Friday: A lot can happen in one Week.

Hello HJC, welcome to another Friday!

Be forewarned, I am going to go into a bit of depth reviewing the Heritage Classic (I am going to try to keep my Canucks opinions out of it, but that will be hard). If you don't want to read this, here is what you need to know for HJC today:

1) VOTE. Voter turnout was low last week. Let's turn it around. Only one vote this week for COTW, so voting literally takes 30 seconds. Just do it!

2) The entry phase for the pairs competition has ended. Congrats to those of you who got an entry in on time, I wasn't able to. Maybe next year. Here is the schedule for the Pairs Competition presentation days:

3) Teasers are up for the novice division Pairs Competition teams. check them on the Hockey Jersey Concepts Design Blog. http://hjcdesignblog.blogspot.ca/2014/03/division-2-novice-teasers.html 

COTW vote Feb 24-Mar 2 (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

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Last week I was really pumped for the Heritage Classic, and mused "Oh, the things that can happen in a week." As a Canucks fan looking back on that statement, it is eerie. It is surreal to have Roberto Luongo gone from our team, and to have officially entered into a rebuilding phase, and a new era of Canucks hockey. I was very upset to not see Luongo get the start in the Heritage Classic and there is no doubt in my mind that that is part of the reason why he was traded. Speaking of Luongo and the Heritage Classic, here is a picture of some of the banners outside of BC place last Sunday. The Canucks (Millionaires) goalie is very obviously modelled after Luongo.

photo: Colin May

photo: Rich Lam/GettyImages
canucks.com

photo: Rich Lam/Getty Images
canucks.com

For me, I felt like the entire game was marred by Luongo not getting the start. The crowd were less supportive of their team because they largely disagreed with John Tortarella's decision to start Eddie Lack, this felt like it was dishonouring to Luongo a long time Canuck superstar. This lack of honour towards long time Canuck superstars seemed to carry over into the actual presentation of the game. I was expecting a long pre-game ceremonies, complete with the '94 team out on the ice being introduced individually, and a ceremonial puck drop. We did get to see the '94 team (and the Canadian Women's Gold Medal team, good call on that!), but they didn't get the honour they were due, they were not introduced by name. There were no speeches, there was no ceremonial puck drop, even with Canucks' great (and pending ring of honour inductee) Pat Quinn in the house.

photo: Rich Lam/Getty Images
canucks.com

The overall aesthetics of the game were underwhelming. I like both of these sweaters in isolation, but together on the ice, it was vintage white and stripe overload. Also, the lighting in BC place seemed a bit dull. If it had have been a sunny day with the roof open, it might have looked better. I am not sure how the game looked on TV, but I expect that it probably looked better than it did in house.

photo: Colin May

Here are some pictures of my swag haul for the day. I bought the Heritage Classic pennant and program, but the seat cushion, hockey cards, signed photo of Brendan Morrison, etc. were free either on your seat in stadium or from the festival beforehand.

photo: Colin May

Photo: Colin May

I was really impressed with the graphics in house and on merchandise (and presumably on TV too). I thought they really captured many of the landmarks of Vancouver very well, and the old-timey nature of the Heritage Classic. I loved 'em.

photo: Colin May

On another note from the Heritage Classic, we made contact! Our first HJC meet-up happened. Albeit, it was only me and Austin E, and it was pouring rain, and we forgot to get a picture. Fail.

It was cool to actually meet someone who you interact with on the blog, and to get to put a face and a voice to the work and comments we see her on HJC. hopefully the HJC conference (ConceptCon?) can work out for the summer, as speaking from experience, it is a really neat experience to meet up and chat with someone who knows and loves hockey jerseys as much as you do... my other friends just don't understand!

Anyways, enough from the Heritage Classic, let's move on!

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Here are today's concepts!

Chicago Blackhawks - Stephen T.

Stephen does a good job of simplifying the crazy stripes from the classic Blackhawks jersey into something more workable in the modern era. I like this simplification, but it causes the hem striping to stick out like a sore thumb on the black sweater. It might be better without it. I would also like to see an updated logo on the black sweater. Something a bit cleaner, maybe the current main crest within a rondel. Call me crazy, but I would like to see football style numbers on the front of the white sweater, as a call back to the 1940-48 white sweater. Also, something has to be done about the black sock stripes, I don't see any logic to them. 7/10.


Kingdom of Denmark - Andrew W.

