Friday: HJC's Black Friday Concept Sale is on Now!

Hey! It's Ryan here, taking over for the next Friday or two. We're looking for a new HJC writer, so this could be you in the coming weeks. You have until noon Eastern time tomorrow (Saturday) to submit your application. Click the banner at the top of the page to see how to apply. Anyone can do it.

In honour of Black Friday, all of today's concepts are 100% off their regular price. Sweet deal!

Seriously though, Zazzle is very likely having a big sale today. Zazzle is the website that operates the HJC Store. So if you've thought about purchasing HJC merchandise in the past, today would be a good day to do it. Click the icon near the top-right of the page with the shirt. Or click HERE.

Anyone who emails in their COTW vote today, and today only, will receive a HJC thong! On a completely related note, HJC is out of stock on thongs and will not be giving out any to those who email in votes today. Just be cool and vote, okay.

COTW Nov 18-24 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Fishsticks Competition entries (due Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

HJC Writer Applications (due Saturday @ 12:00pm Eastern)

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I don't have the time to place recent entries on today's post. Look for the last of the Fishstick entries tomorrow on Caz's post!

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Minnesota North Stars (Rob C.)

Rob's Defunct Teams Series marches on with this North Stars concept. It appears as if Rob has taken the early 70's sweaters and made some adjustments. Gold trim has been added to the yokes as well as all of the modern bells and whistles such as Reebok Edge cut and NOB's. A star shoulder patch has been added too. The concept itself is average and I think what holds it back is the disconnect between the logo, the font for NOB and the players' number font. They just all seem like separate pieces forced together.
7/10

Minnesota Wild (Steve M.)

I like this concept and I think Steve has done a nice job avoiding the "Christmas trap". When dealing with the green and red colour combo, it can be very difficult to not create a Christmas looking jersey. Some execution errors detract from this one. On the front tip of the collar there are a couple of loose white pixels and a loose neon green pixel. The yellow in the collar insert has also bled into the NHL shield. This next error may be more template related, but on the sleeves the stitching for the stripes is angled. Thus, the stripes should be as well. However, it likely looks better this way.
7.25/10

South Africa (Justin S.)

I would expect Nike to do something ridiculous with South Africa's sweaters, so I think the top concept nails it! The white concept on the bottom just doesn't work for me personally. It's unique, but I'm having a hard time understanding why anything was done. So I guess that fits right in with how Nike does hockey. Also on the white jersey, it seems like the flag is a bit boring as the primary crest when compared to the design of the rest of the set.
7/10

Detroit Red Wings (Caden P.)

Yup, this is probably what Nike would try to do to the Wings. Then the team would have to battle them just to keep their classic look. I accept the idea, but there are some errors. For instance, remove the R's and TM's from the logos. On the white jersey, the giant sublimated logo gets the point across. On the red jersey, the logo is still huge, but not the same size as the white jersey. Now that one just looks like a logo that is too big and nearly goes outside the lines of the template.
5/10

Rival Colours - Detroit vs Ottawa (William B.)

I applaud the creativity of this series. The red Sens jersey actually looks pretty sweet, but I'd do away with the red yokes and hem trim on the white sweater. For the Sens coloured Wings sweaters, I think they work (for this series), but I think it would have made more impact if the colours of the Wings' logo weren't touched.
7.25/10

Vancouver Canucks (Wings98)

Wings98 has placed the orca logo on the original Canucks' unis. Nothing wrong with this idea, but a logo change on this jersey doesn't really get my attention either. Three big execution gaffs I see on this one. First, the NOB looks like it's about to be squished by the player number. Simply move the player number down a bit. Secondly, the Reebok logo on the blue jersey would be hard to read if it were green and I don't think Reebok would be too happy about that. So logically speaking, it should be white. The final error is the tip of the collar on the white jersey. There are several pixels that have not been coloured and it comes across as lazy. Paying attention to the small details can really help improve everyone's concepts. No one should even think that something is too small to matter on a concept. Everything matters!
6.5/10

Buffalo Sabres (Stephen T.)

Stephen has removed the grey from the Sabres' jerseys and has added the primary logo on as shoulder patches as well. Looks good, but we knew that it would. Not everything about this concept looks good though. The primary logos are quite pixelated. If you work in MS Paint, I've heard that resizing your logos in Microsoft Word works well. Also, the Buffa-slug font for the NOB doesn't fit well in my opinion.
7/10

Carolina Hurricanes (Steve M.)

Another 4th jersey from Steve. I actually kind of like this concept. It would be an 8, but there are execution errors which really set it back. There's a different shade of black, from the arm stripes, outlining the numbers as well as some loose red pixels. The white on the collar and arm trim seems to be bleeding across the jersey stitching. Lastly, the Reebok logo should logically be white, but why does the red logo have a white glow to it?
7/10

Quebec Bulldogs (Rob C.)

Right off the bat I'll say that I don't think the primary logo works here. It's just too cartoonish looking. It would need to be simplified to work as a sports brand mark. Again, I think we have a case here where the numbers font doesn't really fit with the NOB font. The Reebok logo on the white jersey should be white. The pants and glove template have a massive amount of loose white pixels and it is really dragging down this concept and presentation. I really like the idea of the Q shoulder patch. In my opinion a two tone silver/grey beveled Q would work best with a thick white outline.
6/10

Washington Capitals (Mollie G.)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this not the first submission ever to HJC by a female?!?!?!? I like some elements of these jerseys and there are some elements I really don't like. Is this too many stars on the sleeves? Is it approaching All-Star Game jersey? On the red jersey I would just use one colour from the arm stripe on down. I am intrigued by the application of the shoulder patch on the red jersey, but I think it could use a white outline. On the white jersey I don't think the primary logo works here. I'd just use the "weagle" and send the DC to the shoulders. I can also spot some escaped white pixels from the shoulder patches on the white jersey. Finally, why is the shade of blue on the red jersey different than that on the white jersey?
6.5/10

Rival Colours - Toronto vs Montreal (William B.)

For what this is, it's a really nice job on these jerseys. The blue and white Habs jersey is quite solid, I just don't see the point in the hem trim. Also, I'm wondering why there is no yoke stitching? The body stitching just ends in the middle of the jersey. The Leafs jerseys in the Habs colours are really nicely done and my only note would be that the Reebok logos should logically be white.
7.5/10

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So HJC readers, what do you think of my critiques? Am I spot on? Am I too hard? Was one of these jerseys exceptional enough to receive a nomination? I didn't think so. What do you think? Feel free to leave your own ratings for each concept.

- Voting ends tonight

- Islanders comp entries are due tonight

- Writer apps are due noon tomorrow