Saturday: Any news this week? Nope? OK, cool.
Yep, no major unveilings to talk about this week. It's been quiet. A little too quiet, unfortunately. You see, my copy of NHL 14 came in a couple of days ago but my XBox 360 crapped out while I was playing Mass Effect 3, so I have to wait a few days for it to be repaired before I can struggle through learning the game. I've never played an NHL game before. This is going to be rough. I can't wait, though.
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Montreal Maroons (by Brent)
I love the simplicity of this one since I'm a sucker for good old-school looks and this one delivers. It's faithful to the old Maroons identity and looks fantastic. I feel like red and its various shades are one of the few colors with which a white yoke really works. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
Washington Capitals (by Brent)
Brent's second concept today applies the Caps' identity to the most recent All-Star Game uniforms (with some modifications) and I have to say I'm not a fan. I've never really cared for those ASG uniforms and the Caps' logos and colors don't really do much to improve it. The random stripes on the arms have never sat well with me. That being said, Brent's modifications to the ASG uniforms make them less gaudy so really, these aren't bad. They're better than the Caps' current uniforms, that's for sure. Overall, I'll give it a 7.5/10.
San Jose Sharks (by Ian)
Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. The Sharks went in the wrong direction with their redesign and should have gone with something like this. They've never looked good with so much orange in their color scheme and replacing it with silver is an idea I endorse wholeheartedly. If I can ever perfect my Nike NHL series, and I swear I will, the Sharks' uniforms will be along these lines, color scheme-wise, because it looks so damn good. Overall, I'll give it an 8.5/10.
Anaheim Ducks (by Jake88)
Wait, what? Jake is doing American teams now? I'm confused, much like how confused I was last night when I found out that Phil Kessel is American, not Canadian. Anyway, Jake's treatment of the Ducks puts them in an Edge template that I'm glad is no longer used. I don't like all the piping and I wasn't sad to see it go when the Thrashers left Atlanta. However, the look does work for bird-named teams like the Thrashers and Ducks because the sleeve design is vaguely wing-like. Apart from the unusual yoke design, I love the alternate. An orange jersey would look great for the Ducks. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (by Jake88)
Ah, the Sound Tigers, owners of one of the more unusual team nicknames in North American hockey. It's not often that you see a team with a location name in its nickname. To clarify for those of you unaware, the team is located in Bridgeport and is called the Sound Tigers, not the Tigers of Bridgeport Sound. The "Sound" refers to Long Island Sound, the body of water just north of Long Island in New York. Now that the geography lesson is over, I love this one. It's a good use of the Islanders' colors and the jersey design isn't that bad. I really can't find faults with this one. Is it an unusual look? Yeah, but it's AHL hockey so it's excusable. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
Los Angeles Kings (by Jeff)
Hmm. A silver look for the Kings? That's interesting. I'm surprised they've never considered this. Maybe they will now that they've retired their third and throwback jerseys. Hell, I'll even go ahead and say I like the old crown logo as the primary as a change of pace. This is a fantastic look that I would love to see on the ice. Overall, I'll give it an 8.5/10.
Hong Kong Masters (by Jon)
Well now, this is interesting. Have we had a concept based on a cartoon before? I think we have. This one looks really nice because you can rarely go wrong with the Canadiens look, but the overall concept is hurt by the tiny size. Make sure to frame your images correctly so the jerseys themselves take up most of the image. It's difficult to make out the details. Overall, I'll give it a 7/10.
Philadelphia Liberty (by Jon)
Wow, it's like Jon knew what I was going to write before I even wrote it. This one is much better in terms of framing, and the jerseys are definitely easier to make out. I like the color scheme here. It's very evocative of Philadelphia's MLS team, the Union, and it looks great here. However, I think the placement of the colors needs some work. The light blue looks weird when it borders directly on the gold, while if you have the navy blue or white between the light blue and gold, it looks better. Make that slight adjustment and it'd be a huge improvement. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
Michigan Wolverines (by Jordan)
Today Jordan brings us two concepts from the NCAA's newest hockey conference, the Big Ten. With Penn State making the jump from the ACHA to the NCAA in hockey, the Big Ten has enough teams to form a conference on its own and decided to. Their decision had massive ramifications for the entire college hockey world. Seriously, look at how much realignment there was as a result of their move. Anyway, apart from their football team's atrocious alternates in recent years, the Wolverines have one of my favorite identities in college sports. This concept is no exception and looks fantastic. I have no complaints about this one. Overall, I'll give it a 9/10.
