Tuesday: HAPPY 7TH ANNIVERSARY HJC!!!!

WOOOOOOOO!!!! IT'S THE 7th ANNIVERSARY!!! Wow. That's pretty crazy when you stop and think about it. 7 years ago today, Ryan started this blog... With this post! It's always interesting to see how the teams have changed direction since 2009. The Blue Jackets Alt that Ryan predicted was nowhere close to the actual Alt that was released. That's not putting him down or anything, I just think it's pretty cool to see how people thought the Alt might be Red, and match the CBJ's sweaters at the time, but they went in a very different direction! Very interesting stuff to see on the original post!  

Some of you may remember that post from 7 years ago... I don't... I didn't start reading regularly and submitting concepts until a few years ago. So I haven't seen all of the time HJC was around, but what I have seen and been a part of has been fun! I'm very grateful to be a part of the writing staff here at HJC! 

As part of the festivities, I'm going to look back at all the past COTY winners and rate them #1-#5. It's all definitely based off of my opinion, so it's ok if you disagree a little. I won't go into each one too much, because you guys really responded, we got a bunch of concepts to review!!!

5. Ryan C.'s Buffalo Sabres Concept (2015) (NHL)

N0t the strongest of the Bunch, but still a fantastic concept!

4. Justin C.'s Colorado Avalanche (2013) (NHL)

The near elimination of the black is fantastic, and the Return of Mountain Striping is always a good thing! 

Josh S.- Lethbridge Hurricanes (2011) (WHL/CHL)

I mean anything is better than HurriJcanes... All kidding aside, this fauxback is fantastic!!!

2. Christian L.'s Quebec Nordiques (2014) (NHL) 

Double Blue for Quebec is just beautiful! The Owl logo is also ingenious!

1. Justin C.'s Ottawa Senators (2012) (NHL)

THIS. IS. PERFECT. The Senators should switch to this and never, ever, ever change. 

Well that was fun!!! On to some news! We're having a very exciting week, as The Las Vegas NHL team is going to be unveiling their new logos, and team names tonight! I'm hoping for Desert Knights out of the three final names, as the other's don't sound as good.

 ...Las Vegas Desert Knights, Las Vegas Silver Knights, Las Vegas Golden Knights...

Yeah definitely Desert Knights. 

Also the Maple Leafs and the Red Wings both unveiled their Winter Classic sweaters yesterday. I actually really like them. Even if they both have completely unnecessary silver, they look great! 

(From NHL.com) 

The Leafs Sweater with the "T" logo and the numbers on the sleeves is great! The Red Wings look nice, but all I'm hoping for is red gloves, and an arched nameplate!

Both get 8/10 from me!

Don't forget to vote!!!!

COTW Nov 11-17 vote (ends Friday @ noon Eastern)

Washington Capitals Top 5 vote (ends Friday @ noon Eastern)

The Season Week 2 vote (ends Friday @ noon Eastern)

On to the Concepts!!!

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Avi S.- Boston Bruins Color Rush/Alt. (NHL) 

While technically these are separate concepts, I'm going to review them together, because 1. They have the same jersey and socks, and 2. This long post doesn't need to be any longer... (lolololol)

Avi here started a series for an NHL Color Rush. It pretty much follows the NFL rules of being monochromatic, and then he also includes a regular alt...  

Good- 

• I really like the Yellow. It's a great color for the Bruins, and should be their alt color. 
• I also like the Winter Classic pattern for these! 

Bad- 

• The brown included in the concept is not necessary. It's hard to tell the difference between the black and the brown, and when you do see the brown, it looks like the concept is a bit incomplete...
• No yellow gloves for the Color Rush??

My Rating: Impressive work as always Avi! 7/10

Avi S.- LA Kings Color Rush/Alt. (NHL)

Here Avi continues his Color Rush series with the LA Kings! 
Good-

• Purple, Black, and Silver is a great color choice for this. Those colors are definitely the best colors in Kings history...  
• I love the hanger effects on both the inner and outer collars
• 50th Anniversary patch looks great!!! 
• Black over silver numbers was another great choice

Bad-

• Black NOB with the silver or white outline is really hard to see. Should have been a silver or white NOB
• The one hem stripe isn't necessary... It'll be hidden on the black pants, and sticks out like a sore thumb on the purple pants...

