Monday: Familiar Faces

A wonderful Monday afternoon after a sports-filled Saturday. California Chrome lost the Triple Crown, the US played its final game before the World Cup and most importantly the Kings took Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals with Game 3 TONIGHT from Madison Square Garden. Coverage on NBCSN (not NBC) here in the States and on CBC and RDS of course in Canada, puck drop at 8 PM Eastern. Definitely would be fun to see Marian Gaborik potentially and finally win a cup at Madison Square Garden.

Anyway, why did I title this post "Familiar Faces"? Well we'll just have to find out below. So let's get the show on th.....

WE INTERRUPT THIS POST TO BRING YOU BREAKING NEWS:

This week brings you the NHA redesign competition, in which you may redesign as many franchises as you please from the original NHA (pre-1917). Details are found by clicking the banner above.

Also This week is our regular Concept of the Week Vote. All concepts are deserving, one will win. WHO GETS IT? YOU DECIDE!

And if you think all of those deserve Concept of the Week, your voting life is only getting tougher. It's time to vote for Concept of the Year for the month of May! The next stage in the process! We narrow down 52 concepts to 12 then to 4 then 1. Which of these concepts will move on?

ALL THREE OF THESE are due by FRIDAY THE 13TH at 11:59 PM. COTW and COTY-May votes should be sent to concepts@HockeyJerseyConcepts.com, NHA submissions should be sent to HJCcontest@gmail.com. Superstitious of the date? Send it earlier!

More news tonight at 11.

...e road!

NHA Competition Entries so far:

Fernando M. (S2dio), Montreal Shamrocks

Stephen T., Montreal Canadiens

ON TO THE REGULAR CONCEPTS:

San Francisco Spiders concept by Ben S:

Interesting idea, thanks for crediting the webbing design, however embarrassing you think it sounds. The logo looks awesome, and the logo's theme extends to the numbering in the back. However that's where it has gone too far, as it makes the numbers tough to distinguish, especially when using a number like 52. The sleeves (excepting the numbers) look spectacular with the webbing. Would love to see how the equipment looks, especially the socks. 

Final Score: 78%

Philadelphia Flyers Concept by Brian B:

This is where the title has come into play. I've seen this concept before, if not this site then on one which shall remain nameless. Mainly because I can't remember where I saw it. Anyway, it's essentially a Philadelphia take on a Buffalo experiment gone horribly wrong. And it's not too bad. The cape effect works relatively well for a team called the Flyers. IMO all Flyers jerseys should have the keystone captain's patch in use. The big problem is that I can't see this being used on ice because how can certain teams have a clearly clashing uniform if the back is white? This would be a great fan jersey, OR it could be a good idea if colored purple and sent to the AHL, as it would remind some of the Phantoms old mascot Phlex (who better come back when the Phantoms begin play in Lehigh Valley. However that's only good in idea for now, so I may submit a similar one to this with Phantoms stuff and a purple back. Or you can try that out if you want. (EDIT: I tried it, and still could be a fan jersey, but not something I want to see on ice.) Could use logos on helmet and pant leg. The tag on the inside has the Reebok vector logo and not the wordmark, and the NHL logo on that tag is severely compromised.

Final Score: 81%

Adirondack Flames Concept by Dylan A:

The D-Bro gives us yet another Adirondack Flames concept, which as soon as the logo was announced, we figured many artists would give it a try. Interesting part about this concept is the COMPLETE omission of white from the color scheme. Which for a team like Calgary/Adirondack, it works. The color pattern in the logo carries over to the numbering and the striping, so the concept looks very balanced. The yellow yoke tabs seem slightly unnecessary. Execution note: no way any concept that shares the color scheme and/or nickname of the parent club goes without the parent club's logo on the shoulders. I believe the only 4 AHL teams that don't have the parent club logos are Rochester, Hershey, Milwaukee and Chicago, although Hersey did at one point. 

Final Score: 87%

New York Rangers Concept by Phil B:

Hmm... I wonder where I've seen this one before... Let me get a few things out of the way. 1) Yes I, an Islander fan, but I can make Ranger concepts. Shut up. 2) This concept is automatically out of the running for MY COTW nomination, but not necessarily your own nomination. I'm not being suggestive, I'm just clarifying things. That said, I tried to modernize their look based on the shoulder logo from the Lady Liberty jerseys. The one thing I regret not doing was putting the shadow effect on the front of the jerseys similar to the name and number on the back. I also should move the TV numbers up a bit on the sleeves. To be fair, if this wasn't mine, I wouldn't nominate it anyway. 

