Friday: First Day of August

New month, still no hockey. Oh well, that's what road hockey was made for!

Welcome to the Friday post.

This week, let's look at some hockey songs that make me think of the greatest game on skates. Most of these songs are either from the NHL video game series, Stadiums, Hockey Hall of Fame or just songs that get me pumped for hockey. Obviously, depending on your nostalgia levels, region and such, this list will be different of you, which is why it isn't a top 5 or 10 list, it's just a list of songs that bring to mind hockey

Without further ado...

The entire NHL 2003/2004 soundtracks


Kind of cheating with this one, but they are two of the most popular soundtrax in the series for a reason. The songs are mostly all early 2000's pop/punk with a little alternative and metal mixed in. Some highlights include Sweetness (by: Jimmy Eat World), Sick With You/I've Been Up These Steps (By: Gob), Deny (By: Default), No One Knows (By: Queens of the Stone Age), The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows (By: Brand New), Strong (By: Greenwheel), Pitiful (By: Blindside), Chapter Four (By: Avenged Sevenfold) and Hundred Million (By: Treble Charger). I could list every song, and the whole list could honestly just be these songs, but they all get you pumped for hockey or recall a memory of a fantastic goal (virtual or not).

Old Hockey Night in Canada Theme

It's now the NHL on TSN theme, but really, it's the original Hockey Night in Canada theme. This song is such a staple of hockey, I find it hard to think of watching a game on TV without hearing it. The song spans generations of fans/players/teams and tvs. The theme lets you know, Don Cherry is going to ramble about something for just slightly too long but leave you with a good message, Ron Maclean will but in every once a while, and the two best announcers in the game (Craig Simpson and Jim Hughston) are going to guide you through the play by play.

Training Montage From Rocky IV

I guess this is technically a boxing/workout song, but, just like in Rocky IV, the greatest movie ever made, the cold settings of rural Russia sort of makes me think of the Canadian team in '72 training to beat the Russians on their own turf. Just imagine Tony Esposito using logs as weights and trudging though the 4ft. of snow. The song builds and builds, gaining confidence with an explosion of energy, as the underdog prevails through. To be fair, Tretiak is arguably better than Esposito.

Blitzkrieg Bop 

Even if you don't like the Ramones (shame on you) or haven't heard of them, you've heard this song. This is the definition of a pump up song. Easy to know the words (Hey, Ho, Let's Go), during stoppage in play, this song blares from the Jumbotron and you start telling your team to turn it up to 11. You could easily say that Welcome to the Jungle, Hells Bells, We Will Rock You or Crazy Train would replace this, but this is my personal favourite.

Good Old Hockey Game

Need I say more....

Actually, yes, I do, because HJC has the BIGGEST NEWS IN ITS HISTORY!

As you may or may not have heard, the Grand Rapids Griffins, a team who has had fan designed jersey contests in the past, with amazing results, is partnering with HJC! How awesome is this! THE one and only Grand Rapids Griffins, the most unique identity in the AHL is giving the HJC community a chance to design a specialty jersey.

A Calder Cup winning franchise is asking for your help in designing a jersey!

If you wish to be a part of this amazing opportunity, click the above tab with the griffin on it and read the rules and submit your entry. Also, for updates, follow the Grand Rapids Griffins and HJC on Twitter and well as Facebook.

Just remember, this contest runs until August 31st in its entry phase. There's a lot of time left to tweak and fine tune any details you have with any concepts you've started. If you have concept block, don't worry, there's time.

Thank you to the Grand Rapids Griffins organization!

Also in HJC news, there is obvious voting to be done. COTW doesn't stop just because and AHL team comes to visit, get your votes in!

And finally, the HJC Open enters into the Semi Finals, with every vote meaning so much in a finalist group this competitive. As I said in my vote, this is a hard choice to make, so be sure to make it! It's HJC's annual tournament of champions and a chance to be engraved on the digital Open trophy.

COTW July 21-27 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

HJC Open Semi-Finals vote (due Saturday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

On to the concepts!!!!

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Denver Spurs Concepts (By: Christian L.)

The Spurs were quite the noisy failure of a franchise, even for the WHA, but they still had a solid logo that leaves way for some solid concepts, like this one. Christian makes the Spurs jerseys more exciting, adding brown to the colour scheme, and old west style numbering and his own shoulder patch. The updated logo is a major improvement, still looking of the era, but exciting and colourful. The shoulder patch is a nice creation, though I would have made an orange version for the white jersey to make it more visible. The stitching should stop at the hem striping, but other than that, a really solid concept that makes me want to see some sort of throwback from the Avs. (9/10)

University of Virginia Cavaliers Concepts (By: David P.)

