable and look breathable, which is important during games. Any little detail that can help us perform at our best makes a difference,” Auston Matthews said.

Here’s a few more details on the uniforms from Fanatics.

• An additional layer of fabric inside the lower sleeve to enhance uniform durability intended to reduce material wear from sustained friction against the boards. This enhancement was the direct result of feedback from NHL players and equipment managers.
• New shoulder fabrics replacing the debossed pattern fabric used on the shoulders of the prior NHL jersey.
• A new NHL Shield execution on the front neck of the jersey which includes a special hologram finish.
• Fanatics branding embroidered on the back neck of jerseys.