Friday: That's All Folks!

Hello folks!

Sadly the rumours are true.  This is my last post as an HJC writer.

It's been a lot of fun writing for HJC, and it's something I still really enjoy, but unfortunately I just don't have enough time to commit to this position anymore.  So I decided to hang up my keyboard, as I didn't want to continue on with shorter, rushed posts.

That doesn't mean you'll never hear from me again though, I'll still be visiting this site everyday, leaving the occasional comment, and submitting any concepts that I make.  To put it another way, I'll still be part of the HJC community.

And HJC really is a community.  It wouldn't exist without all of you, the readers, the commenters, everyone who submits concepts, and of course the other writers as well.  Not just current writers either, there have now been 23 people who have been HJC writers at one point or another (see the end of this post).

I think that number says a lot.  That there have been 23 folks who have volunteered for this website over the years, really shows how much this site means to people.  That's not even counting everyone who's applied to write for HJC but had to be turned down.

HJC also obviously wouldn't exist without Ryan Haslett, it's founder, and current administrator and Saturday writer.  He does a lot of behind the scenes stuff to make this website work, I think more than most people realize.  Thank you for everything, Ryan!

Last of all, I want to take this opportunity to welcome TC Moore to the writing team.  I've been very impressed with how much his concepts have improved over such a short amount of time, and I'm sure he'll make a great writer as well.  Welcome aboard, TC Moore!

Now on with the post!

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Here's the latest entry for the Random Competition...

William B:

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Keep an eye out for a new COTW poll to be posted sometime today, it will be the only vote for this upcoming week.  That vote runs until next Friday at noon Eastern, which is also the deadline to submit your Random Competition entries.

COTW April 21-27 vote (ends next Friday @ noon Eastern)

Random Competition entries (due next Friday @ noon Eastern)

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Utica Comets, by Ethan B:

This concept is stolen.  It's a recoloured Springfield Falcons concept, which was made by Andrew G back in 2013.
Rating: 0/10

Orlando Solar Bears, by Ethan B:

This is also a stolen concept.  It was originally a Charlotte Hornets concept, made by Taylor R in 2015.
Rating: 0/10

Ottawa Senators, by Garret M:

Our first legitimate concept of the day comes from Garrett, it's a new set of jerseys for the Ottawa Senators.  The white jersey is my favourite of the two, I like the similarities to the Senators original look.  The red jersey is okay, but something about the white upper-arms combined with no white on the hem looks a bit weird to me.  Also, the logos use a different shade of black than the jerseys, the primary logo on the red jersey could use an outline, and the shoulder logos are too big.
Rating: 6/10

Team USA, by Anthony C:

Next up we have two international concepts from Anthony, starting with the United States of America.  I like the striping pattern of each jersey, they both have a nice traditional look to them.  However the outer stripes on the dark jersey are slightly thinner than on the white jersey, which I don't like.  I also don't like the colouring of the logo on the dark jersey, I prefer the current version (which just uses a white outline).  I am a fan of the "Land of the Free" hanger effect, it's a small detail but it adds a lot of character to this concept.  However, I think the red stars on the sleeves should be white, and the vertical stitching should stop at the hem stripes.
Rating: 6/10

Team Italy, by Anthony C:

Anthony's second international concept is for the Italians, who use a unique colour scheme for their hockey jerseys.  This concept makes good use of their colour scheme, I especially like how the flag stripes are flanked by navy blue.  However, there's a one pixel navy blue gap between the individual flag stripes which in my opinion should be removed.  Also, the flag stripes on the pants should be equal width (right now the white stripe is thicker).  The flag on the collar looks good though, as does the wordmark on the other side.
Rating: 7/10

SC Bern, by Dino W:

We continue on with an SC Bern concept from Dino.  The dark jersey is interesting because it uses a Ducks style swoosh on the hem combined with simple coloured cuffs, which I think works surprisingly well.  I'd use the same design on the light jersey (or at least keep red the main colour to match the hem).  Also I'm not a fan of the hem trim, it's too cluttered with the hem stripes already there.  I do like the rounded collars, but I don't like the red name and numbers on the black jersey, they might be hard to read in real life.
Rating: 7/10

Prince Albert Raiders, by Ryan C:

Today's final concept, and the final concept I get to review as an HJC writer, is a redesign of the Prince Albert Raiders by Ryan.  I really like this striping pattern, the curved gold stripe combined with the extended yoke looks great, and it's a unique design as well (more unique than most CHL jerseys).  The number font is unique too, and I think it was a great choice here, it fits this concept perfectly.  Additionally, these jerseys make the logo look quite nice (on it's own I think this logo is just okay).  My only complaint is that the collar on the white jersey looks kind of rough around the edges.
Rating: 9/10 and my COTW nomination!

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You may or may not recall this, but the last time we were looking for a new writer, I made a list of everyone who had written for HJC and how many posts they wrote.  It seemed to be fairly well received, so I thought a good way to end my last post would be to provide an update of those "standings".  Current writers are in bold.

1.  Ryan Haslett, 933 Posts (Nov 2009 - Present)
First Post
Latest Post

2.  WinnipegJets96, 252 Posts (Aug 2012 - Present)
First Post
Latest Post

3.  Dylan Alexander,178 Posts (Aug 2012 - Dec 2015)
First Post
Last Post

4.  William Butala, 123 Posts (Sept 2013 - Jan 2016)
First Post
Last Post

T-5.  Brendan Poe, 111 Posts (March 2015 - Present)
First Post
Latest Post

T-5.  Steven Grant, 111 Posts (Aug 2012 - June 2013 & Jan 2016 - April 2017)
First Post
Last Post (this one)

7.  Caz Williams, 100 Posts (Oct 2013 - Feb 2015 & Jan 2016 - Aug 2016)
First Post
Last Post

8.  Phil Beck, 79 Posts (May 2014 - Sept 2014 & Feb 2016 - Present)
First Post
Latest Post

9.  Dylan Nowak, 70 Posts (July 2013 - Jan 2014 & March 2015 - Jan 2016)
First Post
Last Post

10.  Steven Marculaitis, 66 Posts (Jan 2016 - Present)
First Post
Latest Post

11.  Colin May, 53 Posts (Aug 2012 - April 2013 & Dec 2013 - May 2014)
First Post
Last Post

12.  Jack Godlewski, 36 Posts (May 2015 - Feb 2016)
First Post
Last Post

13.  Tyler Gross, 35 Posts (Nov 2012 - Aug 2013)
First Post
Last Post

14.  Alex Offenbach, 34 Posts (Jan 2014 - Sept 2014)
First Post
Last Post

T-15.  Chase Carlson, 33 (Sept 2016 - Present)
First Post
Latest Post

T-15.  Kevin Wos, 33 Posts (Feb 2013 - Sept 2013)
First Post
Last Post

T-17.  Christian Legault, 30 Posts (Sept 2014 - April 2015)
First Post
Last Post

T-17.  Ricky Mazella, 30 Posts (Aug 2012 & May 2013 - Nov 2013)
First Post
Last Post

19.  Caden Patafie, 25 Posts (Sept 2014 - March 2015)
First Post
Last Post

T-20.  Glen Cuthbert, 13 Posts (Oct 2010 - Feb 2011)
First Post
Last Post

T-20.  Thallos, 13 Posts (Aug 2012 - Nov 2012)
First Post
Last Post

22.  Thomas Livingstone, 1 Post (Aug 2012)
First and Only Post

23.  TC Moore, 0 Posts (May 2017 - Future)
First Post next Friday

As you can see, I'm retiring tied for fifth in all time posts.  I'm okay with that.

Thank you all!  And for one last time...

That's all folks!