Final Score: 76%

Anaheim Ducks Concept by Ricky M:

This one I stumbled across for the third time: first on Ricky's blog, second on my own blog and third here. I bet you poor Ricky was hoping someone else would review this for a broader view of his concept. But nonetheless here I go. Sorry Ricky. The strongest of the set is definitely the alternate, which seems to follow a pattern of crazy main sets and tamer alternates with the Ducks. The main set is a recolored Sabres cape jersey minus most of the crazy plus a traditional rounded yoke. The yoke looks out of place and the piping discontinuity was one of the minor problems with the Sabres jersey, and it applies here more, because there is no change in color on the opposite sides of the piping. Roundel logos in my opinion are lazy on the part of the team, and this one is no exception. I like the inclusion of the OC logo, but I feel if that is there, the webbed D should be too, because both are similarly styled. Another curious logo controversy is the inclusion of the MD shoulder patch, when the alternate's wordmark dropped the "Mighty". Too many logo problems, complicated with a conflicted template may have to send this back to the drawing board. And although this may pale into comparison with what I just said, I'd like helmet and pant logos.

Final Score: 56%


Nashville Predators Concept by S2dio:

We continue with S2dio's "The Alternates I'd Buy" series as we take a stop in Nashville, the capital of country music. He takes advantage of it by adding the 6 strings of a guitar as the striping. on the jersey, though the way the gloves are positioned, it minimizes the effect. The stripes on the arm should be higher and should wrap around the jersey. Clever use of the guitar pick logo placed over the guitar string striping. The use of the white in the numbering (more on that in a second) and shoulder logo seems out of place, but would be better if an outline was placed on the primary. Now about that numbering. sleeve numbers are blue while the back is white, same with the alternate captain's patch. 

Final Score: 79%

Carolina Hurricanes Concept by Steve M:

Steve takes a break from football to bring us an entry based on an anonymous request from the LEAVE AN IDEA page here at HJC. As much as I love the idea that I see here, there is nothing new. This is the Hurricanes main set just recolored to fit the request. You fit the request but at the bare minimum, and as seen during your NFL series and the next concept, you can create your own jerseys well, as your Rams concept is up for COTW. 

Final Score: 45%

Edmonton Oilers Concept by Steve M:

Steve brings us his entry into the HJC Steel Drop competition from a few weeks ago. There are only a few complaints I have, first being no logo on the pants, second is giving Yakupov a number change from 64 to 84 without telling Yakupov, third is the inside of the collar not matching the outside and last is the tag disappearance. Other than that this is a very creative take on the stadium series template that I have never seen before. Well done.

Final Score: 80%


Buffalo Sabres Concept by Will J:

We close with an interesting take on the Sabres. I love that logo mash-up. The scripted wormark is perfect inside the buffalo, though I wish it were less pixelated. Or this whole concept less pixelated for that matter. This jersey looks like it was resized before it was colored, because the grey template lines look distant at the same time as the other colors looking sharp-edged. Also the template lines should not split the striping on the hem. Although I see it on the tag, where is the IceBorn name that should be on the back? When you use this template, you must have that name on the back where Reebok would be for any of the Reebok Edge templates. This concept is a great idea but needs major refining before it goes anywhere. If you find a clean template, which you can find here on the TEMPLATES tab, and apply this design, your score will significantly increase.

Final Score: 51%


The winner of my nomination for Concept of the Week is Phil B. and his Rangers concept! Ok, I'm just kidding. The winner is  DYLAN A.'S ADIRONDACK FLAMES CONCEPT.

Since the FIFA World Cup is merely days away, I should bring up the topic of the World Cup of Hockey, which has been tossed around in the hockey media recently. What are your opinions on that? Should it be back? Is the schedule congested enough? Where would it be held? Should the NHL be affiliated with IIHF as to create a uniform set of rules to make this easier? Comment below, as well as adding your nominations for COTW And I'll see you next week on DRAGON BALL Z! I mean HJC!