Tuesday: Olympic Hockey Has Arrived!

Hey there and Happy Tuesday everybody! I assume most, if not, all of you have been keeping up with some part of the Olympic games lately. The last few days I've caught mostly skiing, in one form or another, since it seems to have been the only thing going on when I'm in front of a TV.... which admittedly was a lot this weekend.

I've also caught some CURLING which is AWESOME..... but most importantly, HOCKEY! Women's hockey started earlier than the men's tournament so I've gotten to see two jerseys that won't be worn by any men hockey players this Olympics. Japan and Germany.

For those who haven't seen, Japan's jerseys are rather boring and feature a lot of black. I don't care for the wordmark being paired with a dull jersey. you think they'd have more red as well. Also, note the ugly vertical socks.

As for Germany, it looks like they have a white USA jersey recolored to match their flag. Which isn't a bad look. I caught the Germans' first game and they wore the yellows and I think they looked rather sharp.

Just like any regular day, I have to remind you to vote, vote, vote! There's 2 votes this week as well as the deadline for this week's Olympic themed competition.

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

COTW Feb 3-9 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Design a Country entries (due Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Speaking of which, let's take a look at some entires....

Now how about the regular concepts huh?

Columbus Blue Jackets Outdoor Jersey Concept - Jacob K.

This is what Jacob would put #Lumbus in if they were to play outdoors. It's a weird mix between "throwback" and modern. The logos make this a fauxback since they've used them. But the jersey is waaaay out there and seems more like a "modern/futuristic" theme that the Stadium Series was attempting to do. I'm ok with the old logos, but where this concept suffers is the paint bucket filled sections of the jersey. The red and gray/silver do not need to be there. The blue in the logos and the jersey are different as well. The TV numbers are wrong all over the place, one arm would read 27 and the other reads 72. The shoulder patches are flipped too. 

There's a lot to be done to fix this concept by just execution errors alone. And the design here just isn't good. But don't let that get you down. The eye for design and the execution errors will get better over time. Keep cranking these out and definitely check out some tutorials for some tips you maybe didn't know!

Rating: 3/10

New York Islanders Alternate Jersey Concept - Alex O.

A lot of people see the Islanders going black and white (AKA "Dull") to coincide with their move to Brooklyn. We'll have to see about that, especially with recent news that their Stadium Series jersey, or a slightly tweaked version, might be sticking around for a while to replace the ugly black alternate they have (had). The Stadium Series logo sticks around on this black jersey. Blue is completely absent but orange sticks around on the logos. Honestly, black jersey, and this NY logo, I'm all in. I feel it could work. But the rest of this jersey is very bland. The striping could definitely be spruced up.

Rating: 6/10 - I like the idea behind the concept, but the jersey is too dull for my taste.

Team Canada World War 1 Concept - Stephen T.

A lot of yellow here. I could live with the black jersey, but I don't think yellow looks good on a Canada jersey to begin with, but the bottom jersey is overkill. The design isn't bad but that yellow is throwing everything off for me. I am aware of the history behind yellow being on a Canada jersey, but that doesn't make it alright with me. The black socks don't match the jersey and it's bugging me. It's almost a Boston Bruins situation there. 

Rating: 6/10 - Use way less yellow, the black jersey has it right.

Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins Concept - Kaner88

Kaner's first Baby-Pens concept today uses Reebok branding. I can't say this looks like anything they've worn before, but it's hard to tell since they wear a lot of jerseys. I don't care for how the captain letter is a different font than anything on the jersey. I dislike colored pits on jerseys too. I like the idea of a gold yoke, but I wish the gold was more prominent in the striping. Swap black and gold on the arms and hem. The hem stripe should be thicker to match the arms better, but that's just me. The REEBOK on the back of the jersey shouldn't be in a white box. The logo is very pixelated as well. Work on clipping the shoulder patches so they don't bleed off the jersey. put them on the back as well.

Rating: 6/10 - I see where this is headed but there's some promise here.

Team Germany World War 1 Concept - Stephen T.

