Friday: Fall in Full Force

Hey y'all, and welcome to another Friday post here at HJC.  Georgia seems to have skipped right over early fall, as I've moved directly from wearing a t-shirt and shorts to wearing a sweatshirt with a jersey over it, skipping over any time that I could wear just a jersey and be okay.  This reminds me of how many times I've been asked how to pick a size when ordering a jersey.  Personally, I go for a size that will fit fine, if a little loose, over a t-shirt and still fit comfortably over a sweatshirt.  I've found that this gives me more flexibility both in how I wear my jerseys and the range of weather in which I can wear one.  Also, when I go to see a game it allows me to keep warm in the arena and still show team pride, which is the best of both worlds.  That's a personal decision, but it's one I will recommend every time to anyone looking into buying a jersey.  If you have any quarrel with my advice, let me know down in the comments.

In voting news, we have the regular COTW vote for October 12-18, with polls closing Friday at noon EDT.  

COTW Oct 12-18 vote (ends Friday @ noon EDT)

Jersey Nerds Podcast (new episode every Tuesday!)

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Now on to today's concepts!

Ben S.- Tucson Roadrunners

Our first concept of the day is a design for the AHL's Tucson Roadrunners, designed by our very own Ben S.  I really like the simple striping pattern combined with a contrasting upper arm on the primary set, it's a really sharp look.  I also really like the use of the light sand color on the dark jersey, it's minimal in the logo, but a lot stronger of a color choice than the darker shade.  My main problem with the primary set is how off the color balance is.  The dark jersey has red as the primary color and light sand as the secondary, but the light jersey uses the red as secondary to the black, and is completely devoid of the light sand.  I understand that making the whole white jersey that beige color might not have worked, but it could have been worked in somewhere, and the red should definitely not be playing second fiddle to the black.  As for the alternate, I'm a sucker for the Coyotes' kachina jersey, and this new kachina pattern looks great as well. The use of all four of the main colors in the pattern is great, and I actually really like the red numbers on the black.  My only real issue with this one is that the main crest is a little big and I think making the outline around it light sand, or eliminating it altogether, would work much better.  Final verdict: a solid alternate, but the awful color balance on the main set kills this one.  7/10

Burkus Circus- Arizona Coyotes vs. Vegas Golden Knights Color Rush

Next up is Burkus Circus with a desert match-up for the latest entry in his NHL Color Rush series.  On the Vegas jersey, Burkus proves that the Golden Knights' logo is just as strong with the elimination of the shield, and I really like the elimination of red given that the shoulder patch is gone.  The striping is done perfectly to break up the light and dark colors, but the yoke stripe being broken up on the back is one of my biggest pet peeves.  Minimal hem stripe actually works pretty well here, and the breezers look great, but I don't like the use of steel grey as the predominant color on the sock.  The Coyotes jersey, however, is where you really lose me.  Color Rush uniforms are supposed to be either bright and vibrant with color or clean and crisp in all white, and the use of sand as the base color just makes this one look really dingy.  The simple, thick, black striping doesn't help the already dull look of the jersey, and the choice of the paw logo, arguably one of their weakest, just doesn't do it as a primary logo.  The shoulder patch, however, is phenomenal, I love the use of the old crescent moon logo and the addition of the AZ text looks great.  Add some color to that and I think you've got a solid start towards another concept.  Final verdict: an okay VGK set, but when facing that Yotes set, it would just be a really dull game to watch.  6/10

Burkus Circus- Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens Color Rush

Our second concept from Burkus Circus today is another Color Rush matchup, this one between the Bruins and the Habs.  This one does a much better job of sticking to the color rush theme, as the bright red and yellow do well to help a color on color match-up.  The Bruins jersey is really simple, with a single white stripe breaking up contrasting cuffs and hem.  Font choice and gear look great, only notes I would say is the usual back yoke striping issue and maybe thicken up the border around the logo to better match the font used for the name and numbers.  The Habs jersey is essentially the same as their current set, but with a blue collar and the hem stripe continuing to the bottom.  The real changes here are in the logo choices, and while I love the usual primary in the arm striping and the 1912 logo, I;m not quite sure it works on the chest here.  It worked well enough on the barber pole jersey, but I think to really work here it needs to be recolored.  Breezers look good, but the sock striping could stand to be moved up.  Final verdict: a much better attempt at color rush, and with a few tweaks it could be really great.  8/10

Daniel A.- New York Islanders

Our final concept of the day is Daniel A.'s design for New York's "also ran" hockey club, the Islanders.  As much as I hate to admit it, I actually really like the Isles' color scheme, blue and orange complement each other really well.  The simple striping here is a solid look, it seems to be somewhat inspired by the late 90's-early 00's white jersey, but without the bottom stripe extending to the cuff.  The blue yoke on the white jersey is a great choice to bring more blue in, and I'm always excited to see an Isles concept that doesn't feel the need to shoehorn in four stripes.  The alternate is an interesting look, I like the full length yoke design and the half arm stripe, but the white stripe by the piping not extending all the way up looks odd, and the use of navy just doesn't work.  As for presentation, I get that using NHL games is an easy way to make an idea a reality, but I really prefer seeing a concept that someone created from scratch rather than using video game templates.  Final verdict: a decent design for the Isles, but the alternate really pulls this one down.  7/10

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