Tuesday: Wait, this isn't Ben

Hey internet, you want a peanut? Welcome back to HJC for another Tuesday post. I hope you all had a wonderful and fun Christmas, or Festivus, or whatever you may celebrate, and I hope you're enjoying the break from life that you're likely getting now.

Also, this isn't Ben. You may remember me as HJC's mediocre writer with strange opinions on jerseys (such as the Habs road jersey is better than the home, don't @ me) who still is on podcasts for some reason despite seemingly doing nothing for the blog, but here I am! (fyi, I do a few behind the scenes things that you don't completely know about, including some upcoming things that haven't exactly been released yet, so it's not like I just stick around for the fun stuff while contributing nothing.)

Anyways, now that I've made sure I don't look like a complete a**hole who doesn't contribute to the blog, let's move on to the concepts and stuff.

Don't worry though, I know I haven't written a post in a while but I haven't forgotten about voting. This week though, I don't have too much to talk about. We're taking a break here, and all we have is the COTW vote. Soon, though, will be some more competitions, like the COTY logo, coming up, so you can get a head start on that. Let's see if anyone can dethrone me, or if I'll three-peat just like the Penguins will (jk, unless they pull a 2016 out of their a** they may not even make the playoffs).

COTW Dec 15-21 vote (ends Friday @ noon ET)

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Since I'm on Ben's post today, let's give his letter grading system a try, shall I?

Adam G. - Washington Capitals

+I like the premise of this series, essentially combining the identities of two teams, in this case rivals. Reminds me of the identity swap series I started last summer (and still want to finish...).

+If you were looking to resemble the Pens' 90s jerseys, you did a good job of it that's for sure.

-My main issue lies in that it's a little too close to those jerseys for my liking. This almost just looks like recolored versions of them with Caps logos and typography on them. The better route would have been to use the Caps' striping pattern in this layout.

+I do like the moving of the TV numbers to the shoulders on the home and road though, much less cramped. 

-The numbers look a tad big to me though, and imagine how that'll work for a two-digit number.

-On a similar note to before, I would like to see something different for the alt as opposed to a recolor of the other template. Using a Caps-ified version of the gradient jersey would be quite interesting to see.

Overall: C+

Burkus Circus - Team Canada

+A nice, classic look for the Canadians, eh?

+Much better than this year's Nike monstrosity. Then again, the bar isn't set too high on that one.

+I like the direction you took with the logo.

-I could do with out the Canada script below it, though.

+/- I could also go either way on the number font. I like it in a vacuum, and it even fits here, but it almost feels like a more traditional block font would fit better on a traditional looking design like this.

-The striping pattern looks nice, it's the consistent inconsistency that the Leafs went for in last year's redesign, and this was a better way to handle it than to have the thickness inconsistent.

-The hem stripes come up a bit too high if you ask me, I'd shrink their size down a tad bit and take the arm stripes with it.

-The white jersey looks borderline Red Wings, a strong resemblance but not enough to say it was a direct copy.

-Why, for the love of god, is the collar done as a half collar? Just fill it all in with the contrasting color, maybe just leave the top ring the same color as the jersey.

Overall: B-

T.C. Moore - Atlanta Braves

Disclaimer: I don't know an incredible amount about the identities of MLB teams, so I'll likely be reviewing this without taking that into account much, almost in a vacuum. I'll mention it where I can and see fit, though.

+At first glance, in a vacuum, this looks like a pretty solid look. A good combination of modern and traditional.

+I like the pattern featured in the striping of the primary set.

-If I remember this correctly from when you showed this in the slack chat/if I'm interpreting this correctly, said pattern is supposed to resemble the pattern from the ax in the logo. However, to some degree, the pattern is reminding me of a bridge.

-The pattern in such prominence can also make this a minor league-esque look. If you're going for that, then great, but if not, I'd sublimate it similarly to Carolina.

+The shoulder pattern is a nice touch.

-It also has the potential to be a bit distracting. I think it would also look better if it was more sublimated.

+The alternate looks great. I love the bright colors matched with the white yoke. Good color balance all around.

+It looks like a fauxback too, and you've done it well, because it looks like it could have come straight from the 80s.

+The logo choice is great all around this concept too, on all 3 jerseys.

Overall: A and my COTW nomination

T.C. Moore - Chicago White Socks Sox

+If there was a team that a chest stripe would work perfectly for, it's the White Sox.

-I'd have given the "SOX" text a tad bit more breathing room in that stripe though.

+I like the shoulder patch, though there wasn't much of an option going with this identity as far as I'm aware.

+The color balance is handled well.

-One issue I'm seeing is the numbers on the back look like they're vibrating a bit with the chest stripe. The thing is, I'm not sure what else you could really do to fix this. Maybe just go with a thicker outline on the numbers that matches the jersey color instead of the multitude that you have. It's not that bad of an issue though, so it could slide.

+Despite this, I'm glad that you kept the chest stripe around to the back. One of my biggest pet peeves of modern chest stripe jerseys.

Overall: A-

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And that's all for today! I hope you enjoyed the post, thanks for reading, and chances are I probably won't see you all again next Tuesday, but you know, enjoy Ben.