Tuesday: Two For Toledo

Hi folks, welcome back to another Tuesday post. No big jersey news, so since I'm still one of the new guys around here, I thought I'd break down my grading scale for the blog. Unlike our other writers, I prefer to use letter grades.

F: This is reserved for concepts that don't meet basic criteria, specifically our logo policy, or if there's no artistic merit to the concept whatsoever.

D: If a concept that has met all the basics, but fails artistically, it winds up here.

C: This is for the average concepts that are ok or decent, but just don't match up to the better concepts of HJC.

B: Concepts that aren't spectacular, but deserve recognition as great designs.

A: Concepts that excel. These are the ones getting my vote for COTM and COTY.

A+: I'm reserving this honor to the best jerseys or concept I've ever seen. Currently, this title is held by the Mighty Duck of Anaheim's originally threads, and I would love to see someone on this blog dethrone it.


Next, let's take a look at voting for the AIHL competition. This was a pretty challenging one, as it's hard to design for a team you have little background with. Make sure you vote on this one to reward the designer who took the challenge and made the most of it, in your opinion. We also have a quarterly vote, as well as the usual COTW vote.

3rd Quarter Vote (ends Friday @ noon ET)

COTW Oct 6-12 vote (ends Friday @ noon ET)

AIHL ReDesign Vote (ends Friday @ noon ET)

Now, let's get on with the concepts!

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Adam G.- Toledo Walleye

Adam starts us off with our first Walleye concept of the day. Right away, I appreciate how much consistency is in this concept. The thin, double stripes throughout the design tie it all together. The one area this isn't working, however, is the numbers; the double outline here needs to be thinker. I like the logo choices for all three, and I especially like how the shoulder patch on the home and away are oversized, making the text and detail more legible. I can see you thought outside the box and designed a unique collar, but it's just not working here; there's absolutely no reason to break it like that on the home and away. The biggest issue this concept faces is the color balance. While it's excellent on the home, it's weak on the away, and miserable on the alternate. The contrast between the light and dark blues isn't suitable, as it blends more than it breaks.

Grade: B-, with extra credit: my COTW nomination

 Chris W.- Mount Royal University Cougars

Next, we head to the campus quad in Calgary for this cawlidge concept from Chris. As much as I appreciate the effort into creating a logo, it's just not working here. It's on par with a clip art logo that every other high school with a cat would use. And as someone who can't stand to see generic logos, Mount Royal's primary couldn't be much worse. Show me what makes Mount Royal great apart from any other school in North America. Aside from the logos, the striping pattern on the home and road are fitting, and the bold, serif font was a great choice to compliment. While I usually don't like blank pants, I see it working here as they fit a more minimalistic and dark blue-heavy design. The alternate jersey may have worked for the Flames, but it's problematic for Mount Royal. The chevron pattern feels out of place here. The softer, curved lines of the logo aren't matching the hard, angled pattern. In addition, the light blue against the white isn't very strong. The grey lines on all three are practically invisible.

Grade: C+

 Jets96- Johnstown Chiefs

Jets takes us down Memory Lane to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, for the Chiefs of the ECHL, before they moved to Greenville. The color and stripes here work great. The yellow to black contrast with a red accent in bold stripes was the right way to execute this color scheme. What's lacking on the pants to tie the look together is some kind of white element. Without it, the pants come off too dark and look like they don't belong. Much like Adam G's concept above, the number outlines demand to be thicker. Speaking of outlines, the primary logo on the dark jersey could use a white outline to prevent the tomahawk from camouflaging itself into obscurity. Execution wise, the numbers on the back are too big. Also, while the originality of a special patch for captains is interesting, I don't see any practically in it. Put yourself in a ref's skates and imagine how confusing it would be if the captain for that one team has a complete different patch than every other team you officiate.

Grade: C

 Phil B.- Toledo Walleye

For our last concept of the day, Phil takes us back to the Glass City. The stripes here come across as uninteresting. It's a block down the arm with a tiny cut inside. That cut, while stylistically appropriate, doesn't create any shape that could associate with a fish. In fact, the very bottom part looks more like a bad moustache. The stripes on the hem and socks feel completely foreign as they don't even remotely match any other striping pattern's thickness. A redeeming factor here are the logos. The fish across the T on the front is a great way to bring both the city and mascot in attention. I've always like the W comprised of fish hooks, and it works excellently as a shoulder patch. The fins over the numbers would have been best omitted, as the shoulders get too cluttered with them. The font is wholly fitting and helps bring the theme across. The blank pants aren't appropriate here, especially with the dark blue jersey; the whole player would be in dark blue, with the arms obnoxiously sticking out in highlighter blue.

Grade: C-

That's all I have for today. Have a great rest of your week, and keep your stick on the ice.