Saturday: What were you thinking, San Jose? Oh, and there are some concepts too.

So, we come to another Saturday and we have yet another NHL uniform unveiling to cover. I, for one, am not too keen on the Sharks' redesign. There are some changes they could have made but didn't, and the changes they did make were the wrong ones to make. For one, eliminating half of the orange still leaves half of a problem on the jersey. The only orange should be in the logos. Either get rid of those stripes or replace them with silver. As far as I'm concerned, the Sharks don't need a color in their color scheme other than teal, black and silver. Also, the removal of the hem stripes looks absolutely ridiculous. You know that I'm not a fan of hem stripe-less jerseys and here's a good example of why I don't like them. Also, the team's excuse about the hem stripes being removed to make the jerseys lighter is an absolutely ridiculous excuse. That's not how a jersey is made. The stripes aren't sewn on top of the jersey material. They are part of the jersey itself. There's no weight difference if you remove the hem stripes. The same goes for the yoke. No difference. Finally, the front numbers remain, which is always a bad choice. That being said, there is some good. I don't dislike the addition of the tie-down collars, and I'm glad that the rumors about the Sharks switching to their black jerseys full-time turned out to be untrue. Teal or bust.

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Hawthorne Force entries

Caden

Antonio

Austin

Brady

Matt

J3 Hockey

Concepts

HC Dynamo Moscow (by Caden)

I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) this is Caden's first submission to HJC and while it's clear that there is a need for improvement, there is also room for improvement. I think it's pretty ambitious to try a European team since their jerseys are often more complex than NHL jerseys. I admire the effort and if you work on cleaning up your technique, which is a simple matter of studying a lot of the work on here, you'll be making top-quality concepts in no time. Keep at it. I won't give this one a rating since it wouldn't be fair to judge someone's first try. Just know that practice makes perfect.

UPDATE: Upon further review, this is not Caden's first concept. That being said, my comments above still apply. Keep working at it and you will improve.

SECOND UPDATE: Upon further review of Caden's submission to the Hawthorne Force contest, it's clear that he's already improved. Keep it up, Caden.

St. Louis Blues (by Scott)

With the news earlier today that the Blues will be following the Predators' example and altering their ticket policy to unfairly target Blackhawks fans, my opinions of the club in St. Louis have soured considerably. That being said, this concept is gorgeous. I like what Scott has done to maintain a good part of what their look currently is while getting rid of the Bettman Apron. This needs to happen ASAP. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (by Stephen)

Stephen's concept is a simple recolor of the Ducks' current uniforms to the Mighty Ducks' colors. I really wish the Ducks would consider this look for a fauxback, even if just for one game because the combination looks great. Sure, I'd prefer a true throwback with the straight lines instead of the curved lines but this look isn't bad by any means. Despite the fact that the Mighty Ducks wore jade-on-top socks, I would switch the colors on the dark socks. IMHO, there's only one look where the sock color not matching the jersey color looks good, and that's the Bruins. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.

2015 Winter Classic (by William)

Believe it or not, a Winter Classic in Nashville could actually work. The record high temperature recorded in the city was only 78 degrees Fahrenheit, and the average is 47 degrees. It wouldn't take too much work to create a proper environment for an outdoor game. It was done in Las Vegas, after all, and it would take less work than the Vegas game. Sure, it would be strange, but it could work. I like the jerseys a lot. Both looks are out of the ordinary for the team and look good, but I don't like the vintage white for the Predators. It'd look better if it was replaced with normal white. Overall, I'll give it an 8.5/10.

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (by Jets96)

For our second Mighty Ducks concept of the Day, Jets brings us a Rangers-esque look for the club from Anaheim, and I really like it. There's nothing wrong with giving the team a more conservative look despite the fact that (Wild Wing and first alternate jerseys aside) the Mighty Ducks were never all that out there in terms of jersey design. Here, the conservative look works really well. This is a look that would also work well as a fauxback for the Ducks. Overall, I'll give it an 8.5/10.

United States and Russia (by Jets96)

And so we close today with a concept I will try to write about quickly lest I get wrapped up in patriotic fervor and start ranting about how Russia can still suck it over what happened in 1980. The US jersey is very nice since it's somewhat derivative of the 1980 team's dark jersey with some slight differences. It's an international jersey so the patriotic theme is to be expected. As for the Russia jersey, I'm not sure if this would work as a throwback just because I don't know what the IIHF/Olympic rules are about wearing a jersey of a formerly existing nation. The look works as a Soviet Union jersey, though, because it's stark and simple. The sublimated hammer-and-sickle is a nice touch. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.