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WHL Portland Winterhawks

Winterhawks Set to Don Holiday Sweaters Designed by Equipment Assistant Logan Acebo

December 15, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


Portland, Ore. - Last winter, Logan Acebo had an idea.

Looking around the league, the Winterhawks' 18-year-old Equipment Assistant saw other clubs' various themed sweaters and wondered how his hometown Hawks would look with a splashy one-off design. In the midst of the 2021 holiday season, Acebo put his budding digital art skills to the test one night and decided to give the Winterhawks' look a Christmas-themed makeover.

It was initially just for fun, but when he showed off his work around the locker room, it was clear he had struck gold.

"I was simply designing these for myself. After a collection of five or six, I decided to show my designs to (Head Equipment Manager) Clayton (Johns) and Andruw (Barrett, other Equipment Assistant). They loved the jerseys so much that they practically forced me to show our marketing team," said Acebo.

Acebo hadn't planned on his designs leaping off the screen and onto the ice. But one thing led to another, and he got the unexpected opportunity to turn his hobby into reality.

"I got an email over the summer that surprised me. (Winterhawks Chief Marketing Officer) Jeff McGillis asked me to present my designs to a group from the Hawks' front office to create an official design that would be used for a game-day jersey. After I showed my designs, we edited and played around with the concepts, eventually choosing a final design that would be used," he said.

The final product perfectly threads some holiday spirit into the Winterhawks' branding, and finally debuted during warmups prior to the Hawks' Teddy Bear Toss game last weekend.

Dante Giannuzzi and James Stefan show off the Winterhawks' holiday sweater. (Photo: Keith Dwiggins)

The holiday set makes arrives in full this Saturday as the Winterhawks wear these uniforms during the game against Vancouver.

With a striking red base, the uniform features a sublimated knit motif to evoke a true "sweater" feel, as well as a deconstructed pattern of the Winterhawks' secondary "P" logo and subtle accents like snowflakes and snow-covered evergreen trees.

Bringing the whole look together is a special crest that Acebo says was foundational in the design process.

"With each of the festive designs I did, featured the Winterhawk head with the Santa Hat: symbolism for Christmas and the holidays in general. The sweater print in the background was something I did right before presenting these jerseys. I had played around with different blend features in the program I was using and mixed the jersey design layer with a sweater print. The sweater print really sells the 'ugly sweater' aesthetic. The Winterhawks' office really wanted an ugly sweater, not just a festive design," he said.

The intricate uniform truly was a labor of love for young Acebo, who was just a few weeks old when he attended his first Winterhawks game.

Growing up around the Winterhawks, he eventually developed a bond with the Hawks' former equipment manager, Mark "Peaches" Brennan over the years. Now in his third official season with the Hawks, the Mountainside High School senior continues to thrive in the equipment room.

"As a season ticket holder, I was always around the rink. Sitting in the front row I would collect practice pucks and would return them to Peaches, the equipment manager. Peaches saw me grow up during the years he was in Portland. In August 2019, I was 14 years old helping my dad in the penalty box at the Winterhawks' annual Neely Cup tournament. I knew my way around the locker room and that showed Peaches that I was old enough and finally had the chance to work for the team. Unfortunately, I was not invited into the bubble during the shortened 2020-21 season, but I was happy to be brought back by Clayton Johns the season after," said Acebo.

Away from the rink, Acebo is preparing to graduate high school and pursue an engineering degree, but remains interested in art and design.

"I took an intro to visual arts class when I was a freshman in high school and just naturally had some skills for the design process. Most of the stuff we did was realistic art on an iPad, drawing people and other objects. I then took a different graphic design class when I was a sophomore, where we studied key features for graphic design, usage of color, usage of shapes, spacing, and explored programs using my iPad and Stylus...I have considered minoring in graphic design in college, yet my main focus has been engineering since that has been an interest of mine for a while," he said.

Armed with his iPad and a strong aesthetic eye, Acebo's burgeoning artistic talents have quickly given life to a special uniform for the team he has spent his entire life watching.

That, he says, is a dream come true.

"I had obviously seen the designs digitally and had been waiting since August for the real thing," he said, "When I was working in the locker room, I wasn't told they were actually in one of our equipment closets, but I found them and just couldn't stop smiling. I saw all the guys' names and numbers on the jerseys and that was when it became reality, knowing that the players I work with are going to wear a jersey I designed. It was exciting to get my own jersey with my last name on the back. During the warm-ups of the teddy bear toss game, that was an even bigger moment, because the public was seeing them for the first time.

"It was all just one big fairy tale for me."

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Join us for Portland's biggest New Year's Eve celebration!

The Winterhawks host the Silvertips on New Year's Eve at the VMC. It's going to be a party all night long with fan giveaways, a postgame skate with the team, and more! Be sure to stick around for the cash balloon drop when the clock strikes Midnight EST (9pm PT) and the early puck drop of 5pm gives you and your family flexibility to ring in the New Year.

Single-game tickets are now on sale for the 2022-23 season.

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from December 15, 2022


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