Friday: I Voted for Wild Blueberries

Hey y'all, and welcome to another Friday post here at HJC.  In hockey design news, the ECHL's newest team, the Maine Mariners, debuted their new logo on Wednesday via their Twitter feed.

Twitter

I definitely like the use of the trident, it fits with the Mariners identity and it's a clever way to form the "ME" state abbreviation for Maine.  That being said, I think it would work better as a secondary logo, as it's a little to horizontal to work as a primary crest for  hockey.  It's really difficult to make a logo in landscape format work without looking too small or too big, and it becomes almost cumbersome on the jersey during play.  While it's not the worst logo in ECHL history, it's definitely not the strongest, and I think it won't be too long until we see another design replace this one.  

In voting news, we have the regular Concept of the Week vote for November 24-30, with the polls closing on Friday at noon EST.  I'm also excited to announce our next contest, the New Jersey Devils ReDesign Competition.  This is one of the teams that I felt got really shafted with the switch to the adizero system, so I'm looking forward to seeing how y'all improve upon the current design and right this horrible wrong.  Rules are the same as our other ReDesign competitions, and all entries are due Friday, December 15 at noon EST.

COTW NOV 24-23 Vote (Ends Friday @ noon EST)

NJD ReDesign Competition (due Dec 15 @ noon EST) 

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Now on to today's concepts!

Avi S.- Buffalo Sabres

Our first concept of the day comes to us from Avi S., who has designed a new set for the Buffalo Sabres.  Right off the bat, I love the return to royal blue and the elimination of silver from the color scheme, it was an unnecessary and unwelcome addition that I will be glad to see removed.  The striping pattern seems to be taken from the socks that the Sabres wore at home from '78-'80, and it looks good across the set.  The yellow piping around the yoke on the away jersey is a nice touch, and I love the use of the Winter Classic logo as the shoulder patch on a primary set.  It's a great logo that I hope sticks around for good.  While I do like the yellow numbers that the Sabres have always used on their blue jerseys, the use of white here was a good call, as it helps bring more balance to the set.  I am not, however, a fan of the contrasting nameplate.  A blue nameplate with white lettering would work just fine here.  While the collar on the away jersey isn't that bad, the one on the blue jersey is a prime example of where the adizero system goes wrong.  Just make the collar yellow all the way around.  While I know that the non-matching striping on the breezers is true to Buffalo's uniform history, it's always bugged me and I wish you had found a way to fix it.  Final verdict: a good looking set and definite improvement over the Sabres' current look, there's some little details that hold this one back.  8/10

Cole W.- Prince George Cougars

Next up is Cole W. with a design for the Prince George Cougars of the WHL.  The Cougars' current design is just awful, so I'm glad to see that you decided to go in a completely different direction with this concept.  I like the full length yoke, as well as the fact that it's red on both sets.  Striping pattern looks good on the home whites, but I have a bit of a problem with it on the away.  Until I zoomed in, I had no idea that there was silver in the striping on the away set, the silver and white are too close in shading and would blend together if seen from a distance, especially with players moving around on the ice.  I probably would have eliminated the wordmark and made the logo a little bigger on the chest, if only to keep it from looking so amateur.  Finally, the black is a little too minimal on the home for being so dominant on the away, it really throws off the color balance.  Final verdict: not bad, but a few key errors kind of kill this design for me.  7/10

Nick B.- Detroit Red Wings

Our next concept is Nick B.'s design for what I assume is an alternate for the Detroit Red Wings.  This design seems to be inspired by the '27-'28 Detroit Cougars sweaters, but takes it in a more modern direction.  I love the arm striping, as well as taking the top stripe all the way up to the shoulder, turning it into a contrasting upper arm.  I also like the use of the one main chest stripe while moving the excess stripes down to form a hem stripe, it's a good way to modernize the look and keep it from being too busy.  Name, numbers, and gear all look good.  Final verdict: a great adaptation of a historic uniform, and a solid third option for the Red Wings.  9/10

Noah B.- Western Bulldogs

Next up is Noah B. with the latest addition to his AFL series, this time with a design for the Western Bulldogs.  Noah does a great job here of staying true to the team's identity, but instead of going for the obvious choice of a chest stripe decides to incorporate it into a more traditional striping pattern, and I think that pays off.  The striping looks great and matches the logo perfectly, and the contrasting upper arm on the white jersey does a great job of keeping it from looking too bland.  Collars look great, and the simple name and number font were a good choice.  I like the red breezers, but I wish this template gave me a better look at the striping so I could get a better idea of how you bring the colors into it.  Final verdict: another great entry in a great series, and the only thing I can fault you for is a template problem.  9.5/10 and my COTW nominee!!!!!

Stéphane S.- NHL 100 Classic

Our final entry of the day is Stéphane S.'s design for the NHL 100 classic.  The Habs jersey is essentially unchanged except for a slight change to the hem stripe, some red in the collar, and a red nameplate with shiny lettering.  While I do like the addition of red to the collar, the other changes are a downgrade for me.  The Sens jersey is also mostly unchanged, save for the addition of a white yoke and a hem stripe that makes this better match their old alternate jersey.  I do like the addition of the hem stripe, I always think jerseys look to bare without one, but the yoke seems unnecessary to me.  FAs for presentation, the 3D gear with a 2D template looks odd to me, and having items overlap makes it look too crowded in some places and too bare in others.  Final verdict: not enough improvement, some downgrades, and confusing presentation.  6.5/10

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