On Friday night the NHL held it's 2007 Entry Draft, as teams looked to add young talent to their respective organizations. For Washington Capitals fans, the evening had even more significance as they revealed their new, much-anticipated uniforms.
Long-time fans can hearken back to the Capitals of old, when they donned the classic red, white and blue uniforms as the organ whipped up the frenzied Capital Center faithful. The mere sight of those jerseys brings back memories of fan-favorites like Rod Langway and Mike Gartner, Bobby Carpenter and Scott Stevens.
With the release of the new Rbk EDGE Uniform System at Friday's draft party, the Capitals have brought that tradition back to the organization, but in a new, modern package.
Jeff Schultz was one of the Caps players on hand at the draft party, and he certainly recognized the value of upholding tradition, "I think they're great. It's nice to get back to the original colors: the red, white and blue." Schultz went on to add, "I like the new design; it looks really modern."
To kick off the event on Friday, the Caps pulled out all the stops at the Kettler Ice Complex. After some pomp and circumstance from Caps broadcaster Joe Beninati, and team majority owner Ted Leonsis, the real fun began.
First, some of the greatest names in team history came out in the uniforms they wore for the team. Original Capital Yvon Labre, Rod Langway, Mike Gartner, Kelly Miller and Sylvain Cote strode out on stage wearing the various uniforms of the past, much to the delight of the fans. Of particular significance was Mike Gartner, whose appearance at the event marked the first time the Caps second all-time leading scorer has appeared in Washington since his retirement in 1998.
Once the former Capital greats left the stage, the unveiling began, as current players led by Captain Chris Clark took to the ice and modeled the new uniforms to the standing room only crowd.
Later on in the evening, THN caught up with captain Clark and asked him his impression of the new look; "I love them. I think they did a really good job."
Most of the more than 2000 fans in attendance for the draft party seemed to agree that the new uniforms were spectacular.
The look was not designed over night, either. The team was all set to reveal the red, white and blues last season, but decided they were not quite ready at the last minute, eventually leading to the final product seen at Kettler on Friday night.
Clark summed things up for THN, adding, "It was well worth the wait. I think everything was done correctly and not just rushed."
Then again, that seems to be the way the Capitals do everything these days.
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