Thursday: Movie Night - Part One

Bad news: Not a ton of jersey news to talk about.  Finally have a week to do my research, and there isn't much to be had.

Good news: Another awesome no-numbers-necessary review system today by yours truly.  As suggested last week, there will be a Christmas-movie themed post SOON, but not today.  Today will be about the best (or worst) hockey movies.  Every hockey movie wants to grow up to be the next SlapShot, but unfortunately, some only make it to Mighty Ducks level, or worse (looking at you Mike Myers).

Better news: Before we get to those reviews, I just have to remind you that we have THREE things to vote for this week, and a Live Chat this Friday.  What is a live chat? A Live Chat is when the puck come down, bang you know, before the other guys you know. Nobody there, you know. My arm go comes up then the game stop then start up...

Oh wait, that's icing. Already getting ahead of myself on the SlapShot quotes (there will be many).  Just visit the site at 9:30pm ET on Friday and see for yourself.  We'll all be chatting with the readers, writers, and designers of HJC, having head-to-head contests, discussions, and who knows what else.  It ought to be fun.

COTY-November vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

COTW Dec 2-8 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

NCAA Outdoors entries (due Saturday @ 11:59am Eastern)

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So here our are NCAA concepts for today:

Jared V.

 Rob C.

 Garrett B.

 Brady S.

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Victoria Royals Concepts - Jets96

Yay: Lets get the puck rolling with Jets96's Royals concept. The striping pattern takes a more traditional, straight-stripes approach, which I like.  The arms and hem stripes match, always a bonus with me, and the font choice is fresh yet acceptable.

Nay: Lots of pixelation issues here, which is never a good thing for a concept.  I like how this concept tries something different with the red stripes, but they don't work to well being that faint, and probably won't work with these colours anyway, so leaving red out of the jersey is probably the best way to go here.

Overall:  I like the direction of the concept, but the execution is pretty flawed.  Not as good as it's predecessor, which wasn't great to begin with.  Overall, I'd give this a Mighty Ducks 3 rating.

Peterborough Petes Concept - Ryan D

Yay: Ryan brings us the next part of his OHL re-design, taking a shot at the Petes.  As far as their main set goes, they've had pretty classic but boring jerseys forever now.  Adding black is certainly a cool look for them.  The font used for the numbers is a good, classic choice, and I like the hem stripes used here.  It's a classic look that the Petes should go for.

Nay:  The arm stripes and the hem stripes don't match, and don't look good together.  I think going with white for the numbers is the best way to go, so your TV numbers are good, but your main number not so much. Either way, they should be the same.  As with your other concepts, the font size issues apply here as well.

Overall:  There's something charming about the black on a Petes jersey, but overall this concept doesn't have much to like.  You know what else is charming? Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in a tutu, in The Tooth Fairy, which in general is a pretty bad movie.

Philadelphia Quakers Concept - Rob C.

Yay:  I wish the Flyers did more to reach into their Quakers past, like a retro jersey that isn't like their main jersey as is.  Anyways, I like the look of this set.  The simple logo and jersey design works well for a retro team like this.  I could see this as a WHA jersey, which is a good thing in my books.  I like the logo a lot.  It says "Philadelphia" while staying true to it's 30's look

Nay: This concept means well, and it's a great idea for a concept, but there are issues to settle before this gets off the ground.  The number is too small, the name is too small, and the logo is too large.  I also don't think the star stands out enough to be a good shoulder patch.  Maybe the old Quakers text, or something else relating to Philadelphia.

Overall:  There are things I like about this concept, and things I don't.  It's a good idea, but execution could be better.  Reminds me of the hockey-comedy Mystery, Alaska.  All the makings of a good, fun hockey story, but falls painfully short.  At least Little Richard isn't singing on this concept.

Phoenix Coyotes Concept - J3

Yay: I love the sandy coloured look for Phoenix, I wish they'd have a jersey like this.  Problem is, it's too light to be a home jersey, to dark to be a good away jersey. Maybe a 3rd I guess.  The jersey gives Phoenix a respectable, classic jersey that shows shades of Detroit's simple style.  My favourite part about the jersey is the logo.  It looks great here, and I'd love to see it somewhere on a future Coyotes jersey.

Nay:  I'm gonna talk some figure skating here, sorry.  In figure skating, you can execute your routine as perfect as you want.  But if the degree of difficulty isn't there, it's hard to wow the judges.  Coming back to hockey, there's nothing wrong with these jerseys at all.  In fact, if Phoenix had an outdoor game (which there's been rumblings about), this would be a decent look.  But the concept doesn't "wow" me at all.  Not all concepts have to look exciting, but they do have to be visually interesting. Beyond the logo, it's hard to keep my attention here.

Overall:  That being said, this is a good, well-executed concept, and it does look great.  But it's not as interesting as a cutting edge concept should be.  Did someone say Cutting Edge? The very funny romantic-comedy mixing hockey and figure-skating? It's a good movie, lutz of fun to watch (pun very much intended).

Rochester Americans Concept - Dylan W.

