40 years after the original was released, two ECHL teams transformed into new teams for the weekend to celebrate a new remake of the classic hockey movie.
On Friday, March 6, the Allen Americans took the ice as the Hamilton Mustangs, while the Tulsa Oilers took on the Thunder Bay Bombers in the first game of a three-game series in Allen, Texas. The new identity is borrowed from the remake of ‘.Youngblood,” starring Ashton James and Blair Underwood, was released in theaters the same day.
As Mustangs, the Americans wore white jerseys with navy blue shoulders with yellow trim and navy, gray and yellow stripes around the waist and shoulders. The front coat of arms depicts a wild horse with a flowing mane inside a navy blue horseshoe. The numbers on the back and sleeves were navy blue with a yellow outline, and the names were solid navy blue. The shoulder patch had the same words from the coat of arms superimposed over a navy M with a yellow outline and white wings on either side.
Meanwhile, the Oilers wore red Bombers uniforms with a more modern template. Black piping runs from the collar to the front of the jersey, with white and black panels running under the arms. Black, white and red stripes ran between the elbow panels, while narrow black and white stripes decorated the hem. The front crest was a black B with a white outline and a red explosion cutting from the left. The shoulder patch depicts a bomb with a front logo over a white and red target. The numbers on the back and sleeves were outlined in black on a white background, and the names were solid white.
“As a fan of the original 1980s Youngblood, I am excited to work with the studio to promote the remake in this creative way and bring it to life on ECHL ice. This type of promotion highlights the flexibility and innovation of our league in finding unique ways to activate and enjoy. With the recent success of the Olympic Games and hockey stars appearing on shows like Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show, this is an exciting time for the sport and we believe the momentum will lead to the release of a strong film this week.”
— Ryan Crelin, ECHL Commissioner
Along with their uniforms, both teams changed their social media profile pictures for the game, and the scoreboard and videos during the game used their respective movie IDs.
good night The 1986 original starring Rob LoweThe new version of “Youngblood” tells the story of a young hockey player’s trials and tribulations as he joins Hamilton’s new junior team. However, the colors were changed, as in that movie the Mustangs wore red and white uniforms and the Bombers wore black and yellow.
The Americans are part of the Ottawa Senators farm system along with the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators, while the Oilers are affiliated with the Anaheim Ducks and the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.
The Mustangs lost 4-1 to the Bombers on Friday night, but the Americans beat the Oilers in two other games over the weekend at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center and bounced back to win 6-4 on Saturday and 7-1 on Sunday.
