Tuesday: November 19th

What's up fellow hockey people? I don't know if everyone saw it, but the Ottawa Senators announced the other day that their Heritage Classic jersey would be unveiled on the 28th, next Thursday! So next week we should have our first look at one of the upcoming outdoor jerseys! That it, of course, if the other teams don't show us their jerseys out of nowhere. Since it is the "Heritage Classic" we've all been expecting throwbacks, and it sounds like that's what we're getting.

It was announced that the game will be a tribute to the 1915 Stanley Cup between the Vancouver Millionaires of the PCHA and the Ottawa Senators of the NHA. So it sounds like we'll be seeing the Vancouver Millionaires jersey again. And maybe a white version of the Sens' current alternates? We'll find out, and maybe even guess it early since the Senators will be posting teasers on their Instagram and Twitter just as teams have been doing lately. What are you guys hoping this game looks like?

Please play this video while you read the next paragraph.

Enough about Heritage Classics and old jerseys and stuff. Time for something more important. Voting. Have you seen how sad some concepts have been looking. The look of pain and loneliness in their eyes is enough to break even the toughest of men into a puddle of tears. You can help though. With only 5 seconds of your time you can email a vote into Ryan and vote for Concept of the week, month, or even year. And sometimes, competitions. Please. Help vote for a concept. Think of all the good you can do, with just one email.

Ok now you can stop that video if you're not a blubbering mess by now. I sure hope that makes people vote and/or go adopt a dog or something.

COTW Nov. 11-17 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Milwaukee Admirals ReDesign Top 5 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

And now onto the concepts!

Brooklyn Americans Concept - Rob C. 

Rob's series of defunct teams continues with Brooklyn. I feel like it had to be hard to not start making a Rangers concept because of the similarities. It'd be easy to say these jerseys suffer from "paint bucket syndrome" in which the jersey's sections but it doesn't look bad with this team since the whole identity appears to be very simple. I would like to see some red on the pants if there's going to be a white stripe, otherwise I'd just want to see blank blue pants. On the jerseys, I'd like to see the stripe colors switched. So the blue and red on the white jerseys and the red and white on the dark jerseys.

Rating: 6.5/10 -  Jerseys look decent with the given identity.


Detroit Cougars Concept - Rob C.

You guys remember the Cougars? Nah, me neither. You do remember the "D" logo from the 2009 Red Wings Winter Classic jerseys though. The logo featuring an actual cougar is a nice touch. Did you create the logo Rob? I don't like the use of beige in the logo but no where on the jersey. I'd at least use it as trim or as a replacement for regular white. Other than that, these jerseys again are very plain, but when creating a new look for a team this old, that' hard to avoid. You never want to get too modern and crazy with something so old.

Rating: 7/10 -  Nice logo, but the beige/white thing needs to be figured out.


Colorado Avalanche Concept - Wings98

Wings gives the Avs a "retro" set and it's sad to say the Avs mountain jerseys are "retro". I feel like it's been long enough for Reebok to figure out how to get it done, and I think they could do it now after seeing Calgary's new pointy yoke. Not a super original concept. But it's nice to see Wings' execution and concepts as a whole getting better. That's one of the best parts of this blog I think concepts like this are great for people starting out in the concept game. Then they're less worried about making their own designs and start thinking less about the execution. Here they already know what they're doing and start to worry more about how the jersey looks since they're not putting thought into their own design.

Rating: 7/10 - It's always nice to see someone take the Avs back to the zig zaggy jerseys of the past.


University of Maryland Concept (NCAA) - Mike S.

Mike takes the crazy routh with Maryland. But most of their teams do. So it's slightly acceptable. I just personally don't like the look. I understand why it's done, but holy crap is it gaudy. I think this could be less gaudy if the jersey color was black. The red is just so bright and the red/white half of the yoke gets lost, so it starts to look like there's only half of a yoke. Other than that, there's really no way to make this look better. This jersey was probably made with only one goal in mind, and that was to match the Maryland identity.

Rating: 7/10 -  Execution and Idea is there. But personal design preferences prevent me from really liking the jersey, not your fault Mike.


Washington Capitals Concept - Dylan W.

Dylan's series continues with an update to the Capitals. I like that he kept the arm length yoke. I like the look of their current jerseys but this improves on that look. I like that the outline of the yoke gets thinner by the cuffs. I feel like the logos could be switched but it wouldn't matter to me. I feel like the stars on the hem are a bit much. There's already stars in the logo, so I don't feel like the hem stars are necessary. The only thing that I straight up don't like is the diagonal side panels. I'd either keep them going straight down or just get rid of them in favor of a hem stripe.

Rating: 7/10 -  I like the jersey up top and start to not like it so much as I look down. Really like the arms though


New York Rangers Stadium Series Concept - Michael G.

