Ducks WAGs Keep it California Cool with Playoff Jackets

One of the NHL's most anticipated traditions is back for the playoffs.

Okay, aside from players growing beards, another tradition is back in the barn: playoff WAGs jackets.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term “WAG,” that’s understandable. “WAG” is an acronym for wives and girlfriends of players. Over the last couple years, the better halves of Stanley Cup Playoff-bound players create a jacket – or in some cases, jackets – to honor their significant others and the team they represent.

One WAG usually takes the lead, and for the Ducks, it was Dani Terry’s duty this year. As the team’s longest-tenured WAG, Dani, the wife of Ducks winger Troy, was excited to get the opportunity to finally be part of the new-age member’s only jacket club.

“It's so fun and such an honor,” Dani said. “At the end of the day, the jackets are just to show support for our guys. They've put so much hard work in. It’s such an honor to be here for so long, and we've been through it all. To see the team get to where we are now, it’s just so cool.”

As a jacket rookie, Terry collaborated with veterans including Tiffany Killorn, Francesca Kreider and Kelly Trouba, calling it a true group effort with the help they provided.

WAG jackets come in a variety of styles. More traditional choices include bomber jackets and moto jackets, apparel built for frigid temps. But while it’s between 50°F and 65°F inside Honda Center, outside it’s much warmer. So Terry and the other Lady Ducks wanted to do things a little differently and pay homage to Southern California.

Terry worked closely with BROdenim and its founder, Laura Brodigan, on creating custom barn jackets the women wore for the team’s first home playoff game in eight seasons.

“We wanted a Carhartt-barn jacket-California vibe,” Terry explained. “A lot of the playoff jackets are heavier, because they're on the East Coast, so we were trying to go with something that was more lightweight.”

“The barn jackets are so in right now,” added Killorn. “We also did a vintage take, which we like. We honestly feel like our jackets look so much different than all the other jackets of the NHL, and we love that.”

The beige canvas jacket features a brown corduroy collar, the famous Ducks logo on the left sleeve, Anaheim in brown script on the front-right side, and D-U-C-K-S in big, block, varsity-style letters staggered down the back. Each jacket also the player’s last name stitched down the right sleeve and their number in orange over the heart.

“It's been such a fun journey working with the families and the teams and being able to tell their stories,” Brodigan said. “With the wives and girlfriends, they want something cute to rep their family, you know? It’s custom, it's something personal, and it's a storytelling piece.”

The ladies also used Tiny Turnip, a female-founded sports apparel company out of San Clemente, for their flannels on Sunday and local hockey lifestyle apparel brand Violent Gentlemen even got in on the action for the littlest ducklings, creating special tees for players’ kids.

Even though the tradition has been going on for the last few seasons, it really picked up traction this year on social media. Lauren Kyle McDavid, wife of Edmonton Oiler Connor McDavid, is doing double duty, creating jackets through her apparel line Sports Club Atelier.

Florence Viel, wife of Ducks winger Jeffrey Viel, has been showcasing her outfits on TikTok and others have been clamoring to see what the first ladies of the NHL will be sporting each game.

But while the jackets may be fun, another thing’s for certain: They’ve become a really cool opportunity to expand female fandom, by bringing more women into the game of hockey and welcoming them into the NHL.

“It's a way for [female fans] to kind of get involved and interact, and I feel like the jackets make it a little more relatable or accessible,” said Rachel Luzi, founder of Tiny Turnip.

“The jackets are such a big part of the playoffs, and I think that even just seeing the teams posting the jackets and what the women were wearing, I think it really cool,” added Brodigan. “The landscape has completely changed throughout the past 10 years and people are just so much more invested, and they want to look good and feel good going to the games.”