Yay: Here we see a simple yet patriotic look at the Rochester Americans.  Having red and white stripes, with white text on blue, gives this jersey all of the American flag elements without looking like...well...a flag, which is a good thing.  The "R" shoulder patch is a neat tribute to their original logo.  This has everything an "Americans" jersey would need, and looks great while doing it.

Nay: I'm not sure how I like the blue being on the shoulders and not on the cuffs.  From the side, it would make it look like the jersey has a yoke, when really it doesn't.  I'd also consider using red for the number with a blue outline, then blue for the name bar.  It would match more with the logo, and I don't like the look of red outlines on white.  That's just my personal preference though.

Overall:  Just because I'm not a fan of it, doesn't mean its not a good concept.  This is a great look for the Americans. I'd love to see these later this month in the Spengler Cup, but alas it would be riddled with advertisements.  As for the movie comparison, it's great and patriotic, so is there anything else I could compare it to other than Miracle?

Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens Concept - Stephen T.

Yay: Ah the classic Habs-Bruins matchup.  For the Bruins, I notice a cool mix of eras in Bruins history.  We have the logo from the 40's, yoke style from the 60's, and stripes that are a mix between mid-2000's and current striping style.  They look great together and it looks like a respectable Bruins jersey.  The Habs jersey is pretty much untouched, which is good.  The only changes are something that I'll get to below.

Nay: For the Bruins jersey, there's a reason they've never used white font on the black jersey, it's way too bright, and the yellow outline doesn't help at all.  I know the Bruins used those socks forever, so it's historically accurate, but I've never been a fan as they're just too busy.  For the Canadiens jersey, I think the name is too small, and I don't understand the reason for having the logo on the arm like that. Plus if it's only on one arm, shouldn't one of the logos be on the other side?

Overall: I really wanted to give this concept the Rocket treatment, but there are a few two many execution errors and lack of originality to get that far.  This isn't a bad concept by any means, but it's not particularly great, or original, so this gets D2: The Mighty Ducks. 

Plymouth Whalers Concept - Ryan D.

Yay:  Ryan is back for another OHL jersey, this time he tackles the Whalers.  I loved when they had the Hartford-style jerseys, but currently their jerseys are pretty bland.  The full-colour sides are pretty cool, the yoke looks good and the TV numbers are the right size.

Nay:  Everything else already said applies here, no need to say it again.  The biggest one here is that the striping was poorly executed.  The distance between the stripes varies a lot, as does the size of some of the stripes.  I also think the hem stripes on the front get confusing with the trim of the jersey.

Overall:  There isn't much to like about to like about the jerseys, but the effort is respectable.  Unfortunately, this gets the rank of SlapShot2, the hilariously bad sequel to possibly the greatest hockey movie ever.

Calgary Flames Concept - Ricky M.

Yay:  I like seeing some new concepts using the new Flames logo.  It's an awesome logo that has strangely been demoted to shoulder patch on a mediocre 3rd jersey.  The black looks great with this logo, and I like how the stripes look on these jerseys.

Nay: I think the TV numbers are too big, and I'd probably switch the yellow for red everywhere on the jersey outside of the logo and yoke.  The numbers and letters are a little too dark and hard to notice on a black jersey, and I think the stripes would fit better with the jersey if they were mainly red.  Now they kinda stand out, and not in a good way.

Overall:  These aren't bad at all, but there's quite a bit of room for improvement.  Reminds me of the action-sports movie Sudden Death, a cool but somewhat cheesy movie where Jean-Claude Van Damme saves the Pittsburgh Penguins and their fans from a terrorist.  Lemieux could have been a more convincing hero of the story, as he's saved the Penguins many times already. 

Anaheim Ducks Concept - Gerard M.

Yay: Why hasn't this happened already?  Gerard shows us what the Anaheim Ducks should look like. It's apparent from the reaction of their Retro Night this year that going back to the Disney Duck look isn't a bad idea.  Combine that with the original striping the modern ducks bring, and you have an awesome jersey in your hands.  Everything about the main set is perfect.

Nay:  The 3rd jersey goes for a more traditional look, with very untraditional colours.  It doesn't work.  The jersey itself doesn't look bad, and I like the teal colour for the jersey, but the orange logo doesn't look great with the teal background.  And if you have the pants decoration on the 3rd, why can't it be on the main set too?  I think it belongs.

Overall:  This is a look that should never be in hockey, unless it's on a team called the Ducks or Mighty Ducks.  Because it blends the two eras well (besides the 3rd), this concept is a great success.  What else could this jersey be other than The Mighty Ducks? The original movie in the MD trilogy was thought of as terrible by anyone who doesn't like hockey or has no fun-side. Everyone else loved it, and it was hugely successful, like this jersey could be.

New Jersey Devils Concept - Caleb F.

Yay:  I've seen the Devils logo, a "black-devil" version, their retro version, a monochrome version (see my Winter Classic concept a few months back), but never a white-devil version.  If the Devils ever had a black 3rd, this would be a cool way to change their logo so it still pops from the jersey. The striping pattern is pretty simple, but nothing wrong with that, especially when talking about the NJ Devils.

