Editor’s hot take: Everyone wants custom, and everyone wants fast. Print-on-demand (POD) technologies — such as workflow software, proper CRMs, and automated production equipment — allow decorators to turn even the most detailed custom orders quickly. 

June 3, 2026

When Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim texted his wife eight minutes after the team clinched a playoff berth in mid-April, “We’re in! Let’s go! Buy the jackets lol,” the deadline was set.

The job, as shared above, was documented in a May 17, 2026 article in The Athletic by Peter Baugh on the leaguewide rise of custom NHL playoff jackets worn by players’ wives and girlfriends. “Every game during the Stanley Cup playoffs, wives and girlfriends of NHL players on the home team suit up in their own version of uniforms,” the article states. “Emblazoned with logos, jersey numbers and other custom-designed flair, these jackets have become flashy, fashionable staples of postseason hockey.”

An example of the Colorado Avalanche jackets. | Credit: Instagram/Colorado Avalanche

The black leather jackets the Flyers’ partner group would wear to every home playoff game had to be embroidered and ready before the team’s first home contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The partners brought the work to Rush Order Tees, and the jackets were finished on time.

Rush Order Tees added Flyers branding on the front, right arm, and back of each jacket, with individual players’ names on the back and initials on the left arm.

According to a press release, Rush Order Tees was founded in Philadelphia in 2002 and built its reputation on custom apparel work delivered on tight timelines, including screen printing, embroidery, DTF, chenille, and patches. Embroidering on leather is a specific technical job, and the Flyers’ partner group brought the company a one-week window between the team’s playoff clinch and the first home game.

“We were glad to do the work,” said Josh Hannum, VP of sales at Rush Order Tees, in a press statement. “The Flyers’ partners had a clear vision and a short clock. We were proud the jackets were ready in time for the first home game.”

The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with Apparelist. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Apparelist.