Thursday: Make Up Work, Part 1

Hello guys and welcome back yet again. You've got a decently long post ahead of you so sit back, grab some popcorn, and get to reading.

*** Update by Ryan regarding the Griffins Competition ***

The winner of the Griffins Competition will not be announced today. They're busy so probably by next week we will have a winner.

— Ryan Haslett (@HockeyJC) November 30, 2015

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So as you guys know last week's post was pretty late and I apologize for that, and hopefully you didn't notice that the post the week before that may not have been like my usual posts. I'm not going to go deep into it, no further that an unfortunate event happened the day before all of this, and things have been different for me the past few weeks. But things are getting back to normal now, or as normal as it'll be able to get, and that means that it's time to bring back something I started before all of this but of course wasn't able to continue. So, it's again time for the weekly Top 5 jersey matchups countdown! For those who didn't see the first one or need a refresher what I do is pick the 5 best looking jersey matchups in the NHL, in my opinion of course, from the past week. Plus I throw in what I think was the worst one. As the title states, I have some make up work to do, so let's start with the week of November 12-18.

(These are in no particular order, and all photos are from NHL.com)

New York Rangers vs St. Louis Blues

This one's as simple as a classic jersey going up against a newer, yet classic looking jersey. Hard to go wrong with a matchup like this.

Dallas Stars vs Minnesota Wild

Two more "modern classics" if you'd want to call them that, and of course it's hard not to mention Dallas's beautiful shade of green.

New York Rangers vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Classic vs Classic. I think it's self explanatory really.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Minnesota Wild

The bias may be kicking in a bit here (who am I kidding it definitely is) but that doesn't mean this isn't a great jersey matchup. This is also the first case we've really had this tonight too, but this is a really nice color matchup.

Edmonton Oilers vs Chicago Blackhawks

Maybe I'm biased again, since the Oilers are my second favorite team, but it's hard to argue against a classic vs classic game anyhow.

Runner up: Chicago Blackhawks vs New Jersey Devils

Worst: Washington Capitals vs Calgary Flames

Now let me set something straight, I don't hate modern jersey designs, or at least not always. When they're pulled off correctly they look great, Pittsburgh's 2002-2007 jerseys were a great example of this, and Anaheim is the closest in the NHL right now. But certain things that would be considered "modern" usually don't look good, and many occur in this matchup. Piping usually does not look good, and they both have that in their uniforms. Side panels aren't great either, but can be pulled off, but that isn't the case here. Aside from that, Washington's design is unique for sure, but that doesn't always mean good looking.

Runner up: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Columbus Blue Jackets

So I've decided to split this make up work into two weeks, so let's move on to this week's matchups

Detroit Red Wings vs Edmonton Oilers

Another case of classic and classic.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Edmonton Oilers

So I was at this game in person, it's pretty hard to resist when both of your favorite teams play the day before your birthday, and I can definitely say this was one amazing matchup. I was only in the upper bowl two, and I still could see how great it looked. Classic vs classic. Like Woah.

New York Rangers vs Philadelphia Flyers

I hate to have Philly here, but they do have some pretty nice jerseys. I'd call this a classic vs classic, but since the Ranger's jersey is technically a new design, its more modern classic vs classic.

Edmonton Oilers vs Boston Bruins

Another case of classic vs modern classic.

New York Islanders vs New York Rangers

Yet again, classic and classic.

Runner up: Chicago Blackhawks vs Minnesota Wild

Worst: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Pittsburgh Penguins

This one is another case of modern jerseys done wrong, and much worse off are the Pens. Fortunately though, it's rumored they'll be switching to full time throwback soon :). 

Runner up: Arizona Coyotes vs Calgary Flames

That's the end of that for this week, and as will become the norm, I challenge you guys to fix the matchups I have deemed the worst. Including the runner ups, you have 3 to crack at this week, since the Pens and Jackets came up twice (the difference was who wore dark and who wore light, unfortunately they pretty bad either way)

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Man that was a long one. Let's move on now, and get to the voting we have this week. 

