by Daniel Fink | AHL On The Beat
The Manitoba Moose are in the midst of their 25th season in Winnipeg. As the festivities continue, Moose wants to bring some of that legacy to fans throughout the campaign.
The aim of this team is to involve as many people as possible in these celebrations.
“Finding ways to put the 25th season through the year, so everyone can be a part of it, is important,” he said. Colin Petersongame launch team manager. “Every time we discuss an event, or something in our schedule, we add an additional question, ‘What does this mean for season 25?’ Is there an extra level we can add to this?’
“It’s about finding things that go back to great music.”
Part of that process comes down to figuring out how to celebrate the 25th season of Moose hockey. It’s an opportunity to tell new stories about the franchise, the people in it and the team’s relationship with the fans.
“When we celebrated 20 seasons, we had only been back for a few years,” he explained Raquel PayneMoose marketing manager. “Now we have reestablished ourselves in our market. Therefore, we no longer look back firmly at the nostalgic ‘1.0 era.’ We’re very focused on what 25 seasons look like especially during ‘era 2.0.’ We’re more focused on the latter
accomplished rather than accomplished for a long time.”
The Moose came to Winnipeg as members of the International Hockey League in 1996, and began playing in the AHL in 2001. They moved to St. ‘ top membership development
The so-called ‘2.0 era’ of Moose now has about ten stories to tell. As one of the few AHL affiliates in the same city as their NHL team, many Moose alumni continue to connect with local fans as members of the Jets.
“We have very clear lines to draw between the current Winnipeg Jets and the Moose who have been here since the team came back,” added Peterson. “The fact that we can tell these stories completely now is giving
a reminder of the new look.”
The centerpiece of that new look is the team’s jersey to celebrate the 25th season, which began on Nov. 23. The jersey combines the team’s classic “happy moose” logo with the organization’s current colors to bring together the franchise’s two eras.
Work on the celebratory jersey began back in the summer of 2022 as the True North Sports + Entertainment design team worked to find a balance between nostalgia and celebration where
group now. The original logo was identified as the primary crest choice due in part to its importance to current Moose and TNSE staff.
“Everyone in our office wanted to see something about our ‘happy moose’ again,” he said. Marc Gomezart director of TNSE’s creative services team. “The ‘happy moose’ is the most important thing in the history of the brand. It’s the same thing as most of the people we work with and grew up with Moose.”
The logo also has a very fun feel to it, connecting to the younger fans who make up a large portion of the contingent at every Moose home game. It’s linked to the club’s history which Payne hopes will resonate with the club’s younger fans.
“Many of our fans tend to be small people. So, we want to make sure it’s something they’ll remember, and they’ll love it like our fans grew up with it.”
People love sweaters. You don’t have to look hard to see a strong reaction to any team jersey from youth sports all the way up to the professional and international level. With new revelations comes a little trepidation as the first presentations begin and ideas begin to roll in. For Gomez, those feelings began to disappear when the first jersey came out of the box.
“There was excitement, and obviously you need to cover it up a bit, but I just wanted to throw it on and run to the office. It’s a great looking jersey, and I think everyone here is happy that it’s out there in the world right now.”
That joy spread to the fans who quickly embraced the new jersey. Many have heralded the new look as one of the most special jerseys the club has produced – high praise considering the looks TNSE have designed for the club in the past. The jerseys were all sold out by the time the team got to the holiday break.
“There’s a lot of satisfaction when we get that positive response,” added Payne. “Hearing such a reaction when we broadcast on social media. We were overwhelmed with so much support and love. To hear our fans happy as we are strengthened by this jersey was the right decision for us.”
The jersey enjoyed a winning first game as the Moose battled back from third down to a 4-2 win over long-time rivals, the Chicago Wolves. The new look had the players talking after the game.
“I thought they looked sharp. I thought they looked good,” Moose’s defender Dylan Anhorn he told reporters following the victory. “Maybe we need to increase how often we wear them this year based on the jump we had today.”
While jerseys may be in short supply, fans can purchase other season 25 merchandise at Jets Gear locations or online at TrueNorthShop.com. For more information on the 25th season of Moose hockey, including the promotional schedule, single-game tickets and ticket memberships, visit MooseHockey.com.
