Thursday: Not Copycats

Hello everyone, welcome back!

As you've probably heard by now, the Binghamton Devils unveiled their new logos and uniforms late last week. If you haven't seen them, check out this post from earlier in the week.

I have an unpopular opinion on this one as far as I'm aware: I like the shoulder patch better than the primary. I personally think the primary logo looks too cartoon-y, while the shoulder patch has a much cleaner look. I will admit, though, that I never thought of the pitchfork/trident similarity until it was mentioned on Monday, which is one area to fix.

Overall, I still like the primary logo and the identity, and removing the helmet would probably greatly improve the primary logo design. I definitely appreciate the fact that they didn't just copy their parent club, which is a welcome sight considering the multitude of clubs who already do so. The jerseys are just copies, but they'd work better for the AHL-Devils than they do for the NHL-Devils, so if in a few years the NHL-Devils change their jerseys while the B-Devs keep these, I wouldn't complain.

Another thing I've noticed is a bit of hypocrisy from some of us as a group. We ask for teams to come up with unique designs that differentiate from their parent squad, and complain about the teams when they do just copy, but now with the B-Devs many are saying that they should have copied the NHL-Devils and gone with a B-horn logo. I do understand that, in a vacuum, it may have looked better, but I'll take the unique look any day, as long as it's not atrociously bad. (By the way, this wasn't in any way a shot at Phil from his post yesterday, because he's only one of many who have said this. Just coincidence.)

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I have one thing to say in regards to last week's HJC Open vote: #NotMyHJCOpenChampion

I'm just kidding, of course, because unless Jake has some ties with Russia that we don't know about and had them rig the vote, he won fair and square. So congratulations Jake, you earned it!

Now that the Open is closed, we're back to just the normal COTW vote taking the only vote of the week. The hockey card competition is also ongoing, but those entries aren't due until next Friday, so you still have plenty of time to finish those up.

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

Hockey Card Comp (entries due August 11th)

(by the way, the comments above were not a political jab in any way, just a topical joke)

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Ben S. - Anaheim Mighty Ducks

-Going back to the Mighty Ducks' old colors (for the most part) and striping isn't exactly the most creative idea.
+Though I think the changes you've made save this concept from being too close to the originals.
+The replacement of gray with orange is a great move, and fits well with the Ducks' brand.
-I'm not a big fan of the font choice. I also like the webbed-D better than the Mighty Ducks logo, but that's just my opinion.
-I'm also not a huge fan of the shoulder stripes, though I will give you that it differentiates from the original Mighty Ducks' jerseys.
-I'm not too keen on the pants pattern, either. straight stripes would work better, if you ask me. I also personally don't like helmet striping, though that's just another personal opinion.
-The execution is one thing bringing this concept down. On the dark jersey, the bottom white stripes are gone, the cream background color is in there instead. On the road jersey, you also have the green shoulder yoke only on the back of the jersey. Even if that was an intentional design choice, I don't like it.
Overall: 7/10


Brooks F. - Brooks F.

+This may be one of the first times that I've seen a jersey design for your own personal branding. I'm sure it's been done before, but I can't really recall any.
+The striping pattern looks solid on both jerseys.
-I'd lose the full length yoke on the white one, though. Just clutters it up a bit in my opinion.
-Not a huge fan of the number typeface, mainly the 2.
+In terms of the logo, I really like it, despite not knowing what it stands for.
-Not a fan of the half gray in the BFD though, I'd say a gradient may work better, or a lighter shade of gray.
Overall: 8/10


Justin B. - Dallas Stars

+Keeping green as the primary color for Dallas is a must, glad that you did so.
+The striping pattern is nice as well, and differentiates Dallas from being a borderline Chicago copy.
+Good color balancing.
-I'm a fan of Dallas' current number and name font, so I'd have stuck with it here.
+-I was originally thinking that the design would look better with the gray and black stripes swapped, but now I'm not sure how I feel about that.
-I think this has been mentioned before, but your execution would be greatly improved if you curved the stripes to match the template. It doesn't have to be anything spectacular, just a simple curve.
Overall: 8/10


Lucas D. - St. Louis Blues

+Double blue for the Blues seems like a natural idea, yet they have never used it (not without yellow, at least).
+Emphasizing the lighter shade over the darker shade was a good choice, as the navy blue can begin to look like black sometimes.
+Good color balancing.
+The striping is simple, but it does it's job well.
-But it kind of looks like Nashville's new home jersey, but with different colors and a yoke. That isn't meant to say that Lucas copied it, but more or less to show how incredibly simple and somewhat bland this design is. I'd change the striping to be a bit more unique or at least make the white stripe thicker, because I love the look of the colors on this concept.
-I think the outline on the logo should be a bit thicker too, so it stands out better.
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.