Friday: Deja Vu All Over Again

Hey y'all, and welcome to another Friday post here at HJC.  The biggest news this week is that the Oilers have announced a special jersey that they will wear four times this season against former Smythe Division opponents.  To commemorate the special occasion the Oilers are throwing it back all the way to... two seasons ago.

HJC

That's... just super.  Honestly, the fact that they're using a "throwback" to a jersey that was their home two years ago is laughable to me.  I get that they're also throwing back to the wonder years of the team, but they wore these jerseys at home for the past decade, and we are only one season removed from seeing them full time.  The best part about this reveal to me is that every comment I see about this announcement is fans clamoring for this to be the full time home again.  While I agree that this is a superior jersey to their current homes, I just can't help but feel that the fierce allegiance toward this design is rooted in Edmonton fans' nostalgia for a time when they had some relevance, while the current design is associated with astounding promise followed by a miserable collapse.

In voting news, we have the regular COTW vote for August 31- September 6, as well as the COTW August vote, with both polls closing Friday at noon EDT. 

 COTW Vote Aug 31-Sep 6 (ends Friday @ noon EDT) 

 COTW August Vote (ends Friday @ noon EDT) 

 New Podcast every Monday! 

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Now on to today's concepts!

Ben S.- Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Our first concept of the day comes to us from our very own Ben S., who has here created a design for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  The logo treatment here is done really well, the silver in the logo is awkward to work with, but Ben pulls it off here.  The arm striping gives it a bit of a barber pole feel on the dark jersey, and making the design a full length yoke on the light jersey is an interesting idea.  I think the light jersey pulls off this look well, and the colored name bar actually looks pretty good, but I'm not sold on the dark jersey.  With the lack of white, it just doesn't really work for me.  As for the away, I like the choice of an orange jersey, and the overall design is solid, but the angled hem stripe doesn't do it for me.  While it does somewhat match the logo, none of the other striping is angled, which makes it just seem out of place.  Final verdict: a decent white jersey, and a good attempt on the alt, but the home drags this one down.  7/10

John E.- London Knights

Next up is John E. with a design for the London Knights of the OHL.  I really like the simple striping on this design, and the consistency between the two jerseys looks really good.  I like the full-length yoke design on the white jersey that really ties it in to the dark jersey, and the hem treatment is great.  The main crest looks great, but John seems to have used the early 2000s alternate logo as a shoulder patch instead of the current one that better matches the new identity.  Gear looks good, but I wish the breezer striping matched the jersey, and the numbers on the back of the dark jersey are way too close together.  Final verdict: a good update for the Knights, but a few execution errors keep this from being a real gem.  8.5/10 and my COTW NOMINEE!!!!!

Jordan R.- LRK Siauliu Sunys

Our final concept of the day is the latest entry in Jordan R.'s Lithuanian Hockey League series, this one for the LRK Siauliu Sunys.  I really like that Jordan worked in the city's identity, it shows a real dedication to this project.  The logos look great, and I love the color scheme.  The gradient color blocking gives off the look of a sunset, which ties in to the name beautifully.  While I love the design, I can't help feeling like I've seen it done already.  Final verdict: it looks great, but it's incredibly derivative. 7/10

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