Michigan State Spartans (by Jordan)
My comments from the previous concept apply. I'll even look past the fact that Michigan State is a Nike school and wouldn't be wearing Reebok. This one is fantastic as well. Overall, I'll give it a 9/10. I can't decide between this one and the Michigan one for COTW. Readers, help me out.
Montreal Canadiens (by Stephane)
Regrettably, at least according to Icethetics, Montreal's changes are not going to be happening this year. That's really too bad, because the concept Stephane has sent is fantastic, as is the presentation. A square-yoked jersey with a tie-down collar would be a perfect look for the Habs. Overall, I'll give it a 9/10.
St. Louis Blues (by Tristan)
Oh come on! This is just absurd. You people are making it very difficult to pick out a single best concept today. I really can't highlight just one person's work as being better than the others because that's four straight concepts now that have blown me away. This would be a perfect Blues look. No red, only one shade of blue. Perfect. Overall, I'll give it a 9/10.
Edmonton Oilers (by Jets96)
Ah, now here's an interesting look. Jets has two concepts today, both of which involve redesigns of old looks for the teams. Here, he's taken the Oilers' old copper and red jerseys and removed the red. Fantastic! I have to say I love the look and that has nothing to do with the fact that Arizona football has made copper and navy blue look really good over the past two years. I swear. That's a pure coincidence. Anyway, removing the red was a really good choice because it always seemed to get washed out against the copper. Navy blue and copper complement each other really well when they're on their own. I can't say I'm a fan of the alternate logo, though. I would have stuck with the normal logo. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
San Jose Sharks (by Jets96)
Remember my comments earlier about the Sharks and removing orange? They apply just as much here. The straight stripe look is great and the colors are really strong. I do have one critique, though: the logo on the primary jerseys is too small. It definitely needs to be made larger. Other than that, this is a solid concept. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
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Montreal Maroons (by Brent)
I love the simplicity of this one since I'm a sucker for good old-school looks and this one delivers. It's faithful to the old Maroons identity and looks fantastic. I feel like red and its various shades are one of the few colors with which a white yoke really works. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
Washington Capitals (by Brent)
Brent's second concept today applies the Caps' identity to the most recent All-Star Game uniforms (with some modifications) and I have to say I'm not a fan. I've never really cared for those ASG uniforms and the Caps' logos and colors don't really do much to improve it. The random stripes on the arms have never sat well with me. That being said, Brent's modifications to the ASG uniforms make them less gaudy so really, these aren't bad. They're better than the Caps' current uniforms, that's for sure. Overall, I'll give it a 7.5/10.
San Jose Sharks (by Ian)
Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. The Sharks went in the wrong direction with their redesign and should have gone with something like this. They've never looked good with so much orange in their color scheme and replacing it with silver is an idea I endorse wholeheartedly. If I can ever perfect my Nike NHL series, and I swear I will, the Sharks' uniforms will be along these lines, color scheme-wise, because it looks so damn good. Overall, I'll give it an 8.5/10.
Anaheim Ducks (by Jake88)
Wait, what? Jake is doing American teams now? I'm confused, much like how confused I was last night when I found out that Phil Kessel is American, not Canadian. Anyway, Jake's treatment of the Ducks puts them in an Edge template that I'm glad is no longer used. I don't like all the piping and I wasn't sad to see it go when the Thrashers left Atlanta. However, the look does work for bird-named teams like the Thrashers and Ducks because the sleeve design is vaguely wing-like. Apart from the unusual yoke design, I love the alternate. An orange jersey would look great for the Ducks. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (by Jake88)
Ah, the Sound Tigers, owners of one of the more unusual team nicknames in North American hockey. It's not often that you see a team with a location name in its nickname. To clarify for those of you unaware, the team is located in Bridgeport and is called the Sound Tigers, not the Tigers of Bridgeport Sound. The "Sound" refers to Long Island Sound, the body of water just north of Long Island in New York. Now that the geography lesson is over, I love this one. It's a good use of the Islanders' colors and the jersey design isn't that bad. I really can't find faults with this one. Is it an unusual look? Yeah, but it's AHL hockey so it's excusable. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
Los Angeles Kings (by Jeff)
Hmm. A silver look for the Kings? That's interesting. I'm surprised they've never considered this. Maybe they will now that they've retired their third and throwback jerseys. Hell, I'll even go ahead and say I like the old crown logo as the primary as a change of pace. This is a fantastic look that I would love to see on the ice. Overall, I'll give it an 8.5/10.
Hong Kong Masters (by Jon)
Well now, this is interesting. Have we had a concept based on a cartoon before? I think we have. This one looks really nice because you can rarely go wrong with the Canadiens look, but the overall concept is hurt by the tiny size. Make sure to frame your images correctly so the jerseys themselves take up most of the image. It's difficult to make out the details. Overall, I'll give it a 7/10.
