Wednesday: Happy Hockey Everyone!

Hockey's back!!!! The NHL started last night and I was lucky enough to witness it in person! I was able to attend the Chicago Blackhawks' banner raising ceremony. It was truly, truly, truly a memorable experience. I wasn't able to attend the 2010 banner ceremony but I'm so happy I got to this one. If you didn't see it, or want to see it again, look up a video on Youtube or go to the Blackhawks website, one thing that stood out to me during the ceremony was the music used. To start they had a slideshow on the video board and projected onto the ice surface to Fall Out Boy's "My Songs Know What You Did in The Dark" and fans were given red or white blinking bracelets that were synced to blink with the music. The slideshow then went into a season recap of the point streak and playoffs set to an instrumental of Coldplay's "Paradise". But during the actual player intros and banner raising, Some very cinematic music was played and it really made the moment feel special. Look it up guys, seriously.

No matter what team you root for, if you ever get the chance to go to a banner raising ceremony I highly suggest you do. I don't want to bore anyone with the details since I know most of you aren't Blackhawks fans or probably saw it on TV, so I'll move on.

I'm sure you all saw this too, but how sick is the Blackhawks championship ring?

In my opinion, it's way better than the 2010 ring solely based on the fact that there's color in this ring. The little engraving of the series results on the inside of the ring is pretty neat as well.

Well time to let last season's accomplishments go and look forward to a new year of hockey! And let's start this first week of NHL hockey by voting for the COTW! Or, you can submit your entry for the Colgate Autism awareness contest.

COTW Sept 23-29 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern time)

Colgate Autism Awareness entries (due Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern time)

Switzerland National Concept - Brady S.

I like having the Swiss cross in the shield. And I really like the striping on these jerseys. The one thing that I'd like to see is the shield and cross reversed in color to pop out more on the red jersey, just to see what it'd look like. Maybe Brady did that though and it didn't look right. Either way the set is still sharp.

Rating: 8/10


Halifax Mooseheads Concept - Dylan W.

"Other Dylan" creates a set of sweaters for the Mooseheads that has a classic feel due to the logo looking so old and the proven to work striping pattern. I also really like the squared off yoke. I like this set a whole lot better than their current jerseys. That green jersey really has me feeling the Christmas spirit though.

Rating: 8.5/10


Buffalo Sabres Alternate Concept - Gerard M.

Gerard takes on the not so difficult task of improving the Sabres' new alternate jersey. His rendition is still somewhat "out there" but it's still more conservative in its design than the actual "thing". I like the yoke and how it includes the numbers. Well, I like it in this concept, but I wonder how it would look on a real jersey. Two things I would get rid of, the gray at the end of the cuffs, and the pant stripes that stop half way down the pants.

Rating: 7/10


Minnesota Wild Concept - Gerard M.

Gerard's not done folks. He's got a new set of Minnesota sweaters based off the team's alternate and new away jerseys. I wish the square yoke would have stayed on at least the white sweater. I am also a fan of the bear head logo on the front of the jerseys instead of a wordmark. The Winter Classic jersey is ok but I don't know how I feel with the Wild using that color scheme.

Rating: 7.5/10


Phoenix Coyotes Concept - Jake88

Good ol' Jake88 is trying his hand at an NHL team. Right off the bat, I don't like the combination of the side panels from their current alternate jersey with normal arm stripes. I might like them better if the side panels weren't actually a different color than the base of the jersey. Don't really care for the "Rangers" style pants in this color scheme too. I say you ditch the side swoops and panels and the jerseys are better.

Rating: 6/10


Minnesota Wild Concept - Phil B.

Phil also has a new set of Wild sweaters based on the new away jersey. I like the square yoke, so right away I'm on board. I like the way Phil was able to use the "wheat" color on the white jersey. Really the only thing I'm kind of "meh" about is the shoulder patch. I think if a normal "Wild" shoulder patch is used on one side then the Minnesota patch used here could be on the other. Just a thought.

Rating: 8/10


Phoenix Coyotes Alternate Jersey Concept - Ryan H. (HJC)

Our glorious leader Ryan has graced us with a concept of his own today. I like the attempt to bring back the southwestern desert patterns back to the jersey on the hem. I also like the sublimated Arizona flag pattern on the cuffs. The only thing I want to see is some arm stripes. Even with the sublimation, the arms look blank.

Rating: 7/10


US National Team Concept - Stephen T.

Right off the bat here, I love the eagle logo. I also really like the shield that's on the new current jerseys, also, the arms in this concept, but that eagle crest is sharp. Simple striping, as it should be, I like it. The only thing I can object against here is the shield logo's location on the jersey. I'd rather see it shrunk and act as a shoulder patch. Also, I feel that you should mimic the arm striping and put it on the hem and pants. That and the shield's location are the only thing holding this concept back from being a 9 or higher.

Rating: 8.5/10


Washington Capitals De-Edge Concept - Steven G.

Steven continues De-Edge-ing the NHL for some reason. But as I've said before, some of these teams he's De-Edge-ing are actually improving the team's aesthetic. I'm a fan of everything on these jerseys but there's one thing I can't un-see and I can't tell if it was intentional. When the arms are held out like this, The white piping (blue on the white jersey) create a "W" from the right arm to the left. That's insane. I'm a huge fan of the look. I don't know what else to say, it's genius.

Rating: 9/10 and a COTW Nom from me!

Well what did you guys think about the concepts? Any thoughts on the start of the NHL season, or that wickedly awesome banner raising ceremony? Share in the comments guys!