Tuesday: Frightening Things (and Fish)

Hi folks, welcome back to HJC for the Tuesday post. I don't know about your teams, but my Red Wings had a phenomenal draft, making out like bandits. They nabbed the 3rd ranked prospect with the 6th pick, and a mid-teens prospect with pick 30. Each skater had around 1 1/2 points per game in their respective leagues, which is a whole lotta scoring.

Also of news in the draft, the Hurricanes and Coyotes released their thirds jerseys. Arizona will wear theirs every Saturday, while Carolina has already used theirs too much. I hope to do a full review when we see the rest of the thirds, but I'm 50% on board with Adidas so far.

Only one vote this week, so don't gloss it over. We'll also have a new episode of the Jersey Nerds Podcast at some unspecified point of the future.

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

Jersey Nerds Podcast (new episode on Monday!)

HJC Open (coming soon)

Anthony C.- United States Military Academy Black Knights

Anthony sends in a look for the Knights at West Point. The design is fitting for a classic jersey, and in that respect it's fitting for the Knights who've been skating since before WWI. The limited contrast between the black and grey doesn't give the jersey the statement it's looking to make. It feels like it would rather be all black head-to-toe than muddled with minor hue changes. The gold is a much better example of how to achieve this. I'm at a loss to understand why the numbers on the sleeves wouldn't match the solid fill of the numbers on the back. This is especially concerning because having the numbers the same color as the sleeve decreases legibility. On execution, the inside of the collar should match the color behind it.

Grade: D+

Burkus C.- Nashville Predators

Nashville's primary set owns the color yellow in the NHL, so Burkus want to see the Preds branch out with a blue third. This design fits the Adidas aesthetic with its simplicity, and matches the logo perfectly with a blue base with white supporting elements, highlighted with yellow. The only problem I have with this is the striping layout. At the yoke, the lack of space between the stripe and yoke causes the dreaded yellow-on-white syndrome. This creates a similar color contrast issue similar to Anthony's Knights concept above. The same could apply on the numbers as well. On the sleeves and hem where there is a space, the gap simply isn't wide enough to establish enough contrast, although it's certainly better than the yoke. Nashville insistence on an unbalanced shoulders with the single patch is unnecessarily frustrating, especially for the OCD crowd. I would recommend omitting the yellow in the collar. The split in color happens for no apparent reason.

Grade: B

Jay S.- Toledo Walleye

Jay sends a couple of sets for the ECHL's Walleye. The bossman tells me there are more sets to Jay's vision for Toledo in queue, so I won't assume which is primary or alternate, and review them separately. The white jersey doesn't attempt to clutter the gleaming white with too many colors, and the three stripe accents it to give it just enough visual interest. I especially appreciate the light blue over yellow over blue pattern; it's a very balanced look with the darker colors supporting lighter. The logo selection was dead on to match the striping. The only room for improvement I can find is that the gloves and pants are lacking enough colors to match the vibrance of the jerseys.  On execution, as I've mentioned in previous reviews, this isn't my ideal template.

Grade: B+

Jay drops the light blue for this dark set. The classic design fits the simplified theme in a pattern the Hanson brothers would approve. Swapping out the crest logo was also the right move. The yoke and numbers suffer similar issues as Burkus's Preds above. Much of the previous review applies here as well.

Grade: B

Jordan R.- Dearborn Devils

Our last concept of the day comes courtesy of Jordan, continuing his Michigan league series. The custom logo was recycled from his New Jersey competition entry, but was well drawn to show great depth and emotion. The striping is mostly consistent throughout the entire set, which always makes for a better design. The omission of black on the white jersey was a mistake, since the logo, pants, and even the gloves keep their design from the green jersey. A minor detail that adds a lot to this design is the rounded yoke; this keeps the colors in line in their order, rather than what we usually see, which is the yoke stopping abruptly at the sleeve stitching. The color balancing was done well, however, the red pants create an awkward balance. 

Grade: B

My Concept of the Week nomination goes to Jay's White Toledo Walleye set. That's it for this week. Enjoy the watch for the rest of Adidas's third, and keep your stick on the ice.