They're Grrreat!

Hello fellow jersey aficionados! This is Dylan A. filling in for Ryan. It's a real honor to be the first regular weekday poster not named Ryan.  I look forward to helping Ryan out with the site as long as he needs it and the rest of the new guest writers feel the same way. I'm not looking to to anything differently than Ryan's done things around here. I'm going to offer the same style of constructive criticism to all the people who send in their concepts.

Anyway, for the voters out there, just a reminder, there are currently two votes you'll need to make this week. The COTW for August 13-19 and the Dallas Stars Rebrand Competition. I saw a lot of really well done Stars concepts over the past week, I'm really curious to see how that ends up.

COTW Aug 13-19 vote (ends Thursday @ 11:59pm EST)

STARS COMP Top 5 vote (ends SATURDAY @ 11:59pm EST)

Let's get to the concepts!

Anaheim Ducks Concept (Ricky Mazella)

Ricky has a neat idea here. This could maybe be a fashion jersey or a special event practice jersey. It's very busy though and could be toned down just a bit. I like the idea though. The numbers should also probably be a lighter color like white or orange, that way they can be seen better. The lack of tv numbers doesn't hurt this concept for me because I don't necessarily see this being worn on ice for anything other than maybe practice. There's some loose pixels around the shoulder patches as well, but overall a nice idea that I think has some potential. 6/10

Winnipeg Jets Concepts (Charles Way)

Charles gives the Jets an Under Armour makeover. I like the Jets color scheme and it works well with the striping. On the white jersey, it would be nice to see the dark blue be used in the striping somehow, like how white is in the home jersey's striping. It'd be nice to see the hem stripes the same width as the arm stripes. The crest and the numbers all seem a little big but that's not killing this concept. 6/10

Detroit Red Wings Swift Concept (Brian Raiger)

This is a pretty straightforward concept. This is probably almost exactly what the Wings would like like if the league switched over to Nike. Nothing groundbreaking about this concept. It's execution is nice though. 7/10

Peoria Rivermen Concept (Fabio)

I like the white upper arms, but I don't like the dark blue sections on the sides or armpits. Maybe color the whole arm dark blue starting under the yellow stripe. The socks, in my opinion should also be the lighter blue to match the jersey better. Execution note, the shoulder patches are missing on the back view, as well as the Reebok logo on the top of the back. Also, the AHL jerseys have an extra Reebok and AHL logo on the bottom of the back. 7/10 

Boston Bruins 90th Anniversary Concept (Brady Sufat)

This is a pretty nice anniversary jersey. It's definitely feels like a Bruins jersey. Brady is also using a giant B, which the Bruins did from 1932-36, as well as 1948-55. I'd rather see the normal logo but maybe with a retro feel, similar to their Winter Classic jerseys. I like the consistency between all the striping, the stripes on the pants might be overkill though, maybe blank pants would be best. Nice execution as well. 7/10

Minnesota Wild Concept (J3)

J3 takes the Wild's current home jersey and get's rid of red. He also made a light version for the road. If this was any team other than the Wild, I'd like it a whole lot more. But to me, that logo needs more color to work as well as it does. It's not bad, but it's a bit of a downgrade. I do like the simplicity of the jerseys and the color scheme does say "Old Time Hockey" It would be nice to see the return of red in the logo as well as trim on the jerseys. The numbers seem a bit dated and out of place on the jersey and also, there's no TV numbers. 7/10

New York Americans Concept (Dustin Funk)

I can't tell where this logo is from. Did you make this yourself Dustin? It's definitely not a logo that would be hard to make, but it'd be nice to know if this was an original logo or if you're borrowing it. For future reference, not just to Dustin, but everyone out there, if you use a logo other than a well known NHL logo, please follow HJC's Logo Use Policy. Overall though, the jersey is pretty uniqe and I like it. the stars on the sides of the white jersey should be blue as well as all the TV numbers, both jerseys, should be white to be seen better. The Home jersey sock should also be blue to match the jersey in my opinion. 8/10

Helsinki Concept (Dustin Funk)

Once again, after some Googlin'... I could not find any logo like this one so i don't know if Dustin is a great logo designer, or if he just isn't giving someone credit for their work. But putting that aside, I love this jersey set. The color scheme is killer and I really like the stripes in the shoulder yoke. The striping could be a bit more consistent. The beige stripe has so much contrast with the blue jersey, but there is nothing like that on the white jersey. Also, the white jersey has a stroke around the logo, but not the blue jersey, which, if anywhere, is where the stroke should be. The sock striping could be more consistent too. Make at least one of those changes and this could be a 9 or a 10!!! 8/10

Hamilton Tigers Concept (Justin Cox)

Does the Post title make sense yet? Grrreat? Tigers? Frosted Fl... nevermind... Once again, Justin has an amzing concept that is perfectly executed and very creative and unique. The color scheme and striping reminds me of my Sarnia Sting jersey, but I love what Justin has done with the stripes on the home and away. Very unique, which I love and really look for on jerseys. I really like the third jersey too. It really has that vintage feel to it. Especially with the number font. I'm glad he only used it on the third though, I don't think it would fit well on the other two. Justin, ANOTHER...COTW nom for you. 9/10