Thursday: Scientific Jersey

Hello everyone, welcome back!

Nothing really new to report today news wise, but I do have a neat jersey to share with you. I went to the Pens game on Tuesday (what a game, at least for us Pens fans), and walking down to the arena I noticed a really strange jersey...

My initial reaction was "What in the....what is that?" and I assume that most of you will probably have a similar reaction. It took me a minute, but I eventually realized that this was the chemical formula for...RUST! While this technically is still a jersey foul, it is an absolutely amazing one, and I love it. I'm really wondering how he got that made, though.

(For those of you who don't know, Bryan Rust wears number 17 for the Pens, hence the chemical formula for rust with the number 17.)

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In the world of voting this week we're keeping it simple with just the COTW vote. Only 4 choices to choose from, so you can easily make a quick pick and be done. We have the Admirals competition as well, but those entries aren't due until NEXT Friday, not tomorrow.

COTW Mar 24-30 vote (ends Friday @ noon ET)

Norfolk Admirals Comp (Entries due April 14 @ noon ET)

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Anthony C. - Soo Eagles

+The Eagles currently wear copies of the Blues' original edge jerseys, so I suppose this is an improvement...and the yellow yoke on the white jersey is a nice look.

-I like the attempt at a unique feature with the claw marks, but they just do not work the way you have them. They just look tacky.

-The rest of this concept, at least the primary jerseys, are just Bruins copies with your usual font thrown in. If you aren't going to put more effort into the concept, I'm not going to put any more effort into reviewing it.

+The alternate on the other hand is a neat idea. It would definitely look vintage in ways.

-To go all out vintage, drop the claw marks, change the font to a block font, and keep it just black and yellow, no white. I would also make the eagles on the arms smaller, I think they'll work but they're too big and tacky right now.

Overall: Primaries - 2/10, alternate - 5.5/10

Lucas D. - Toronto Maple Leafs

+Let's first address the elephant in the room: the template. I absolutely love your attempts at these realistic templates, and with this one compared to the Islanders one, I can tell you're improving, so keep it up. 

-Let's address the issues with the execution as well so you can improve it. I think the colors you use are a bit too solid, and not textured enough. It looks like a solid template with a realistic picture, and it looks off. There are also some transparency issues on the jersey, one example is the bottom stripe on the white jersey, it's a bit transparent and looks off. That stripe is also a different white than the rest of the jersey, and you forgot to change the stripe color to blue on the back arm. The mask is also quite rough, with some loose pixels outside of Matthews, especially on the stick.

+Now on to the actual design, it's a great, classic design for a team like the Leafs, and something I wish they'd actually have gone with.

-The design isn't very creative or innovative, though. I've seen this type of look for the Leafs plenty of times.

-Not a fan of the blue helmet with the white jersey.

+I do like your transition of these jerseys over to the Adidas template (at least with the collar).

-But it would look much better as a solid color collar. The look of it now reminds me of the NFL "toilet seat" collars.

Overall: 8/10

Ryan H. - Boston Bruins

+I can say for sure I've never seen a Bruins jersey like this.

+I absolutely love the vintage look of this jersey. It looks just about like something that would fit into the Bruins' jersey history.

+I love your recreation of the script logo. It's modern and vintage at the same time.

+The shoulder patch is a great idea, I can't say I haven't had a similar idea myself. Works great on the helmet too.

-I think it would also be a good fit on the pants instead of the script logo. If you were to keep the script on the pants, make it a little smaller.

+I'm usually not a fan of inconsistent arm and hem stripes, but I think it works well here. It also adds to the vintage look.

-95% of the time I'm against vintage white, and this is no exception. I think this design would look much sharper with regular white.

-The back numbers would stand out better if they were black with a yellow outline, like the logo.

Overall: 9/10 and my COTW nomination

Taylor R. - Chicago Blackhawks

+Always nice to see something new for Chicago, especially considering how similar all of their special event jerseys seem to be.

+This design is a nice combination of modern and vintage, so the vintage logo fits well.

+The striping pattern is a nice fauxback look.

-My big issue with it, though, is the inner black stripe. It's way too thin, and from a distance (or at slightly smaller sizes on a screen) it begins to look like one gray stripe as opposed to white, black, white.

-I'm not a big fan of the number treatment either, but that could just be my personal preference.

+It does give a nice vintage look, though, and for numbers that are the same color as the jersey, the outlines are thick enough to make sure the number does contrast.

Overall: 8/10

T.C. M. - Calgary Flames

+I'm not a fan of having black in Calgary's color scheme, so that's already a positive.

+The striping pattern is a nice callback to their original jerseys while not copying them exactly.

+I love the consistency on this set. The stripes are all the same pattern on the arms, hems, socks, and pants.

+The upper arm style adds a nice chunk of color to each jersey.

-But lose the extra stripe in between the upper arm fill and the arm striping. It makes no sense to be there, and just clutters things up, especially with the TV numbers there.

-While you're at it, swap the colors on the stripes for the road jersey. Put red on the outsides, yellow on the insides.

+I like the idea of a white-less alternate, and the return of the script logo.

-If you're gonna get rid of most of the white, go all out and get rid of it all. The collar especially sticks out like a sore thumb.

-For the shoulder patch, stick with the red colored one and that one only. The other one has too many yellow-on-white issues, and doesn't contrast well.

Overall: 7.5/10

Zack H. - St. Louis Blues

+Yet another nice combination of modern and vintage. Love it.

+Dropping the second shade of blue is a great look. Much cleaner, in my opinion.

+The striping pops out really well. The colors look gorgeous on this one.

+The shoulder stripes look great.

-No need to have the captain patch on that side of the jersey. There's as much space on that side as there is on the other side. Just move the logo down a little.

-Not a fan of the rounded outlines on the numbers.

-Unless it's just me the name looks a tad small and the numbers a tad large.

Overall: 8/10

Zack H. - Vancouver Canucks

+I would take this over their current jerseys any day.

+The bold stripes look really nice, especially compared to how thin some of the stripes on their actual jerseys are.

+Good color balance.

+Love the choice to have the modern stick-in-rink logo on the front of the jersey. I'm personally not a fan of Johnny Canuck, so I'm glad you didn't go that route.

+I think he works pretty well as the shoulder patch, though.

-Not a big fan of that font here. A block font would look much better.

-Again, unless it's just me the name looks a tad small and the numbers a tad large.

Overall: 8/10

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That's all for today's post. I hope you enjoyed the post, thanks for reading, and I'll see you all again next week!