My rating: A very regal concept! 9/10

DTC Concepts- Colorado Avalanche (NHL)

DTC Concepts brings us an Avs concept that once again brings back the Mountain Striping pattern. (Seriously Avs, how have you not gotten the message?!?!?!?) 

Good-

• I love the Mountain pattern!
• Logo is a good choice
• I like the font, but...

Bad- 

• The NOB & #OB are WAY to simple for this concept. They really need an outline. Or two. 
• I also don't like the collar... 

My Rating: It's not a very original concept, and it could use some work as well... 7.25/10

Ben S.- Boston Bruins (NHL) 

Ben gives us here a Boston Bruins redesign!

Good- 

• I like the Brown and Yellow throwback colors!
• Love the yellow socks! And they match the home striping pattern!!
• Yellow #s on the road jersey is an interesting choice, but I like it! 
• I also like the multiple stripes with the shoulder yokes. It gives it a very vintage feel.

Bad-

• The stripes on the road, and the breezers don't match the home at all... I they don't have to match exactly, but they have to feel like they match... Think of the Dallas Stars here...

My rating: A nice concept for a redesign. Not completely perfect though... 7/10

Lucas D.- Calgary Flames (NHL) 

Lucas does an interesting redo of the Calgary Flames.

Good-

• As much as I like black in the Flames color scheme, red, yellow, and white does look very sharp...
• I like the font from the recently retired alternate.
• The shoulder patch looks great simplified

Bad- 

• The outlines on the numbers and logo of the Red jersey are hard to read... 
• You also had an execution error on the red sweater logo. The inner outline where the flames inclose themselves is white, when it should be yellow
• The Super-traditional top of the jersey doesn't fit the flames on the sides of the jersey.
• You also don't ever include the rest of the equipment with your concepts. I'd really need to see what you do here especially with the breezers. The color balance from the equipment can make or break a concept, or even an official jersey. I would suggest including those from now on. 

My Rating: A little bit of modern, a little bit traditional, but it needs more to really be complete... 7/10

Lucas D.- Edmonton Oilers (NHL)

Lucas continues his Triple Concept Series, and chalks off the Oilers with his next one.

Good-

• I love the throwback-esque feel to this. The yokes really remind me of the Oilers WHA days. 
• The Alt. also works really well with this set.
• I really like the orange collar on the orange jersey too.

Bad- 

• The white jersey is a little bit too orange heavy...
• The numbers on the Alt. shouldn't have been changed. Losing the extra outline really clashes with the stripes.
• The collar on the front of the Alt. is a little rough...
• I'm going to say it again... EQUIPMENT

My rating: Another mix of modern and classic, but this one is done much better! 9.5/10 and my COTW NOMINEE

Tyler K.- Colorado Eagles (ECHL) 

Tyler redesigns the much needed ECHL's Colorado Eagles!!! 

Good-

• The Kings clones don't work for a team that has a Yellow, Red, and Blue color scheme, so these look great! 
• I love the incomplete chest stripe. I usually don't like these kinda things, but this really fits with the logo
• I also like the collar of the road jersey
• I like the white number on the back of the White jersey. (But only there)

Bad- 

• Black isn't needed at all. Pretty much everything that's black in the concept is unnecessary... I know it's part of their official color scheme, but it's definitely BFBS. (Black For Black's Sake)
• The white numbers and captains patch on the road won't be seen at all, and that's a pretty big issue for TV announcers and even Refs...
• The blue shoulder yoke on the yellow jersey feels out of place. 
• The hem stripes are also out of place and look very odd... 
• A white helmet should never be paired with a black (or even dark colored) jersey

My rating: A nice fix for the Eagles, but it does need some improvement. 8.5/10

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Well that's all for today folks! Thank you for joining me in a special post, and here's to many more great years at HJC!!! Don't forget to vote, and send in those concepts!!!!