Last Monday of 2014

Hello hello hello and welcome to HJC for the last Monday of 2014! It's always hard to believe a year has come to an end, they just seem to be going by quicker now. Seems like just last week I was at a Stadium Series game and we were talking 2014 playoffs.

Well, I get to do this one last time in 2014 so I'm going to enjoy it.......

Go vote.

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

There's only one vote so I don't see why you shouldn't do it. It's also the second to last COTW vote of the year....Ok well technically it's the last one you'll have to make in this year, but the LAST 2014 vote will be next week...which is also next year... But, yeah, you get it...

Anyway... It was nice to see some of the jerseys you all received for Christmas. I thought I'd use my post today to show you what I got.

First, as a Christmas present for myself I found a deal on eBay I couldn't pass up.

Red CCM Florida Panthers Jersey

I wouldn't call myself a big Panthers fan, the only reason I threw a bid on this bad boy was that I had been after a couple of original RBK Tampa Bay jerseys that were dirt cheap and I got outbid at the literal last second. So why not at least get one Florida jersey?

Then... My dad knowing I've had the same boring white and orange blank jerseys to play in for over a year now got me something to show off in my crease...

Atlanta Thrashers Reebok Navy Practice Jersey

Oh man was I happy to see this. I've been trying to get my hands on a Thrashers jersey for a long time, but now I have one I can play hockey in. It's a 2X which I thought would be a good goalie fit. I wore it over the weekend and truth is, the arms are super tight, not too tight though, I made it work. I've always wanted a Reebok jersey to play in and besides the slight problem with the tight arms, I was happy with it.

And last but not least, this big present I couldn't wait to get my hands on...

Chicago Blackhawks 2015 Winter Classic Jersey

YES. I still have yet to get the 2009 WC jersey or the alternate based on it. But when I saw the Tomahawk Cs on the arms I knew I couldn't wait this time around. I wanted to wait until after the game to see if they won first and then to figure out who I wanted on the back...ideally, some situation came up where Antti Raanta had to play the game and he gets like 50 save shutout or something, because I want Raanta damn it... But when it's offered to me as a gift I'm going to get Toews because I actually don't have any Toews gear and the new font looks sexy so why not get the extra C?

Overall, a pretty good haul this year with the Winter Classic happening. I got the WC Scarf and Pom hat, a neat T shirt, and one of the coolest sweatshirts I have right now... So I'm a happy camper right now.

There it is, the three new additions to my jersey collection! I know I had a Happy Christmas and I hope all of you did too. Now let's get ready for a brand new year eh?

And let's start that "getting ready" process with the last monday batch of concepts in 2014.

Stillmetal Slayers Concept - Road Hockey - Mario A.

Mario's back with some Road Hockey designs. First off the logo is a clip art from a designs site. It fits the name but doesn't work as a hockey logo for me. Too busy, small details... of course, that kind of fits the jersey here but I'd rather see a big bold skull or something along those lines. The font is meh to me, It kind of fits the aesthetic here but the numbers are really round while the jersey is full of jagged lines. Now, as for the jersey, it's a mix between an old Boston alternate and a paint bucket jersey. If you get rid of the big splotches of black and white, and just have a red jersey and white jersey with the Boston Style jagged stripes, you're golden here. The yokes shouldn't be round, but instead either jagged like the rest of the jersey or non existent. There's also no TV numbers, but I guess those aren't really required here.

Rating: 6/10


Knoxville Ice Bears Concept - Ryan C.

Very colorful set here. The logo is bold and colorful and so should the jerseys. Ryan makes them just that. I think there's a mismatch of designs here that just doesn't blend well. The arms have a big and bold round design that has two colors... Orange and Purple... The hems, however, feature a sharper design with three colors, one orange and two purples. I personally like the arm design so find a round design or just straight hem stripe to finish off this jersey. Maybe each jersey could use a tad more black/white in the striping.

Rating: 7/10

Disney's "Hockey Homicide" Goofy Cartoon Concept - Alan H.

I'm sure we're all somewhat familiar with the Goofy Hockey Homicide cartoon. If not, I suggest you track it down and give it a watch. The Moose and Pelicans of course are the two teams you see play in the short...Even though there's a joke while rearranging the starting lineups the team names are swapped to "Loose Leafs" and "Ant Eaters". The jerseys here are modernizations of what they wear in the video. Only difference is actual logos on the front, arm stripes with TV numbers, pants stripes, helmets, and team colored gloves. It's a clever idea for a concept. Would have been nice to see the modernization go even further and give these teams identities outside these similar jerseys.

Rating: 7/10


Tampa Bay Lightning - Something Completely Different - Alternate Jersey Concept - Caz W.

Caz redesigns the Lightning's black jersey with something more unique and eye catching. I can see the zig zags in the striping as lightning bolts, but I see it more as some sort of tribal pattern or something. Something about the hem stripe makes it seem off center and it doesn't sit well with me. You've also got these sharp, jagged stripes but a perfectly round yoke that just doesn't seem to fit. I like the overall idea here but there's still some changes that could be made.

Rating: 7/10


Stillmetal Slayers - Road Hockey - Alternate Jersey Concept - Mario A.

Mario also has an alternate jersey for the Slayers. The logo is the same as earlier, so my comments there apply here too. As for the jersey, it's better than the other two. The arm design is very bold and eye catching. It seems like a reverse Flyers jersey. The hem needs some white so it looks like it belongs. I think this font fits on an alternate jersey like this a lot better. The TV numbers are too small and the wrong Reebok logo is featured on the back of the jersey. The goalie mask is a nice touch as well.

Rating: 7.5/10


Star Wars - Grand Army Of The Republic Hockey Concept - Ryan G.

Admittedly, I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, so a lot of references to the Star Wars universe will go unseen by me. Aside from all the space letters and numbers that I don't understand, one thing I notice is white is more heavily featured on the arms, socks, and pants, but the yoke is a dark red which makes the jersey look unbalanced to me. The hem stripe designed like a belt is neat. And I really hope that the back the jersey says Reebok in a space language.

Rating: 8/10


Star Wars - Revans Sith Empire Hockey Concept - Ryan G.

Again, Star Wars references are right over my head. but I do know that Siths are evil and this uniform gives off a dark and evil vibe. I think the helmet and pants should be black, I think it'll make the overall uniform more dark without being one big red blob of a player. I think some small white trim could be used on the letters, numbers, and yoke.

Rating: 8/10

Tampa Bay Lightning Concept - Jack H.

When the Lightning rebranded a couple years ago they wanted to go with a classic look and something like this probably would have been slightly better received. It doesn't immediately come across as a Detroit or Toronto rip off. The striping is a pretty basic hockey look that I don't think any other team uses right now, but the yoke screams Boston to me. I wouldn't want to see any other teams using a yoke like that. Everything else here is nice.

Rating: 8/10

And there it is... the last batch of hockey jersey concepts you'll see on a Monday in 2014...EVER... Remember to get your COTW vote in this week and share your new hockey jerseys with us if you haven't already! Remember... Pics or it didn't happen!

Ps McElroy, get "Any Player" "00" on your Stadium Series jersey, jerk.