Thursday: Happy Boxing Day!

Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Festivus, and <insert other appropriate greetings here>. I hope everyone is having a good holiday season so far.

Because of my family's work schedule, today is actually my Christmas Eve, and we'll celebrate Christmas tomorrow when everyone is home.  That means one more day for my last minute shopping...yikes.  Since I'm celebrating the holiday with my family today, and you guys should be out checking out all the great sales and things, I'm going to keep this post short and sweet.

HJC's Boxing Day Sale: Buy one vote, get one vote free! (Votes are free anyways, for you penny-pinchers out there).

COTW Dec 16-22 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Pioneers Comp Friday, December 27, 2013 @ 11:59pm Eastern

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Delaware Pioneers Concepts:

<-- Apparently none to show :( -->

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Tampa Bay Lightning Concept - Ryan D.

Yay: We're seeing a ton of Ryan's work lately, which shows how hard he's been working on his concepts.  Unfortunately, since he's sent these in all at the same time, he probably doesn't get to apply our feedback before getting criticized on more of his work.  So any improvement we see is improvement on his own accord. Here, the sizes of the logo, numbers, name, shoulder patches and TV numbers are pretty much spot on, and his stripes all have the appropriate, matching sizes.  I'd say that's great improvement.

Nay: There are a few pixelation issues on the jersey, and the font choice for the name isn't good, as the letters look really squished (plus whatever is going on with the 'A'). There are some stray, uncoloured pixels around the logos, stripes, and numbers.  As Ryan is making big strides in his execution, I challenge him to start making some different designs, as almost all of his concepts have either of 2 striping patterns he's used so far.  That isn't so much a complaint for this concept, but an open invitation to try some new designs.

Overall: From a concept standpoint, this still needs work, but we're seeing great progress so far from Ryan. 6/10

Columbus Blue Jackets Concept - Ryan D.

Yay: Here, Ryan uses the same striping pattern as before (with the outer stripes smaller of course), but everything looks to be in place.  The TV numbers, logo, captain patch and number look to be the right size.  I love how he's included equipment with this concept.  While the pants I'd change up a bit, the helmet, socks, and gloves seem appropriate for this jersey.

Nay: I can't dis the number font too much, because it's pretty accurate to what the Blue Jackets use for these jerseys.  I still don't like it though.  What I can complain about is the colour, as it appears that the number is darker than the off-white striping around the jersey.  The name is a little too small and doesn't stand out enough.  And again, stray pixels and other pixelation errors are all over this concept.

Overall: Not as much improvement here, but good to see Ryan is trying some new things with his concepts, and did a pretty respectable job with it.  Keep up the good work. 6/10

Quebec Nordiques Concept - Christian L.

Yay: Moving not too far in the colour department, we get to Christian's Nordiques concept. I'm not familiar with these logos, but they look great on these jerseys with these colours. I really like the outline style used on the numbers.  The execution on this concept looks great, and I'd love to see a light-road version of this sweater. 

Nay: The equipment could use a bit of work.  The pants are okay, but the gloves could use some more art to them, and the pants don't match the jersey striping all that well.  The main number looks squished compared to the TV numbers, and I don't think the dark blue bar around the name is all too necessary. 

Overall:  A very solid concept, but could use a tad more work to make it COTW-worthy.  8/10

Philadelphia Flyers Concept - David P.

Yay: I always hated this logo, which makes me love this concept as it tries to make something ugly look awesome.  David does a pretty good job here.  With the added (and unnecessary) grey in the logo, it's cool to see a grey jersey for a team like the Flyers.  The striping pattern, as well as the Boston-style yoke, make this jersey Flyer-esque enough to be believable. 

Nay: The secondary logo is a cool idea, but I think it needs a little bit of work.  The name needs to be a little bit bigger, as the orange outline clashes with the little amount of white that is there, making it harder to see clearly. It also looks like there's some pixelation issues with the logo here.

Overall:  Interesting how the hat and the weird Flyers-grey logo inspire this concept, but it works surprisingly well.  7.7/10

Tampa Bay Lightning Concept - Matt M.

Yay: I can't remember if it's this exact concept, or a design similar to this, but I remember Matt beat knocked me out of the HJC Open last year with a Tampa Bay concept like this one.  It's not hard to understand why, execution here is gorgeous, and the lightning elements of the jersey are subtle but stand out enough to give Tampa their own identity on this jersey, while being realistic to typical hockey styles.  The yoke design looks great, all the striping patterns match, and the colours are well balanced.

Nay: The one complaint I have, which is more of a preference than anything, is that I'm not a huge fan of yoke outlines or similar styles, when there is no yoke on the jersey.  I think the dark jersey looks good without a contrasting yoke, as seen here, but to me it makes the outline-style unnecessary. Just my two cents.

Overall: Simply put, fantastic.  9.5/10

St. Louis Blues Concept - Matt M.

