Giants’ new look is anything but uniform
Juniors to pull on special ugly Christmas sweaters for this weekend’s games
Thomas Foster is a Vancouver Giants’ special events jersey expert.
“I’ve probably been through three a year since I’ve been here,” said Foster, 20, who is in his fifth full season with the WHL club. “I like them. I think it’s good for the fans and I think it’s good for us. It’s something to get excited about for games. It’s a little bit different.”
The Giants will unveil yet another unique uniform this weekend when they don their latest ugly Christmas sweater jerseys at the Langley Events Centre for games against the visiting Everett Silvertips (Friday) and Spokane Chiefs (Saturday).
The jerseys are usually designed by front office executives Peter Toigo and Dale Saip. They’re farmed out to a company that makes them in six to eight weeks. The game-worn jerseys are sold to the public afterwards.
Foster’s favourite special get-up of all-time was the camouflage kit that Vancouver wore last November. “I thought they looked really good and they supported the military. It was good awareness for that kind of issue,” he explained.
Defenceman Dmitry Osipov also picked the camo, “because a lot of my family is in the military,” but he was also keen on the Star Wars tributes they wore last December. “I’ve been a Star Wars guy since I was really young,” he said.
That gear landed the Giants considerable media attention, including a story on foxsports.com.
“They are fun nights,” said Osipov. “Guys on other teams give you compliments, tell you that’s it’s cool.”
Giants winger Ty Ronning picked the Pat Quinn jersey that the team wore earlier this season.
“Those are special, especially with that jersey,” said Ronning. “It was a great tribute. You play for something bigger than yourself.”