Thursday: Getting Schooled

So I'm going to start my post by talking about the brand new Stadium Series jerseys that just came out. Anaheim and Los Angeles create a never-before seen matchup of orange vs grey, and...

Oh, you've seen it already? Bummer.

Well then I'll talk about the Marlies' new jersey, which brings a lot of classic looks to it with...

Already seen that one too? Alrighty then.

The Heritage Classic jerseys? Yeah, thought so.

Okay, so I've been really falling behind with my jersey news as of late. Not from lack of interest, of course. I'm loving some of the new designs we're seeing, even if they make Getzlaf look less than flattering. The reason for falling behind in my jersey news (and of course my own hockey news blog, which has been down for a month or so) is because of school. And since this is the last week of classes, I've been pretty much camping at the college for the last week.

So to celebrate the fact that, by the time you read this, I have one more day of this madness left until a much needed holiday, I'm going to mess with my rating system again. Everyone does numbers, out of 10. Thats cool, but I'm different. Last week was mustaches (and again, thank you for the awesome feedback on that post). This week, school-style. Next week, who knows. I'd love to hear your suggestions, if you have any cool rating ideas. 

But while you're studying up for your suggestions, you should take a nice brain break and do some voting here at HJC. It's the scholarly thing to do.  

COTW Nov 25-Dec 1 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Fishsticks COMP Top 5 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

And one quick note before I move on to the concepts.  Tomorrow is the debut of our new Friday writer, Colin. "New" in this case is a relative term, because he used to be the Friday writer until a year or so ago.  Anyways, I'd like to welcome him onboard, and look forward to seeing his post tomorrow!

But in the meantime, class is in session.

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Abbotsford Heat Concept - Thomas H.

Yay: I'm not a fan of Abbotsford's current set. They either could have gone with a unique identity, or borrow from the Flames, both acceptable AHL practices. Unfortunately, the Flames don't have a lot going on with their jerseys either, so what we got are some bland soul-less jerseys. These, however, I like.  Red and "Charcoal Grey" is a great look, and one I don't recall seeing in any league I follow.  It's also a shame that they don't use the old Atlanta logo as seen here, because Thomas shows us how great of a look it is.  The jersey is executed well, has great style, and has its own identity while being easily identifiable with their big brothers in Calgary.

Nay:  This jersey, while having traditional striping, looks very modern with it's colours and font. That's okay, but I think it makes the laces unnecessary. I also strongly oppose using that red to outline the dark grey for numbers and letters.  They don't contrast well with each other at all.  And on the dark jerseys, you invert the colours between the name and number. While you probably meant to do that, it looks a little weird, since that inversion doesn't happen on your white jersey.

Overall:  This is a jersey style that Abbotsford really needs to adopt, with a few fix-ups of course. Well on its way to being a great design. 

Grade: B+

Belleville Bulls Concept - Ryan D.

Yay: There are a number of problems with this jersey, but I do like where the design is going in general. I love how they're currently using the classic logo on their dark jerseys, like Ryan does here, but their striping pattern is ridiculous. This is a little more tame, and the striping pattern is a good start for a proper classic design.

Nay: Lots of colouring issues here.  The stripes at the bottom don't go fully across the jersey in places.  The TV numbers needs a lot of work, as the black background needs to be gone, and the numbers themselves should be black or yellow.  TV numbers on the back of the jersey would help too.  The main back number is too big and too low, while the name is way too small, and not a great font choice, especially for a classic jersey like this.  The logo is a little big, and I think a little low on the jersey as well.  Finally, you can see uncoloured parts between the letters of the "Reebok" logo.

Overall:  This concept needs a lot of work, but I think you're heading in the right direction with your design, and that's no bull. (Pun very much intended)

Grade: D

 Utica Comets Concept - Jake88

Yay: As mentioned above, you either have totally unique AHL jerseys, or ones that copy their parent team almost completely.  The Heat concept above shown a nice mix of the two, and so does this concept.  You could slap the Canucks logo on here and it will look like it fits, but yet it has it's own style that is unique from anything the Canucks have worn.  The striping pattern is really cool, and everything matches or looks in place.  It also looks believable for a Nike design.  Great execution here.