Nay: The jersey is executed well, besides some sizing or placement issues. The logo could be smaller,  the main number could be a bit smaller, or higher up on the jersey, and the name could be higher up just a little bit as well.  I'm not sure how much I like the red outline on the white font here.  It works for the TV numbers, but it's hard to see on the main number.

Overall:  There are a few things I don't like about the jersey, but it's out-of-the-box, and it works out well here.  I think this would be a very underrated concept by most people. Thus, I'll give it the rank of Youngblood, a movie from the 80's when hockey still wasn't that popular, but they took a high risk making the movie and the end result was one of the better hockey movies out there. Who could argue with a cast of Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, and Keanu Reeves?

Sherbrooke Phoenix Concept - Trevor M.

Yay: One of the few teams that could use off-white as their main jersey and get away with it.  I love everything to do with this team's look.  Here, we have what I would assume to be a 3rd jersey, swapping their logos, and introducing the chest stripe that is familiar to some pro team nearby in Montreal.  Plus really, isn't double blue just the best look for any jersey? (Not if you ask Gerard, as we'll soon find out).

Nay: The TV numbers here are way too big, not to mention incorrectly placed.  It's a common mistake to switch the TV numbers on the back, but it doesn't work that way. Your shoulder patches are correct, so use that as a reference.  If you were to look at this jersey from the side where the main Phoenix logo is on, you'd see the number "33".  Beyond that, I don't really like the look of the pants and socks.  The gloves are okay, they look great actually, but the rest of the equipment looks a little out there.

Overall:  This had the potential to be a fantastic concept, but some fatal execution errors and design choices made it miss the mark. It's a stretch to call this a movie, but I'll rank this as The Wrath of Grapes: The Don Cherry Story. This CBC mini-series chronicles the life of Don Cherry from player to coach to broadcaster.  It's a great story, and CBC does exceptional work with their hockey mini-series', but this felt a little over done, and weakened with it's acting and narration.

San Jose Sharks Concept - Ricky M.

Yay: Here's Ricky's 2nd jersey of the day, this time an orange 3rd for San Jose.  I love the idea of an orange 3rd for the Sharks, and the triangle logo recoloured looks excellent here. The striping pattern here looks completely different, but I think it works in this case.  Almost all of the colours work well here, and it's a really interesting idea for San Jose.

Nay: The TV numbers are way too big.  And with the small black font and orange outline, the number almost looks brown. That doesn't belong here at all. I don't think the drop shadow on the numbers are necessary, as it's a good looking font without the shadow.  The main number and logo are a little small, and the name is impossible to see clearly.

Overall: It was a good idea at the time, but too many things that just don't belong or executed poorly turn this concept into a work-in-progress. For monkeying around with some wacky styles, this concept gets the rank of Most Valuable Primate. 

Reebok Parody Concept - Gerard M.

Well this is interesting. A parody on the "bad" design styles of the last few years. I'll have to change my review for this one

Agree: Pit Stains, check. Wordmark, check. No Hem, check. Chest Numbers, what is this college? Check. Laces, not every team is a classic team, check. Half Stripes, check. Random Piping, when everything else says "traditional", this ruins everything, check. Circle Logo, while a great look, St Louis and Florida really don't need it, check. Squared Yoke, check.

Disagree: I'm a fan of vintage white and double-blue, so I have to disagree there. Vintage white is probably over-used, but I'd still take it. Double blue is a fantastic look in my eyes, and can never be over-used. Red-Blue is overused. Blue-Blue is not.

Overall: Besides personal preference, this concept is spot on. It's not that this jersey looks bad, but it has everything that is over-used or at least used on teams that don't need it. Well done, since I haven't seen anything else I've really liked today, this gets my rank of Slapshot. It's an awful movie from a critical sense, but everyone who loves hockey loves this movie.

Milwaukee Admirals Concept - Dylan W.

Yay: Our last real concept for today is from Dylan W., bringing us his Admirals concept. These jerseys give the Admirals a light-blue jersey they desperately need. The striping is really cool, and matches well throughout the jersey.  The drop shadow numbers is a look that I rarely like to see, but it works well on this set.  Execution is spot on, and everything I like to see on a jersey is here.

Nay: Just a simple question that may have a good answer, or not, but why doesn't the skull have his mouth?  I get that some people don't include the mouth on the logo, but I think it just looks silly without it. It looks silly with it actually, but it works for Milwaukee.

Overall: SlapShot is probably my favourite hockey movie, but in my mind it isn't the best.  That belongs to the CBC mini-series Canada-Russia '72. It's such a great story, and the acting, effects, and references to history were just so well executed, that it gets my top prize. As a bonus, Dylan also gets my COTY nomination. It's not quite a totem pole, but I think it's close enough.

Jersey Collection - Caden P.

Lastly, Caden shows off his jersey collection to us, with teams from the OHL and ECHL.  I don't have much to say or critique on this collection, other than I'm slightly jealous and would love a 67's jersey. Being Game Worn from the memorial cup is pretty awesome.

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Well that's a wrap for today.  I felt that I was a little harsher today than usual.  Hopefully not too harsh.  Hope you enjoyed today's post and have a good weekend!