Friday: Nashville's Last Hope

Well, the ride on the Nashville bandwagon has gotten a little bumpy.  After two games, the Pens have shown that they came to win, and have been dominating the Preds in the scoring column.  Pekka Rinne has been off (.778 save percentage for the series), and without him at top performance it's going to be hard for Nashville to pull out a win.  I think the series depends on tomorrow night's game.  If the Preds take it, they can begin to shift momentum in their favor, especially with game four at home as well.  If the Pens take it, I think we might as well start shipping Preds championship gear to third world countries for charity.  There is no way that Nashville can take back a 3 game deficit against such an experienced Penguins team, especially as they seek to win back to back cups.  While they have been ravaged by injuries this postseason, they have managed to rally in spite of that in previous series, but have shown none of that fight against the Pens.  The series hinges on tomorrow night's game, and I think tomorrow night's game hinges on Pekka Rinne's performance.  Without Rinne keeping pucks out of the net, the Preds will be unable to shift momentum and gain some sort of edge in the game, let alone the series.

We currently have two Doug Gilmour jerseys up on eBay, one for the Sabres and one for the Blackhawks.  Click on either of the team names to be taken to the auction page for the jerseys.

Check back later today for the poll on the COTW for May 26th- June 1st, and remember that the HJC Open Logo contest entries are due June 9th.

COTW May 26- June 1 vote (ends Friday @ noon ET)

HJC Open Logo Competition entries (due Friday, June 9 @ noon ET)

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Now on to today's concepts!

Chris W.- UTC Mocs 

Our first concept of the day is Chris W.'s design for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs.  I'm sure it's no coincidence that I was given this concept, as I created a design for the Mocs just a few weeks ago.  Let's start with the positives: I like the colored upper arm as well as the striping pattern (for the most part).  The font choice is great, and the C logo makes a great shoulder patch.  While the university has distanced itself from their old train-based logos, I like the idea of the third being a sort of throwback to that era.  Now for the negatives: the striping is consistent on everything in the primary set except for the arms on the dark jersey, and that really bothers me.  Either have all of them match or switch up the hem stripe to match it.  While I do like the full body mockingbird logo, I just don't think it works as a primary. I would swap it with the head logo on the helmet and pants.  While I like the font, I think that having the captain's patch use that font instead of using the C logo is a misstep, it really confuses the eye.  And that third jersey.  I like the idea of the engineer's cap pattern, but I can't help feeling that it would be lost in translation on the ice and would give you a headache to watch.  I also like the idea of the masonry pattern, but once again think it would be indistinguishable in action.  Final verdict: a solid idea, but a little too high-concept to work in the real world.  7.5/10

Danny R.- Team Canada

Next up is Danny R. with a design for Team Canada.  I like the idea of a chest stripe for the Canadians, but I can't get on board with the black going all the way up on the dark jersey.  It's reminiscent of the Sharks' Stadium Series jersey, but to me it looks too much like the "Big Hawk" jersey that Dikembe Mutombo used to rock in the late 90s.  As a yoke on the white jersey it works, but it's just too much on the dark jersey, especially with the amount of black in the gear.  That being said, I love the alternate uniform.  I like the color scheme based on the flag used from 1957-1965, and I'm really digging the main crest taken from it as well.  The yoke helps with the color balance, and I like the striping pattern with one small stipulation.  The top and bottom stripe are different widths, and I really think it would help the design if they were the same.  My only other gripe on the alternates is that the cuffs are completely unnecessary, as they are too small and will be covered up by the gloves.  Final verdict: a great away and alternate, but the home uniform really detracts from this concept.  7/10