Nay: To be really nitpicky here, I think the name bar is a little too close to the collar, and the number could use just a little more space below the yoke.  I also don't like the TV numbers being so high on the arm.  And I think with all of the cool striping, the font could use an outline of some sort. Just a suggestion.

Overall: There's nothing that really stands out as a negative to this concept. Execution is great, and it's a great blend of Canucks style and something totally new.

Grade: A

 Buffalo Sabres Concept - Dylan W.

Yay: Dylan has a few concepts today, with a Buffalo 3rd being the first. As I always say, because its true: this is much much better than the current Buffalo 3rd.  This concept combines 3 of Buffalo's jerseys: The stripe and hem style of the "goat-head" jersey, the cool secondary logo of the late "goat-head" era as seen on their 3rds, and the colours we see on Buffalo sweaters today.  All while creating the yellow 3rd jersey Buffalo wanted, and failed miserably at.  This jersey is everything Buffalo wanted and should have for their 3rd.

Nay: Execution is great here, so there isn't much to complain about.  Maybe it's a personal preference, but I like having a bit more space between the number and the yoke, so it doesn't look too cramped at the top of the jersey, and plain on the bottom.  Off of the jersey, I find the "Buffalo Sabres 3rd" text on the concept background is really hard to read.  You won't lose marks on that, but just wanted to throw that out there.

Overall:  And the best part? No Buffaslug.  Awesome concept overall.

Grade: A

Team Poland Concept - Stephen T.

Yay: Poland! This isn't a country I see a lot on here, so that is exciting.  Poland jerseys have looked the same for almost 20 years (if not longer, I'm not 100% sure of anything before the 90's). This is a nice change that keeps their traditional look, but adds a little more colour to each jersey.  All of the elements of the jersey seem to be in place, and most of the equipment looks nice.  Execution overall is pretty much spot on.

Nay: Personally, I like the hem to match the arms.  While I like the arm striping, I wonder if it would look better reversed, so the arm starts white, has the small stripes, and ends red on the cuff.  While all of the equipment looks well designed, I think more could be done with the pants.  Lastly, the name on the jersey looks a bit small.

Overall: This jersey is nothing terribly exciting, but its different enough from Poland's current jerseys that its a refreshing change, while still looking like a believable Poland jersey.

Grade: C+

Buffalo Sabres Concept - Ricky M.

Yay: Ricky brings along today's 2nd Buffalo concept, this time showing the full set.  I really like how the secondary logo is used here on the main set, and the sans-circle main logo on the 3rd is a neat new look for them.  The main set looks nice and traditional, and the 3rd is totally different, something I like in a 3rd jersey, without looking too funky. 

Nay: I don't really like the how the striping pattern on the main set doesn't match.  The blue jersey could use white somewhere in the striping pattern.  The grey outline doesn't seem to be working well with the yellow font, and there's some contrast and fill issues with some of those letters.  And on the 3rd, the grey captains patch looks distorted and doesn't stand out well on the jersey.

Overall: I like where this concept is going. The 3rd is unique, and actually good (unlike their actual 3rd). A few colouring fix-ups, and this concept will be golden. Right now, it's just yellow.

Grade: C+

Team Finland Concept - Dylan W.

Yay: Dylan's 2nd concept of the day brings us to Team Finland. This jersey is believable to both Nike's designs and classic Finnish jerseys.  I really like how the logo stands out on the jersey, and the very faint logo on the jersey itself, behind the logo (don't know how to describe it, but look closely, it's there).  This is a really unique look for Finland, but I think they could pull something like this off.

Nay: I'm not a huge fan of the font used here.  It looks modern and blocky enough, but I just don't think it works well for hockey.  The striping pattern is pretty basic, even for a Nike sweater. And I'm not really sure if I like how much dark-blue there is on the dark jersey.  It's a perfect secondary colour, but it takes away too much from the classic Finland light-blue they always have.  Lastly, I'd probably go with white TV numbers on the white jerseys, instead of blue.

Overall:  I think I'd like these jerseys more than the actual jerseys they'll wear to Sochi, but there are a few things I'd reconsider in the design first.  Overall, a very good concept with some room for perfection.

Grade: B

Vancouver Canucks Concept - Stephen T.

