The Giants do specialty jerseys two or three times a year, and these all-white tributes to the movie franchise could be their best ever
The Vancouver Giants are doing a Star Wars sequel.
The Giants are wearing all-white jerseys inspired by the Stormtroopers from the movie franchise on Sunday (4 p.m.) at the Langley Events Centre for their matchup with the Kelowna Rockets.
Specialty jersey nights have become a staple for the WHL club over the years. It’s something they do two or three times a season. It’s an attention grabber for them.
This is a second go-round with the Stormtrooper idea, following a Dec. 4, 2015, game at their old Pacific Coliseum digs. There’s a generation of younger Giants fans — the ones these specialty jersey games are generally aimed at — who won’t recall that matchup.
This latest incarnation of the Stormtrooper has more detailing in bottom half of the jersey and in the pants than the original, according to Pete Toigo, the team’s vice-president of operations and assistant general manager. The Giants haven’t offered up a detailed look at this latest Stormtrooper version just yet, offering up a few photos on their website and a YouTube video.
Toigo and Giants senior vice-president Dale Saip usually spearhead the specialty jersey designs, and there’s an Ontario uniform manufacturer they call on that produces a team set in about six to eight weeks.
The team doesn’t do replica jerseys for the specialty uniforms. They do regularly auction off the game-worn ones online, with proceeds going to charity. The Stormtrooper uniforms will be available later this season and the money raised will go to B.C. Children’s Hospital.
All that prompts the question: is the Stormtrooper the greatest Giants’ specialty jersey ever?
Speaking about it in 2021, Toigo said that several jersey concepts were originally sent to the Giants by the Vancouver branch of Industrial Light & Magic, the visual effects and computer animation company founded by George Lucas of Star Wars fame.
“The one I really liked was the Stormtroopers. It fits with a team. You couldn’t do a Darth Vader for a team. There’s only one Darth Vader,” Toigo said then.
Here are some other candidates for best Giants specialty jersey:
Vancouver Millionaires
Alkali Lake Braves
Cream was a prevalent colour once again when the Giants celebrated First Nations hockey with their rendition of an Alkali Lake Braves uniform for their Sept. 20, 2013 home opener for that campaign. The Braves were a dominant team in the 1930s, and the cross on the jersey was an emblem for the Alkali Lake Ranch, a cattle operation where many of the players worked.
Toigo said back in 2021: “It was an education in truth and reconciliation. It started out as a cool-looking uniform, but as we got closer and closer to the night it became even more meaningful.”
Pat Quinn
The late Canucks player, coach and general manager was a Giants minority owner, and the team honoured him in a Nov. 10, 2016 game by wearing an old-school Canucks blue-and-green jersey that featured a Shamrock logo.
Gordie Howe — who like Quinn was close with Giants owner Ron Toigo and a minority owner of the club — has also had tribute jerseys, including one commemorating his 85th birthday on March 1, 2013.
Christmas
The Giants have done various versions paying homage to the holiday season. The best known were probably the Grinch ones they worn Dec. 8, 2019 for their Teddy Bear Toss game at Rogers Arena.
Referees
The Giants worn the black and white stripes as their jerseys on Oct. 22, 2023 in what they tagged as a tribute to referees and linesmen. The on-ice officials that night went old-school, wearing beige sweaters that were common for refs and linesmen in the 1930s and 1940s.
Toigo said ahead of that night: “Our goal with this game is twofold: first, to acknowledge the hard work that on-ice officials do to ensure the game is safe and fair, and second, to shine a spotlight on officiating at the grassroots level. Hockey can’t be played without officials. By hosting this game, we want to encourage youth to get involved in officiating and also show support for officials at all levels, who deserve more respect.”
Fun fact about that game: the officials whistled both the Giants and Spokane Chiefs for seven minor penalties apiece. Vancouver 1-for-4 on the power play and Spokane was 0-for-5 in a 5-3 Giants’ win.
The WHL is set to return to action from the holiday break on Friday, and the 14-13-4-0 Giants, who were in seventh spot in the Western Conference to start the day, begin by visiting the ninth-place Kamloops Blazers (12-18-2-0).
Kelowna (13-14-2-1) hosts Kamloops on Saturday before making the trip to the LEC on Sunday.
@SteveEwen