Yay: Blue and yellow is really the look St. Louis should keep. I like how these jerseys have a clean Nike-esque feel to them, except they look good of course.  The striping pattern is pretty original, and clean, but... (I'll continue this part later).  I like the long, contrasting cuff design, and how it matches up with the hem design.  The equipment looks nice, everything looks synchronized, and execution is pretty solid.

Nay: But... first the stripes, they look a bit busy, especially at the hem. I don't get the striping pattern, and think one thick white stripe would be better than two smaller ones in this case. I also don't like how the two different "Blues" blue colours are used. The jersey looks better with dark blue, and I get that using the dark blue logo on the home jersey is bad, but the lighter blue just looks out of place, unless you use it somewhere else in the jersey as well (on both sets). I also don't like the yellow outline on the white jersey for the text.

Overall: Not as good as the previous concept, but overall still pretty good. 7.8/10

San Jose Sharks Concept - Matt M.

Yay: In my opinion, the less orange that is on the Sharks' jerseys, the better. A little bit is okay, as we see here.  This is a totally believable Sharks jersey, but is also totally original in design, which is great.  The font choice is interesting but it works here I think.  Again, the striping pattern and long cuff design looks great on these jerseys, and better yet it matches with the hem. Solid execution, as we always seem to get from Matt's work.

Nay: The only thing I don't like here involves the hem. In colour pattern, it matches with the arms, which I like.  The problem is that the grey is a lot more noticeable on the arms than the hem. I think the grey on the hem should be thicker, as should the little teal/white stripe at the top of the hem. And possibly a thin orange line to perfectly match it to the arms and socks. 

Overall: Yet another great concept from Matt. 8.2/10.

Colgate Autism Awareness Concept - Phil B.

Yay: Here is a concept from a contest that takes us back a month or two. I absolutely loved the contest and the designs that were completed for it.  The colours work well with this traditional striping pattern, almost like an Avalanche-Nordiques remix.  The number style would never work for a regular jersey, but it's perfect here.

Nay: I can't remember if it was required not to have one or not, but I like seeing name bars on a concept. Also, I like seeing the artist's name on the concept, or ID or something like that.  As for the actual jersey, I don't have many complaints, besides the main logo is a bit too large.

Overall: It's a nice, simpler concept, but it would look great on the ice. And for a good cause. Solid effort, 7.5/10

New York Rangers Concept - Phil B. 

Yay: Well this is... different.  I applaud the totally unique look we see here.  It's a modern, almost soccer-ready jersey with splashes of classic Rangers style.  For what this jersey is going for, the execution is great. The equipment is all well designed, and the traditional striping pattern prevent this jersey from going totally over the deep end.

Nay: The idea for the front is great, but it fails because the contrasting colours just come out of nowhere.  If there was some sort of colour wrap-around, or something to that effect, I think the jersey would still look strange, but more modernly acceptable.  The arcing text for the name is usually a no-no in my books, and I don't get why we see the striped yoke pattern in the white jersey and not on the blue one.

Overall: Radical? yes.  Clever? yes.  Wearable? Questionable. Certainly an interesting concept. 7.3/10

Philadelphia Flyers Concept - Travis G.

Yay: I'm getting cold looking at this concept.  Not only does the background image here look beautiful, but the jerseys look Winter Classic ready.  The white yoke looks nice with the orange jerseys, and as hit-or-miss as I am with chest-stripe patterns, this one is definitely okay in my books.  Clean, traditional, and executed fairly well.

Nay: I made (and still make) this mistake a lot, but it looks awkward when you erase the stitching pattern in certain places, like the bottom of these jerseys. Show stitching, or don't, but a half-effort really brings a concept down.  I think the text for the name should be brought down a pixel or two, and maybe be white with black outline like the TV numbers. The black with dark orange doesn't work that great in my opinion.

Overall: A few little fixes I'd make to it, but overall this is almost pond-ready. 7.5/10

Florida Panthers Concept - Stephen T.

Yay: We end today with a double-double from Stephen.  First is a Panthers jersey, which doesn't look to particularly different from their original.  The colours work really well with these jerseys, everything looks to be in the right place, and the gloves look fantastic.  The stripes are nothing mind-blowing, but they look good for the Panthers style.

Nay:  The outline on the text doesn't look too great because it is so busy, especially on the name of the dark jersey.  The logo is a little large, and I don't get the random white patch on the front of the pants.

Overall:  Lookin' good. 7.8/10

Edmonton Oilers Concept - Stephen T.

Yay: His second one is the old copper/navy coloured Oilers jersey.  I personally loved this colour scheme, and even though I prefer tradition, I'd say let the Islanders keep blue and orange, and go back to these.  Traditional striping, executed well. Equipment and stripes look great, not much to complain about this concept at all.

Nay: Still don't get the random white patch. That's really it though.

Overall: Simple design, but it looks awesome. 8.5/10

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Definitely giving COTW nomination to Matt M's Tampa Bay concept, great work.

As for everyone else, sorry about the late post, and have a good weekend and safe new years!