Friday: A Flames Farewell

Hey y'all, and welcome to another Friday post here at HJC.  Well, it's happened again.  Another aging superstar from my childhood has decided to hang up the skates for the last time.  Jarome Iginla has decided to retire, according to reports from multiple news sources, with an official announcement coming on the 30th at an event in Calgary.  Growing up, Iginlawas always an exciting player to watch, and was, to me at least, the only reason to really pay attention to the Flames.  He captained them for ten years, including a run to the Cup Finals in 2004, where they fell to the Lightning.  A King Clancy and Ted Lindsay Award winner, Iginla was respected by the media and his fellow players alike, not only for his production, but for his leadership as well.  Beyond his staggering career stats, ranking thirteenth in games played and tied with Joe Sakic at fifteenth in goals scored, Iginla was a constant presence in the Flames' locker room and served as both a mentor to the younger players and the face of the franchise.  I've heard many people question why he's holding a press conference in Calgary when we all already know that he's retiring, but I think it's beyond just pomp and circumstance.  Iginla played 16 of his 20 seasons in Calgary, serving as captain for a decade, and racking up almost all of the franchise records during his tenure there.  Beyond that, he was the face of hockey in Calgary for all that time, and he formed an ethereal bond with that city and its fans that a simple trade couldn't unravel.  To me, this press conference makes perfect sense.  It's not just a retirement announcement, it's a homecoming.  

In voting news, we have the regular COTW vote for July 20-26 with polls closing Friday at noon EDT.  In contest news, I am excited to announce the winners of the HJC Open Round Robin, who will now advance to the bracketed round.  The advancing participants are Avi S., Brendan P., Brooks F., Chris W., Dan H., Jeff T., John E., and Lucas D.  Congratulations gentlemen, and be sure to get your entry in for the next round by Monday at noon EDT.  For a full schedule of the tournament, be sure to check it out at the bottom of the contest page.

 COTW July 20-26 vote (ends Friday @ noon EDT) 

 HJC Open First Round (entries due Monday @ noon EDT) 

 HJC Open First Round vote (ends Friday @ noon EDT) 

 Jersey Nerds Podcast (new episode every Monday!) 

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Now on to today's concepts!

Adam G.- New York Rangers

Our first concept of the day is Adam G.'s design for my beloved New York Rangers.  Fans of the site will know that I'm usually a stickler about designs for my beloved Blueshirts, as I'm a firm believer in if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  I like the simplified cross-chest text reminiscent of the Winter Classic jerseys, it gives a nice nod to the Rangers' history.  Simplifying the number font by losing the drop shadow is a good choice to better match the logo.  I like the striping pattern, but I wish you'd worked red into it rather than just relegating it to the hem and sleeve ends.  I'm not a fan of the cropped logo on the shoulders, the elimination of the white and red makes it look really boring and almost useless on the blue yoke.  I also hate that you fell for the cardinal sin of the Adizero template, the split collar.  It's a terrible design trend that I wish would just go away.  Finally, I'm a little confused as to what overall purpose this jersey would serve, as I don't see it replacing the current away set and I also don't see the Rangers adopting a white alternate.  Final verdict: an interesting thought, but nothing I'd want to see on the ice.  7/10

Brendan P.- Colorado Rockies

Next up is friend of the show and perpetual fence sitter BPoe, with the latest entry in his Comic Sans series.  I must say, I've known about this project for a while and I couldn't wait to see the final product of recreating NHL Logos with the most maligned font in existence.  The original Rockies logo was such a great design that tied in with the state's identity perfectly, but the inclusion of comic sans offers a certain amount of whimsy to the design.  This is one of the logos that I think better lends itself to this project, and I think BPoe did a good job with it.  Following Phil's lead, I will not be giving a ranking to these designs, as they're mainly just small tweaks to existing logos.  

Brendan P.- New Jersey Devils

BPoe now moves on to the Rockies' current iteration, the New Jersey Devils.  Once again, this is a text-heavy logo, so the project works fairly well for this design.  The rounded nature of this font nullifies the sharp edges of the Devils' logo, taking a strong, fierce design and making it almost cartoonish.  Even so, it is still clearly the Devils' logo, and as such makes this a great entry in this series.

Don W.- Central Illinois Flying Aces

Our final concept of the day is Don W.'s dsign for the Central Illinois Flying Aces of the USHL.  Right off the bat, I have to say that I love this identity, it's much better than their previous iteration as the Bloomington Thunder.  Regular readers will know that most of us here at HJC are suckers for a color scheme with double blue, and I am no exception.  The color layout on this jersey is intriguing, keeping the red on the yoke and in the logo and using the dark blue in the striping.  It's something I haven't really seen before, but I actually really like how it's used here.  I really like the angled arm striping, it fits in really well with the military identity, as does the patch on the upper arm.  The script logo as the main crest works for a USHL team, as it's a classic juniors design.  I'm not sure about the font for the name and numbers, I probably would have gone with a more standard block font to match the "Central Illinois" in the logo.  My main issue with this set is that there are three different striping patterns between the yoke, the arms and hem, and the socks.  While I like them all individually, it's just a little overwhelming to have all of those on one design.  Final verdict: a very unorthodox yet classic looking design, but I'll be darned if I don't like it.  8.5/10 and my COTW NOMINEE!!!!!

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