Yay: Stephen gives us his concept for the Vancouver Canucks here.  While at first glance, the differences between this and the regular set seem small, the subtle changes really work well here. The green stripe at the hem is reduced, making them even with the white/blue stripes above or below it.  I like how that looks.  Stephen also brings back the "V" arm stripe, which is something I'm really happy to see.  The equipment looks nice, and I like the logo used for the shoulder patch. The lack of cuffs matches with the lack of hem colour, which is good, and something that bugs me about Vancouver's current look.

Nay: Is there a green outline on any of the letters or numbers?  My eyes suck and I can't tell, but it's bothering me like theres a very faint outline there. If not, I'm crazy. If it is there, it needs to be bigger and noticeable. Won't dock marks on that, because I really can't tell.  The logo on the front of the jerseys look off-centered on both, and really low on the dark jersey

Overall: The logo positioning needs to be fixed, but everything else looks pretty solid. Great effort. 

Grade: B+

Barrie Colts Concept - Stephen T.

Yay: Ryan's 2nd concept of the day continues his OHL redesign, stopping in Barrie.  I think their jerseys now look pretty bland, and bringing back some traditional striping like this, while keeping their main colours, is a good way to go.

Nay: A few of the same Nays from your first concept today apply here, mainly the name being a bad font choice and too small.  The number is closer to proper size, but still needs to be smaller.  The logo on the other hand is way too small.  The biggest fix-up needed here are the stripes. While the pattern matches, the size of the stripes don't match up at all. The inconsistency in the stripes makes this jersey look really weak, but it's an easy fix at least. 

Overall: There's a few things I like in the design here, but again, there's a lot of work to be done.

Grade: D

Team Slovenia Concept - Dylan W.

Yay: Dylan's final concept today stays with the IIHF, with Team Slovenia. The surprise team coming to Sochi, I'm really excited to see what Nike brings out for them.  The simplistic striping, and front style of the jerseys definitely makes this a good Nike design.  The style in the front of the jersey, directly referencing the nation's flag, is a very good touch, and looks great on a hockey jersey.

Nay: I think the mountain design on the dark jersey should be white, since it would match both the flag and the colour pattern of the other jersey.  The Nike logo on the white jersey appears to be missing, and I really don't know what the dark curved stripes on the arm are for.  The font choice is a little to curvy and modern for my liking either, and I don't think Nike would try it on a jersey like this.

Overall:  I love the concept of having the country's flag on the jersey like this, but I think a few of the colours could be fixed up.  

Grade: B-

Calgary Flames Concept - SupahLeafsFan

Yay: This isn't a designer I'm familiar with, so it's nice to see a new face on here.  Calgary could use going to some more traditional looking jerseys, and I really love the white Flames logo, so this concept is a really good start.  There really isn't any execution or colouring issues with what is here, so thats definitely a plus.

Nay: What is on the jersey is good, but what isn't on the jersey is the killer here. No name, no number, no TV numbers, and no ID from the designer.  Huge no-nos. The logo is a little on the large side, and the shoulder logos are a little large as well.

Overall: Like I said, this is a really good start, but there are too many missing elements for this to be a full concept yet. Also, for everyone reading this, it's also very important to have your name or some ID on your concepts, so no one can simply steal your design and call it theirs.

Grade: E for Effort.

Rival Colours: Keystone State Concept - William B. (me)

Well, I'm not going to do a full review on my own concept, so I'd love to hear what you guys think about it.  I've had a lot of fun doing the Rival Colours set, but I'm not really too happy with what I've been able to come up with.  Could be lack of time that I'm able to spend making these, or I'm just not sure what looks good on a jersey yet, but it's fun to see how different colours look on each jersey.  I like how the Flyers jersey looks here, with the Pittsburgh gold and minimal changes.  The Penguins jersey looks like a cool WHA jersey from the 70's, but I don't think it could fly by today's standards. It'll be a few weeks if not months until the full set gets shown, but I still intend on finishing the set with all 30 teams. Some of the rivalry match-ups are a bit of a stretch, but I didn't want to pair up teams with almost the same colours, so it was necessary.  Anyways, hope you guys enjoy the rest of this set.

Grade: I for Incomplete

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So who gets top marks today?  I'll give it to Jake88's Utica Comets Concept, which will get my COTW nomination.  Top of the class.

Your homework tonight? Get some voting done for COTW and for the Fishstick Logo competition.  They're both due on Friday, and everyone who doesn't vote will automatically fail.

Class dismissed.