NY Islanders’ winning lighthouse jersey means even more to the fan who designed it

The New York Islanders wanted their next third jersey to feel different.

So did the fan who designed the winning one.

Elmont native Doyle, 22, was drawn to the lighthouse logo because the Islanders had already spent plenty of time recycling other parts of their uniform history. The standalone “NY” had been around in some form for a decade. Wordmarks had been used before. The Fisherman had already gotten its nostalgia comeback.

The lighthouse felt like something else.

“I think the colors just really go well,” Doyle said. “Obviously I love the original Islanders jersey, but I feel like if I were to switch it up a little bit, that's exactly what I would envision.”

His design took the old lighthouse shoulder patch from the mid-1990s and blended it with a more modern Islanders look, including the orange and teal elements he always liked from that era.

For Doyle, though, the story became bigger than just winning a jersey contest.

He grew up going to Nassau Coliseum with his father, an Islanders fan dating back to the dynasty years. His first game came in 2011, and those trips helped turn him into the fan who eventually submitted a design among more than 80,000 entries.

His father passed away earlier this year. That made seeing the lighthouse survive round after round a little more emotional.

“We've just been talking about how nuts my dad would be going right now,” Doyle said.

There is something fitting about the logo now serving as a small beacon during a difficult year for his family. Doyle admitted the entire experience still feels surreal. Just reaching the final eight was unlikely enough. Actually winning the whole thing was another level.

“I don't even know how to describe it,” he said. “It's just been an unreal experience.”

The Islanders still have work to do before the jersey hits the ice in 2027-28.

But for Doyle, the lighthouse already means more than just another logo.

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