Friday: Casinos and Canadians

Hey y'all and welcome to another Friday post here at HJC.  Glad to be back in my regular end of the week slot after covering our Sunday post earlier this week.  After game one of the finals, I was really worried that the Golden Knights would gain control over the series from the get-go, but after game two on Wednesday night, the Caps showed that they came to play, and they weren't going to go down without a fight.  Anchoring this win was the stellar performance by Braden Holtby, who late in the game made one of the most impressive saves of recent memory, one that is sure to go down in Washington lore for decades to come, that dashed the last hopes for the Golden Knights of tying the game up.  I can see the potential for this series to be a back-and-forth slugfest that comes down to game 7, and honestly I can't wait to see it go down.  There's nothing better than watching two teams fight it out, driven by the desire to secure their franchise's first Cup win.  

In voting news, we have the regular COTW vote for May 25-31, with polls closing Friday at noon EST.  We are also now accepting entries for the Pairs Competition, so be sure to get your concepts in before June 22nd at noon EDT.  Finally, don't forget that the official HJC Jersey Nerds Podcast debuts every Monday, so be sure to give it a listen and drop any questions you may have in the mailbag at the side of the page.  

 COTW May 18-24 vote (Ends Friday @ noon EDT) 

 Pairs Competiton Entries (due June 22nd @ noon EDT) 

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Now on to today's concepts!

Adam G.- Vegas Golden Knights (MGM Grand)

Our first concept of the day is another VGK casino themed fan jersey, this one for the MGM Grand.  This series has intrigued me, as it's one I never would have thought of.  I really like the arm striping on this one, it really matches the classic look of the MGM Grand at night.  The use of the lion logo as a shoulder patch is great, and matching the font color to it looks great.  My only real issue with this concept, and the series as a whole, is that there was no attempt to recolor the Golden Knights logo to better match the jersey, which I think would make it look a lot better.  While I'm usually a stickler for the inclusion of gear with a concept, since this is a fan jersey not intended for the ice, I'm okay with it.  Final verdict: a good entry in an interesting series, but the crest sticks out like a sore thumb.  7.5/10

Adam G.- Vegas Golden Knights (Mirage)

Next up is another entry in Adam G.'s casino series, this one for the Mirage.  Once again, the striping for this jersey takes its design cues from the actual resort, but I'm not sure it works as well here.  While I like the idea of the chest stripe, it just ends up making the top of the jersey look really bland, especially with the white collar.  I'm not a fan of the script logo as a shoulder patch, it's just a little too sparse to really work.  Final verdict: a decent idea, but not the best entry of this series by far.  6.5/10

Anthony C.- Quebec Nordiques

Our next concept of the day is Anthony C.'s design for the Quebec Nordiques.  While the Nordiques definitely rocked their design during their heyday, it has definitely aged, and this is a great update should Bettman finally fold and allow Quebec another NHL team.  The striping pattern, while simple, is a great update to the uniform, and works really well with the logo.  Preserving the Fleur-de-lis shoulder patch is a great call, especially with its elimination from the hem.  While I'm not usually a big fan of white collars on dark jerseys, I actually think it looks really good here with the light blue.  My only gripe here is the side panel striping.  At first I thought it was just an Adidas tie-in, but then I realized that there were four stripes instead of three.  For the life of me, I can't figure out why you would do that, just continue the hem stripe all the way around.  Final verdict: a great looking set for the Nordiques, but the side panel striping really tears this one down.  8.5/10

Noah B.- Team New Brunswick

Our final concept of the day is Noah B.'s latest entry in his Canadian Provinces series, this time covering New Brunswick.  I love the use of the coat of arms of New Brunswick as the main crest, and you did a great job of incorporating those colors into the color scheme.  The striping works great across the set, and I love that it is consistent across the two jerseys, but gets a distinct look on each.  The contrasting forearms, hem, and yoke look great on the yellow jersey, and I love that you went with a yellow light jersey instead of white.  Gear and presentation look great, my only real note is to maybe add black to the yellow socks so they better match the jersey, and maybe not use red gloves.  Final verdict: another great looking set in a solid series.  9/10 and my COTW NOMINEE!!!!!

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