OK, they didn’t exactly say that. But as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Craig Custance explains, the Trashers’ performance in a 5-2 loss last night in Tampa probably wasn’t helped by the new Reebok sweater.
The new, improved technology is soaking all the other equipment a hockey player uses with sweat ” especially skates and gloves.
“It seems like all the sweat, instead of soaking into the jersey, goes right into the feet,” Thrashers center Todd White said. “I might try to wear wrist bands because my gloves get really wet ” especially taking faceoffs late in periods. So I don’t want my hands to be wet. I probably use three pairs of gloves per game.”
Added defenseman Steve McCarthy (above): ” I’m a sweater anyways; with the new jerseys I find that my gloves are soaked five minutes into the period. The water seems to run right into your gloves, same things with skates. They fill up with water.”
“Some of us have worn equipment a certain way for a long time,” Bobby Holik said. “These jerseys feel different. I like my jerseys very loose and these jerseys are like playing in a T-shirt. I hope they didn’t spend too much money on the research and science of this. Weight-wise? It doesn’t matter what a jersey weighs ” 10 ounces, a pound? Who cares? When I have a bad game, I don’t think it was the weight of the jersey ” the few times that I do have bad games.”
“They’re tight at the top and get looser as they get closer to the waist, said Kari Lehtonen (above), and that isn’t flattering. “I saw one picture on the Internet, I think they make me look fat,” Lehtonen explained. J
Jim Slater, the club’s player representative on the competition committee, refused to blame the new jerseys for that. “I don’t know of many things that don’t make [Lehtonen] look fat,” Slater said. “He’s a big boy no matter what ” he’s got the butt on him, the legs ” all that stuff.”