Saturday

Welcome everyone to another HJC Saturday!

In NHL news, another week, and another fired coach. The Buffalo Sabres fired their second coach this year. Their next full-time (i.e. not interim) coach probably should wait before committing to buying property in Buffalo. NHL coaches these days seem to have all the permanence of the weather. What is your opinion on coach's tenure in the NHL? Would you prefer rapid turnaround in pursuit of success, (see: Florida, Buffalo) or persisting with the same coach, even through bad times? (see: Nashville)

On a side note, there are a few concepts today that have lower grades. I understand that some artists are still getting better, and I thought it would be fun to show you all what my first HJC submission looked like. I'll forgive you if you're not overwhelmed.

The idea was to use the colors of the Admirals for the Predators. I basically just piped the thing to death, with gratuitous use of the fill tool. If I were to grade this today, it would get a 3 or lower. It's just straight ugly. Through feedback and constructive criticism, I eventually got better. That's always been the point of the website, to me; to get feedback and improve. Otherwise, this is just show and tell.

Here are the last of the Milwaukee Admirals Redesign Contest entries:

Matt R.

Alex O.

Brendan F.

Now, on to the concepts!

Fernie Bad News Bears concept - William B.

Here's an interesting concept. Our Thursday writer William brings us a recreation of his pre-novice hockey jersey. I think this is really cool. I've included the image William sent along with the concept for context. Looking at the picture, this is an accurate recreation of the original and the white jersey matches well. The only complaint I have is that there are some missing stitching marks in a few areas. Considering what this concept is intended to do, I won't be grading it, but it's pretty solid work.

Tampa Bay Lightning Nike Swift Redesign - Jordan R.

Jordan continues his Nike NHL redesign with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Many people wanted to see Tampa bring back the black after their recent redesign. I'm not big on the roundel logo as the primary. I feel it's better as a shoulder patch. I would like t see if the chest striping continues on the back. I'll leave the faux-laces alone because everyone has commented on it at this point. I think the colors would work better here if the blue and black were separated by white. That would bring out both colors better, especially on the white jersey. The alternate could use some blue as well, but it feels like something Nike would do. It's actually my favorite of the three. Execution is good, though. (7/10)

St. Louis Blues Nike Swift Redesign - Jordan R.

Next up for Jordan is the St. Louis blues. First off, I like the striping pattern and yokes on all jerseys. I would like the see similar striping on the hems of the home/away. I also like that the faux-laces are not accentuated on the home/away. I don't think the home/away need the wordmark. The blue note is easily recognizable and looks good on it's own. Speaking of, I don't think the blue note looks good in white; swapping the white and darker blue would look better. I also don't think the bugle alternate logo works as a primary, even on an alternate jersey. There's just something about that patch that looks minor-leaguish to me. I also like the roundel logo as a patch on all jerseys. I would like to see if the chest stripe continues to the back of the jersey. I talked a lot about this set, but only because I think it has huge potential. (7.8/10)

Montreal Maroons revival concept - Rob C.

Concepts for defunct teams are always intriguing. This one, from Rob C. is for the old Montreal Maroons, who won 2 Stanley Cups, but folded in 1939. This set doesn't seem to take much inspiration from the original jerseys. The 'M' looks more like the collegiate Michigan logo than the Maroons 'M.' The striping is striping could benefit from using something more like what the Maroons wore from 1935-1939. I would also make the number on the larger. There are many stray and discolored pixels as well. I appreciate that you added TV numbers, and showed the backs of both jerseys, along with the equipment (4/10)

Cleveland Barons revival concept - Rob C.

Rob's next concept is for the Cleveland Barons. The Barons were short-lived, only lasting two seasons in Cleveland. The numbers on these are better sized than the previous concept. The first thing that I noticed was that this set is very similar to the one for the Maroons. I would like to see some more creativity here. The logo is really pixelated, and what was previously said about loose and discolored pixels applies here as well. (4/10)

Kelowna Rockets throwback concept - Matt R.

