Knocking their socks off

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
While people throughout the CHL were all abuzz about the new jerseys the 60 major junior teams unveiled Wednesday, Kamloops Blazers trainer Colin Robinson was talking about socks.
“I think the new EDGE sock is an even bigger deal than the jerseys. It seems phenomenal,” Robinson said.
The jerseys and socks are part of what is called the Reebok EDGE Uniform System, something that came in vogue with NHL teams to start the 2007-08 season.
What’s the attraction? According to Reebok-CCM, it’s the “lightweight, moisture-wicking materials and innovative design.”
Robinson said the package is “like a new coat of paint in the living room.”
“The jerseys,” he said, “are fresh and that’s great. They’re cut and tight-fitting, so there isn’t going to be the excess baggage that you have seen, especially in the armpit area and down in the hips.”
The main attraction is that these jerseys don’t absorb perspiration, something the Blazers have noticed with the EDGE practice jerseys.
“We’ve been wearing the new EDGE jersey in practice and you can really see the water come out of the shoulder pads and out of the jersey,” Robinson said. “The guys say they don’t feel heavy. Before, with the cotton-type stuff, it was heavy. When it gets wet it just drags you down.”
Robinson said that the perspiration now simply evaporates.
“That’s the theory behind it,” he said. “It sucks it out and away it goes, rather than just hanging around in the chest area.”
The Blazers had samples of old jerseys hanging in their dressing room as the new ones were unveiled.
“When you feel the different materials, they sure have come a long way,” said Blazers general manager Craig Bonner, who played here from 1988-93. “Those ones when I played were heavy. These things are so light.”
According to Reebok, the new system provides “optimum ventilation and breathability” through a front panel, has a “four-way stretch mesh for the underarm and back areas” to help with ease of movement and ventilation, and heavy-duty fabric in the elbow and shoulder areas.
The socks are made of the same materials as the jerseys.
“The old wool sock that we used to wear is almost like work socks,” Robinson said, “and those things after games . . . I bet you they weigh anywhere from two to four pounds a sock. That’s how wet they get on a guy who is playing regularly.”
And, as Robinson pointed out, today’s WHL arenas, with one exception, can be awfully warm.
“People forget that in these buildings now, it’s hot,” he said. “With the exception of going to Moose Jaw, everywhere you go now, you’re hot. It’s warm.”
Robinson did admit that the new socks “are paper thin . . . they’re silk almost” and that they will need to be replaced more often than the old ones.
“They’ll tear, there’s no question about that,” he said. “My sources in the NHL tell me the socks don’t hold up like the old socks did. So we’re going to have to spend some more money there. But, at the end of the day, if the guys are feeling better and feeling lighter that’s way more important.”
Reebook apparently has supplied each team with 25 jerseys, with clubs having to pay for the remainder.
The Blazers’ new dark jerseys are a deeper shade of blue than before, and that’s just fine in the dressing room. There is a theory in sports, that perhaps began with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders in their meaner, more successful days, that black uniforms make a team feel bigger and play more aggressively.
“Now we’re dark,” Robinson said. “It’s the same theory, and the players have been talking about it, as the Oakland Raiders. Now we’re bigger.”
JUST NOTES: News conferences were held across the CHL yesterday because the QMJHL opens its regular season tonight. . . . Jerseys for all 60 CHL teams may be viewed at www.chl.ca. . . . F Uriah Machuga, 17, who was released by the Blazers on Tuesday, has agreed to play for the junior B Spokane Braves of the Kootenay International Junior League. The Kamloops Storm plays in Spokane on Oct. 17; the Braves aren’t scheduled to visit here. . . . The Blazers play their last home exhibition game Friday when the Prince George Cougars visit the Interior Savings Centre. Game time is 7 p.m. D Bronson Maschmeyer, who was acquired from the Vancouver Giants last week, is expected to make his Blazers debut Friday.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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