The Cavs currently wear Islanders rip offs with script, which look meh, but why not make something more original. David's concept has the same hem striping error as the concept above with the stitching but everything else is nice. The home and road are simple, like the logo, this pattern is so underused in hockey. The alternate has that amazing alternate logo, and I like the lack of hem striping. Only other complaint is the logos being pixelated. (7.5/10)

Buffalo Sabres Concept (By: Scott B.)

Scott B. continues to improve with this concept, and this is one of his best executed concepts yet. The striping is very similar to the original Sabres socks striping and it looks solid across the jersey. The yoke shape is unique, I've seen this idea done before, but it adds a modern twist to this concept. Scott keeps some of the elements from the current Sabres mess, like the script below the collar and doesn't use a classic block font, and this shows how even a jersey so awful can have good elements. The lack of a name still bothers me though, I'm glad Scott has stopped using ABCDEF, but adding a personal tag or player name shows effort. Still, looking forward to more concepts like this, Scott! (7.5/10)

Calgary Flames Concepts (By: Ben S.)

I love this idea, I've tried to work with a similar idea, and this is the route I want the flames to take in any future re-design. The simplified arm and hem striping look great, without the random angled spot below the logo this jersey could fit into any era. The addition of the current Flames alternate shoulder patch is a nice move, though it's a bit too small on the concept. The primary logo is also too small, and both errors can be fixed with resizing. One thing that will make of break this concept is the gear. Using black gear over red gear will keep the red jersey from looking like a skating blood clot. (8/10)

Colorado Avalanche Concepts (By: Steve M.)

I haven't reviewed a concept from Steve in a while, and his execution has gotten better since that time. If any team could pull off the angled striping and curved yoke the Stadium Series template had, full time, the Avs are that team. Steve takes black almost entirely out of the Avs colour scheme, aside from the puck on the logo, which may seem like a lateral move to some, but the maroon pants surprisingly look good, I thought they'd suffer the same problem red pants can cause to a red jersey, but the amount of blue on the maroon jersey keeps things solid. The striping is the Stadium Series pattern with a simple Avs touch, and it looks nice. The only problem with this concept is the size of the numbers. They're a smidgen too big and press the name bar up too close to the yoke. (8.25/10)

Ottawa Senators Concept (By: Garrett F.)

I would call this a combination of Sens eras, but it's so unique I'm hard pressed to do so. The side profile Sens update has always looked better, and the Sens should go chest stripe on a non-throwback jersey. The laurels are a nice touch, though I wouldn't have done it on both the arms and chest. The numbers and NOB are the only problems with this concept. The numbers are too large and the white numbers blend into the mostly white chest stripe, black numbers or gold numbers would be visible. The NOB is also too large, I understand it may be a design choice it's a hard one to pull off (8.5/10)

Team Canada Concept (By: Ryan H.)

Based on his piece in the HJC Design Blog, Ryan wasn't a huge fan of Hockey Canada's 100th Anniversary set. No problem though, this generic concept fixes most of the problems people had with the set, actually using a logo and no pointless black yoke. The simple 2010 Olympic Leaf looks fantastic, and since it is the logo Canada wore in one of its most memorable and exciting games of all time, it would make sense to take inspiration from it. The striping I think it based on the 60's jerseys mixed with some inspiration from the 67 Maple Leafs. Overall, this is how to do an anniversary jersey, nice and simple. (9.25/10)

New York Islanders Concept (By: Steven G.)

Ways to impress me with an Islanders concept. 1. Orange 2. New logo 3. Simple. Steven does all 3. The Isles will most likely go with their Stadium Series jersey as a full time alternate (best of the bunch) and retire their black jersey (Boo!). The striping is unique to the Islanders history, though very similar to what the Islanders have always worn. Execution is perfect, as we would expected from Steven, and the only think I would want to see is....and don't shoot.....a little gradient in the logo. (9.5/10) COTW Nom. from me!

Okay, I'll make this quick since I mentioned gradient in a positive light, but remember to vote for COTW and the HJC Open. Get your Grand Rapids Griffins entries ready and why is there a red dot on my head...oh look another one...