Tuesday: HATS All Folks!

Hey Hey Hey! So something BIG has happened here at HJC since my last post and it's already in full swing. The Grand Rapids Griffins Alternate jersey contest has been absent the last few years but came back with HJC as it's host! It hasn't even been a week and we almost have 30 entries already! I can't imagine how many we'll have by the end of the month.

While you're working on your Griffins' entries don't forget to keep voting for the COTW!

And one last reminder.... We're in for one hell of a Final in the HJC Open. But that's only if Justin Cox and Dylan Wonka get their entries in by tomorrow night. Good luck gentlemen!

COTW July 28-Aug 3 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

HJC Open Final entries (due Wednesday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Grand Rapids Griffins Competition (ends August 31st)

Last week I started a countdown featuring my favorite hats from my collection, so let's jump back into that!

5. Dallas Stars New Era Fitted

As seen last week, I'm not above buying merchandise from teams other than my Blackhawks. When the Stars rebranded last summer I just had to have something with the team's new logo and shade of green. I came across this baby on Lids.com over the season and I had to have it. I ended up getting a green Sauce Hockey zip up hoody a few months back and the two go together perfectly.

4. Blackhawks Old Time Hockey Stretch Fit

The newest hat featured in my Top Ten, this series of hats came out this past season and made a great Black Friday purchase. I love the striping on the front of the hat. I also love having the Hawks' secondary logo on a hat, something I hadn't had before this hat. OTH makes a really good fitting stretch hat and has some other top notch designs out there. Look up "Trio Flex" to find your team in this style. Some teams have primary logos and some secondary, and some also have fully colored logos while some, like this hat, have no color. I wish the line was more consistent from team to team but oh well, I only need this one!

3. Rockford IceHogs New Era Snapback

I love repping my hometown team. I know most might not like the logo but It's been in my life for 15 years and it has a very nostalgic way about it for me. I got this hat during my senior year of college and loved wearing it around the rink both at home and on the road. It was one hat that I was almost guaranteed not to see anyone else wearing outside of the Rockford area. It's my go to hat for Icehogs games when I wear my Hogs' jersey.

2. Blackhawks New Era Snapback

This is my favorite hat design. The Whalers hat featured last week has the same design. Hat number 4. has it, I've got a Cubs hat like it. Ugh it's just so good looking. I just have a weakness for colorblocked hats like this. This is my go to hat to pair with my Hawks' jerseys, whether it be at a game, in a bar, or at a bud's house for the game. Goes great with the bright red jersey. It's hard not to wear it all the time and keep it in great condition.

...And finally...

1. Blackhawks Reebok Snapback

Found this hat in Spring 2013, and fell in love. I love the mesh back, which features a sublimated Blackhawks' logo, I love the gray front and bill, the diagonal font, just, oh boy. This is a great summer hat, I can wear it with pretty much anything, it looks great with bright shirts. It's one of the few hats I like to wear backwards and it's also a great snapback hat for not having a high crown and flat bill. I've looked into getting a few other teams on this hat style including the Jets and Kings.

Honorable Mention: Chicago Blackhawks Stadium Series Toque

I didn't feel this fit in the top ten since I don't wear it as often but... I... love...this...hat... The Stadium Series had some pretty gaudy and ugly gear featuring the chrome logos, but the toques and scarves the players wore for warmups and practices were amazing. I planned on buying the hat at the game for sure, but it was so cold and snowy at Soldier Field that I bought the scarf too. Not only is the hat (and scarf) visually stunning, but they were oh so very functional. As others shivered and suffered through watching a hockey game in a snowstorm, I got to stay toasty and watch my Hawks blow the Penguins out of the water...or ice... or something...

There you have it! I've got an idea for a new weekly feature on my posts but you'll have to wait until next week for that, but for now... CONCEPTS!!!

Columbus Blue Jackets Alternate Jersey Concept - Avi S.

Avi brings us an alternate jersey to go with the set of Jackets' jerseys he gave us yesterday. This jersey design is way out there for a hockey jersey but fits the team's branding well. I feel if the team wore something like this it could be either well received or hated on a Sabres Alternate level...ok maybe not that bad... I wouldn't mind seeing something like this as a one off, but if this was worn regularly I think the novelty of a jacket-jersey would wear off and all we're looking at is a jersey that barely looks like a hockey jersey. Design is really clever though.

Rating: 8/10


Team France (IIHF) Jersey Concept - Chris G.

Pretty simple design for the French. I kinda like their chicken logo but I wish the darker blue featured in the logo was used on the jersey to some extent. That double blue color scheme with the red/white stripes would look sharp. The logo looks a tad low while the back number looks a little small. The number can overlap the fight strap on the back. Now the shoulder numbers are interesting. The way they are set up on this image is that they would be placed on the front of jersey and not the top. Odd placement, they're better off being on the top and bleeding off of the jersey on this mock up.

