Wednesday: What Happens in Vegas Stays in the Last Two Days

So after two straight days of Vegas Golden Knights concepts here at HJC, We have decided to give you a break as we look at 5 concepts from outside the desert (Sorry Coyotes). A welcome relief for some but a moment of sorrow for others. For the latter, I tell you not to worry because I have a Vegas Golden Knights Concept I sent to Ryan last night, among other items including old competition entries and it should be here in the next week or so.

NEWS:

The source last week that informed me about the NHL alternate jersey policy has also informed me that the Islanders may be DROPPING their Brooklyn-themed black alternates, however that simplified NY logo will not be dropped with it. Could we see a return of orange as an Islanders jersey color? Maybe a blue jersey with the NY logo colored orange with white stick stripes and outline (a rumored logo for the new alternate)? The speculation is on, and so is the challenge! I challenge you to design a possible Islanders alternate jersey using the leak provided.

MIDWEEK SEASON RECAP:

Division A crowned its champion with Colorado after a dominant win over Barys Astana. They are currently undefeated with a matchup against Crowsnest Pass awaiting. Barys, Crowsnest Pass and Chicago are eliminated, so San Jose and Columbus will play each other with the number 2 seed on the line.

Division A Playoff scenarios:

Colorado clinched the #1 seed in the division

San Jose advances with:
-win or tie

Columbus advances with:
-win

Division B is where all the action is this week. Amur Khaborvsk has clinched a spot but not the division. Boston has been eliminated as they lost imporant matches with Milwaukee and Brynas IF. Tiebreakers will come into play if Amur loses and Brynas wins, as they had to settle for a draw in Week 3. However they are chasing 18 votes against Amur.

Division B Playoff scenarios:

Amur wins the division with:
-win or tie

Amur advances with:
-loss and Brynas loss or tie or win with less than 18 net votes between Amur and Brynas

Brynas wins the division with:
-win and +19 net vote differential against Brynas

Brynas advances with:
-win or tie

Milwaukee advances with:
-win

As expected in Division C, New York gave Ottawa all they could handle, as Ottawa escaped with the smallest margin of victory (4 votes) in all weeks of this competition (draws are excluded because otherwise they would be seen as victories, which they aren't). Because of that, New York falls to second place behind undefeated Ottawa, yet holds a 3 vote lead in vote differential. Minnesota's thorough trouncing of Carolina sets them up for a match-up with Ottawa to decide the division. No team has clinched, though Carolina, Washington and Everett are eliminated. Each team decides their fate this week.

Division C Playoff scenarios:

Ottawa wins the division with:
-win or tie

Ottawa advances as the 2 seed with:
-loss and NYI loss

Minnesota wins the division with:
-win

Minnesota advances as the 2 seed with:
-tie and NYI loss

New York cannot win the division due to head-to-head, so New York advances as the 2 seed with:
-win and MIN loss or tie

Buckle up folks.


VOTES ABOUND THIS WEEK:

First we have the normal COTW vote that I know you partake in, right? RIGHT?

Then we have the second stage of COTW voting, The November vote, or as I like to call it, Concept of the Month, or COTM. Get on it.

Then we have the Season, as mentioned above in the midweek recap, voting can be done here.

Finally we have the vote for another vote. The Concept of the Year logo vote, to decide which logo adorns the biggest vote of the year. All three of the votes not linked here can be found at the top or side of this page.


REMINDERS:

COTW-November vote (ends Friday @ noon Eastern)

COTW Dec 2-8 vote (ends Friday @ noon Eastern)

COTY Logo vote (ends Friday @ noon Eastern)

The Season Week 5 voting (ends Friday @ noon Eastern)

ON TO THE CONCEPTS!


Ben S: Bowling Green Falcons (NCAA) Concept

We start our reviews on the two levels before professional hockey: collegiate and junior hockey. We are presented with a traditional striping pattern with a classic look of yoke stripes without the off-color yoke. Ben also uses the common NCAA trend of wordmark logos on the front of the jersey, a trend I think needs to die off, while putting the primary logos within the striping instead of the shoulders where you would traditionally see it. Good call, as it creates a vintage look with a modern twist. The minimal logo on the helmet is pretty sweet. No major complaints beyond the script logo.

Rating: 87%


Brooks F: Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) Concept

Sometimes, too much of a good thing, is too much of a good thing. The tiger stripes are awesome, but because of how many they are, I feel it crowds the striping too much. The use of their early 2000s logo was probably the best option with this pattern, But can we talk about that alternate? The white tiger idea is gorgeous, despite the crowded striping. Singling out the head of the main logo as an alternate is a good choice, and the orange eyes make it better. But the recent trends in the NHL suggest that less is more, and I agree with that sentiment for this one.

Rating: 78%


Lucas D: Carolina Hurricanes Concept

Warning flag stripes. Good. Ton of black? It would work if there was more red. The lack of outlines work with the current setup, and this is definitely a simple concept for them even with the flag pattern, but I just think you need more red. The question is, where?

Rating: 75%


Ryan C: New Jersey Devils Concept

I love this almost fully. A bold look that balances colors as well as their current set, but I just wish there was black underneath the sock striping to better match the hem stripe. No other need to improve this beyond that. I like how the black arms curve around and come to a point right at the cuff. The red collar works well with both.

Rating: 84%


Zack R: Detroit Red Wings (Centennial Classic) Concept

Zack presents us a better idea for the Centennial Classic than what the Wings revealed. I like the classic "DETROIT" wordmark from the Detroit Cougars days. The inclusion of silver was an interesting and questionable point in the actual jerseys, so Zack decided to repurpose it here and rearrange some stripes. Now the silver is in between two red stripes, all separated by white, while still containing the years the Red Wings won all 11 of their Stanley Cups. While there's no silver stripe in the middle of the chest striping, you do see silver outlining the wordmark and as the color of the number on the back. Speaking of which, for a Wings jersey, I don't feel like arching the name like this is the better look as opposed to how they currently arch it, with all the letters pointed upright. Sock striping matching the chest is a better idea than matching the arm.

Rating: 89%


The winner of my Concept of the Week Nomination is:

 ZACK R 

 DETROIT RED WINGS CONCEPT 

One more week in the books for me, two more weeks with my posts until 2017, and we will celebrate not only the new year, but the 100th Anniversary of the NHL. I'm excited to see what's in store, especially if the rumor about each team getting a true throwback jersey, like the Original 6 teams did for the 75th Anniversary in 1992, is confirmed. We shall see in a few weeks. But I'll see you after only one of those. Bye!