Saturday: Onward to Sochi!

You'll have to excuse the lack of a significant discussion about the recent national team jersey unveilings here. There's a good reason for that: I always write this part of the post last and I'm finishing this up late at night. This post will go onto the blog 90 minutes before I get off of work. I will add in a discussion of the jerseys after I get home. Ahem. As it pertains to the new US jerseys, I have to say that I like them. They're certainly different from what we've come to expect from Nike's offerings from the US in the past. Nike has always gone in a somewhat modern direction for the US with some exceptions and it's nice to see them give the US an older fauxback-ish look. I have to say that I'm not a fan of the fake tie-down collar, since the transparent flywire doesn't look good on a hockey jersey. It doesn't look good on a football jersey either. It just doesn't look good period. Also, the barely-visible stars on the yoke aren't good either. If you're going to have stars on a blue background on a US jersey, it's almost a given that they have to be white. Come on! All that being said, though, I like the jerseys quite a bit. I especially like the crest. With the IOC rules prohibiting the use of national federation logos, I was expecting the return of the simple block USA we saw in Vancouver, but they decided to go with an old-school crest instead and it looks great. It brings to mind the crest on the US soccer national teams' centennial kits and those look great too. All in all, I think the jerseys are both going to look good on the ice and they're going to look even better with a gold medal hanging around our players' necks.

You hear that, Ryan? That gold medal is ours this time! OURS! We will have our revenge!

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Toronto Marlies (by Andrew)

Ah, the Marlies. Unique amongst AHL teams for being the only team to be located in the same city as their parent team. Some come close, but none as close as the Marlies. While I definitely prefer the Marlies' proper logo to the Duke of Marlborough's crown logo, this look works well. It's not too close to the Leafs' look, which helps. There are some teams that look good looking like their parent clubs but in my opinion, the Marlies should stand on their own aesthetically. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.

Tampa Bay Lightning (by Brent)

Now this one is interesting. Brent's gone in a conservative-but-not-conservative-in-the-way-they're-currently-conservative direction for the Lightning. This gets a big point from me for not being a Maple Leafs ripoff like the Lightning's current look, since Steve Yzerman is obsessed with playing Original Six dress-up. It's an unusual look for an NHL team since the wordmark-only look isn't too common in the pros and is more along the lines of a college look. It works here, though. One minor critique: there are no sleeve numbers on either jersey. That's just a minor oversight. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.

San Jose Sharks (by Brian)

This an improvement over what the Sharks did for one big reason: the hem stripe. Quite frankly, the Sharks look like crap for having removed the hem stripes from their jerseys. I still don't like the single orange stripe per overall stripe but adding back the hem stripe makes this better. Overall, I'll give it an 8.5/10.

Kent State Golden Flashes (by Dylan W.)

Ah, I love seeing college concepts. I also love when concept creators remember to put the white jersey first, since the NCAA rules state that the home team wears white. It's the little things that count. This look is quite appropriate for a team whose mascot happens to be some strange eagle/lightning hybrid, and it's exactly the kind of unusual modern design you'd expect from a school that isn't an NCAA powerhouse - though Kent State, like my alma mater Arizona, plays club hockey in the ACHA. I'd say the only problem with this one is the wordmark. It's so small that it's almost unnecessary. I'd remove it. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.

Hamilton Tigers (by Stephen)

Ah, the Tigers. A team for which the barberpole look is particularly appropriate. If the team was revived in the modern day, it's not unreasonable to think they'd be wearing something like this. Issues about another NHL team probably not working right in the Leafs' backyard aside, I really like this concept because the striping is so right for this team. My only issue lays with the tie-down collar, and I have the same issue with the Senators' current alternate: the Tigers (and the old Senators) never wore a tie-down collar. A standard collar would look better, in my opinion. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.

Ottawa Senators (by Steven)

Speaking of barberpoles... Steven continues his de-Edge series by taking on the Leafs' Ontario neighbors. I really like the moderate barberpole design here since it harkens back to the old Senators while also tying into some of the Senators' past designs before they got that Edge mess they currently wear. My personal preference for the 3D centurion logo aside, this is a good look. I like that the Peace Tower logo was brought back as the shoulder patch. Overall, I'll give it an 8.5/10.

Ottawa Nationals (by Ted)

And we close today with Ottawa's other other top-level pro team, the short-lived Ottawa Nationals, who provided Ottawa with a brief respite from not having a pro team during the long hiatus between the old Senators and the new Senators. Regrettably, they lasted only one season. Ted's concept imagines if the WHA had survived to this day and adopted the Reebok Edge jerseys, which I imagine they would have. Either that, or Nike would have gotten the exclusive contract, what with being a Reebok competitor and all that. This one's good since it's an improvement over what the Nationals actually wore. No complaints. Overall, I'll give it a 9/10 and a COTW nomination.