Rating: 6/10


Winnipeg Jets Alternate Jersey Concept - Christian L.

Still waiting on a Jets' alternate jersey. I'm surprised they haven't announced one yet, it'd be a real cash grab for them. Perhaps they're waiting for them to be a contender. I really like the use of the colors on the jersey here. I understand what the arm chevrons are there for but they're way too big for my taste. I'm not a huge fan of the old Sabres' font here either. It just doesn't seem to fit for me. Maybe it's just the amount of strokes/outlines on the numbers.

Rating: 7.5/10


Wilmington Sea Pigeons Concept (ECHL Concept Team) - Coby S.

Coby introduces a new team into the ECHL. The name in interesting and as far as I know is something that hasn't been done. It doesn't seem like a very intense or threatening team name though. With the heavy use of navy blue throughout the jersey I don't feel like the light blue pants work here. I don't think light pants every really work anyway, but those pants would look really awkward when worn with the white jersey. The hem and yoke stripes are fine but the diagonal arm striping comes off as very busy. The only way I can imagine them is a bunch of little chevrons. Fix that and the jersey improves. The name on the back looks to low and a little bit small while the number could also be upped in size and moved up with the name.

Rating: 6.5/10


Charlottetown Islanders Alternate Jersey Concept - Joey F.

Joey wants to see the black and gold Islanders of "The Q" pay tribute to one of the most infamous Islanders jerseys and NHL jerseys in general. Honestly, they should have taken their branding from this era. Tone down the crazy stripes and teal a bit and they wouldn't look bad. They'd definitely stick out. Good idea toning down the waves as much as you did Joey. Make the jersey a little bit more tolerable and doesn't mess up the numbers on the back. Speaking of the numbers, I don't care for the orange name/number combo on the dark blue background. Definitely make those white.

Rating: 8/10


Sports Uniform Concepts (SUC) Jersey Concept -  Mario A.

Mario makes a set of jerseys for his blog SportsUniformConcepts.com. I can't tell if it's a real blog since there is no site by that name at the time I'm typing this. I'm sure it's in the works, hope you bought that domain name Mario before someone else scoops it up. As for the jerseys, I wouldn't want them to represent a design/concepts site of mine. They are very click-and-fill. There's no real design to them other than a color blocked beer league jersey. Definitely add some sort of personal touch to the design of the jersey, make it reflect your site. Maybe some striping that reflects the stripes in the blog's logo. The number font is also very small and should be stretched out vertically, or find a better font that is a bit bigger. Also, there's a lot of different blues here and they're not situated in any sort of pattern or anything, kind of just wherever.

Also, bit of advice, if you want to make a blog based around sports design, or design in general, it's best not to be pulling graphics from the internet to use as part of a logo or a even as a background/wallpaper. It's best to make these things from scratch as there's really not a ton of creativity behind just copying and pasting someone else's work.

Rating: 4/10


Anaheim Ducks Soccer Uniform Concept - Phil B.

Phil gives the Ducks a kit based on the home jersey they just retired. What I'm seeing here is the start of something that could be really well done. It'd be nice if the hem stripe more closely resembled the actual jersey instead of just a big orange section. The name, number, and sponsor logo should be white. That bronze comes off as hard to read against the black jersey. It doesn't have to match the hockey jersey exactly obviously, but certain elements would be nice to see applied here.

Rating: 5/10


Boston Bruins Soccer Uniform Concept - Phil B.

On my post last week I gave my COTW vote to a set of Ottawa Senators soccer uniforms. Plus with the World Cup getting people thinking about soccer, I'm not surprised to be seeing concepts like this being sent in. Phil tries his hand at setting the Bruins up like a soccer team. As much as I hate the yellow socks they actually wear, it's nice to see them here as a nod to their actual design. The jersey itself though not so much. I have no problem with the yellow sleeves or logo placement, but the big problem areas for me are the sponsor patch, and the number font.

The sponsor patch doesn't need to be in a big block. It'd look miles better if the TD was yellow and didn't have the big block around it. And the number font doesn't match the name font. The best possible option here is the actual font they use on their hockey jerseys. It fits with the brand well, unlike this number font.

Rating: 5/10


San Jose Sharks Alternate Jersey Concept - TG

TG utilizes a Reebok template that a lot of people don't seem to care for, but he improves on it. For those who don't see it, the arm spike/triangle template was used by the Thrashers and Flyers during the first run of Reebok Edge designs. I don't have a problem with the template itself but TG adds an extra arm spike that gives off the appearance of shark fins. Very clever and it looks especially sharp on the gray jersey. Although I'd like to see more orange in any Sharks concept, this one works well without it.

Rating: 9/10 and a COTW NOM!


And there you have it, another longer post but I hope you guys enjoyed it, I sure did! So now that you're done reading you should go vote for the COTW and get working on your Griffins' jersey!!!