Friday: Flashback Freakout

Hello and welcome to another Friday post!  While there has been limited news in recent weeks, I think I've found something!  It appears as though we have gotten a peek at what the Senators will be wearing on the road next season.

Twitter

These pictures were snapped at a fan meet and greet event earlier this week, and were subsequently posted to a Sens fanpage on Twitter.  Same issues here as on the home set; they took their previous design and squared it off, taking a mediocre design and turning it into something awful.  I can't even begin to describe how lazy this design is, and I have only one thing to say to the designer:

Quickmeme

In terms of voting, we have the COTW vote for July 21-27, which ends Friday at noon EST.  As the voting for the final round of the Open is now closed (look for the announcement of the winning designer later), it is time to promote our next contest, the Hockey Card Competition!  Entries are due August 11 by noon EST.

COTW July 21-27 vote (ends Friday @ noon EST)

Hockey Card Competition (entries due Aug. 11 @ noon EST)

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Now on to today's concepts!

Ben B.- Carolina Hurricanes

Our first concept of the day is Ben B.'s design for the Carolina Hurricanes.  Right off the bat, I love the choice of black breezers.  It helps with the color balance, and I've always felt that teams with red on red look a little too much like tomatoes.  The flag pattern on the breezers works surprisingly well for me.  I'm also a big fan of the inclusion of the sublimated hurricane flag pattern on both the home and away set.  I would have liked to see the hem stripe on the away set more in line with the home, swapping the silver and the white, as the silver in the middle of the striping sort of blends into the white.  In regards to execution, there is a lot to be fixed here.  Vertical stitching should stop at the hem stripe, and the TV numbers are too high on the arm.  The name on the back is too close to the yoke, and the number is way too big and too low.  The logos are very pixelated, and the inside view of the back of the away jersey should be red because of the yoke.  Final verdict: not a bad design, but a lot of crucial execution errors really drag this one down.  6/10

Brooks F.- Phoenix Arizona Coyotes

Our next concept is another entry in Brooks F.'s nineties series, this one for the Coyotes.  This concept combines the early Yotes kachina pattern with their infamous desertscape third jersey.  Personally, I always loved the kachina pattern, it was distinct and fit in with the desert identity associated with Arizona, and I even liked the "Peyote Coyote" logo in its own way.  Sure, it's insanely 90s, but it fit with the time period and this project fantastically.  The only problem that I have with the kachina pattern here is that it's only one color on top of the background, and I really think that it works better with more colors.  I like the moon as a shoulder patch, but for a real 90s fit, I would've gone with the gecko patch from the original desertscape. I'm not crazy about the dark set being the burnt orange color, I probably would have gone with black like the original Yotes set and made the jersey in the logo some other color.  I think plain black breezers were a good call with so much going on up top, but the desertscape on the socks is completely unrealistic, just go with a simple striping like they did with the original set.  Final verdict: definitely very 90s, but misses the mark just a bit.  8/10

Christian L.- New York Islanders

Moving on, we have Christian L.'s design for the New York Islanders.  I like that you matched the font on the jersey to the font used in your original logo, that's very well done.  I also really like the striping pattern used, especially since it works on both the light and dark set.  At first I wasn't a big fan of the shade of blue used, but it grows on me the more I look at it.  I'm not sure about the stylized N in the logo, if there's some significance to it please let me know in the comments, but I probably would have just gone with a regular N.  I didn't like the split collars when I saw them at the unveiling in Vegas, and I don't like them here either.  In terms of execution, the hems are really sloppy, and there are areas across the concept where the blue peeks out from behind the orange.  The TV numbers look way too big, and the name on the back is a tad too big and too close to the yoke. Final verdict: a decent design, but sloppy execution detracts from it.  7/10

John E.- Penn State Nittany Lions

Next up is John E. with a design for the Penn State Nittany Lions.  For some reason, my dad has always hated Penn State and has passed that hatred on to me, so it pains me to say this, but I love this design.  The striping pattern is fantastic, and the way you carried it over to the dark set by adding the extra stripes is genius.  Excellent logo choices, and I even like the name in the extended yoke on the back.  I'm a fan of the number font, it fits in with the school's classic look, but the serif adds a little bit of flair.  I love the numbers in the striping, I think it works really well, especially to add to the big blue stripe on the dark set.  I keep looking for something to dislike, but I honestly just can't find anything.   A vast improvement on their fairly boring current set.  Final verdict:  a fantastic set that I really hope Penn State adopts on the ice.  10/10 and my COTW NOMINEE!!!!!

Justin B.- Arizona Coyotes

Our second Yotes concept of the day comes to us from Justin B., and once again I'm pleased by the return of the kachina pattern.  I love the use of multiple colors in the kachina here, it really makes it pop.  I actually think the use of the old logo's head in the new color scheme works really well here, so kudos for that.  I like the idea of the arms matching across the set, but I think in execution it throws too much black into the white jersey.  Font choice and colors for numbering are solid.  I'm not a big fan of the paw logo in general, so I would have probably gone with the state outline as a shoulder patch.  I think it's a much stronger logo, and it helps bring the state identity to the "Arizona" Coyotes.  As for execution, I'm not sure what that grey stripe is between the jersey and the breezers, and on the back view I'm hoping that the coyote head is just part of the layout of the the concept and not an actual tramp stamp logo.  Final verdict: a solid combination of eras for the Coyotes.  9/10

Steven G.- Calgary Flames

As a native Atlantan, I hate Calgary for stealing the Flames, but as an  Atlantan I also love these uniforms.  Definitely an improvement on their current set and a great nod to the history of the franchise, with them wearing if first in Atlanta and then in the early years of their tenure in Calgary.  That being said, I can't really tell if you sent this in as a joke or not.  It's an exact copy of Calgary's original uniforms with a minor change to the collar.  In terms of how much I want to see it, I give it a ten.  But I have to dock points because there is just no originality in it.  Others have managed to move back to this style while not directly copying it, so I know it can be done.  Final verdict: a great looking set that I know will work on the ice, because it already has.  5/10

***PSA: Please don't send in an existing uniform on a new template.  While it's cool to do "this is what they should have done with the rebrand", if they've already done it, we know what it looks like and there's no point reviewing it.***

That's it for me today, I'll see y'all next Friday!