Wednesday: Sheer Brilliance

Today is a special day. Even more special than yesterday, because yesterday was my first trip to Madison Square Garden. Islanders had a split squad match-up with the Flyers and Rangers, both away, and while it would've been cheaper to drive down to Philly and go to that game, time would not allow it as I only got out of work at 5, plus New York traffic would mean that you got to Philly by the time the game ended. So I hopped on the train to MSG, and now I can add that to my NHL arena checklist.

Nassau Coliseum
Barclays Center
Wells Fargo Center
Prudential Center
MSG
Verizon Center

Next up is either TD Garden or PNC Arena, depending on what my friends decide to go with me to. Some are going to Chicago on a special "Expedition" but I can't afford to fly there just yet.

Also the score was 5-2 in favor of the bad guys but the score doesn't concern me as much as individual performances and the frustration of dealing with certain types of Rangers fans. I did end up sitting next to a Leafs and Flames fan, a couple who were vacationing down in the States and looking for some hockey to watch. So there is some truth to the stereotype of Canadians being friendly, "except when it comes to hockey rivalries", they said.

But anyway, as great as yesterday was, today is awesome because of HERE! I was fortunate enough to get an entire conceptual branding process for Las Vegas, on top of some fantastic Minnesota Wild concepts that I can say that there isn't a bad concept today and you guys will have a LOT to think about for nominating Concept of the Week from today's post.


NEWS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NHL!

(via sportslogos.net)

A clean, yet modern look that fits with the NHL's current branding. However that branding may clash when it comes to this:

(via sportslogos.net)

A modern logo for a game that may feature retro jerseys? I don't know about that one. Love how it fits the 100th anniversary logo, as well as the CN Tower nod for Toronto, but this logo is better for an outdoor game:

We modernize the Pittsburgh Winter Classic logo and add rivets to it, since Pittsburgh is the Steel City, and since this game will be at the home of the Steelers, it makes more sense as a modernized look.


SENATORS COMPETITION!

We have a few entries today, I still need to come up with something but I don't know if I'll be able to get it done in time. Hopefully I do, hopefully you do too! Here are some people who DID do it in time.


Jared L:

 Jimmy T (INELIGIBLE):

Reminders:



ON TO THE CONCEPTS!

Avi S: Las Vegas Knights Concept

Logos:

So here's the beginning of a whole branding concept Avi brings us. Let's analyze the logos first. When I look at this the first thing I see is how the outline of the helmet is separated in two specific ways: Once in the front by the helmet's mouthpiece and once in the back. The significance of this is that it creates an L and a V in the design for Las Vegas. Well done with that. Avi shows you how the logo looks on black and white (silver outline is meh), and throws a sword behind it pointing to the bottom right of your screen, showing you how that looks on black white and gold (silver outline looks even more meh on the gold). Finally he shows off a shield logo with the letters LVK involved, first as a tertiary focus behind the main logo and the sword, then as a primary focus. Notice how there's no silver there within the shield, and it's kept solely to the outline of the shield. Another thing worth noting, especially for later, is the reverse stencil lettering. It's as if the stencil itself is the letter as opposed to what the stencil is supposed to help create.

Jerseys:

Now we get to seethe logos in action. Simple. Traditional striping. Nothing crazy, but the STENICL IS BACK! Keeping with the theme of the alternate logo, we have stencil-type name and numbers. However with that stencil numbering we have an issue on the black jersey which is a bot of an interesting issue because it's in the NHL as well. Notice how on that black jersey we have a black number outline that is a different shade of black from the main jersey. Not cool, but not unseen in the league. Look at the details of the Islanders third jersey right now. Notice how the numbers contain an outline that is black, on top of a black jersey. You can see it best on the bottom of the 9 when you click on that link. The outline exists to protect the original jersey from counterfeiting, as all the counterfeit jerseys do NOT have that outline, on both the numbers and the logo itself. I have more of an issue with the silver striping on the white jersey. While I think it's cool that you have the same exact striping pattern on both jerseys (silver-black-gold-black-silver), the silver gets lost against the white. I'd rather have a pattern that mirrors the yoke a bit better, like a black-gold-black-gold-black pattern of the same thickness as the striping you use here.

The Knights Who Say "NI!" say: 94%


Lucas D: Minnesota Wild De-Edge Concept

Back to our regularly scheduled concepts. A common theme when it comes to the Minnesota Wild is to eliminate all traces of white on the dark jersey, outside of the shooting star in the logo. The pattern on the white jersey is a nice inclusion of the vintage white as a trim. Carry it over with no white and you have green filling its place to separate the upper shoulder and the red stripe. Personally I have never been a fan of separating a dark stripe from a lighter area with a dark color such as the red and green here, but it's the only way to get these two to match without having a vintage white and white clash-fest. Unless you keep the arms the same for both jerseys?

Wild Thing: 85%


Lucas D: Minnesota Wild Alternate Concept

And the Edge is back here as we take the current alternate and alter it. The yoke is gone. The striping patter is turned upside down. The script is replaced by this thing of beauty. The trees forming an M. The wings forming a W (logo credited properly). The sublimated tree pattern in the striping. No red necessary. The tree in the Alternate Captain's patch. The sublimated tree pattern on the inside of the collar. 

Sheer Brilliance: 100%

The winner of my Concept of the Week Nomination is: 

LUCAS D

MINNESOTA WILD ALTERNATE CONCEPT

That does it for this week. One more post between today and the start of the NHL season (well two posts if you count the 2 1/2 hours between the post going live and puck drop on October 13th). So far we only have questions from Burkus Circus. And they will be answered, but we want MORE! From Everyone! Send in smart questions, send in stupid questions, I don't care, because some of us are going to be drunk and it's going to be funny. Don't be surprised if we are laughing over absolutely nothing.

See you next week!