Tuesday: Kings Are Champs

It's always fun to watch a team win the Stanley Cup.

I really can't remember a team dominating the playoffs like the Kings did this year. I'm sure the Oilers were quite dominant in the 80's, and the Habs in the 70's, but I was born in '83 so don't expect me to remember that. It's also sad once the celebration has gone on for a while. That's when I start to realize that hockey's over until September, on the ice at least. I make sure to watch the broadcast all the way until the end (that's right, I read the credits), just to make sure I get every last drop of hockey I can for the season.

Lets take a look at this year's Championship hat made by New Era. Reebok and New Era alternate every year as the official Cup Champs hat/shirt provider.

Quality hat, I would say. I would also say that it could be better, but it also could be much worse. The logo isn't too busy and it seems to make sense, the way it is constructed. If I had my way I would switch the location of the NHL shield and the "2012". I didn't like that the hat was that shade of grey, but in the end it worked with the Kings' colours. I give this hat an 8/10

Now lets take a look at the locker room shirt.

Bad. They should have gone with the logo version of the Cup instead of an actual photo. I do like how the STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS 2012 is separated by the Cup though. I would change the placement of the logos and I'd add some character to the font used in the banner with the team name. Rating: 5/10

What do you think of this year's hat and shirt? What would you rate each of them?

Also remember that just because the NHL season is done that doesn't mean that HJC stops posting concepts. I continue this blog all through the summer with regular concept and contests!

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Yesterday, I asked for those of you who have a blog to email the link into me. I want to create a post this weekend with a comprehensive list of everyone's blogs. Even if you have emailed in your blog before, do it again so that I can place it on this list. Thanks.

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Committee Members, there are three different votes ongoing that we need your participation in. Take a look at the list below and email your votes in.

COTY-May vote (ends Thursday @ 11:59pm EST)

COTW June 4-10 vote (ends Thursday @ 11:59pm EST)

Super Series Top 5 vote (ends Sunday @ 11:59pm EST)

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The HJC Playoff pool came to an end with the conclusion of the Playoffs. The winner by one point is Caz! Caz narrowly beat out Jets96 in the final round. Caz picked the Kings to win, but he got the series length wrong. That got him two points, which was just enough to beat out Jets96 who properly guessed that the Kings would win in 6. You can go to the PLAYOFFS tab to see the full results. I'll leave the page up for a day or two.

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Michigan Spartans concepts (by Kevin D.)

The green jersey on the top looks quite good. I would like the matching white version, but that green yoke doesn't work for me. The white collar and the different shade of green aren't enough for me to accept that third jersey as an "alternate". In my opinion, it doesn't work being so similar to the first green jersey. 7/10

Detroit Red Wings concept (by Brandon C.)

I think something different with the stripes would have been better. Right now this looks too close to the Wild's 3rd jersey. Good execution though. 6/10

Minnesota Wild concept (by John H.)

It's a good thought here, this has some potential. There are a few obvious execution errors. The biggest one being that the lines a jotting outside of the template. Check out the TUTORIALS link on the side of the page for lots of great tips. 4/10

Dallas Stars concept (by Kirk)

Would the NHL allow guns in a new logo? I like the direction here, but if that green is to be used then I think your jersey stripes need to be much thicker. I think that would help balance the colours. I think it would also help to put stripes on the hem as well. 5/10

Orlando Solar Bears concept (by Mike S.)

This is a nice use of the colours with a black jersey. A few suggestions; I would have the hem stripes match the arm stripes.Then I would place those stripes on the socks to make them look more like hockey socks. Finally, I'd do away with the hem trim if you're going to have hem stripes. 6/10

Chicago Cubs concepts (by Dylan A.)

The road and alternate concepts do a great job of being baseball inspired hockey sweaters! The throwback looks more like a hockey sweater to me, a good looking hockey sweater. Is it a throwback to the colourful MLB of the 70's? I like this idea and the execution of it. 8/10

Carolina Hurricanes concepts (by Jesper)

These are all excellent jerseys, with the home as my favourite. Compared to the current sweaters I think these might have too much black, but on their own they look really good. 8/10

Boston Bruins concept (by Spirit104)

To further enhance the charcoal aspect of this I think the true black needs to be more prevalent. Perhaps a thicker black outline of all the numbers and letters on the jersey. A cool idea would be to use the current yoke style in charcoal and true black. 7/10

Dallas Stars concepts (by Brady)

This is an idea I love! Re-brand the Dallas Stars in an attempt to link them to the Cowboys. Brady describes this as a "partnership" with the Cowboys. Those star jerseys look great in Cowboys' blue and that alternate is quite sharp as well. COTW nom from me. 8/10

Sarnia Sting concepts (by Avi)

Concept artists just keep finding better ways to utilize that old Senators 3rd jersey template. This set looks really cool. Perhaps one way to make it a bit better would be to have more yellow and less black on the white jersey. 8/10

Minnesota Wild concept (by Brandon C.)

I like this and I don't think it even needs those thin stripes underneath the yokes. The Rangers own the drop shadow style numbers, so I would stay away from those. The numbers found on the Wild's road jersey would have been perfect here, in my opinion. 7/10

University of Minnesota concepts (by Kevin D.)

It might just be me, but this jerseys doesn't seem to transfer well to the Nike Swift template. I know the yokes are the same size as usual, but the stripes make them appear larger than normal and they take up too much of the jersey. NOB typically appears on the back yoke on the Nike Swift template. Execution is still quite good though. 7/10