These sweaters have a lot to like about them. I really like the Finland style flag jersey, it looks great, and I like how the DANMARK wordmark is applied on that one. The white sweater looks good too, aside from the name plate cutting into the yoke. Initially I was a bit confused by the flag arm stripes, but I now get that there is a flag wrapped around each arm, not spread over the entire jersey. I am also confused by the sublimated shoulder logos, they are just hard to make out. Also, the sock stripes seem a bit high. Finally, if you are going to include socks, pants, and helmet, let us know what the gloves will look like too, they are an important part of how a uniform looks. 7.5/10.


Bayern Munich - Aston B.

 I am a big soccer fan, but can't be a big fan of Bayern Munich because of how they have slapped around my team (Arsenal) in champions league play the past couple seasons. These jerseys look good and are well executed, I really enjoy the choice of the wordmark for the front of the sweaters, instead of the rondel logo, it makes for a very unique look. I am also a big fan of including the championship stars beneath the logo, I wish the NHL had some way of doing this. The numbers are also super cool. One glaring mistake though, there should be no NHL branding on this sweater. Still very creative, and an 8/10.


Philadelphia Flyers - Stephen T.

A good job bringing the flyers sweaters fromthe late 90's, early 2000's to their current template. I would like to see that extra stripe on the cuff to better match those sweaters. Not a fan of the off colour name plate in tis case, they didn't use them during that era. Also, would be happy to see the white gone from the gloves, I feel like it interrupts the flow of the uniform. As much as these are solid sweaters, they lack that creativity and wow factor. I would really encourage you to push the envelope a bit more. 7/10.


Philadelphia Flyers - Caleb F.

This jersey looks and feels very futuristic, but I feel it lacks logical flow. The jersey elements in themselves are fine, but together they do feel a bit mish-mashed. If the yoke/upper chest/shoulder area helped to create flow from the arms to the body, I would like this sweater a lot more. I would also like to see equipment for this sweater. This series has been overall quite good, but I feel like it would be that much better with equipment. 7.5/10.


San Jose Sharks - Stadium Series - Nate F.

Nate gives us a set which he thinks the Sharks could use in a stadium series. I am not too sure I agree with him on this one, it feels like more of a faux-back to me, while Stadium Series uniforms are usually futuristic. I really like the shade of teal on this sweater, it is not the usual shade, but it looks nice. I do like the gray stripes on the arms, but the width of the stripes on the arms and hem should match, I like the thinner stripes on the arms better. 7/10.

UK Tournament - David P.

I like this idea. It is great that each jersey is a unique colour, and does not clash with another sweater. I also really like all of these crests. Lions and Dragons, gotta love 'em. Good choices for sublimation on the yokes. Roses for the English, crosses for the Scots and Northern Irish. I like the St. George's cross on the English team's sleeves, and I also like how good the St. Andrew's cross looks on the front of the Scottish sweater. Scotland it my favourite by far, but the English sweater also has a lot of good going on for it. 7.5/10.

Paris Saint Germain - David P.

Another Soccer concept! One thing I love about soccer jerseys is that they often break jersey rules. They are asymmetrical, try new things, use crazy colours and patterns. Here david creates a couple great asymmetrical kits for PSG. I am a big fan of how David integrated the jersey sponsorship on the arms, it is present but does not dominate the sweater like normal soccer jersey advertisement does. 7.5/10.

New Jersey Devils - Caleb F.

If you want to know how not to design a 2 colour jersey, ask the Buffalo Sabres; If you want to know how to design a 2 colour jersey ask Caleb. I am a big fan of this style of jersey, super simple, yet brilliant. I do feel like the arm stripes need some work, and the TV numbers need to be angled, but the overall idea is there, and I like what I see. 7.5/10. 

Huntsville Havoc - SPHL - Mike S.

Gray looks good here. I really like how black frames the jersey, and how good the numbers in sleeve stripes look. The small piping detail on the end of the shoulder yoke is also very tasteful. I would flip the striping on the socks though, I think the gray on top would look better. 8/10.

Seattle Mammoths - Matt L.

There are many things to like about this sweater. An NHL team in Seattle, which acknowledges the Metropolitans right off the bat. A triple green colour scheme for the Emerald city. Striping for the Mammoths which resembles tusks. But perhaps the best thing about this is that the HJC logo use policy is followed. Yes, Matt used a stock image for his logo, but he tracked down the person who made it and gave them credit for it on his concept art. Overall probably green overload, but a good start for sure here from Matt. 7/10.

Well that does it for Friday, hope you enjoyed the post. As always, this is a community, and HJC works best when we all participate. Comment below. Send your votes in. Check back here tomorrow for another fantastic HJC post.