Friday: So long and thanks for all the fish.

Well HJC, here it is, my last post. Both my stints as a HJC writer have been fantastic. I am so thankful for the opportunity contribute here as a writer. It has been awesome. Ryan runs a really great operation here, and I am happy to have contributed what I could to this community over the past couple years.

So seeing as today is my last post, I am going to leave you with some wise words about concept making, and HJC in general.

- Quality over quantity. Take time to really think through your concepts and be creative. double check, and then check again.

- Don't be afraid to try something new. True creativity is coming up with something that makes people say "Wow, I've never seen that before" ... in a good way.

- Be a part of this community. Comment. Send in concepts. Enter contests. VOTE!

a great way to get involved with this community would be to try your hand at writing for the blog (from my experience, this is pretty fun actually). If you are interested, follow the banner link above, and get your application in by sunday.

Also, there are 2 votes going on this week, our normal COTW vote, and the Barons redesign competition. Voting deadline is tonight.

This is the last time I get to hound you guys about voting. Let's all get sentimental about that. Hopefully that warm-and-fuzzy-but-a little-bit-sad-at-the-same-time feeling will compel you to vote, before your tear ducts start leaking excessively.

COTW Apr 28-May 4 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Cleveland Barons Top 5 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

HJC Writer Mock Posts (due Sunday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

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On to the concepts!

Vancouver Canucks -  Stephen T.

Stephen offers up a couple options for another version of the Canucks infamous gradient jersey (which I have a blatant and irrational love for). As much as I love the original sweaters that inspired these, these don't really do the same thing for me. They are very simple, no arm/hem stripes, no yoke, just the gradient. As much as it feels weird to call gradient heavy jerseys too simple, these are. Not sure ow to spice these up without replicating the original jerseys though. 6.5/10.

UCF Knights -  NCAA - Garret F.

Always good to see some college concepts here on HJC. The knights have a pretty sweet logo set, and the main crest here is a nice counterpoint to the usual wordmark logos we associate with college hockey. The font fits really well with the knights logo/theme. The whole yoke and collar situation could use some attention. I am not a fan of the thin yoke outline, or the two-tone gold and silver collar, they just don't seem clean to me. I think the black yoke looks good, but it could stand to be cleaned up a bit. 7/10.

Washington Nationals - MLB - Josiah B. 

Well this sweater would look better if it were back in Montreal with expos colours, instead of in DC... just saying. This weeks set of concepts from Josiah looks better than last week. There still aren't TV numbers, the name and number on the back, and logo on the front are still too huge, and it feels a little too paint bucket fill tool heavy, but at least these sweaters have logos, and aren't exact copies of other sweaters. progress. 4/10.

Florida Panthers -  Kaner88

I like the overall vibe of this sweater, but there is some polishing needed. The arm and hem stripes are good, but could stand to be thicker, as is they get lost a bit. The front of the yoke is interesting, I can't say that I love it, but I would be inclined to like it more if the back of the yoke had a similar treatment. Also, get rid of the piping on this one. 6.5/10.

New York Mets - MLB - Josiah B.

You've heard my critique of some of the errors made here already, so I'll forgo that. Carefull with the cuffs here. some are orange, some are blue, and they sometimes differ from front to back. You have to be really careful when displaying the front and back view of a sweater that you remain consistent. 3.5/10.

Dallas Stars - Kaner88

This looks a little too similar to the Panthers concept that was also posted today... The back hem on both of these concepts is a bit weird, the displayed cut is the same as the front of the sweater, when it should hang down further, like it does in the front view. Valiant attempt with the Mooterus logo, but changing the colours doesn't get the image out of my head for me. 6.5/10.

Oklahoma City Road Runners  - Leo D.

Leo revived the RoadRunners in OKC and put them in the ECHL for the recent RoadRunners competition. I really like this colour scheme, but there a few things which turn this design a bit sour for me. The black equipment, although cost effective, does not fit with the colour scheme, and a black helmet does not work with the white sweater. Also, the random diagonal striping on the player's left arm looks like a mistake... not sure if it was intentional, but it looks like a mistake. 7/10.

Winnipeg Jets - Stephen T.

I actually like this design a great deal. there are a few things that could be done to spice it up a bit, but the general idea is really cool. The big sublimated maple leaf makes this jersey remind me of the 72 summit series jerseys, in a cool subtle way. I think that navy blue should be used for the equipment and perhaps to add some more contrast in the arm/sock striping. 7.5/10.

St. Louis Blues - Andy B.

I like what is going on here. These jerseys are super clean, and the striping and logos remain the same from home to road jerseys, the base colour just changes. I would like to see the blue jersey without a yoke. I think it would look really good, but I get the matching thing going one. It would also be nice to see equipment. 8/10.

Hawaii vs Delaware - Battle of the License Plates - Daniel L.

Daniel pits the 1st state versus the 50th state in this match up, and my vote goes to the new kid on the block. I love the colours in the Hawaiian sweater, and the arm design is something I haven't seen done before on the swift template. As for good ol' Delaware, a very subdued and sophisticated sweater here. Both look fantastic. 7.5/10.

Well HJC there it is. This wraps it up. I officially pass the torch of the friday post to Jets96, who I know will do a fantastic job. Remember that if you want to join the illustrious few who are the HJC writers, you need to get your applications in, also don't forget to vote!

Stay classy HJC.