Reebok's NHL swag is, for the most part, pretty good. Yes, there has been thread-based blasphemy like the NHL "Black Ice" jerseys seen here. But overall, stuff like their Winter Classic gear has been solid.
What it hasn't been is "readily available" in locations like your local shopping mall, but that's about to change. If you have a Champs Sports in your mall — and they're about as omnipresent as an Aunt Annes pretzels or that kiosk that sells knock-off sunglasses — you'll be able to check out a "shop-in-a-shop" that's full of Reebok NHL merch.
Or as Reebok calls it: "An integrated NHL shopping and marketing retail experience in select cities across the U.S. and Canada." So, in other words, a spiffy looking display that hopefully gets some placement in the front of the store and not buried back with the obscure college sports sweatshirts.
Men's and women's apparel will be available; and, yes, that includes the Black Ice jerseys, so you can witness the splendor in person. The deal between the two is expected to be announced today.
Again, in a perfect world, there'd be an NHL Store in every city across the U.S. But half the country is still figuring out what icing is, so, baby steps.
Questions of the day: How easy is it to find the NHL gear you're looking for in your town? Where do you typically buy your merch: In stores, at the game or online?