Thursday: Growing On Me

Hello everyone, welcome back!

Yet again, since it's summer, there isn't really any news to cover. Phil yesterday got the ECHL's 30th anniversary logo, so go check out his post yesterday to see it!

While there is no news, I just have a minor thing to mention about the new Adidas jerseys. After seeing a few of them being worn for promotional reasons on social media (most notably that I can remember, CCM's Snapchat), I'm really beginning to like the way the jerseys I've seen are looking. After seeing the new Oilers' home actually being worn by McDavid, it's beginning to grow on me, and definitely doesn't look as bad in action as it does in a still photo. I will say, though, that a straight color swap/copy from last year's alternate would have still been a better option.

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This week in voting is a little busier than normal, because in addition to COTW, we have the COTW-June vote and the HJC Open vote. On the bright side, the HJC Open vote is only half the size of last week's.

 HJC Open Quarter Final vote (ends Friday @ noon ET) 

 COTW-June vote (ends Friday @ noon ET) 

 COTW June 30th - July 6th vote (ends Friday @ noon ET) 

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Anthony C. - Oklahoma City Blazers

+Simple, traditional look. As I seem to always say, it's hard to look bad with one of those.

-Unless there's something I'm missing, this design seems a bit too bland and uninspired, though.

-I'm not a fan at all of the collegiate-type arched wordmarks like this, although this is definitely a better option than their current logo. Even adding some fire embellishments to the wordmark would be an improvement.

-The black stripe on the red jersey doesn't stand out incredibly well.

+The fauxback jersey is where this concept really shines. The script works here, and actually makes sense.

-The white in the script looks a bit out of place, though I understand the decision as it would otherwise blend in too much. My solution would be to make the script one color in white, and then have the numbers and name follow suit.

-I can't help but notice the similarity to Calgary's Heritage Classic jersey. The inspiration would make sense because of the similar fire-related moniker, but something more unique could be desired.

Overall: 7/10

Anthony C. - Seattle Totems

+Ignoring many other things, I like the base design and striping pattern used here.

-I don't think it works for this team, though. Or at least not with this logo. It just blends in way too much to that stripe for my liking, though maybe a thicker outline would fix that. Even if you did nothing but remove that chest stripe, you'd still have a solid look.

+Yet again, the alternate is the look that really stands out to me. Again a little basic, but it works for a vintage design such as this.

+The Metropolitans inspired logo works out well here.

-It's a bit too big, though, and way too close to the collar.

-Not a fan of the white gloves. Just stick to green.

-Sidenote: Watch the kerning (letter spacing) on your ID. It looks a bit like it says "SportsMiutia".

Overall: 7.5/10

Anthony C. - Springfield Express

+I'd argue that this is an improvement on their current Rangers copies.

-Though (almost) Oshawa Generals copies aren't that much more unique...

+Despite that, it's a good look.

-The logo looks a tad big. 

-I'd switch the white and blue in the striping on the red jersey, though that also brings it even closer to Oshawa.

+I would expect the yoke to make things too busy on a design with so many stripes, but it actually works.

Overall: 7/10

Cole - Calgary Flames

+The idea to modernize the "podium" jerseys in this manner never really occurred to me, but wow does it work.

+I think this set has a great balance of black: not too overbearing, but also slightly more than an accent.

-I know you're basically just revamping the podium and therefore using its striping, but I think I bit more yellow on this design could go a long way.

-I would switch the think black/yellow stripes on either the hems or arms, just to keep it the slightest bit more consistent.

-The name and numbers look too small.

-Minor nitpick, but I'm not a fan of the red chinstrap on the white helmet. Just stick to white.

Overall: 8.5/10

Jets96 - San Jose Sharks

+A fairly popular idea, but I'd be on board for a transition to this logo as primary.

+I'm a fan of the lack of orange and the addition of gray.

-I'm not sure why, but I'm just not feeling this striping pattern for the Sharks. Maybe putting the thin stripe on the inside (in the same manner as their original Edge jerseys) would help.

-I think the color balance is off on the road jersey, too. Swap the black and gray in the stripes if you ask me.

+I'm not a big fan of primarily black jerseys that lack a lot of color, but for a black jersey, I think the alternate works pretty well.

Overall: 7.75/10

Kevin D. - Columbus Blue Jackets

+While I'm not the biggest fan of the Jackets' cannon logo, I think it works perfectly for an alternate jersey, and this right here is a great use of it. It actually looks great in a single color.

+The Jackets' primary logo on the shoulder also looks amazing.

+The stars on the arms and on the pants are perfect, and accent the design well without being too overbearing.

-If you just took the arm stripes and duplicated them on the hem that would take this design over the top.

Overall: 9/10 and my COTW nomination

Ryan C. - Calgary Flames

+Now if the Flames are going to use black as their secondary color instead of white, this is a great way to do it.

+Great color balance throughout this set.

+I think the upper arm fill works out really well for the Flames, and if you swapped it for a colored cuff, it wouldn't look quite as good.

+While I think there could be better options, I think that font fits this concept well.

-I'm not really feeling the thin stripe on the pants. I honestly think plain would look better.

Overall: 8.5/10

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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.