Wednesday: American Coyotes

You've probably already heard this but Ryan's child has been born.  He tweeted a photo of his new baby boy on Monday. Congratulations to Ryan and his wife!!!  Also welcome to the world Carter Haslett!!!

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The Saskatchewan Blades are bringing back this special event uniform from last year as their full-time third jersey.  Here is the article on the team's website.

The PEI Rocket have updated their "Rename Your Team" contest.  The top 20 names so far have been revealed, and they've announced that prefix will not be changing to Charlotte (it will either be PE or PEI).  The voting for this contest ends today.

Icethetics has an interesting article about possible uniform changes for the Dallas Stars and Buffalo Sabres in the 2013-2014 NHL season.  There are rumors that the Stars will have new home and road jerseys, and that the Sabres will have a new third third jersey.  That third jersey for the Sabres would apparently be blue and gold and feature the teams original logo.

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The Concept of the Week vote for August 27 - September 2 is going on.  If you're a HJC Voting Committee member, get your votes in by Thursday.  Here is the famous colour-coded bar.

COTW Aug 27 - Sept 2 vote (ends Thursday @ 11:59pm EST)

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Chicago Blackhawks (by Martin L.)

This concept is inspired by 1950's gas stations.  It certainly has that retro feel that you'd expect from an old gas station.  I don't think this jersey would work as a full-time third, but it could work as a special night jersey (fans receive free air-freshener promotion?).  The hem-trim isn't working for me, because there's already hem-stripes.  Also I don't like the logo on the back hem, and I don't like using Toronto Tecumsehs logo as a shoulder-patch.  I do really like the striping, the logo (for a one time jersey), and I don't even mind the name and number on the front.  7/10

Carolina Hurricanes (by Kyle C.)

Kyle C. gives the Hurricanes a third jersey with more traditional striping, but it still has the hurricane-flag pattern.  I'm a big fan of that idea, but I think the hurricane-flag pattern should either be sublimated or coloured like a hurricane-flag.  Everything else about this concept looks great.  8/10

Anaheim Ducks (by Thomas H.)

This is a decent concept for the Ducks, but I wouldn't say they're an improvement over their current jerseys. The striping is okay, the cuff-stripes are unique, but I don't think it's as good as their current swoosh-striping.  I like the logo choices though, I've always been a fan of that Mighty Ducks logo.  I would like to see TV numbers though, and the black in the logo is a different shade than the black of the jersey.  7/10

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (by Jordan D.)

The Lokomotiv Yaroslavl are rejoining the KHL this year, after playing in the VHL last year due to their plane crash on September 7, 2011.  This jersey would signal a fresh start.  I like the four stripes inspired by the logo, but I think the arm-stripes are too thick.  There are a few execution errors, the back numbers are a too far apart, the logo is too big, and the inside of the jersey should be white (bottom of front view).  7/10

New York Americans (by Stephen T.)

Here is a very retro looking concept for the New York Americans.  Stephen T. uses stripes on sleeve-length shoulder yokes, similar to these all star jerseys or the Ottawa 67's road jersey.  I think I'd like those stripes better if they were just red and white to better match the American flag.  The chest-stripe is okay, but it's a bit too low, and I think it could be a bit thinner.  I also think the TV numbers should be white so that they match the numbers on the back and stand out better.  6/10

New York Americans (by Brian B.)

And here is a very modern looking jersey for the New York Americans.  I guess this is a "what-if" type of concept, because why else would a team called the Americans be using the Lady-Liberty logo.  Brian B. modified that logo though by adding red and white stripes, and changing the "R" to an "A".  The jersey also uses red and white stripes, along with a bunch of other stuff.  I'm normally not a fan of such busy jerseys, but the only thing I don't like here is the trim along the hem.  8/10

Florida Panthers (by Anthony C.)

Anthony has created a new logo for the Panthers and given them brand new jerseys.  The logo looks good, it's much better than anything I could ever create, but I don't think it's quite NHL quality yet.  Something about the face seems a bit cartoony to me, but I can't really tell what it is.  I really like the unique striping pattern on the jersey, the swooshes work well for the Panthers.  A few minor things I don't like; the off-coloured name bar on the white jersey, the fact that red is used so little, and the socks that are the same for both jerseys. 8/10

Phoenix Coyotes (by Tyler G.)

Tyler has made some modifications to the coyotes home jersey.  He replaced all of the sand colour with white, he added a hem stripe, and he changed the collar.  I'm not a fan of replacing the sand in the logo with white.  It just looks more empty and flat now.  I do like adding a stripe back onto the hem, although I might consider removing the pant-stripe.  My favourite modification is the "collar-stripes".  It's something that is cool and unique, and something you might not notice right away.  8/10

Phoenix Coyotes (by Justin C.)

Another very good concept by Justin.  I agree with Ryan that we all need to step are games up another notch if we're going to compete with Justin for concept of the week votes.  About the actual concept, I like that he brought back the Aztec motif and kept the current colours.  I like all of the other choices he made too (logos, number fonts, etc).  My only suggestion is that I think the striping could be a tiny bit thinner.  Still though, a COTW nomination from me.  9/10