Friday: Shoulder Logos

Hello folks!  Today I'm going to discuss shoulder logos.  Specifically logos that look good on the shoulders, but wouldn't look good on the front of a jersey (in my opinion anyways).

Shoulder logos are often designed differently than primary logos.  They can be designed to compliment the primary logo, by emphasizing a different part of the team's brand, or just showcasing the brand in a different way.  So it's not surprising some secondary logos might look weird front and centre.  For example, let's take a look at the Blackhawks shoulder logo.

(Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Chicago Blackhawks shoulder logo doesn't depict Chief Black Hawk, and it doesn't need to, their primary logo already does that.  Instead the Hawks represent the city of Chicago with the letter C, and reference the Native American part of their name with the crossed tomahawks.  The result is a logo that perfectly compliments their famous primary logo, yet I think it should always remain in a secondary role, I've never seen a concept with this logo front and centre that looks good.  It's not alone though, there's a recently retired shoulder logo I feel similarly about.

(Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Growing up the Avalanche's yeti-foot logo was always one of my favourites.  It's a fun logo that ties into the team name in a unique way.  Unlike the previous logo we looked at, this logo isn't location oriented, and it doesn't directly tie into the team's nickname either.  Instead it's a more subtle connection, using the fact yeti's live on snowy mountains and avalanches happen on snowy mountains.  That subtle connection works for a shoulder logo, when the primary is there to back it up, however it fails if you try to use it as the main logo.  On it's own, it just isn't a good enough representation of the team's name.

There are other shoulder logos I don't think would work as primary logos, but these are two of my favourite examples.

Are there any shoulder logos you wouldn't want to see on the front of a sweater?  If so, leave a comment.

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Now it's time for a new segment I'm calling "Look at the Pretty Pictures", where I post pretty pictures and you look at them.  Catchy name, huh?

(Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)

Jimmy Howard has some sweet new red goalie pads.

(Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)

Also here's a shot of Eddie Lack's new black pads in action.

Photo from @blazerhockey on Twitter

Lastly, check out the Kamloops Blazers wearing CCM Propac pants (aka Cooperalls).

*Don't expect this segment every post, just when there are pretty pictures to post.

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There's lots of stuff for me to remind you about this week.  The deadline to get your entries in for Buffalo 3rd Jersey Competition is today, as well the COTW and COTW February voting.  Here are the handy-dandy banners with all the important info.

COTW-February vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

COTW Feb 29 - Mar 5 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Buffalo 3rd Jersey entries (due Friday @ 10:59pm Eastern)

Additionally, here's a few important notes about the Pairs Competition.

-Submit your teams via email to Ryan.

-If you're looking for a partner you should email Ryan and he will try to team you up.

-You can enter your team at anytime, there's no deadline for that.

Oh, and there's also the vote for the best Heritage Classic jersey.  I almost forgot about that.

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Let's take a look at the latest Buffalo 3rd Jersey Competition entries...

by Andrew W:

by Danny R:

by Dylan G:

by Jake B:

by Jay S:

by Phil B:

by Ryan H:

by Tyler K:

by Vaughn R:

by Zeke G:

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Portland Trail Blazers, by Jay S:

Jay continues his NHL/NBA Mash-up Series with a concept for the Portland Trail Blazers.  The main feature of the Trail Blazers basketball jerseys are the diagonal stripes across their torso, which is also on this concept albeit in a more subtle (less angled) way.  It's definitely okay the way it is now, but I think it be more interesting and unique at an angle matching the basketball jerseys.  The one problem with increasing the angle would be that this logo might not fit, and I do prefer the logo you used over a wordmark.  One thing I've noticed about the three concepts I've reviewed in this series by Jay all have used a similar sleeve length yoke design.  I think it's a good way to translate basketball side panels onto hockey jerseys, but the Trail Blazers jerseys don't have side panels, so I think it's a missed opportunity to try something new.

Rating:  7/10

2017 Stadium Series, by Zeke G:

Next up Zeke proposes a 2017 Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium between the Blue Jackets and the Red Wings.  I think the Blue Jackets jersey is the better of the two, the lack of hem stripes kind of reminds me of a football jersey, and I don't know if that was intentional but it works well for a game played in a football stadium.  The Red Wings jersey on the other hand I'm not a fan of.  It's basically just their regular jersey with some added stripes, there's nothing special or unique to make it a Stadium Series jersey.  The execution looks good at first glance, but a closer look reveals some issues.  The logos are too big, the sock stripes are too high, the Reebok and NHL logos are missing, the names are too close to the yoke, and the names (and numbers) are also not centred (more so on the Wings jersey).

Rating:  7/10

Minnesota Wild, by Lucas D:

Moving on Lucas shows us something new for the Wild, while at the same time showing us what a worst case scenario regarding Adidas stripes would of looked like.  The two sets of Adidas stripes on the yokes make the jerseys too cluttered, but I won't hold that against this concept.  The actual design of the jerseys looks good, it's a unique design, I especially like how the shoulder stripes are only on the white jersey.  I might tweak the thickness of the hem/cuff stripes a bit though, I'd make the thin red strip match the thickness of the red shoulder stripe, while making the thickest middle stripe a tad thinner.  Lastly I wonder how the green jersey would look with wheat (aka vintage white) instead of true white.  I've always though their dark jerseys look better with wheat, but I know many people would disagree with me.

Rating:  7/10

Buffalo Sabres, by Lucas D:

A couple of Saturday's ago Ryan asked for competition ideas and Zeke suggested a "redesign of the first jersey you ever did".  That didn't turn into a competition (not yet anyways), but Lucas must of liked the idea because here I am reviewing a redo of his first concept.  The logo is the biggest similarity between the two concepts.  It's hard to tell the exact detail of the original logo, but overall the new logo looks much cleaner and more professional.  I think the logo could still be improved though, the thin yellow sword gets lost in the white B, I'd try using a thicker sword and have it alone be the vertical bar of the B (think the thickness of the sword in their 2000-06 alternate logo).

For the jersey Lucas decided to completely change it up, instead of making slight alterations.  I love the striping pattern with the two arm stripes, and you might have guessed I was going to say that because I've already reviewed two concepts by Lucas with this general design (#1 and #2).  It is a good design, but there's only so many ways I can say that.  The execution is mostly really good, however the back numbers are a bit too close together.

Rating:  8/10

Wisconsin Badgers, by Taylor R:

We'll end today's post with Taylor's concept for the Wisconsin Badgers.  Taylor knows how to make a good concept, and that really shows here.  The stripes are simple but not too generic, the yoke looks good, the number font is unique and pairs well with the logo, and the execution is flawless.  There's nothing I don't like.  There's also nothing that "wows" me either, but if that's the worst I thing I can say about a concept then you know the concept is pretty damn good.

Rating:  9/10 and a COTW nomination.

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That's all folks!