COTY Final Begins!

It all comes down to this. The 2011 Concept of the Year Final has been determined. Josh S.'s Lethbridge Hurricanes concept will go up against Eric W.'s Team Canada concepts! It's the 2nd Quarter winner versus the 3rd Quarter winner. April's COTW up against August's COTW. The results of the two semi-final votes are below.

Semi-Final 1 vs. 3

Eric W. - 8

Ryan - 4

Semi-Final 2 vs. 4

Josh S. - 8

Glen - 4

Eric and Josh, if you guys could please email me and let me know if you are willing or not willing to provide me with a shipping address in the event that you win. You would like to receive the COTY prize, no?

Click the banner on the side of the page or go to the 2011 COTY tab to see the Final match-up and place your vote. Voting for the 2011 Concept of the Year ends Thursday @ 11:59pm EST.

COTW Jan. 16-22 vote also ended. The winner was Avi and his Colorado Avalanche concepts. You can see the winning concepts on the CONCEPT OF THE WEEK page. The results of that vote are below.

Avi - 4

Brian D. - 2

Scott - 2

Stéphane - 1

Kyle C. - 0

Steven G. - 0

The only vote still going on is the 3rd Jersey Comp vote...

3rd Jersey Top 5 vote (ends Sunday @ 11:59pm EST)

To make it a little easier I have provided a link to the three tutorials, that I did earlier this year, on the side of the page. If/when I do more tutorials they will also appear when that image is clicked on.

Some AHL 3rd and specialty sweaters aren't made by Reebok, they are made by a company in Quebec called SP Apparel. In fact, SP used to be the jersey manufacturer for the AHL prior to the Reebok Edge system. Even though SP makes some of those 3rd and specialty sweaters, they still are required to place Reebok tags on their AHL sweaters to make them appear as if Reebok made them. As they do tend to look a little different, I have made a new template for those sweaters. This can now be found on the TEMPLATES page, along with a lot of other goodies (if you haven't been there yet).

click & save

We will be starting a new contest tomorrow! It will be a quick one as the entry phase will only run until Thursday. The vote will then be Friday to Sunday. All of those details are coming tomorrow. After that quick contest, we will be doing a "Create-A-Team" competition, but those details will be announced at that time.

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Houston Aeros concepts (by Russ)

Russ brings back the Aeros to the WHA. I like the wordmark as I think it suits the WHA Aeros better. When I see that jet logo I instantly associate it with the Aeros of the IHL/AHL. I like the small arm stripe design that has been used. I think a matching yoke on the blue concept would be good. Not a reverse colour, an exact copy. Good execution here Russ.

Columbus Blue Jackets concept (by Mason H.)

This is Mason's "fix" to the Jackets' sweater. In my opinion, it's a downgrade. I like the idea of combining the eras, but I think the current shoulder patch is better than the cannon logo. I also think that the red is too bright on this concept. I would like to see a jersey that uses the arm and hem stripes here, but not the blue sleeves. Again, good execution.

Columbus Blue Jackets concepts (by Brendan A.)

Brendan uses the current 3rd jersey as the base of a new home and road set. Wow, look how much better true white looks on this jersey and the white version looks great as well. I also prefer the traditional block lettering to the "square" numbers that are currently used. The alternate concept here just doesn't do it for me. That old logo doesn't look good in white in my opinion.

Boston Bruins concept (by Justin)

Justin has made some simple alterations to the Winter Classic jersey, intending to make it an alternate. Those changes include removing the vintage white and the collar laces. He's also tweaked the yokes and placed numbers on the front. Execution note, the hem stripes on the back nearly interact with the vertical stitching properly, but on the front they are intercepted by the stitching. Take a look at Brendan's Jackets jerseys to see how that should be.

Belleville Bulls concepts (by Kevin) Description on concepts.

Dallas Stars concepts (by Steven G.)

These concepts, based on late 70's North Stars sweaters, really use the Edge cut well. How could you complain if Dallas were to wear either of these sweaters? Nice work Steven.

Toronto Maple Toros concept (by Ross)

This isn't one of my favourite mash-ups by Ross, but obviously it's still well done. I prefer the shoulder patch to the logo mash-up itself. On a jersey execution note, the TV numbers are too close to the yokes, they should be halfway between the arm stripes and the yokes. I guess on Ross' concepts it's more about the logos than the jerseys.

Logo Mash-ups (by Ross)

Ross also sent this along. It's a recap of all the logo mash-ups he's sent in over the last couple of months. I'd have to say that my favourite is either the Sharks/Seals or the Wild/North Stars mash-up. Thanks for sending all of those in Ross!

Montreal Canadiens concept (by Stéphane)

I wish Montreal would wear this as a 3rd jersey again. I think it looks great on the Edge cut and I love how Stéphane has provided us with a mock-up photo. The vintage striping on the pants is a perfect addition. COTW nomination from me!

St. Louis Blues concepts (by Fredrik)

I think the Blues may be a leading contender for new uniforms. Fredrik has done a great job here providing us with vintage inspired concepts. I really like the road concept here. I like how the two shades of blue look together and how the darker blue is more prominent than what it actually is now.