Friday: Basically-Any-Other-Sport-But-Hockey Jersey Concepts

Hey everybody! It is friday again, and I want to get your weekend stated off on the right foot, by passing on some jersey news! It has been a quiet summer on the jersey front, so any news at this point is good news.

Yesterday the AHL's Rochester Americans introduced a new 3rd jersey for the 2012-13 season. This Jersey is a red version of what the Amerks currently, and complete the red, white, and blue sweaters in their uniform set. For more coverage on this, check out this page on the Amerks website.

Photo from www.amerks.com

Before I jump into the concepts, I wanted to pass along an interesting article that I came across this week. This is ESPN's ranking of all 30 current NHL team uniforms. Considering us new bloggers on HJC "auditioned" with a post about our top 5 current sweaters, I thought I would pass along another perspective. 

NHL Uni Watch Power Rankings on espn.go.com

For us as concepts artists, we seem to have a certain aesthetic value which we place on striping and composition of a sweater; but to others this stuff becomes secondary to the logo. For example Pittsburgh's bland Reebok cookie cutter sweaters are ranked seventh because "there's no way to resist a skating penguin," while the Blackhawks uniforms widely regarded as one of the best (if not THE best) uniform sets in the league sits in eleventh place. I would love to hear some discussion on this article here on the site!

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On to the concepts!

Toronto Maple Leafs concept (by Trey P.)

Good Execution here from Trey. The one thing I would change is the TV numbers, they look a bit squished between the striping and the yoke. I Like oversized TV numbers, but if you use them, be careful to leave enough space for them. I really like the idea of using a white-on-white logo with a thick blue outline, it looks stellar (although I probably would have gone with the vintage logo from the current third). I would re-think the striping pattern, do away with the coloured hem and perhaps use the arm stripes from the late 20's/ early 30's. 7/10.

Philadelphia Flyers concept (by Stephen T.)

Stripes galore on this one. Although the  NHL probably would not allow this sweater, because the Flyers would look like a team of refs skating around on the ice, these sweaters give off a cool vintage vibe. I would make a couple changes to this sweater. I like the black name plates, but the lettering should be white, to make the name more readable. Same goes for the numbers, I would go White with orange stitching and a black out like. With the removal of a lot of orange from the back of the sweater, I would make a couple of the white arm stripes (and socks) orange, to add some orange back into the sweater, and make it look less ref-y. 7/10.

Baltimore Ravens concept (by Randall A.)

The NFL season kicked off on Wednesday night, and gets going in earnest this weekend. Randall has sent along a Baltimore Ravens hockey jersey. I Think the ravens have a really unique and menacing colour scheme which fits the culture of the club (I mean who in their right mind would want to go up against that defence). I really like the main crest logo, but am not sold on the purple panels, or the yellow hem stripe. 6/10.

Rollerball movie jersey concept (by Will S.)

As far as I understand it (having never seen the movie) rollerball is a game from a distopian future where sports and warfare have been combined into one. The jerseys from the movie are very plain and look very similar to this. This sweater is a close enough replica to the jerseys worn by rollerball players in  the movie, and would be great for movie buffs keen to collect some merchandise, but as a hockey sweater, it is far too plain for my liking. 4/10.

Atlanta Braves concept (by Matt D.)

One thing I love about baseball (aside from heckling umpires and opposing players) is the tradition of the logos and uniforms, I love how this tradition is carried on in the main crest here. You know you have hit that traditional vein when you can slap a single, ornate capital letter on the front of a sweater and it looks good, and everyone knows what it represents. I like the arm striping on this sweater, it really adds some uniqueness to this MLB series. 7/10


Chicago Cubs concept (by Matt D.)

If you think the NHL suffers from not enough in the way of unique colour palates, you need only look to MLB to realize that maybe this isn't such a bad thing (or at least, we aren't that bad off). Red, white, and blue uniforms scream tradition in baseball, and so do the Cubs. This is a great traditional look for one of the most historic, and loveable teams from the MLB. It sticks to a strong traditional look, and really shows off the Cub's fantastic logos. 8/10.

Dallas Stars concept (by Tyler G.)

A pretty straightforward redesign of the stars uniforms. Good job using the proper logo, and putting the team back in green. I also like the sublimated skyline modification in the logo. Very cool. Nice effort on trying to bring some creativity to a very traditional sweater, but all those sublimated stars go way overboard. The point of sublimation is subtlety (like you did in the logo). Having row upon row of sublimated stars is not subtle, and therefore takes away from the effectiveness of the sublimation technique. I would have gone with the sublimated stars in only the gold stripe. 8/10.

Columbus Blue Jackets concept (by Kyle C.)

I like this concept. I like the placement of the stars on the arm, this looks really natural. I do think that red is too prominent on this sweater. I for one would be really happy if the Jackets chose to use their alternate colour scheme full time, and if this sweater featured double blue, and the cannon logo, it would be the perfect alternate. As is, there is very little to complain about besides my personal preferences. 8/10.

Dallas Stars concept (by Kyle C.)

I really like the angular simplicity of this sweater. This is a unique striping patter, and employs green, which would make this sweater one of the most unique in the NHL if it were in service. This sweater demonstrates that one does not need to go overboard, or stray away from tradition to creat a fresh and unique look. Good job. 8/10.