IceCaps new jersey pays tribute to Beaumont Hamel

The St. John's IceCaps have a new jersey that pays tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Beaumont Hamel.

IceCaps CEO Danny Williams unveiled the new jersey at the Rooms on Thursday, before an applauding audience of officers and veterans.

"2016 is a very, very important year, a huge year for Newfoundland and Labrador...We thought we really need to do something special," said Williams.

"The IceCaps have made it a priority that we properly recognize the military for everything that they do for us."

The IceCaps worked with the Royal Newfoundland Regiment on the initiative and Williams said the military happily embraced the project.

Local graphic designer Troy Birmingham designed the new jersey, which replaces the IceCaps logo with a silhouette of a Royal Newfoundland Regiment soldier kneeling before a ridge.

The jersey keeps the team's colour palette, which is a reference to its parent club, the Montreal Canadiens.

"Even though it's comparing a very happy moment to a very tragic moment, it's 100 years ago to the year that the Montreal Canadiens won their first Stanley Cup, so there is some parallelism," said Williams.

The team will wear the new jersey on ice for the first time on Feb. 5, playing against the Utica Comets.

Williams also announced Thursday that he will name a street in the Galway development "Beaumont Hamel Way."