What better way to unveil your new uniform than to walk off a military jet, proudly displaying your team’s name across your arm, and a picture of that very jet across your chest? That’s just what team Captain, Andrew Ladd, and three other NHL Winnipeg Jets players did yesterday when it was time to unveil the jerseys that fans have been talking about for months. And if the jerseys aren’t enough to get you excited, the very entrance they made is sure to!

When the time came to show the world their new shirts, the four Winnipeg Jets stepped out of the hatch of well, a Winnipeg Jet — a Royal Canadian Air Force Hercules, to be exact, at the CFB Winnipeg. But stepping off the jet to make the debut wasn’t just for shock value; there was real meaning behind it, as the colors used for the jerseys are colors used, or once used, by the RCAF.

The home jerseys are navy blue or more correctly, “polar night blue,” and this is the color used to paint today’s RCAF aircraft. The away jerseys, which feature a lighter blue or “aviator blue,” are the historical color that RCAF aircrafts once were. But that jet sitting pretty inside the circular design that’s displayed proudly on the front? Well, that’s all new — just to give the team their own fresh and modern look, while still paying tribute to its roots and leaving the jerseys very similar in design to the look of the original Winnipeg Jets.

Col. Blaise Frawley, Commander of 17 Wing, was present for the reveal, and he made a statement saying how honored he was that the hockey team chose this particular way to unveil the jerseys, and pay tribute to the military and its ties to the city.