Thursday: Guest Spot

Hey y'all it's TC, your normal Friday writer.  BPoe and I are swapping days for a week or two just to see if it works better with his new college schedule, so here I am!

The Devils have unveiled a new logo to commemorate their 35th year in New Jersey, and it's not as terrible as their new uniforms.

The logo uses a silhouette of the state of New Jersey for the base as a way of distinguishing this anniversary from the anniversary of the franchise's actual founding (as the Kansas City Scouts in 1974).  It uses a basic banner image to mark the years, but the real star of this design is the green used on the back of the banner, a nod to the Devils' first colors.  Overall, not a bad logo, and the green really makes it.

In voting, we have the COTW August vote, as well as the COTW Sept 1-7 vote, both of which end tomorrow at noon EST.  Aditionally, we have the Arena Logo Competition going on right now, with entries due September 22.

 COTW vote Sept 1-7 (ends Friday @ noon EST) 
 COTW-AUGUST vote (ends Friday @ noon EST) 

Arena Logo Competition (due Sept 22 @ noon EST) 

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Now on to today's concepts!

Anthony C.- Cape Breton Screaming Eagles

Our first concept today is Anthony C.'s design for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of the QMJHL.  The Eagles' current set is pretty basic, so this is a definite improvement for them.  I like the striping pattern here, and it manages to avoid yellow-on-white syndrome pretty well.  Logo choices are good, and I especially like the elimination of the extra script above the eagle logo.  I also really like the yellow numbers, and the proper league logo patch placement is a nice touch.  I'm not a huge fan of the slash along the rear hem stripe.  I get that it's slash from an eagle's talon, but it's way too modern for such a traditional jersey.  Also not a huge fan of the white collar, I probably would have gone with yellow.  Final verdict: a decent set, but some design choices hold it back.  8/10

Anthony C.- Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

Next up is another QMJHL concept from Anthony C., this one for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.  Personally, I'm a huge fan of their current jersey set, it's one of the few gradient designs that I've seen that actually looks good.  I like the idea of a red body with black arms, it looks really sharp.  The striping is a little too basic for my liking, but I do like how you adapted it to the hem.  I probably would have used the isolated dog head as the main crest, with this logo as a shoulder patch.  Again, I'm not a huge fan of the white collar on dark jerseys.  Final verdict: not terrible, but a definite downgrade for the Huskies.  7/10

Jets96- Las Vegas Wranglers

Next up is our own Jets96, with a design for the revival of the ECHL's Las Vegas Wranglers.  I like the use of dark cuffs on the light jersey, it really helps with the color balance between the two.  I like the shoulder patch and the Vegas star on the cuff, but the cowboy silhouette in the striping just makes it too much.  I'm not a huge fan of the white stripe on the breezers given that it's so minimal in the rest of the set, either make it silver or one big red stripe.  Final verdict: a decent set, but the arms are just way too bust.  7.5/10

Jets96- Reading Royals

Jets follows up with another ECHL concept, this one for the Reading Royals.  I like the contrasting cuffs and hem, it's a good look for the Royals.  Your logo choices are good, and the use of the Kings' old font works well with the Royals identity.  Big fan of the crown logo on the helmets, and I think that a purple bucket could actually work with the dark set.  While I like the yoke striping, I don't like that the nameplate cuts it off on the back.  The striping in general is a little too thin, and causes the grey and white on the dark jersey to blend together too much.  Final verdict: a nice set, but the striping needs some work.  7/10

Noah B.- Pittsburgh Penguins

Next up is Noah B. with a design for the Penguins.  I love the use of the RoboPen here, I think it's a good looking logo that gets a lot of undeserved hate.  The full length yoke with different coloring offset by a stripe looks fantastic, and is reminiscent of the torso in the logo.  The matching hem stripes look great, and you manage to avoid yellow on white syndrome.  I think the Pens' gold is dark enough not to fall into that trap.  Final verdict: a great set that I think the Pens could pull off quite well.  9/10 and my COTW NOMINEE!!!!!

Noah B.- Toledo Walleye

Noah's second concept of the day is his design for our Toledo Walleye contest.  I like the look of the full body fish as a main crest, and I'm a huge fan of the use of light blue for the dark set.  I also like the hooks as a shoulder patch, and the font you used for the numbers works well with the Walleye's identity.  I really like how you switched up the collar and striping, even though they are surrounded by the navy in both sets.  While I like the striping, I think the outer lines are a little too thin, as they just seem to get muddled together and it detracts from both.  Final verdict: a good design, but striping needs some work.  8/10

Stealin T.- Deutchland Pinguine

Our final concept of the day is Stealin T.'s mashup of the Pens and team Germany.  The German color scheme lends itself surprisingly well to the template from the Pens' 02-07 uniforms.  The use of the realistic head from the Robopen on the German eagle was clever, but I wish you'd done a better job of lining up the necks properly.  While the numbers themselves don't look bad, they don't work on a yellow jersey.  Final verdict: an okay set, but the yellow numbers kill it.  6/10

That's all for me today, see y'all next week!