Friday: Stockholm Showdown

Hey y'all and welcome to another Friday post here at HJC.  Today marks the first of two games in Stockholm, Sweden between the Avalanche and the Senators as a part of the NHL Global Series.  

NHL.com

Personally, I love the idea of bringing games to other countries to expand the sport of hockey.  I'm especially excited for this series, if only to see the number of Duchene Avs jerseys in the audience and the conflicted fans wearing them.  Duchene's mid-game trade this past week had him shipping off from Colorado to Ottawa, but luckily for his travel agent, it still means he'll be in Stockholm this weekend.  I can't think of a better stage on which one could face their old team than at a neutral site game in another country.  This series is really going to be one to keep an eye on, if only to see the next chapter of the Duchene saga unfold.

In voting news, we have the regular COTW vote for November 3-9 as well as the COTW October vote, both of which end Friday at noon EST.  I'm also excited to announce our next contest: the Islanders ReDesign Competition! Same rules as the Kings comp, all entries should have at minimum a home and away jersey along with the accompanying gear.  Beyond that, y'all have free rein to do what you like, as long as it looks good.  Entries are due November 24 at noon EST, so get thinking about what kind of design you want to make. 

 COTW Nov 3-9 vote (ends Friday @ noon EST) 

COTW October vote (ends Friday @ noon EST)

 NY Islanders ReDesign Competition (Due November 24 @ noon EST)

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Now on to today's concepts!

Adam G.- Pittsburgh Penguins

Our first concept of the day is Adam G.'s design for the Pittsburgh Penguins.  I know it's a bit of a controversial statement to make, but I personally love the much-maligned RoboPen logo.  I think part of the reason people hate it so much is that the Pens already had such an iconic logo, so it's not an issue of a bad logo, just different.  I like the striping pattern, it's reminiscent of the wings in the logo while still looking good in its own right.  The gear works really well with the set, so good work there.  I like the incorporation of silver, but I think it might be a little too much on the jersey considering how minimal it is in the logo.  The single stripe on the yoke doesn't look bad, but it's odd that it's so different than the rest of the striping.  I also am not a fan of the phantom yoke on the black jersey.  In terms of execution errors, the helmet logos are missing and there are a ton of loose pixels around the logo on the white jersey.  Final verdict: a decent design, but some design choices and execution errors really hold it back.  6.5/10

Cole W.- Kootenay Ice

Our next concept is Cole W.'s design for the Kootenay Ice of the WHL.  I love the Ice's new logo, it looks a lot less cartoonish than their previous logo, and the neck reading "ICE" is genius logo design.  I've never been a huge fan of the Kings' template, but I think it works here because of the introduction of color into the design.  Gear all looks good, and nice attention to detail putting the WHL logo in the collar insert.  I'm not a fan of the collar design, that's one of the things I really dislike about the adizero template.  The numbers work well on the white, but I think you need either a thicker blue outline or a black outline between the white and the blue on the black jersey.  Finally, I think a shoulder patch would help this design out a lot, especially since the Ice's new alternate logo works so well as a patch.  Final verdict: a good design that could become great with a few minor tweaks.  8/10

Noah B.- Geelong Cats

Our final concept of the day comes from Noah B., who brings the Geelong Cats of the Australian Football League from the grass to the ice.  Right off the bat, Noah does a great job of preserving the color scheme of the Cats, as well as creating a striping pattern that matches the logo fantastically.  The gear looks great, and the full body cat makes a great shoulder patch.  Honestly, I can't find anything I dislike about this design.  Final verdict: a fantastic design that makes me wish this was an actual hockey team.  9.5/10 and my COTW NOMINEE!!!!!

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