Thursday: Some West Coast Concepts

HJC Open entrants, I'll start taking concepts on Monday. That is when the tournament officially begins. If you didn't make it into the HJC Open, don't worry, you will still be a part of it. We will need those of you in the Voting Committee to vote for the winners each round. Voting will be rather quick too, as it will run from Thursday to Sunday.

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Last night was the NHL Awards and although this post was written before the show took place I'm fairly certain that I would be ashamed of it. As I say every year, stick to a 30-60 minute show. Celebrity presenters are great, but then it should be like the Draft. After they get their award they should be immediately interviewed by a respected hockey media member. They should also be asked HOCKEY questions, not stupid goofy questions. If this did happen, please ignore the ramble.

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Committee Members;

COTW June 11-17 vote (ends FRIDAY @ 11:59pm EST)

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Make sure to come back tomorrow at 4:30pm EST. That's when Friday's post will be up.

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Detroit Red Wings concepts (by Kevin D.)

Seeing Detroit in retro sweaters is always a nice treat and it would be no different here. I like the red numbers on the red jersey, but I think the outline should be thicker for TV and fans at the arena. 7/10

Nashville Predators concept (by Brandon C.)

I really like that Brandon brought back the checkerboard pattern. He's also used it in the player number, which is great. I just think this was another opportunity to do something different with the stripes. The classic stripes are good, but something newer would be better. 7/10

Team Canada concepts (by Bobby P.)

For the first concept I'll let Bobby explain his neat idea. I like these sweaters, but a darker shade of red would be better in my opinion. 7/10

Team Minnesota concepts (by Bobby P.)

Excellent sweaters for a team that represents Minnesota! I love them from top to bottom! 8/10

Anaheim Ducks concepts (by WinnipegJets96)

I like that Jets96 has taken a Reebok cookie cutter jersey and attempted to make it unique. With that template there are so many limitations, so he did a decent job there. I like the "vintage" jerseys, but I think they may be mislabeled. I would say they are "inspired" by the old sweaters. 7/10

Anaheim Ducks concepts (by Ian)

Excellent work on the home and road sweaters. I would be all for it if they looked like that. I think the alternate has suffered now. The cuffs and sides were better when the orange was more prominent. 8/10

Anaheim Ducks concept (by Nevill)

This is really well executed. I'm not a fan of the shoulder yokes though and I think the numbers could just do with an eggplant outline and no green in between. Nice player choice, as Charlie Conway is clearly the greatest Duck of all-time. No Adam Banks for me, thank you very much. 7/10

Brooklyn Knights concepts (by Jesper)

These are well put together, but I'm not a fan of the one sleeve thing. Also, if you're going to do that I think you need to balance it by not having stripes on the other arm. 7/10

Calgary Flames concepts (by Cody)

I really like both jerseys. They are retro inspired, which would be great for the Flames to wear. I don't really care for the font used for the numbers. Also, the logos seem a bit pixelated, only a bit though. 7/10

Mississauga Steelheads concepts (by Thomas H.)

Both jerseys I like very much. The silver trim on the stripes and numbers goes really well with the logo. I think the Canadian maple leaf as a sublimated shoulder patch is a neat idea, but the whole leaf in logos thing is a bit over-done now. I also don't think that the blue jersey needs that white hem. 7/10

Seattle Thunderbirds concepts (by Caz)

As Caz says in his concept, he wanted to give the team a more unique look and get them away from the Hartford Whalers look-alike sweaters they wear now. I really like these especially the change of the green. 9/10

Quebec Nordiques concepts (by Darren)

Home and road concepts are cool, but I think the big star here is that alternate. The fleur de lis going down the front of the chest like a wordmark is excellent! Near perfect execution on that one as well, except for the AHL tag inside the collar and the lack of the NHL shield on the insert. Ah well, COTW nom from me anyways! 9/10

San Jose Sharks concept (by Brandon C.)

This would be a great 3rd jersey for the Sharks. I just don't think that the laces are needed. I would also go with the new logo, but that's personal preference. 8/10

San Jose Sharks concepts (by Kevin D.)

Kevin involves the Sharks in his Showdown Saturday series, as they will represent the Seals. Some of you may think that these teams share the same lineage/history...not true. I believe one of the owners of the Seals was the first owner of the Sharks. Either way, these would be totally acceptable, and awesome, if the Sharks wore them. 8/10