Philadelphia Liberty (by Jon)
Wow, it's like Jon knew what I was going to write before I even wrote it. This one is much better in terms of framing, and the jerseys are definitely easier to make out. I like the color scheme here. It's very evocative of Philadelphia's MLS team, the Union, and it looks great here. However, I think the placement of the colors needs some work. The light blue looks weird when it borders directly on the gold, while if you have the navy blue or white between the light blue and gold, it looks better. Make that slight adjustment and it'd be a huge improvement. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
Michigan Wolverines (by Jordan)
Today Jordan brings us two concepts from the NCAA's newest hockey conference, the Big Ten. With Penn State making the jump from the ACHA to the NCAA in hockey, the Big Ten has enough teams to form a conference on its own and decided to. Their decision had massive ramifications for the entire college hockey world. Seriously, look at how much realignment there was as a result of their move. Anyway, apart from their football team's atrocious alternates in recent years, the Wolverines have one of my favorite identities in college sports. This concept is no exception and looks fantastic. I have no complaints about this one. Overall, I'll give it a 9/10.
Michigan State Spartans (by Jordan)
My comments from the previous concept apply. I'll even look past the fact that Michigan State is a Nike school and wouldn't be wearing Reebok. This one is fantastic as well. Overall, I'll give it a 9/10. I can't decide between this one and the Michigan one for COTW. Readers, help me out.
Montreal Canadiens (by Stephane)
Regrettably, at least according to Icethetics, Montreal's changes are not going to be happening this year. That's really too bad, because the concept Stephane has sent is fantastic, as is the presentation. A square-yoked jersey with a tie-down collar would be a perfect look for the Habs. Overall, I'll give it a 9/10.
St. Louis Blues (by Tristan)
Oh come on! This is just absurd. You people are making it very difficult to pick out a single best concept today. I really can't highlight just one person's work as being better than the others because that's four straight concepts now that have blown me away. This would be a perfect Blues look. No red, only one shade of blue. Perfect. Overall, I'll give it a 9/10.
Edmonton Oilers (by Jets96)
Ah, now here's an interesting look. Jets has two concepts today, both of which involve redesigns of old looks for the teams. Here, he's taken the Oilers' old copper and red jerseys and removed the red. Fantastic! I have to say I love the look and that has nothing to do with the fact that Arizona football has made copper and navy blue look really good over the past two years. I swear. That's a pure coincidence. Anyway, removing the red was a really good choice because it always seemed to get washed out against the copper. Navy blue and copper complement each other really well when they're on their own. I can't say I'm a fan of the alternate logo, though. I would have stuck with the normal logo. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
San Jose Sharks (by Jets96)
Remember my comments earlier about the Sharks and removing orange? They apply just as much here. The straight stripe look is great and the colors are really strong. I do have one critique, though: the logo on the primary jerseys is too small. It definitely needs to be made larger. Other than that, this is a solid concept. Overall, I'll give it an 8/10.
Saturday: Any news this week? Nope? OK, cool.
Reviewed by Kevin W.
on
September 14, 2013
Rating:
Reviewed by Kevin W.
on
September 14, 2013
Rating:
7 comments:
Is it permissible to go off the board for the COTW? I like the two that have been nominated here but I have to say that the King's grey jersey is stellar! COTW!
@ Stephane: Nobody would accept those changes for the Habs. Okay concept, but that's too far for the untouchables.
Tristan's St Louis concept for COTW
@Brian: I don't agree with you. Habs fans are near fanatics when it comes to touching the uniform they have adored since their childhood (yep, we are like that!) but we all want it to change at the same time. I remember very well when the Reebok Edge system was introduced, how much reactions there have been to the new(!!!) habs jerseys: the collar was losing one blue stripe! OMG! And we called it new... As long as the changes are in the form of losing or adding a small stripe (like the collar or when we went double-outline on the road jersey numbers) or subtle form factor changes (like when the home jersey got bolder numbers or the frequent place changing number on arms in the 70s), it's considered a new jersey in Montreal and we are happy with that. So a squared yoke on the road jersey, as long as it remains red, would surely be adopted - with cries from some - as a new road jersey!
@ Stephane: For the record, I'm also a Canadiens fan. And from Quebec. Although we both have different opinions about that concept, I'll just leave it at that: to agree to disagree.
@Brian: that was my point: Habs fans are hard to follow and a pleasure to discuss with! Boston tonight, battle of the Subbans: have a good game Brian!
@ Stephane: Thanks.
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