Friday: We have both types of concepts... Country, AND Western

Well HJC, it is friday yet again. You've made it.

This morning I picked up my Heritage Classic Sweater (maybe some pics next week!) I splurged and made sure to get the patch, and went with the Canucks' captain Henrik Sedin for the NOB. That is just about all the jersey fun I can have in one week, aside from the always exciting friday concept post.

Before we get to the concepts, we have some housekeeping to get through. 4 announcements today, and once we get through them, there will be a treat!

1) In case you missed it, HJC is reinstating an awesome rule. If a concept wins a competition, it will automatically be entered into the next COTW vote.

2) There is a HJC writer spot available. Click on the Banner at the top of the page for details. make sure to get your applications in by 11:59 Eastern TONIGHT!

3) I will be hosting a HJC meet-up in Vancouver on Heritage Classic weekend. Please get in touch with me if you are interested in meeting up! You can find me on Facebook via the HJC page (I am under my real name COLIN MAY). Also, you can send Ryan an email and he will forward it to me.

4) VOTE. Last weeks voter turnout was dismal. HJC as a community is at its best when everyone has input (whether that be through submitting concept art, commenting on posts, or exercising your right to vote). We have 2 votes going on this week. The normal COTW vote, and our COTY December vote. take 30 seconds and send your vote in now.

COTY-December vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

COTW Dec 30-Jan 5 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern) 

HJC Writer Application (due Friday, Jan. 10 @ 11:59pm Eastern)

That takes care of the announcements, and we do have some great concepts up from around the Western Conference, and for the country of Canada, but first to that treat I promised. I have been heavily referencing one of my favourite scenes from one of my favourite movies. Just so we're all on the same page, take a minute to enjoy this:

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Edmonton Oilers - Matt W.

Some good ideas here from Matt. I loved that navy blue alternate when it was in use, and this version of it is also really nice. I am not sold on the maple leaf, though, it seems a bit unnecessary to me, and sticks out like a sore thumb in comparison to the rest of the jersey (it would be more cohesive without it). If the Oilers were to go the royal blue route for an alternate, this would suit me just fine. I like the crest, and the striping is clean, yet different from the current home and road striping, which is key for an alternate sweater, in my opinion. 8/10 for the royal blue alt, 7.5/10 for the navy blue.

Minnesota Wild - Colin M.

I continue m NHL alternate sweater series here with this sweater for Minnesota. I wanted to use wheat for the base colour, while hinting at the original Wild uniforms, and preserving a bit of a "wild side" to the Minnesota unis, which has perhaps been lost a bit with their current traditional set. How'd I do?

Los Angeles Kings - Michael G.

That purple forum blue, and gold colour scheme is really eye catching, and I am glad that the Kings use it for their special events uniforms, it looks good here too. I would like to see a more consistent sleeve/hem stripe pattern here. Not a huge fan of the recoloured logo, the emphasis in the logo is on yellow, and on the sweaters, yellow definitely takes a back seat to purple. Clean execution, eye-catching presentation, bold colour scheme... with a few small tweaks this could be a real winner. 7.5/10.

Anaheim Ducks - Ryan D.

Ryan's concepts have come a long way in a very short time. There are still some issues with loose pixels, and stripe width consistency, but I am sure that in his next series, he will have that sorted out. As far as this concept goes, I am sure that Ducks fans would be pleased with an alternate that looked a bit like this. Orange with the Duck mask logo, what more can you ask for? 6/10.

Atlanta Thrashers - Zack M.

I know, I know, Atlanta is not a Western Conference team... But they did land in Winnipeg as the Jets, so I guess they are now! There are a bunch of errors on these sweaters, but I actually like the look overall. That copper-y colour was underused by the Thrashers, and overall the colours work really well here. The logos are too big, and the stripes are not straight, or a consistent width, also the collars look very incomplete, making them look like a total afterthought. 4/10.

Atlanta Flames - Zack M.

Another former Atlanta team which has made its way out west. One thing I really like about the white sweater is how the logo goes white on white (sort of), it looks really cool, but would pop more if there was a red outline all around the logo. Overall, not a bad look, but again there are major issues with the striping and application of collars. Also, there is a major problem with the presentation, the lower righthand  sweater it the back of the sweater. I know there is a logo, and a front facing collar, but the hem is the back hem of the jersey (there was the same issue on the Thrashers set). 4/10.

Los Angeles Kings - David K.

David blends a few eras of Kings hockey here, and he does it well! The basic idea of the sweaters is borrowed from the current Kings set, the font, and stripe thickness from the Gretzky era Kings, and the logos from the 1998-2013 purple style uniforms. Filling in the full length sleeve stripes works really well here, and I like the fact that the striping on these sweaters match each other (unlike the Kings current set). I am not the biggest fan of the shoulder patches here... I'm not sure they are necessary in this case. 7.5/10.

San Jose Sharks -vs- Kölner-Haie Sharks - Stephen T.

It's the Sharks vs the Sharks... get it? It is strange to see San Jose in red, but it makes sense for this concept. It is good that the transfer of colour schemes was made, and that the chest numbers from the San Jose Sharks made the leap onto the Kölner-Haie sweaters. One thing that should not have made the leap to the Kölner-Haie sweaters is the NHL logo, maybe put the DEL logo in the Reebok collar insert to make this mash-up more authentic! I think these jerseys could be pushed WAY more. The Kölner-Haie Sharks have advertisements all over their sweaters, I would have included those on the San Jose Sharks jerseys for this mash-up. 6.5/10.

Calgary Flames - Ryan D.

I really like that new Flames shoulder patch, and it is definitely strong enough to be a main crest, as demonstrated here. Overall a pretty decent look, a black third would be fantastic for the Flames, and I do like the simplicity of this sweater. There are a couple (new/different) inconsistencies here Ryan, make sure that every shade of red and yellow is the same, the ones on the pants are different from the ones on the jersey. Also, the application of the helmet decal is illogical. To make the logo look like it is advancing, rather than retreating, the flames should face the back of the helmet... because flames don't burn against the wind. A simple way to avoid this would be to flip the helmet, and then apply the logo, that way the flames would come out the correct side of the C (the left side), and would make the flames look as if they were advancing. 5/10.

Chicago Blackhawks - Colin M.

Here is another from my NHL alternate series. I love the Tomahawk C logo, but feel it is underused by the Blackhawks. For this sweater, I tried to capture some of the old school stripey style of some classic Blackhawks sweaters. Notice the custom arrowhead Captain's patch. What do you guys think of this jersey?

Team Canada - Matt W.

I love these sweaters. They are a great update on the classic team Canada sweaters. Also, not a stitch of black on these sweaters, as it should be! I would love to see some equipment for these fantastic sweaters (right now it feels like you have just given me a piping hot slice of apple pie, but haven't given me a scoop of ice cream on top). Nonetheless, these sweaters are fantastic on their own. I give them an 8.5/10, and a COTW nomination!

Well everyone, that does it for Friday's post, don't forget to vote, have a great weekend, and I will see you here next Friday.