Jets96- Kansas City Mavericks

Here we have a design by Jets96 for the newly christened Kansas City Mavericks.  I'm going to assume that he branded them as an AHL team as a foreshadowing of the Blues upgrading them from the ECHL so that they will not have to share the Chicago Wolves with the Golden Knights.  Let me start off by saying that I've never been a fan of the Mavericks in regards to design.  I've never liked the color scheme, logos, or uniforms.  In spite of that, I actually do like this set.  the more traditional uniform design appeals to me, and I like the choice of blue as the main color of the dark jersey.  The changing of the orange to a shade more in keeping with the logo also really helps the color scheme.  I much prefer this almost bronze color to the burnt orange peel that they currently use on their uniforms.  I like the striping pattern on this set, as well as the yoke striping, which is similar, but just different enough to work better as a yoke stripe.  I'm a fan of the Missouri logo from their time in the Central Hockey League on the pants, although I might have gone with the roundel logo for the shoulder patch instead of repeating it there.  I like the logo choice for the main crest, but would have avoided the use of the roundel on the helmet.  In terms of execution, my only note is that there are still some black pixels surrounding the shoulder patch on the white jersey, but that's an easy fix.  Final verdict: a great update for the Mavericks, definitely the direction they should go if they are brought up to the AHL. 8/10

Jordan R.- Minnesota North Stars

Our next concept is Jordan R.'s design for the Minnesota North Stars.  I really like this set, it's close to their uniforms from the late 80s, but it fixes most of the problems that I had with that set.  I love the striping on this set, it's basic but it also fixes the yellow on white syndrome that plagued the original set.  I really like the matching striping on the yoke and collar, and love the inclusion of a white yoke on the dark jersey.  The hem striping with the bottom stripe extended all the way to the bottom of the jersey helps the color balance a lot.  The recoloring of the logo on the dark jersey looks a lot better to me than the logo that the North Stars actually used.  I really like the simplistic black pants, the stars on the side that they used is a design that should be left in the 80s.  This design also fixes the most confusing part of their uniform, the mismatched sock striping.  For the life of me, I have no idea why they chose a different striping pattern than the rest of their uniform.  My only gripe with this concept is that the numbers on the back are a tad too big and are crowding the name a bit, forcing it a little too close to the yoke.  Final verdict: a fantastic update to the North Stars and a jersey I would definitely buy.  9.5/10 and my COTW NOMINATION!!!

Lucas D.- Nashville Predators

Next up we have Lucas D. with a design for the Nashville Predators.  Let's start with the positives: I like that you stayed with a gold home design, I think that Nashville has really embraced that as their identity and made it theirs.  I also like that you returned to the navy helmet for the gold jersey, it helps to avoid a golden overload that I think their current helmets cause.  I also like your decision to revive the checkerboard design from their old third jersey.  I also like that you didn't try to force a matching striping pattern on the white jersey, it works much better with its own striping.  Now for the negatives: while I like the idea of the checkerboard stripe, this one does not work as well as the original, and from a design standpoint it originally looks like part of your design is just blank.  I've never been a fan of this logo, and even recoloring it to match the Preds' new identity doesn't make it work for me.  I also would have liked some sort of striping on the pants instead of plain navy.  Finally, with the sleeve stripes so far down the arms, the top of the jersey is just way too empty and bland.  The Preds have one of the greatest shoulder patches in the NHL, and it's a huge missed opportunity to leave them off.  In terms of execution, you should include at least an idea of the back of the uniform (see the concept below) if you're not going to show it.  Final verdict: a decent idea, but execution leaves something to be desired.  7/10

Noah B.- Chicago Cubs

Our final concept of the day is Noah B.'s latest entry in his city mashup series.  I love this series, and have really enjoyed his entries so far, even picking his Anaheim concept for my COTW nomination last week.  That being said, I'm not quite on board with this one.  I understand that the pinstripe is part of the Cubs' identity, but it just does not translate well to a hockey jersey.  The striping is way too thin and completely throws off the color balance.  I just can't see it standing out on the ice, which would make it look like just a solid uniform.  I think the best way to approach this would have been to take the Blackhawks' design and just translate it into cubs colors.  Once again, I would have also liked to have seen the shoulder patches recolored to match the rest of the uniform.  Final verdict: an ambitious idea, but it just doesn't pay off here.  6/10

All right, that's all for me today!  See y'all next week!