Wednesday: 4th of July Post

Here's wishing all of HJC's American readers a happy and safe 4th of July. Hopefully none of you get drunk and blow your hands off with some fireworks. Anyways...

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With all of the excitement of the HJC Open, it seems that the COTW votes are being a bit over looked. So if you're a Committee Member please take a minute to look at the nominees and send in your vote. We really need a lot of votes on this one to avoid a tie. I would really like to start the COTY-June vote on Friday instead of a playoff vote.

COTW June 25-July 1 vote (ends Thursday @ 11:59pm EST)

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As you probably will remember, the Sarnia Sting held a 3rd jersey competition a few months ago. A HJC regular, Dylan, won the competition along with another gentleman who's logo was selected.

I guess the Sting's mascot was at a Canada Day celebration on Sunday and was sporting the new sweater.

 On a side note, that has got to be one of the most poorly constructed mascot costumes ever! I can see the guy's neck!

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All of the 2nd Round HJC Open entries came in early! A big thank you to those 8 entrants. Because the entries are in early, the voting can start early. Click the banner at the top of the page or you can go to the HJC OPEN tab.

HJC Open Round 2 votes (end Sunday @ 11:59pm EST)

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Freemantle Dockers concept (by Matt D.)

This is a really well done adaptation to the hockey jersey. Just everything about this looks very solid. 8/10

Pittsburgh Penguins concept (by Trey)

I like the Penguins in blue, but I don't think this blue works, especially with the vegas gold. The logo is also not working for me and it seems quite pixelated around the edges. The left arm on the front doesn't match the left arm on the back and I don't understand why the chest stripes don't go all the way around the jersey. 4/10

New Jersey Devils concept (by NB14)

The new concept here is the white jersey. It's okay, but not an improvement on the old white jersey. I also don't care for how the green stripe is below the red stripe on the arms, but it's on top on the front of the sweater. 6/10

Phoenix Coyotes concepts (by Ian)

The current alternate sweater looks so much better as a red sweater, such as Ian has here. I think the white sweater would be better if it used black outlines instead of sand. The 3rd jerseys that Ian shows us here is agreeable, but the collar seems not properly executed. It's a different shade of red than the rest of the jersey. 7/10

Anaheim Ducks concepts (by John T.)

I guess you could say that this is the perfect amalgamation of the Disney and Edge eras. Not terribly original, but nicely executed. 7/10

Djurgårdens IF Elitserien concepts (by Kyle C.)

Take a look at their current sweaters. Kyle's concepts are very well executed and the sweaters themselves are better than most Elitserien teams. However, I prefer almost everything else about the current Djurgårdens' jerseys. I do like how Kyle has simplified the logo. 7/10

Calgary Flames concepts (by Keens)

This is a neat idea, but it just seems a bit tacky to me. Judging by the US and Canadian sweaters at the Vancouver Olympics, Nike isn't afraid to use sublimated designs. I think the flames on these jerseys would have been the perfect opportunity to do that. 6/10

Columbia Inferno concepts (by WinnipegJets96) *Description on concept. 6/10

New York Rangers concept (by Tristan)

This is a cool concept. The darker blue looks very good with the retro logo. There's a small inconsistency with the player model and the concept. Callahan has a red collar, but the concept has a grey and blue one. I prefer a red collar. I also would not have used the drop shadow numbering, just to distance this a bit from the road white jersey. 8/10

U.S. Military concepts (by Chris Z.)

I guess today is one of those days that's as good as any for these to be posted. HJC's American readers would be able to comment more accurately on these than I can. From just how they look, I give them a 7/10.

Columbus Blue Jackets concepts (by Dmitri)

This is very close the exactly what the Jackets might look like if Nike got to re-design the NHL. I personally would go with square yokes on the white jersey rather than the rounded ones. 8/10

Winter Classic concepts (by Darren)

There seem to be a lot of rumblings for a Winter Classic in St. Louis. Now that they seem like a team trending upwards, it may happen. These are excellent Classic fauxbacks too. An execution error seems to be that there are two shades of vintage white on the Hawks' jersey. I'd actually go with true white in the stripes. 8/10

Chicago Blackhawks concept (by Dylan)

Dylan has obviously based this on the Hawks' jersey of the 1940's. It's very well executed, which I have come to expect from Dylan anyways. Personally I would like to see the TV numbers in their traditional location, but that just might be me. Here's something to ponder, would a stripe heavy jersey like this be accepted and popular as a third? 8/10

West Coast Eagles concept (by Matt D.)

I don't know anything about this team of Australian rules football, but when I saw this hockey jersey I knew I was going to give it a COTW nomination. It almost looks like something cool and awesome that the Thrashers could have pulled off. As I said, COTW nom from me! 9/10