Manitoba

True North says Winnipeg Jets swag flying off the shelves as fans dress to impress at whiteout

Fans of the Winnipeg Jets have been stocking up on merch to better represent their team as this year's playoff run continues.

Stores 'busy all day,' organization says

Girls in Winnipeg Jets jerseys cheer amid a sea of fans also wearing white.
Fans flock to watch the Winnipeg Jets take on the Colorado Avalanche during the whiteout party on Tuesday. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)

Fans of the Winnipeg Jets have been stocking up on merch to better represent their team as this year's playoff run continues.

True North Sports and Entertainment says sales at their merchandise stores are blowing up as the team's playoff run heats up. That's as thousands of Jets fan wearing the team's signature white show off their drip at the traditional whiteout street parties in downtown Winnipeg.

"The atmosphere in our stores has been phenomenal. It's been busy all day from when we open to close here at the Canada Life Centre," said Rishi Chandar, manager of retail operations at True North Sports.

"We're keeping the printers going. We got stuff coming in continuously on a daily basis."

Hoodies are a big item, Chandar said, and so are items like T-shirts, long sleeves and bucket hats. Adam Lowry, Josh Morrissey, Mark Scheifele, Connor Hellebuyck and Nikolaj Ehlers jerseys have been popular all season long.

People wearing Jets jerseys and hats with airplanes on top of them
Terry Dowling, far right, and his crew. (Gavin Axelrod/CBC)

Almost all fans who showed up to the whiteout party Tuesday ahead Game 2 in the series against Colorado came in dressed up. But the boldest outfits you couldn't buy at a store.

Terry Dowling and his crew came out to party wearing their Jets jerseys and cowboy hats with jet planes glued on top. Dowling said his wife made them.

"It's a Styrofoam plane, she adds light to it, buys these hats and just doctors them up quite well," he said.

"She does a lot of crafts … I watch it, and support her."

A man wearing a white suit
Bobby J. St. Laurent, a former wrestler, knows the value of dressing to impress. (CBC)

"I went for a snowy theme because it's a whiteout blizzard party," said Elishah Luptak, wearing a white ushanka, a cape, and what looked like two blue, Jet-themed Christmas baubles as earrings.

Bobby J. St. Laurent, a former wrestler, knows the value of dressing to impress. St. Laurent showed up brandishing a Jets logo on the breast pocket of his white suit, and another on his white fedora.

A woman in a white costume, dancing with another woman wearing an angel costume.
'I went for a snowy theme because it's a whiteout blizzard party,' said Elishah Luptak, left. (Gavin Axelrod/CBC)

"I thought ahead. I knew the whiteout was coming, so I had it done a few weeks ago," he said.

"The playoffs is the best time of year and it's so much better when the Jets have a chance to win. Not a 'chance' to win: They are going to win."

Two people wearing white outfits
Veronica Gagnon and Beau Downey show off their patch-filled matching outfits during the second whiteout party of the NHL post-season in downtown Winnipeg. (Gavin Axelrod/CBC)

With files from Gavin Axelrod