First off we have the everlasting COTW vote, and there's a new competition this week to redesign the Barrie Colts! If that wasn't enough for you, you can vote on voting right below here. So go do it, anyone with a Google account can. 

COTW Nov 22-28 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Barrie Colts entries (due Friday @ 10:59pm Eastern)

And the Colts comp entries we have received in the past day: 

Danny R.

Jake B.

Matt G.

Alan H.

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Concept time!

Brooks F. - Germany

+This is a very realistic concept for 1996

+The gradient/glow doesn't look amazing, but it doesn't look overly gaudy either, and again is realistic

+Nice incorporation of the German flag in the striping

+On the black jersey, good job making the black stand out against...the black. That's strange to say but you did it so good job

+Unlike Detroit's new sash design, you continue this one to the back of the jersey

Overall: Realistic but not overly gaudy (9/10)

Dylan T. - Vancouver Canucks vs Calgary Flames

+I like the idea for an NHL color rush, as long as it won't end up like this.

+Red vs blue is a classic matchup

~I feel no need to repeat this word for word or anything, so I won't. But the same thing as Dylan said yesterday in regards to the best way to credit the inspiration and logos for this also applies here

-The second blue on Vancouver looks way too close to the other blue, and the same thing goes for the 2 reds on the Calgary jersey.

-Even if you changed those colors to stand out more, the Calgary jersey is way too plain and the logo is too simple for a jersey while also keeping the team identifiable without being told it's them.

Overall: Good idea and I'd love to see more, but it still needs some work (7/10)

Jack S. - Bridgeport Sound Tigers

+Orange is used as the main color, it's always nice to see a more unique color like that used

+The design calls back to their parent club, the Islanders

-The collar doesn't look right in Orange

-Name and back numbers are too small

-The blue arm stripe should not be curved on the bottom while the top of the next stipe is straight. It makes the orange in between look awkward. Either curve them both or neither of them.

-The inside area of the collar on the front (behind the tag) should be orange in order to match the corresponding area on the back

Overall: Going in a good direction (6.5/10)

Jay S. - Houston Rockets

+Always fun to see a crossover series

+Follows the design of their basketball jerseys

+The pants design is unique but it works

-I'm not a fan of the phantom yokes

-Not sure the white gloves are a good idea either

-Technically if this was made to the specifications of an NHL uniform there should be numbers shown on the helmet 

Overall: Simple, but solid connections to the NBA team (8.5/10)

Jimmy T. - Atlanta Thrashers

+Cool to see a concept for the defunct Thrashers and their unique color scheme

+Solid move simplifying it down to these few to use on the jerseys. 

+If this was in the NHL today the light blue would look great and unique

+Both solid striping designs

-But it would be better for the striping on both jerseys to be the same. I personally prefer the pattern on the white jersey. The yoke could stay the same here.

-I would still make those stripes a bit more bold

-The yellow outline on the blue numbers on the white jersey blends in a good bit

Overall: Solid designs (8.5/10)

Ryan C. - Stockton Heat

+I like the logo treatments/choices on this concept

+The striping looks solid

+As does the font

+Even if they don't always look great, I have to commend you for thinking out of the box lately with a lot of your concepts.

-Speaking of that, let's talk about the side panels. I'd say it's something you don't always see in concepts here..but I'd say there's good reason for it. Just plain side panels like that look like a paint bucket fill. Either add something too them or just drop them and replicate the arm stripes on the hem.

Overall: Good start, but it needs improved when it comes to those side panels (8/10)

Ryan C. - Victoriaville Tigres

+Now this design looks much better off of a quick first look

+While the arm and chest stripes may not be the same, it works perfectly for this concept, but that's only because the small hem stripe keeps it from being too plain.

+The yoke with the yoke stripe looks great on the white jersey

-But the yoke stripe on the black jersey looks out of place without a different colored yoke being there

Overall: Love this look (9.5/10) and my COTW nomination!

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Well that's all I have for today, which was a pretty long post anyways. I hope you enjoyed it, and come back next time for part 2 of the make up work. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you again next week.