To debut its new threads, Arizona State imported a local flavor from Toronto.
Bringing new 🔥 to the ice.
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) August 22, 2019
A @sundevilhockey ✖️ @AM34 collab pic.twitter.com/5ycTUBLsM1
Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews sported a gold sweater with maroon pants and bucket as he skated around Oceanside Ice Arena, dangling a puck down the ice. A native of Scottsdale, Arizona, he grew up 15 minutes from the Sun Devils' current hockey home.
Adidas named the uniform the "Gold Heritage adizero jersey," a moniker that plays off of the Sun Devils' colors. For Matthews, there's an added sense of in-state pride as the sport gains popularity in the Valley.
Inspired by the past, created for the future.
— adidas Hockey (@adidashockey) August 22, 2019
Introducing @sundevilhockey’s Gold Heritage #adizero jersey.#ForksUp #teamadidas pic.twitter.com/bVvIUmS75B
Opened in 1974, ASU's facility has a capacity of 747 seats. It's since seen the Sun Devils go from an ACHA program to an NCAA DI varsity program.
That is until Matthews was selected No. 1 overall in 2016, the same year ASU completed its first hockey season in Division I.
Since then, Matthews has been named an All-Star in each of his three professional seasons while the Sun Devils reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in the program's brief history, becoming the first independent team to make the postseason field in 27 years.
LOOKING AHEAD: ASU-Quinnipiac among 6 games to watch in 2019-20
Arizona State opens its 2019-20 season with a two-game series at home against Mercyhurst on October 5 and 6.
