Wednesday: The Circus is in Town

The Islanders are on their biggest road trip in a long time. 9 games on the road to span the entirety of the circus being at Barclays Center as well as the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament. Hopefully a different circus doesn't follow the Isles on the road. They won their first game of the trip last night at Detroit, their final game against the Wings at Joe Louis Arena, and visit Montreal tomorrow night.

As for us here, NEWS:

The 2018 Memorial Cup site and logo have been revealed. We are off to the Queen City (there's another nickname I will not mention, but if you desperately want to know, I'll tweet it out later @PhilBeckDesigns), Regina, SK for the 100th edition of the Memorial Cup, and since the Pats are one of the oldest junior hockey teams in Canada besides Brandon and Saskatoon, who hosted in 2010 and 2013 respectively, it's a good fit to have the tournament there. And for this one, the logo deviates from the template we have seen for the past 9, soon to be 10, tournaments.

(via Sportslogos.net)

No sponsor on the logo, red, silver and black, the classic poppy symbolizing the memorial aspect of the tournament, and a big 100. Solid logo and potentially one of the best since 2001, ironically enough hosted in Regina.

95%


COMPETITIONS:

The Pairs Comp is in full swing as we work to develop an All-Star Game concept. Teams potentially in right now are listed on Saturday's recap post. They are due in a week and a half.

VOTES:

Just your standard COTW vote but that doesn't make it any less important.

REMINDERS:

 COTW Feb 10-16 vote (ends Friday @ noon Eastern)

Pairs Comp Presentations (due March 3rd @ noon Eastern)

ON TO TE CONCEPTS!


Brooks F: St. Louis Eagles (AHL) Concept

First things first for you, the readers. This concept is already a Concept of the Week winner so please do not nominate it again. However, I'll explain to you why this won concept of the week instead. They took the Blues color scheme and gave themselves their own identity with a classic pattern combined with the full sleeve yoke. But what really carries this concept is the logo. Forward facing eagle in flight with the Gateway Arch in the background to tell you this is a true St. Louis team, albeit fictional at this point. Execution is flawless, but the only part I don't care for is the pant striping. Either make it match the striping here or make it match the NHL team's striping, which is absolutely no striping.

Rating: 96%


Lucas D: Philadelphia Flyers Concept

A common aspect of design here is to build a concept around a logo. Lucas does exactly that here by using the tail end of the P-logo as the striping pattern, and it looks brilliant on the home orange jersey, but tough on the road whites. The main issue is color balance. You want to include orange on that road jersey, however your pattern is predominantly black. Maybe if the striping was a bit smaller this would work better, and maybe add white under the striping pattern on the home oranges?

Rating: 77%


Mike F: Team Austria Concept

A major design idea I usually try with international jerseys is to incorporate the country's flag into the design in a major way. Mike does that very well right here with all of his concepts except the last one. On the first two, he has a center white stripe (surrounded by a little red on the first concept). I just wish the pattern was consistent on the arms of the first jersey with two red stripes, and on the socks of the second jersey with one white stripe. The alternate is a modern look with side panel striping in the same pattern as the flag and a full sleeve yoke. The vintage would look slightly better if the hem was matching the arms. Quick execution note: Stitching should not exist in the chest stripe of the first two.

Rating: 84%


Taylor R: Dallas Stars Concept

Taylor decides to throw the Stars back to their first years in Texas, and combine it with their current logo and color scheme. He separates the black and green completely, one of the major problems with the Stars first set and its full sleeve yoke. Nothing here really stands out to me though. Interesting fauxback look though and one I think the Stars should seriously consider, though they may go with a pure throwback if they did.

Rating: 82%


Zack H: Washington Capitals Concept

Weagle logo? Check. White shoulder yoke? check. I've mentioned numerous times how much of a sucker I am for that design aspect. I also love how you replaced the red in the logo with white on the home red jersey. Absolutely brilliant. The way these match is even more brilliant with the combination of the yoke on one jersey and the colored upper sleeve on the other. Execution note: You still have red on the tops of the socks of the road white uniform. Pant striping also should eliminate stitching in that area.

Rating: 87%


The Winner of my Concept of the Week Nomination is:

 ZACK H 

 WASHINGTON CAPITALS CONCEPT 

And thus ends my focus on hockey for today. Champions League soccer is in New York tonight with my Red Bulls so if you're reading this I'm probably either on my way, at the game, celebrating a win or drinking away my sorrows in the loss. Either way hope you enjoyed today's post and I'll see you next week.