Thursday: Insert Another Adidas Post

Hello everyone, welcome back!

I told you all last week that I would recap my thoughts on the new Adidas jerseys this week in order to save my thoughts for the podcast, so if you haven't listened to that yet, check it out right here. These aren't going to be my thoughts on the team's branding itself in large part, only on the changes from Reebok to Adidas. I'm also going to avoid talking about the different front/back colored collars as well, as most are awful, and there's no need to repeat that over and over again. Anyways, here they are:

Anaheim Ducks: Not much has changed, nothing to comment about here.
Arizona Coyotes: See Anaheim.
Boston Bruins: The simplification of the font outlines, and the slight change to the font, is a great move. Looks ever so slightly better. Not sure how I feel about the yellow socks, but that was probably the biggest surprise of the night.
Buffalo Sabres: Removal of the piping and pit stains are a good move, but otherwise they're a bit of a disappointment for not changing more. Nothing too bad, though.
Calgary Flames: Why oh why would you keep those flags? At least they got rid of the piping, and like Buffalo I think we were all hoping for more of a change.
Carolina Hurricanes: Another surprise of the night, and a very pleasant one. Love to see the return of the flag striping, and glad to see it subtle and not too overbearing. Plus, the design is much less plain in the first place. Second largest improvement of the switch.
Chicago Blackhawks: See Arizona.
Colorado Avalanche: While I personally don't love the mountain striping (it's borderline dated if you ask me, though maybe that's just because it hasn't been worn for about 10 years, and maybe that'll change next year), just about anything would be an improvement on the current set. Biggest winner of the switch.
Columbus Blue Jackets: I would have again hoped for a change, but their jerseys are far from awful and the font is a big improvement.
Dallas Stars: See Chicago
Detroit Red Wings: See Dallas.
Edmonton Oilers: Edmonton, you almost had it. All you had to do was keep last year's alternate, swap it to navy, create a matching road, and call it a day. Instead you managed to screw it up. While I don't dislike the TV numbers on the shoulders either, moving them back to the arms is more of a lateral move.
Florida Panthers: See Detroit.
Los Angeles Kings: See Florida.
Minnesota Wild: What an improvement. For one the set is at least somewhat consistent now, and the return to a green jersey is a great move. I wish the Wild could have a consistent set for once, but I'll take this.
Montreal Canadiens: See Los Angeles.
Nashville Predators: I'll admit these are growing on me a bit more from the initial leak and unveiling, but they still look way too plain. Second largest losers.
New Jersey Devils: These jerseys look like long sleeve shirts. As I've mentioned on the podcast, I just can't get that imagery out of my head. They went from a classic design to a long sleeve shirt. In reality, all they need to do to fix this is add hem stripes. As it stands, though, they're the biggest losers of the switch.
New York Islanders: For the most part you can just see Montréal, but the blue outline on the white jersey is a welcome addition.
New York Rangers: See Montréal.
Ottawa Senators: Many people consider Ottawa a loser, but I don't. They didn't lose anything, they just kept the same design, more or less. They're more of a disappointment for staying pat than they are a loser. The new font is looking to be an improvement, though.
Philadelphia Flyers: See Rangers.
Pittsburgh Penguins: See Philadelphia.
San Jose Sharks: See Pittsburgh.
St Louis Blues: The one small change made for the Blues are going from yellow to white numbers, and I'm a fan. Maybe I'll change my opinion once I see them in use, though.
Tampa Bay Lightning: The Bolts also didn't change much, but moving away from a lace-up collar to a normal one was a good move, along with dropping the "Tampa Bay" script on the road jersey.
Toronto Maple Leafs: See San Jose.
Vancouver Canucks: See Toronto.
Vegas Golden Knights: Now technically, this is the only team that I can't just comment on their changes, since these are their inaugural jerseys. Personally, I'm a big fan. The shiny gold looks so much better than a flat, Vegas Gold-like color, and while the red could probably be removed from the stripes, I think it adds a nice bit of pop, though I would put some on the hem too. The subtle patterns in the logo and sleeve striping are some of the best parts of the uniform as well, and such a great touch. While not perfect, the Knights are going to be looking pretty good out there, and I'm sure I'll be buying one as well (take a guess as to who it'll be, this shouldn't be hard if you know me and read my posts).
Washington Capitals: See Vancouver.
Winnipeg Jets: See Washington.

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This week in voting we have the voting for the HJC Open's round robin, along with the usual COTW vote. Be prepared to submit a new concept for the next round of the Open if you make it, as the entry will be due on Tuesday as opposed to the normal Friday deadlines.

