Friday: More Pairs

Hello folks!

Today's post isn't going to have a lengthy intro, but that's not because I'm lazy (okay, maybe it's partly because I'm lazy).  The real reason for the lack of intro is the ongoing Pairs Competition.  I don't want to waste your time by ranting about goalie equipment or some other silly topic, when you could be checking out the two latest Pairs Competition presentations.  The Pairs Competition is much more important than any intro I was thinking of doing.

The two teams with presentations today are Noah & William, and Brooks & Jets96.  Please go have a look at what they put together, I know each team worked hard for this competition, they deserve your attention.

--------------------------------------------------

We have a busy week of voting coming up.  The Pairs Competition is moving into the voting phase now that all the presentations have been unveiled, and we'll also votes for the COTW-February and the COTW for March 3rd-9th.  The polls for all these votes should be up later tonight.

COTW-February vote (ends next Friday @ noon Eastern)

COTW Mar 3-9 vote (ends next Friday @ noon Eastern)

Pairs Competition vote (ends next Friday @ noon Eastern)

--------------------------------------------------

Team North America, by Anthony C:

• These jerseys are very minimalist and modern, which I think is a good fit for Team North America.  They'd be an even better fit if Nike produced the World Cup jerseys, since they're so similar to Nike's 2014 Olympic hockey jerseys.
• I like that Anthony still used a stencil number font, but I prefer the original version.  This rounded font doesn't match their logo as nicely.
• The numbers also look a bit too big, as do the player names.
• I like how the NA monogram looks on it's own as a pants logo.
• Besides the number size the execution is mostly good, except there are some stray pixels in some areas (most noticeable on the back of the collar).

Rating: 6/10

Team Canada, by Anthony C:

• The maple leaves on the sleeves were my favourite part of Canada's actual World Cup jerseys, and they're also my favourite part of this concept from Anthony.  I like how this version uses just the outlines of the leaves, it's a nice twist on the original design.
• Other than the sleeve design, I don't like the rest of the striping pattern.  I think the white jersey uses too much black, and overall it's too similar Anthony's Team North America concept.
• I like the alteration made to the logo, the notches added to the bottom are a good addition.
• The maple leaf in the collar is also nice detail.
• As for the execution, I still think the numbers are too big, and the back of the road collar is grey instead of white.

Rating: 7/10

Montreal Canadiens, by Lucas D:

• The Montreal Canadiens home jersey is a classic (probably my favourite jersey in the NHL), so it was smart of Lucas to keep it unchanged (mostly unchanged, the collar is different).
• This road jersey is brand new though, and I think it's looks pretty good.  I particularly like the sleeves and yoke, they match the home jersey in an interesting way.
• However the torso feels a bit incomplete to me, I don't think the blank hem works well in this situation.  My suggestion would be to use a bit of red along the hem, it would be balanced by the red yoke, and it could sort of match the red beneath the hem stripe of the home jersey.

Rating: 8/10

Los Angeles Kings, by Ryan C:

• I don't normally comment on the colour scheme first, but I love that Ryan ditched the silver from the Kings colour scheme.  I think black and white on their own look very sharp together.
• As for the striping pattern, I think the contrasting upper arms look particularly good on this concept.
• This also shows that Kings number font looks great without any outlines.
• I'm not a fan of the logo though.  I think it would be a bit better if the "Kings" portion was ditched, but ideally I'd prefer some sort of symbol over letters (maybe the crown or lion from their 1998-2011 shield logo would be a good fit for this concept).
• The shading added to the template makes this concept look very snazzy, however the shading on the black should be a darker shade of black, since shade makes stuff darker.

Rating: 8/10

Chicago Blackhawks, by Ryan C:

• Looking to the past for ideas is a good direction to go when creating a Blackhawks concept, which is what Ryan did here.  He returned them to their original primary colour of black, and used a striping pattern which ever so slightly calls back to their 1940-44 set, as well as their 1996-2009 third jersey.  I think the end result looks very nice.
• As for the vintage logo, I think it's best suited for vintage uses.  If these were to be the Blackhawks full-time jerseys, then I'd suggest using their current logo inside of this roundel instead.
• I like the simplified colouring of the shoulder logo, but I don't like the addition of the outline.
• The thick pant stripe looks good, it matches the yoke nicely.
• There are two minor execution issues with the collars.  First, there are some stray white pixels along the edges, and the shape doesn't match between the front and back views.  On the front view the top of the collar arches up, but on the back view it curves down.

Rating: 8/10

Team Iceland, by Mike F:

• The primary jerseys Mike has designed for Team Iceland are fairly plain and standard, but I think they look nice.
• The logo on those jerseys is also kind of plain (it's the shield from Iceland's Coat of Arms), but I'm a fan of it as well.
• What's not plain and standard about this concept is the third jersey, it's much more complex, but it too I like.  Well actually, I like everything about it besides the logo.  I just don't think Iceland's Coat of Arms looks good on a hockey sweater.
• Last of all, I think the the vintage jersey is both great and interesting.  It's interesting because of the colour scheme (I'm guessing there's a reason for the green, I'm just not sure what it is), as well as the unique placement of the hem (chest?) stripes, the tan nameplate, and the bird in the logo (the logo is Iceland's 1903-19 Coat of Arms).

Rating: 8/10 and my COTW nomination.

--------------------------------------------------

That's all folks, and don't forget to check out today's Pairs Competition presentations if you haven't done that already.

Goodbye!