Tuesday: Pink, Goalies, and Expansion

Hello once again my friends. This last week or so has brought two pretty neat unveilings that I'd like to share. One of which I know Ryan already covered on the HJC Design Blog. I won't get into nearly as much detail as he does but I still would like to talk about it.

First off, the Calgary Hitmen showed off their new anniversary jerseys which will be worn next year. It's not the first time they've brought their classic pink back since abandoning it, they've worn some pink laden Anaheim jerseys for the past few years for cancer awareness and also their 15th anniversary. The jersey itself is actually really sharp. First thing I noticed is the CCM branding in place of the standard Reebok branding. Ryan points out on the design blog that this could be a start of the CCM takeover as Reebok is planned to go back to being a "running associated brand". So cue the wave of concepts using CCM branding. I personally hope the look becomes so popular it sticks around. Maybe as an alternate, but preferably the pink comes back for the home and away...

Photo: Michael Martin

And secondly more exciting news for the HJC community, Back-to-Back COTY winner Justin Cox went off and won something else. He won a Colorado Avalanche mask design contest and his winning mask was worn this past Sunday by J.S. Giguere. Justin got to attend a team practice, meet Giguere, and attend the game on Sunday to receive recognition for his accomplishment. I know I've said it like, 20 times, but congrats again Justin, meeting Jiggy alone is awesome, but getting him to wear something you made on his head must be about 1000 times cooler!

Photo: Michael Martin

Photo: Michael Martin

Anyway, no competition this week but do something cool and vote. Rumor is, that if you don't vote this week, J.S. Giguere will go to Justin's house and break the mask right in front of him. So, don't let that happen. Vote guys...

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

COTW Mar 31-Apr 6 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

And now for the concepts, I normally order them from lowest rated to highest but today we'll start with one that I can't rate as I took part in it. 

Seattle Sea Lions NHL Expansion Concept - Matt Mc.  & Myself (D9 Bros)

This was our entry into the pairs comp a few weeks back. We chose the name after a few days of figuring out our location and what direction we wanted to take the team identity. I was a huge fan of the "Sea Lions" name as both the city and nickname start with "SEA". I thought it was clever. We stuck with a Seahawks-esque color scheme. I wanted the alternate to start modern and fit with the other jerseys, but Matt wanted a jersey with a throwback feel, which I agreed on in the end. How could a team in Seattle not have some sort of throwback to the city's hockey history?

Rating: You tell me/10

AK Bars Kazan (KHL) Concept - Tyler F.

After a quick Google search I found the team's actual jerseys are very red,green, and modern. I don't know for sure where the blue is coming from. My guess is the team's old logo had some. I don't like seeing the Jacksonville Jaguars logo here. I don't know if the hem stripe is a chest stripe or the chest stripe is a hem stripe. Its in a weird place on the jersey. The striping is ok, if it was way bolder I'd like it more. To me, this isn't a great concept where its at right now. But its a few tweaks away from looking stunning. Most light blue jerseys are, just gotta get that striping right.

Rating: 6/10



Chicago Blackhawks Concept - Stephen T.

It's really hard to redesign the Blackhawks. Stephen tries here and not too much is changed. The same basic design is here. The red jersey is replaced with black. Not a fan of that move at all. The black is basically their old black alternate with a colored hem. The white is their current away jersey with a black hem and yoke. I personally think there's too much black and not enough red, at least on the white jersey.

Rating: 6/10


Los Angeles Kings Alternate Jersey Concept - Christian L.

The logo here is an LA Monogram meant to resemble a crown. I think it's a bit of a stretch, and if you wanted to use a new monogram you should have used the "LA" that was used on the Stadium Series jerseys. I don't really care for the old crown on the arms. I have no problem using the old crown in the current color scheme but I dislike logos placed on the arms. I feel like the thin hem stripe is unnecessary. Go big or go home, I'd say ditch it altogether or use the same chest stripe on the hem. The mask is also a nice touch but I feel the Champions logo from 2 seasons ago would be a bit cocky. I feel as if a goalie wears that and he's asking for a dome shot or two.

Rating: 6/10


Boston Bruins Alternate Jersey Concept - Randy M.

Make sure you ID your concept Randy! Randy takes the Memphis Grizzlies logo and applies it to a Boston jersey. I'm not against a brown bear on a Bruins' jersey but I think the only way to do it is on a white or yellow jersey with all the black replaced with brown. To me, brown and black don't look good together so I would do my best to avoid those two colors meeting. The jersey here is nothing new but I like the striping being applied to the pants.

Rating: 6/10


All Star Game Jerseys Concept - Stephen T.

A modern take on the All Star jerseys used from 1947 to 1959. I think a few tweaks could be made here but its hard to imagine the league going this throwback route for the all star game. A lot of teams are going to classic, throwback-esque looks but the all star jerseys keep finding ways to be even more modern. The stars on the red jersey should be white. And the socks could use a better striping pattern to match the jerseys. Maybe go with the actual socks they wore in the 40's-50's.

Rating: 7/10


Ravenclaw (Harry Potter) Hockey Jersey Concept - David P.

Ok, time to out myself to everyone. I don't care for Harry Potter. I've seen most of the movies, never touched the books as a kid. Just never interested me. But I am aware of Ravenclaw so this makes sense to me.  Pretty straightforward set here. Nothing extraordinary. However, I think the font is a miss. The crest is so detailed and old looking while the font is very modern. I'd find a retro looking font to slap on these bad boys.

Rating: 7/10


New Zealand IIHF Jersey Concept - Jack C.

Pretty accurate Nike concept here. Very basic. The striping is very classy and it'd be nice to see on the hem but I know that's optional on a Nike jersey. That leaf would also be sublimated onto the shoulders in some shiny material so add that for sure if you're going for 100% accuracy. Angle the leaf on the pants down more, I like it on the pants, its unique but I'd want it facing all the way down.

Rating: 7/10


Colorado Avalanche Alternate Jersey Concept - Christian L.

I've never seen this new logo and I really like it. I like the move to stick with a blue alternate. I don't care for the side panels but they're ok here. I feel like a simple hem stripe matching the arms would look better. The black circle in the captains C should be blue or white to stick out better. The mask is a great touch that I think we're going to start seeing more of around here on HJC.

Rating: 8/10


Kingston Origins NHL Expansion Concept - Michael G.

Another expansion concept today. Michael explains it on the image so I'll let you read that. Pretty solid concept all around. The idea behind the brand is pretty good. I want to say the logo could stand to be a bit more modern but with the idea behind the brand it would work. Could still use a bit of a touch up. There's a lot of black in the logo that would be nice to see on the jersey itself. I really like the color scheme as well, I wore a maroon and gold jersey the last 3 years for college so I think it's great. I prefer a dark maroon jersey over an all gold one though. Maybe bring in a maroon and keep the gold for an alternate.

Rating: 8/10

Another day, another post down! You know the drill, anything you wanna say about the concepts then leave it in the concepts!