BUFFALO, N.Y. — As the Buffalo Sabres prepare to drop the puck on another season they're looking to the future with young talent and building optimism. But they'll also be looking to the past, paying tribute to the teams that wore the black and red. The announcement on social media last month, that the "goat head jersey" was coming back had Sabres nation abuzz.
But how does an idea become reality? Through a combination of hard work and creativity, enter Eric Bodamer, Williamsville South, class of 88.
"A kid growing up in Buffalo, doodling Sabres logos on his notebooks and on his homework instead of doing it and getting to bring his hometown team kind of back to square one and looking great and then what we're going to be doing, know when they bring out the goat head, I think everybody's gonna love it."
Bodamer was the creative mind behind the redesign, and he brings a ton of experience to the table. He got his start designing hockey uniforms when he worked for Nike, creating new looks for several NHL teams, but also jerseys for 14 nations at the 1998 Olympic games. That included the one that took home the gold, worn by one of Eric's favorites, Dominik Hasek. "That's been a pretty pinnacle moment for me, a kid from Buffalo, world stage, and gets to see his favorite player from his hometown team win gold in, at least in my opinion one of the most epic individual performances of all time."
Eric is now a Senior Uniform Designer at Adida's Hockey, with an amazing track record. He was the senior designer for the brand identity and uniforms for the Seattle Kracken and Vegas Golden Knights when they entered the league.
He was also the mind behind the Sabres 50th anniversary uniforms, their "Return to Royal" campaign, and the NHL's Reverse Retro uniforms. "People asking me like what's it like to see your work show up on ice and do something that, 18 months later, you stand in an arena and you see the guys skate out on the ice for the 1st time. It's surreal."
Eric will be paying a visit to his hometown next month, on November 10th, he will be added to the Williamsville Schools Wall of Fame.
Eric also told me that he loves helping other aspiring designers get a start in the business, he says he constantly checks the direct messages on his Twitter page. So if you have a question, feel free to drop him a message.