The Kelowna Rockets of the WHL haven't been around very long, but Matt Ruck has created a throwback jersey for them. The Rockets debuted with a traditionally styled white jersey, (which Matt has added a picture of with the concept) but the dragon head looks out of place on a chest stripe. Presentation and execution is very good. (8.5/10)

Winnipeg Jets alternate jersey concept - Tristan M.

With this concept, Tristan has designed an alternate jersey for the Winnipeg Jets. Presentation and execution are top-notch here. The shading really makes the jersey stand out. The way the TV numbers are done imply that the number is '1616' instead of '16', but that is a small complaint. I like the hem striping, but the rest is losing me. The yoke is too large for my large for my taste, and arm treatment reminds me too much of the Thrashers, which Winnipeg needs to distance themselves from, even if the roster is still relatively similar. I would take out the laces as well. The chevrons are a neat addition. (8.5/10)

Team Sweden Olympic concept - Nick V.

I like the idea of using Sweden's flag as striping on the jersey. That look has been executed pretty well a few times on HJC. This concept has a few flaws, though. There are several places where the striping bleeds off of the jersey, and there are some areas where the jersey stitching is missing. Both jerseys need TV numbers. Also, if you're going to include the equipment, it's a good idea to include the socks as well. This could be a very strong concept if the execution was cleaned up a bit. (5/10)

Buffalo Sabres Nike Swift alternate jersey concept - JetsFan

I've never used Paint to make a concept. I can't imagine it's easy. I can't afford Photoshop to make my concepts, so I use Paint.net. It's not quite Photoshop, but it's better than Paint, and it's free. I recommend downloading that, and if you need any help, you can find some resources on the TUTORIALS page. That's how I got started. First off, the crest is a bit too large, and the recoloring has pixelated it. You also should take off the trademark. The striping is...interesting. I don't think it would work for a jersey. There are also a few places where the striping runs over the stitching, or outside of the jersey itself. I think using a font that is less generic would help. You can find several team fonts on the TEMPLATES page. The jersey needs TV numbers. There's a lot of white space on this jersey. I think a yoke and thicker striping would help. I would place an NHL shield close to the collar. Last, I think blue works better for the Sabres. The primary color here looks purple to me. (3.5/10)

Anaheim Ducks Nike Swift home jersey concept - JetsFan

This is a better concept than the previous one. The crest is still too large, and you need to delete the trademark. The color balance works better here than the Sabres concept. I think the Ducks normal font would work better than using the Coyotes font. What I said previously about TV numbers, striping execution, logo pixelation, and the NHL shield apply here as well. (4/10)

Los Angeles Kings Stadium Series concept - Jake88

It's a shame the Kings don't use purple anymore. It's a color that is lacking in the NHL, and it fit the Kings perfectly. Jake88 proposes that the Kings bring back the purple/gold and the old crown logo for the Kings' Stadium Series game. Execution is very good. The striping is a bit typical for a "throwback" style jersey, but when the Kings came into the league in 1967, they had very bland striping. I think it's a good looking concept, and not just a re-hash of their 1980-1988 look. (8.8/10) COTW nomination from me

Iowa Hawkeyes NCAA concept - Jake 88

Next we have a concept for the Iowa Hawkeyes of the NCAA's Big 10. This isn't a bad set, but there are a few things I would add/change. The set needs TV numbers. I would put some white somewhere in that dark jersey, it's a bit too dark right now. I think the Hawkeye logo is lost in the arm striping. It's just too crowded there. I would replace the wordmark and number on the Hawkeye logo. Execution is pretty good, but there are a few areas where the stitching overlaps the striping. (7/10)

Vancouver Canucks third jersey concept - Colin M.

Colin is back with another Canucks concept. This shows just how much the Canucks could use a green alternate. This looks very good. I like the striping, the use of Johnny Canuck, and the color balance here. The stick-in-rink logo looks surprisingly good in just blue and white. There aren't many negatives here. As I've already nominated one concept, I'm hoping someone else will nominate this one. (8.8)

As always, remember to vote for next week's concepts, and the Milwaukee competition entries! Don't forget. If you do, Shea Weber will slapshot you in the groin.