Friday: Gooooood Friday HJC!

Well Hello HJCers, sorry for the late post, hope you are enjoying having a day off, I certainly was! It is a long weekend, so let's get it started off in the best way possible, with a HJC post full of good stuff.

There is plenty going on here on HJC this week. We have the entry phase of the Steel Drop Logo Competition wrapping up tonight, so hustle and get those entries in!

We also have a couple important votes this week. Voting wraps up this evening, so be sure to get your votes in.

1st Quarter Vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

COTW April 7-13 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Oilers Competition entries (due Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

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Before we get to the rest of the post, a bunch of writers have ben posting their top 3 best and worst alternate sweaters here on the blog. I want to get in on this too, but I am late to the party, so today, I am going to give you my top 5 "so Bad their Good" alternates.

5th Place

Philadelphia Flyers 2002-07 "3D alternate"

photo from: flyers.nhl.com

Being a child of the 90's, and starting to recognize hockey jersey aesthetics in the mid 2000's, this jersey really caught my eye. It was cool and futuristic. Looking back on it now, I still appreciate it, but realize just how bad it truly is.

4th Place

Atlanta Thrashers 2001-2008 alternate

photo from: boards.sportslogos.net

I have an irrational like for this sweater. I think the number on the front hate is mis-directed, in the right context it can be awesome. For Atlanta using a jersey that looks more like a football or basketball jersey makes sense, because let's face it, Atlantans care about those sports more! I also like the birds on the shoulder, and the colour scheme.

3rd Place (Tie)

Vancouver Canucks 1995-1997 alternate

Vancouver Canucks 2001-2006 alternate

photo from: sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Both of these jerseys are gradientastic! As a Canucks fan, I own both of these sweaters. The 2001-06 sweater is one of my favourites of all time, and the first sweater I bought. It is kind of like the Fruit Loops of the jersey world, sweet when I was a kid, but disgusting having developed a sense of taste. But still lots of nostalgia tied to these jerseys.

2nd Place

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 1995-1995 "Wild Wing jersey"

photo from: thirdstringgoalie.blogspot.com

A huge cartoon character jumping through the ice in full goalie gear, on a sweater. Need I say more?

1st Place

Tampa Bay Lightning 1996-1999 "storm alternate"

photo from: hockey-blog-in-canada.blogspot.com

Wind, Rain, Lightning. So bad, yet so good. A true 90's masterpiece, and the embodiment of everything a third jersey can, but should not be.

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Here are today's entries into the Steel Drop Logo Competition:

Connor L.

 Derek K.

Jake88

 Jets96

Kevin P.

PiF

Phil B.

Ben A.

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On to the concepts!

Philadelphia Flyers - Colin M.

I'll get this post rolling with a couple concepts from me. This is one of the last few concepts in my alternate series. You will be seeing the rest of them in the next couple days. I tried to give the flyers a modern and speedy look. how'd I do?

Pittsburgh Penguins - Colin M.

For this design I wanted to hint at the old Pittsburgh Pirates uniforms with the diagonal stripe, while still being original, and fitting in with the Penguins brand. I tried to keep this jersey fairly light, because the Flyers jersey is really dark, and within this series I have been trying to create jerseys so that rivals could each wear their alternate for big divisional matches.

Pittsburgh Penguins - Anthony L.

Well, the athletic gold is a good start, but for me these uniforms are not Penguin-y enough. These are Pittsburgh Pirates uniforms, in my opinion, and as much as i like the fact that all Pittsburgh teams wear black and gold, I think maintaining the penguin on the crest is important. Jerseys are executed decently, aside from the massive logo, and the general overuse of the paint bucket tool. 5/10.

Pittsburgh Penguins - Anthony L.

An identical concept from Antony, but with vegas gold being used instead. I could go either way on vegas gold, I know some Pens fans hate it, but I don't mind it. The one place where athletic gold is fully superior is as the main colour for a sweater, as demonstrated by the alternate here. 5/10.

 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Los Angeles Kings - Winter Classic - Trent D.

Okay, the first thing I am going to say about this concept is choose your template wisely. If you have the skills and programs to pull of this full body template, go for it! But if you are just starting off, an using paint, there are easier templates to use! The logos on this look HUGE, and the shoulder patches are awkward, and there are no TV numbers. Using a simpler template will make it easier to apply these elements correctly. I like the look of the kings sweater here, nice to see a white throwback for them, and the front crest has good continuity with their current branding. As for the Penguins, the overall pattern looks good, but if we don't see the Penguins in athletic gold for their next outdoor game, people will be annoyed. And if they trot out another blue fauxback, there will be hell to pay. 6.5/10

Montreal Canadiens - J3

J3 set out to modernize some classics, and what he has come up with is pretty creative. I really like the sleeve design, it works well, but the hem design is a bit of a mess in my opinion. Perhaps confining the pattern to the side panels would work better. With a bit of polishing, I think this jersey could look really sharp and modern. 7/10.

Minnesota Wild - Christian L.

I really appreciate that every concept Christian sends in to HJC is original, both in terms of sweater AND logo design. I really like everything going on with the sweater, although the shade of green is a bit too light. The striping looks great, and it is good to see the Wild font return. In terms of the logo though, this feels like a definite downgrade from their bear head logo. I like the arched text, but the Tree and M logo is too simplistic for my liking. 7.5/10

Winnipeg Jets - Stephen T.

Here Stephen crosses the current Jets identity with their old look from Atlanta. It's a creative, well executed sweater, but still, I hope it never sees the light of day. To make a more direct parallel with the dark sweater I would have used the light blue as the main colour, as they did in Atlanta. The sleeve without WINNIPEG running down it seems very empty, but that isn't your fault, although if you were to revise this, I would try to figure something to do with that sleeve. 7/10.

Toronto Arenas - Stephen T.

Well, these jerseys are simple. Like the Red Wings, and the Lightning. I do like the Arena T logo, and for me the stripe on the pants works really well here. My eyes are really bothered by the different width of stripe on the arms and the hem. Fix that up, and these jerseys are set to go. 7/10.

Detroit Red Wings - Bastian S.

Well, there is a lot for me to like here. Yet again Bastian serves up a sweet classic concept. The striping is simple, and effective. I love the logos used (the Winter Classic logos) the wordmark used on the pants and helmet is particularly sweet, and I love the arched text over the fat wheel logo. Using the classic font would really kick this concept up a notch for me, but as it stands it is still great! 8/10.

Toronto Maple Leafs - Bastian S.

I liked the uniforms the Leafs wore in the Winter Classic, but for me, they were just too complicated. Bastian tones down the stripes, while maintaining the overall feel of the uniforms. As much as the logo used here us simpler, I still really enjoyed seeing the old school maple leaf as the main crest, and if that were used here I would be very happy. 8/10.

Well HJC, that is it for the day. Sorry for the late post. Don't be like me (late) with your voting or your contest entries! hope you enjoy the long weekend, and I'll see you back here next week!