Tuesday: Mardi Gras

Welcome to HJC for a special Fat Tuesday edition! To celebrate, I've looked around the NHL for the best treats the league has to offer. These looked the most appetizing to me:


Fried Chicken Poutine (St. Louis Blues)

Source: USA Today

What better place for a hockey fan to indulge on Mardi Gras than the city named for a French king? North and South collide in this dish of fried chicken, tots, cheese curds, and gravy.

Cotton Candy Waffle Cone (Buffalo Sabres)

Source: USA Today

Defying at least 7 Laws of the Physics, the Sabres have somehow found a way to turn cotton candy into a waffle cone. Genius.

Lobster Roll (Boston Bruins)

Source: TD Garden

Seafood? I'm shipping out to Boston for this lobster.

BBQ Brisket Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Colorado Avalanche)

Source: Twitter

Meat? Good start. Add sauce? Of course. Smother between grilled cheese? Oh yeah. Drop the puck and we have perfection.

Philly Cheesesteak (Philadelphia Flyers)

Source: The Unmanly Chef

Cheesesteak is to Philadelphia what ice is to hockey. This sandwich is such so Philly, it makes me want to declare independence, fight Apollo Creed, climb up light poles, and whatever else Philadelphians do.

Before you enjoy today's concepts and your Mardi Gras festivities, take a minute to vote in our weekly competitions. This week features a Concept of the Month vote and Week 2 of The Season in addition to the omnipresent Concept of the Week.

COTW-January vote (ends Friday @ noon ET)

COTW Feb 2-8 vote (ends Friday @ noon ET)

The Season Week 2 votes (ends Friday @ noon ET)

Avi S.- Chicago Blackhawks

Avi touches an untouchable for today's first concept, deciding to tinker with greatness rather than cast it aside. I can't say I'm a fan of moving the shoulder patch down to the elbow; now the shoulder is too bare. The striping fixes the inconsistencies, from the current set, as it's a recoloring between home and away. It also intelligently retains the theme of the current set. The simplification gives it a more modern vibe, putting it at odds the logo. It's a bold move to upgrade from the pinnacle of the jersey world, but I would prefer the Hawks as they are.

Grade: C

Chris W.- Broward Seahawks

Next up, Chris submits a design for Broward College in Florida. Too bad the school doesn't play hockey, because this is a fine set to take the ice with. The logo makes a great hockey crest, while the diagonal text is classic. I can't say I'm a fan of the color choice however. Text shoulder patches have never sat well with me since only one can face forward. The full-body seahawk may be too small to see from a distance, and for the same reason I'm against having smaller wordmarks on the socks and pants. The school's colors are a tough set to make work, since the grey almost bleeds into both the blue and white. The larger blocks of color in the yoke and hem to the trick, but the thinner lines inside look lost, especially on the pants where the scale is smaller.

Grade: B-

FC Macbeth- Team Sweden

FC is in the Olympic spirit with this set for Team Sweden. Sweden was the lone half-decent jersey from Nike, in my opinion, largely for not pulling anything out of left field, which is where this concept falls short. The vertical stripes down the front, combined with an oversized crest logo, is too much to look at. The pants and the socks are just tame enough to work, but the jersey needs help. As with Chris's concept above, I feel that the roundel logo would be illegible from a distance on the shoulders and pants; the elements within are just too small to see anything other than the circle. Consistency between the fonts from the front to the back would be beneficial, as would a non-angled pattern on the gloves.

Grade: D+

Noah K.- Boston Crusaders

Noah's Drum Core International set for the Boston Crusaders ends today's concepts. In previous concepts Noah has submitted, I've criticized his direct approach from putting a band uniform design straight onto a hockey template, and today is much closer to what I've advocated for: taking the theme, and applying it to the hockey template. The Crusaders' emblem was wisely applied to the crest to sell the look for hockey. Meanwhile, the stitching and "fit" of the band uniform has been removed. I do wish the black, thin stripes from the front were somehow brought over, too. The cuffs work just as well for hockey, so that element makes logical sense to copy. The pants would have benefited from a white stripe to match the hem design of the red sweater. The thicker portion of the collar being white would have helped in that regard; see the red collar on the white jersey.

Grade: C-

That's all the fun I have planned for today. Don't get too crazy tonight with your festivities- take the advise of the wise, Canadian philosopher Red Green: keep your stick on the ice.