Wednesday The 23rd

Hey Hey Hey! Hope you're all having a good week and Wednesday so far, and I hope it's about to get better because you're about to read today's HJC post! I know you like that so I'll assume I'm right. But, before we get to that, I'll have to remind you guys to vote. Now.... ok, there's two votes goin' on this week, one for the IIHF competition and the usual COTW vote. Now, I'm not saying you HAVE to vote, but I am saying you SHOULD. If you're reading this, and you DON'T VOTE..... All of us HJC Writers will all meet up and come to everyone's houses in the middle of the night, and set one thing on fire. We won't set the house on fire, but like, a bush or your mailbox or something. Don't test us. GO VOTE just to be safe. I sure hope no one was offended by that.

IIHF Bottom 10 Top 5 votes (due Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

                           COTW Oct 14-20 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Ok enough funny business, it's concept time.

San Jose Sharks (NHL Black) - Wings98

Looks like Wings is starting a series here with "NHL Black" which I'm assuming aims to give every team a suitable black alternate. Not a bad idea, I'm sure it will spawn some creative concepts. This one unfortunately isn't one of those. The main problem here is the use of white. It's not so much an issue on the jersey other than there's too much on the hem, but it sure is on the logo. The logo doesn't look good with this much white. I'd just leave the logo the way the team uses it and maybe add a white outline to set it apart from the black jersey. The TV numbers are upside down and there's heavy pixelation all across the concept. The teal hem trim is absent from the back of the jersey. 

Rating: 4/10 - Don't be discouraged, this site is for helping people improve their concepts and get better at designing. Some tips to improve. Find a new template that isn't so pixelated. There's several here at HJC on the templates page. Also, I feel that if the sleeves and hem of the jersey looks like the socks, the jersey would improve quite a bit. Also study some other concepts and real jerseys to figure out the placement of shoulder patches, tv numbers, etc. Keep it up Wings, I look forward to seeing improvement in your concepts! That's one of the fun things about writing for, and keeping up with this site is seeing new artists submit work and watching them get better and better as time goes by!

New York Islanders Brooklyn Jersey Concept - Brian B. 

Word has it that when the Isles move to Brooklyn, they'll keep the "New York" name but they will get a new black alternate. Brian goes the almost obvious throwback route , BUT, opts for a black and white scheme as opposed to blue and orange or even the Brooklyn Americans red, white, and blue. I understand the move here is to look like the Nets of the NBA but I would like to see some blue and/or orange trim just to set themselves apart and to prevent the team from ever ditching the colors altogether and becoming the LA Kings East. I don't care for the shoulder patches being black and white with that being said.

Rating: 6/10 - Make the jersey more interesting with more color and maybe a variation of the Americans jersey and not just a black and white version of it and you'll see some more Rating Points thrown your way.

Bentley Falcons (NCAA) Concept - Dylan W

Here's something I don't think I've seen put into a concept, The bi-colored jersey split down the middle. I've only ever seen this done with fan jerseys where a fan will connect a team's home and away or even worse, combining two different teams.  I'm assuming this would be an alternate because I can't see this being used as a normal dark jersey. It's just "out there" enough to be an alternate but too "out there" for a full time jersey. At least the striping is consistent between the two sides. I'd rather the back number be all white like the name.

Rating: 6/10 - Some may like it, but regardless of its use (full time jersey vs. alternate) it's way too out there for my personal taste. Still good execution.


North Carolina Tar Heels (ACC) Concept - Mike S

Mike continues his ACC series with his version of a Tar Heels jersey. I don't see anything really wrong with this jersey other than the dark blue cuffs and hem. I don't want to see the dark blue gone completely but I don't like it in the way it's used here. Maybe use it as a thick outline on the argyle pattern stripes, or maybe as a yoke.

Rating: 7/10 - Change how the dark blue is used and you'll earn a higher score.