These jerseys fit the flag design well. They don't look bad at all. But the right arm striping being different doesn't sit well with me, especially since the back of the right arm doesn't match. The numbers seem like they would have a bit of a legibility problem as well. If you use the striping used on the chest on both sides of both arms I think this concept improves.

Rating: 6.5/10

Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins Concept - Kaner88

Kaner's second attempt at the Baby Pens today and this one is a lot better to me right off the back. I like the logo choice better and I think the striping is a nice fit. The hem striping looks a bit off. The TV numbers look a tad big and the shoulder patches still bleed off the front of the jersey but are no where to be seen on the back. I don't care for the pants striping since it looks out of place with this uniform. THe back of the socks is intriguing. I don't care for the random point.

Rating: 6.5/10 - A better attempt than the last, but there's still some work to be done concerning execution

Cincinnati Bengals Hockey Jersey Concept - Gerard M.

Ayyyy, Gerard's football concepts are back. I don't know how I stand about the arms here. It's out there, it's different, and it fits the team's branding. BUT, that would probably look so bad on a real jersey. You make one of these a third jersey and have a more traditional home and away and I'm all in. One thing I normally complain about is blank hems, but it works here as the arms are so crazy that any hem design would just look messy.

Rating: 7/10 - Not a bad idea, definitely third jersey material the way I see it.

Calgary Flames Concept - Alan H.

This set feels gives off an 80's feel to me. Not just the classic Flames color scheme, but something about the jersey design. I've always thought the Flames looked better without black. The more I look at it looks like a slightly tweaked version of past Philadelphia Flyers jerseys. Not a bad look. I think it definitely improves upon their current look but personally, I don't care for it too much. There's nothing wrong here, just doesn't click in my head. I like the white jersey more than the red, and that might have something to do with the amount of white on the dark jersey.

Rating: 7.5/10 - Not a bad look, everything here looks fine, just personally not a huge fan.


Detroit Red Wings Concept - Dylan W.

The jerseys are untouched here, as they should be. The "concept" here isn't the jerseys as it usually is around these parts. Mr. Wonka, in his own words, "may have sinned here" by messing around with the Red Wings logo. Now, I don't mind the changes made to the logo. I know it's a "classic" and "untouchable" but the current logo looks very messy in the wing and that's because it's an old logo. This makes it look a bit more modern and sleek without changing much. Also, I'm a Blackhawks fan and dislike the Red Wings a great amount...so I don't really have any opinion on that logo one way or the other... The jerseys though, different story, I think they're fine that they're mostly the same, I'm very "meh" on the white jerseys new hem, but I like the new Red jerseys hem.

Rating: 8/10 - I think it's a very slight improvement on the logo.


Ottawa Senators Alternate Jersey Concept - Jack G.

This is a good jersey right here. It looks like a mashup of every Senators era here. I actually would like to see a light version. It's fine how it is, but I would also like to see the hem stripes moved up and have a third, black, stripe added on to match the arms. I also think I might prefer the shoulder patch on the front of the jersey. This jersey might also look better without shoulder patches with that O on the front. There's a lot of ways this jersey could improve, but there's also no real need to do it.

Rating: 8/10 - Some slight changes could improve this the way it is, but I still like this.


Cleveland Browns Hockey Jersey Concept - Gerard M.

This instantly clicks with me. I love this striping pattern. I know it's nothing new, but it's so hard to make it look bad. I really think both jerseys look good in this striping pattern. The use of the dog logo on the front of the jersey instead of the helmet is a good move. Something I noticed on Gerard's other concept today, as well as this one, is the CCM branding. I like it because it's different but I still think Nike would be the best fit for these types of concepts.

Rating: 8.5/10 - Not "original" with the striping pattern, but I don't care, I love that striping.


Anaheim Ducks Concept - Steven G.

I think this is a great color scheme for the Ducks. It doesn't stray too far from their current brand as only black is replaced. One of the better Ducks concepts that's come through these parts lately. Count me in as a huge fan! I think the dark jersey could use a very small amount of white.

Rating: 9/10 and a COTW nomination from me!


Well that's it everyone! Let us know how you feel about today's concepts? Are there any you find COTW-worthy? Or what games are you looking forward to in the Olympics? Comments!!!