Bold and unique.
That was always the vision that the wives and girlfriends of the New Jersey Devils had for their 2025 Stanley Cup Playoff jackets.
And they delivered when they revealed the jackets ahead of Game 3 in Newark.
New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) on X
Playoff jacket hard launch.
In early March, Stefan Noesen's wife, Aly, took over the reins and responsibility for the playoff jackets.
"Normally, it is the captain's wife or the assistant captain," she explained," but a lot of the older veteran girls, we have all been helping out in different ways, like planning baby showers, bachelorettes, and things like that. (The playoff jackets) are a lot of work, and you want to please 20-plus girls and make sure it is cool and different. I stepped in and said sure, I will do it."
The Devils forward was actually discussing it with his wife, saying they were a month out and should probably get the ball rolling.
"I kind of warned the girls and said I know we are not clinched in a playoff spot yet, but we really need to get things dialed in," she said. "I told them either we are going to have really sick jackets for next year to wear during the season, or we are going to have sick jackets for the playoffs. We are committing either way."
After contacting different designers and gathering various quotes and designs, Noesen got assistance from Shannon Allen and Emma Dillon. The decision was eventually made to use designer Kevin Leonel.
"He is fantastic," Noesen said. "He was so sweet. The minute I reached out to him to work on it, he said, yes, 100 percent. He was great to work with. Every time I would suggest things to him, he would do it. He is an amazing designer, and his attention to detail is truly everything."
Over the years, the WAG playoff jackets have become a phenomenon among fans. There are now official reveals, reaction videos, and even playoff jacket brackets.
With the growing interest and expectations, Noesen had reservations about how the jackets would be perceived, especially when she knew they wanted to go in a different direction.
"We knew what everyone was going to be doing," she said. "We knew the style that was in right now was that clean, crisp leather jacket look. We agreed we needed to be different; otherwise, we would look like everyone else. The New Jersey Devils - we are not like everybody else. We are unique and bold, and we wanted to be loud and different.
"We thought we were just going to go for it."
The reaction was overly positive, praising Noesen and the other wives and girlfriends for bringing personality to the jackets.
"If you thought you had a favorite WAG jacket already, the ladies of the New Jersey Devils have something to say about that," one TikTok user enthusiastically shared. "Move over, Washington Capitals. (NJ) is number one right now, easily. These are cool, these are different. This is what we have been waiting for. It is what we wanted all along."
Noesen and the other ladies perfectly executed their initial vision of being bold and unique. The jackets were an eye-catching conversation starter and encompassed what the playoff jackets are all about: a statement piece that represents the team and city.
Like Noesen said, in New Jersey, we aren't like everyone else.
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