Team USA Concept - Ryan (HJC)

Ryan uses one of the wilder USA jerseys for inspiration in this concept. The jersey he's using as inspiration definitely isn't my favorite but I do like seeing the hem striping stay somewhat the same, just way calmer and not so wavy and wild. But now I don't like how the arm striping and hem striping look together. I'd rather see the arms match the hem or vice versa. I do like the use of the crest. The TV numbers on the stars are also a nice touch. I'm not a big fan of the white trim in the numbers.

Rating: 7/10 - That striping gets fixed and this concept gets a higher rating for sure. It's not bad the way it is, but the striping differences personally bother me. Great execution as usual though.


Columbus Blue Jackets Alternate Jersey Concept - Matt R.

This jersey's got a lot going on and that's not always a bad thing. In this case I think that it needs to be toned down. There's so many unique things going on here. First off I like seeing that old "CB" logo in a different scheme, too bad it's not on the jersey anywhere. Now I'm counting 4 really unique and big jersey elements. 1. Chest Stripe, 2. Arm Striping, 3. Ohio shaped captain letter box, and 4. number in the logo. First off the number in the logo's gotta go. And I feel like one more of those remaining three should be too. I'm leaning towards the Ohio on the upper chest. Also the more I look at this, the back number should either be cream colored or the stripe shouldn't be on the back that way the number is easy to see.

Rating:7.5/10  -  I like where it's headed but it's too busy for my taste the way it is now.


Columbus Blue Jackets Concept - Tyler G.

Another Blue Jackets makes it's way onto the page today and this one utilizes the new yoke style by Reebok. I don't know why but for some reason the yoke looks like it comes too far down on the back but maybe it's just an illusion. I like this yoke style though so I don't see an issue with it. I'm curious as to what the white jersey would look like with the red and blue swapped in the striping. I like the stars on the sleeves but not so much on the sides of the torso. I also don't mind the use of the current font, I normally don't like how it looks ever, but it's working here for me.

Rating: 8/10 - Not much to "improve" this concept other than getting rid of the set of stars on the side.


We'll finish today with a set of jerseys for the Stadium Series games in New York!

New Jersey Devils Stadium Series Concept - Avi S.

Avi creates a jersey reminiscent of the Devils' original white jersey. I have a feeling that since the team has worn the vintage green sweaters within the last few years, there's nothing stopping them from just using them, but I would hope they do something like this. Keep the current color scheme but call back to an older jersey. I'm still thinking that the teams in the Stadium Series will use modern jersey and not use throwbacks (or fauxbacks). I feel this jersey falls in between modern and throwback.

Rating: 7/10 - I like seeing some difference between the vintage jersey this is based on and this concept but I still feel more could be done to set it apart as a separate jersey.

New York Islanders Stadium Series Concept - Avi S.

Avi does throw back for the Isles. The jersey is based off of the Brooklyn Americans jersey they wore for their one season. If the team did throw back to this jersey, I would rather see "Islanders" on the chest and not "Brooklyn". The team wouldn't be doing themselves any favors by claiming to keep their name the same but put Brooklyn on a jersey, especially since they don't play there yet. Personal preference here but I think I'd rather see blue arms instead of orange. As I look at this more and think of the game it would be used in, I don't think anyone, myself included, would care much for someone using the "Rangers-style" lettering while playing the Rangers. The rating will be low, and it's not a bad looking jersey, but this just doesn't really do it for me.

Rating: 6/10 - Nothing too unique here, maybe a variation or a modern twist on the Americans' jersey and not just a different colored version would get you more points.


New York Rangers Stadium Series Concept - Avi S.

Now even though I said I wouldn't want to see another team use "Rangers-style" lettering, I do like seeing the Rangers use a jersey without it. Especially with this crest. Since I've already expressed my predictions on teams throwing back for the Stadium games I think they'd use their regular crest. But this still looks good. I like the choice to not use vintage white. The Rangers have had 2 vintage jerseys in the past few years both using vintage white, give it a break. I feel like the crest might need a thicker outline though.

Rating: 7.5/10 - Not a bad jersey, very basic and nothing too eye catching. Logo seems to get lost.

So what did you think about today's concepts? Anything you'd do differently or anyhting you disagree with in the critiques? We'd all love to know so let us know in the comments.