Michael takes a stab at the Ranger's Stadium Series jersey. It's got a throwback vibe which may be wrong, since it looks like all the team will be wearing AT LEAST modern jerseys, and who knows, with those chrome monstrosities maybe "futuristic" jerseys. This jersey I like though. I've been a fan of double arm stripes for awhile (See Sarnia Sting Alt. Jersey) That look makes me like the jersey instantly. I'm not sure how I feel about the white yoke. White yokes seem hard to pull off.

Rating: 7.5/10 -  I like the striping and the jersey as a whole, but that white yoke is, meh.

New York Rangers Concept - Dylan W.

Dylan gives the Rangers a new look, but don't fret traditionalists, not much has changed. The blue is now darker, and the current shield is replaced with the vintage shield last used in the 2012 Winter Classic. But that shield also replaces the diagonal text. I'm indifferent about that move. The Rangers are the only team I've ever been cool with the diagonal text. It's their thing. But I always prefer a logo over text and I really like the shield. The striping only changes slightly from their current set. And now the blue jersey is a color swapped version of the white jersey as opposed to being its own thing.

Rating: 8/10 -  Overall, just an updated version of their current look that I think looks really sharp.


St. Louis Blues Alternate Jersey Concept - Tom V.

Tom continues his redesign of alternate jerseys league wide with St. Louis. I like the arm striping a lot. I would like to see some contrast between the white and yellow. I like the idea behind the yoke striping but it'd look better blue, but then it doesn't go with the rest of the jersey as well. I normally don't like wordmarks, but this one has a throwback feel to it and the team actually did that at one point.

Rating: 8/10 - A nice blend of different eras for the Blues.


Team Austria Concept - Jets96

This seems to be one of the more conservative of Jets' series. I gotta say, I like em. Even the side panels, they look really cool mimicking the arm stripes. The only thing I'm not a huge fan of is the yoke on the white jersey, and black numbers on the red jersey. Other than those things I think this is a sharp set

Rating: 8/10 - Never cared for those yokes on the white jersey, and the dark numbers on a dark jersey is just a pet peeve.


Team Latvia Concept - Jets96

Another really conservative jersey in Jets' series, and I like this one even more. This is about as simple as you can get on a Nike jersey without going overboard. The colors are really nice together too.

Rating: 8/10 - The striping on the jerseys aren't mindblowingly amazing, but with these colors and this template they look really good.


Chicago Blackhawks Concept - Stephen T.

I normally don't care for a lot of Blackhawks concepts but this is one of the best ones I've seen lately, and definitely my favorite concept from Stephen. I'm sure a lot of concept artists, myself included, have played around with this look. I am right now for a series I'm working on so I like to see someone else thinks this is a good idea. The Hawks Winter Classic alternate was a pure beauty. And I really like how it looks with the white replacing the beige. And the white version is great. There's not much else to say. If the Blackhawks ever change from their current identity, which I hope they don't, I would like to see it go in this direction

Rating: 9/10 -  COTW Nom, I really want to give this a 10,  but I've been saving that for the a truly perfect, original concept.


We're going to finish today's post with the finale of Jordan's NIke series! I know everyone has loved it, and I was skeptical at first since I don't care for Nike's way of designing hockey jerseys as of late, But Jordan's finding some great ways to go very minimalist while still looking great. Kudos Jordan! Keep up the great work.


Washington Capitals Concept - Jordan R.

Very vintage feel to the jerseys as it mimics the team's first jerseys. This is one of the instances that the white yoke works for me. I think it looks better on a red jersey than it did on the blue jersey we saw earlier. I'd like to see the cuffs match the hems on the primaries. The stars on the sleeves works so so so well here since there's no striping. If Nike were to do this, it would probably be the best thing they do on any jersey because they get to do their whole, no striping nonsense while still making the jersey feel complete. The alternate is very interesting. It blends the 90's with the current Caps. I like seeing the Weagle on a blue jersey, but, man, I just never cared for that jersey design. At least it worked with the old eagle logo because the both had a diagonal feel. The alternate misses the mark for me here.

Rating: 8/10 -  Great primaries. But the alternate keeps this concept from getting a 9 out of me.


And now the very last concept of Jordan's Nike series.

Winnipeg Jets Concept - Jordan R.

The home and away here aren't anything special. The home is their current home without the hem stripes. The white is slightly different, and I prefer Jordan's version of it. The alternate seems to be what Jordan wanted to focus on. It's an Atlanta jersey but tailored for the new team. Gotta be honest, I don't "hate" the jersey, I never liked the look but that was because to me it didn't match what the Thrashers identity should have been in my opinion. Still, I'm not the biggest fan of the design, but i looks a lot better paired with a Jets home/away set.

Rating: 7.5/10 -  Not a lot of changes to the primaries but the alternate is very average to me. Still, the execution makes the concept look sharp as a tack.


Well that's all folks! Great seeing another series come to an end. It's great to see the work ethic out there! What do you guys say about these jerseys!? I want to hear what you have to say!