COTW June 16-22 vote (ends Friday @ noon ET)

HJC Open Round Robin vote (ends Friday @ noon ET)

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Anthony C. - Peterborough Petes

+Simple and bold striping.
+I like the removal of black.
-I would swap the logo colors on the dark jersey.
+I like the number style.
-The striping in general is a little boring and uninspiring for my liking, and doesn't even seem to be inspired by their past (unless I'm missing something).
-I'd like to see helmet and/or pants logos.
Overall: 6.5/10

Anthony C. - Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

+Glad to see them in something other than Red Wings copies.
+Another simple, bold look.
+While it could be improved a bit, the back numbers don't blend in to the chest stripe too bad.
-I'm a bit confused at the inconsistent TV number placement, though. If I were you, I'd leave them above the stripes on both jerseys.
-Again, pants and helmet logos would be a welcome addition.
Overall: 7.5/10

Burkus Circus - 2018 Stadium Series

+Now these are some wilder designs, perfect for a Stadium series game.
+The use of the leaves on Toronto's jersey is a great idea, and the logo choice works out pretty well so that way it's not an overload.
-Honestly, I'd make the hem leaves a tad larger, and the arm leaves just a tad smaller, as the TV numbers are pretty cramped.
+Now for Washington, this would be a perfect occasion to bring back that logo.
+The side paneling with the stars and the star incorporated into the full length shoulder yoke are actually great ideas, and I'm surprised I haven't seen it sooner.
+The shoulder numbers are a great choice here, as otherwise they're a bit too low.
-The logo is a bit too high on the jersey, because as of now there's no space for the C and A patches, and the front numbers are cramped.
-Speaking of the front numbers, I'd just drop those entirely.
-This game would have been a great opportunity for a red vs blue color-on-color matchup.
Overall: 8.5/10

+Another Stadium Series game for the Pens would be a great opportunity to bring back the Robo-Pen and the gray.
+The use of the 90s striping works out well, and it's modernized well by keeping it consistent across the jersey.
-I really have no clue why the logo is tiny and off-centered, but I would just put it back to normal.
-I'd also like to see more black and gold on the jersey, rather than gray being the primary color (excluding white).
+Columbus' jersey in general looks pretty nice.
-I just can't really get behind it as a Stadium Series jersey, it's just a tad too traditional to me.
-I've also never been a huge fan of the hat logo, but I also think it would be much better if it broke out from the roundel.
-For a Columbus Stadium Series game, I would totally give them a red jersey instead of blue.
Overall: 7.5/10

Dylan Wonka Nowak - Nashville Predators

Long time HJC readers will understand Dylan's crossed out name...along with Phil's comment yesterday.

+Another nice and unique concept from Dylan, chances are you haven't seen anything like this before.
+I absolutely love the seemingly fang inspired shoulder stripes. great way to improve on the ones they had last year, and they work really well for side panels too.
+Keeping their previous striping pattern is a great way to keep a bit of their past in the design.
+Good look keeping their current typeface for the numbers and the current shoulder patch.
+For once, I think the collar pentagon works out contrasting from the collar, because the fang stripes blend perfectly into the collar.
-Minor, minor execution detail, but the pants logo looks a tad too close to the stripe; it should face more towards the front if I'm not mistaken.
-I would love to see what a road jersey would look like based on this. I would imagine that the areas inside of the yoke and side panels would stay in yellow, but I'd love to see your interpretation of it.
Overall: 9/10 and my COTW Nomination

Ethan B. - Calgary Flames

+I think a lot of people would love to see the Flames return to their original colors, so this is sure to please them. I'm also one of them, so it pleases me.
+While I wouldn't be against their original striping returning, I never mind seeing something new (well, as long as it's good...).
-Not really sure why you have phantom yokes on both jerseys. Those are generally something to stay away from.
-I would also switch the colors on the road jersey's striping to balance the colors.
-The yellow arm stripes are both angled to match the template, though the inside stipe is perfectly horizontal. Unless this was intentional, this needs fixed.
-The entire execution of this concept is very sloppy and pixelated, but that'll improve as you keep practicing, so don't get discouraged by that.
Overall: 6/10

F.C. Macbeth - Brazil vs. Argentina

+I like the ideas you're working off of here, especially for Brazil. While gradients don't work well on hockey jerseys, gradient striping isn't bad.
-The logo for Brazil works fine, but drop the arched wordmark, and probably raise the striping up a tad higher.
-While the black on the Brazil jersey works well to contrast the name and numbers, it doesn't make much sense. I'd just go with the blue from their flag.
-The name and numbers are also much too low. You're using a template with a shoulder yoke that's supposed to encompass the name, yet you put the name halfway over the stitching for said shoulder yoke.
-Now for Argentina, I'm not sure how well vertical striping would work on a hockey jersey, but if you're going to use it I think this is how you should do it.
-Except for on the back, where you interrupt it for the name and then continue it with a few awkward looking triangles. Just stop it at the namebar, if you ask me.
+The black makes a bit more sense on this jersey, to match their soccer team, if nothing else.
-The numbers you used look more like soccer numbers than hockey numbers.
-White pants are still a no-go for hockey jerseys, so I'd go with either blue or black.
Overall: 6/10

Noah B. - Edmonton Oiskimos

+Another solid combination in Noah's city mashup series.

+Using one team's striping pattern in the other team's style works out really well, and this is no exception.

+Good color balance here.

-As you know I don't mind shoulder numbers in general, but I don't think they work here. Move them back down to the arm, and put the Oilers logo on the shoulder instead, because it's pretty awkward where it is right now.

Overall: 8/10

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