Islanders get 30,000 submissions in first day of their jersey design contest
One example of what you can create as the Islanders are asking fans to design a new third jersey for the 2027-28 season at islesjerseybuilder.com. Credit: Newsday
The Islanders made waves Wednesday with the launch of a fan contest to design their third jersey for the 2027-28 season, the first time in NHL history a franchise has allowed its fans to create an official team sweater.
It’s been an immediate hit among Islanders fans.
As of 11:30 a.m. Thursday, fewer than 24 hours after the contest was launched at noon Wednesday, the Islanders received 30,000 submissions, according to the team. Fans have until July 24 to submit their designs at islesjerseybuilder.com.
“I just hope it's something that everyone can kind of look at and look back fondly as like, OK, this was a really cool jersey,” said Islanders fan Donny Savitsky, 26, of Woodmere. “It was a fun era because [Matthew] Schaefer’s here.
“Who knows? Maybe it's one of these jerseys that just stays as the third forever, like a blue jersey for the Mets. And if that's the case, that would be amazing, and it would be even cooler that the fans were able to put their stamp on it.”
Islanders president of business operations Kelly Cheeseman told Newsday earlier this week that he expects “there's going to be a lot of submissions.” A committee will review all the submissions and select five finalists, who will be put to an online fan vote in early August. The creator of the winning design will earn a team-signed third jersey and tickets to the game in which the jersey will make its on-ice debut during the 2027-28 season.
“I wonder how they’re going to go through 30,000 submissions,” Savitsky said jokingly. “It’s got another couple weeks.”
The jersey combinations are plentiful, with fans getting to choose from 15 striping options, 53 color options, nine Islanders logos and eight different fonts for the nameplate and numbering.
Cheeseman said he personally is a “very monochrome, two-color, maybe with one-accent color, type of guy” and would like to see a navy-on-orange or an orange-on-navy look.
Savitsky spent a lot of time on the design website Wednesday and noted a few previous Islanders designs that he loves, including the 2024 Stadium Series jersey and the 2000s orange alternate jersey. He also noticed templates similar to those of the Panthers and Oilers, which he said was interesting.
“I really hope ultimately that it's something that the fan base loves and that they can rally behind,” he said. “… The Islanders are very insular. It’s not a large fan base, and that's part of the charm of them. So I mean, if this goes well, it'll just add to what makes the fan base great.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
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