Tuesday: The 17th....of December

What's up everyone!? I hope you're Tuesday's been going just swell! First off I want to jump on some jersey news that's surfaced since I last posted. The Penguins have unveiled their Stadium Series jersey and I have to say, I'm impressed. Looks a lot better than I had expected it too. Hopefully the Blackhawks reveal theirs soon. Speaking of that game, I was unable to secure some tickets from Ticketmaster as it was flooded with fans on Tuesday AND Wednesday. The game sold out relatively quick and now my only hope of going to the game in March is finding a decent priced ticket online somewhere.... Oh well....

I'll just take my mind off of it for right now by reminding you to vote.... so go do that, or I'll be double sad.

COTW Dec 9-15 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

NCAA Outdoors Top 5 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Now that that's out of the way let's get to the concepts!

Toronto Arenas (Defunct Teams Series) - Rob C.

Rob resurrects the Arenas and gives them a set of jerseys that resemble Leafs' jerseys. It's a decent mashup of the teams but I'd rather see a modernized, more streamlined version of the sweaters they actually wore. This doesn't really give them their own identity, instead just prematurely becoming the Leafs. The name and number font doesn't look very great and the number seems on the small side.

Rating: 4/10 - Basically a Leafs jersey with a shield and phantom yoke.


Anaheim Ducks (Retro Edge Collection) - Wings98

Wings combines old with new here. It's nothing we haven't seen around these parts before. The Duck foot logo doesn't look good in this color scheme in my opinion. the striping on top of the jade, on both jerseys, is very thing and I wish it was bolder. There's not enough eggplant on the white jersey for my taste.

Rating: 4/10 - Nothing new here, plus the striping is way too thin.


Kamloops Blazers (WHL) Concept - Ryan D.

Ryan gives the Blazers a new jersey that just doesn't look as hot as the logo would imply. I don't know if this jersey would be considered a dark or light jersey. There's not a great color balance. Judging by the white panels being on the front and back this was supposed to be a light jersey, so I'll treat it as one. Lose the blue side panels and give the red stripes on the hem and arm a blue outline and it's already looking better. The NHL branding on the jersey needs to be gone as well as the Reebok vector above the name. The 9 looks too big, while the name could be moved up a little bit. Also, there's no TV numbers on the back of the jersey.

Rating: 4/10 - Ditch the colored panels and give it a distinct striping pattern and you'll see improvement


Kelowna Rockets (WHL) - Ryan D.

Ryan gives the Rockets a new jersey and this time around it's looking more like a hockey jersey. I like the striping and how the panels on the jersey aren't filled in. I don't care for the lack of white throughout the majority of the sweater. Some of the same execution errors are present, such as the NHL branding on the collar and the wrong Reebok logo used on the back, as well as the lack of the Reebok branding on the chest.

Rating: 5/10 - Best concept of Ryan's three today, keep things headed in this direction and you'll be crankin' out really good concepts before you know it.


Kootenay Ice (WHL) - Ryan D.

Ryan designs a new Ice sweater as well today. I don't care for their logo or color scheme very much so that's not on Ryan. As far as I'm concerned, he didn't have much to work off of here. I don't like the bronze yoke, I'd rather see it blue if any color at all. I can jump on board with the arm striping but I don't like the hem stripe just coming to a stop. If you're going to do that I suggest adding some piping down the stitching of the jersey. The logo looks oversized and other than that, the same execution errors apply here that did in Ryan's last concept.

Rating: 5/10 - asdf


Los Angeles Kings (Retro Edge Collection) - Wings98

Another concept whose idea isn't a stranger here. We've seen people combine the black/silver era with the yellow/forum blue era for the Kings. Both jerseys look fine, but on the dark jersey, the logo is way too bright and there's virtually no contrast between the letters, crown, and the yellow background. Either keep it the way that the logo looks on the yellow jersey or make the letters and crown darker.

Rating: 5/10 - Again, nothing spectacular, it's been done, and better. The main thing holding this one back though is the logo on the dark jersey, but quite honestly, this logo set doesn't look right in anything other than black and silver.

2015 Stadium Series - Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild - Stephen T.

Stephen plans for a Stadium Series game between Minnesota, and the team that used to call Minnesota home. Right off the bat, the Stadium Series jerseys have been more modern without any real hint of a throwback. There's still three more to be unveiled so maybe that will change. The matchup is interesting and I'm a fan of that. Though, I'm not a fan of the two teams wearing the same jersey. The Dallas jersey doesn't look bad, it fits in with their history so it makes sense. The Minnesota jersey though isn't as good. The black seems out of place. The Dallas logo doesn't look right either. The bronze either needs to be yellow or the yellow needs to be bronze.

Dallas Jersey - 6/10
Wild Jersey -5/10


2015 Winter Classic - Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins - Stephen T.

Now here the throwback jerseys make sense. Since the game is a rematch of the 2011 Winter Classic, the teams use color swapped versions of those jerseys. I would hope Pittsburgh stays inside for the next few years since they've been outdoors every two years since the first Winter Classic. As for the jerseys, it's clever to have them wear swapped versions of their last Winter Classic meeting, but I'd rather see two new jerseys. I like when teams combine design elements from different eras like this Pittsburgh jersey, so I'd like to see both teams give that a shot.

Capitals Jersey - 6/10
Penguins Jersey - 7/10


Carolina Hurricanes Concept - Steve P.

Steve redesigns the newly redesigned Hurricane's jerseys. The storm flag patterned stripes don't make their return, but instead, Steve keeps a simplified striping pattern on the jerseys. Also gone is the normal Hurricanes logo. The striping, while it looks nice, isn't very unique. Nothing here gives the team their own look. The black jersey looks like the old Blackhawks alternate jersey while the white jersey looks like a slightly altered Blackhawks road jersey. I've never thought that the flag logo was strong enough to act as the main crest.

Rating: 6/10 - While it looks sharp, it doesn't say Hurricanes.


Indy Fuel (ECHL) Concept - Dylan W.

Dylan gives the ECHL's newest team a set of jerseys that are very unique. The tire tracks fit the team's branding. I think it's better suited for an alternate jersey. I also don't like the color balance, or lack of, between the two jerseys. I prefer the white jersey that features more red. I feel like that jersey paired with a new home and away with some angled striping, or something jagged, or something implying motion like the logo, would look great. The yellow between the jersey and the logo seem to be different as well.

Rating: 7/10 - Unique idea that's best suited for an alternate, paired with a set of jerseys colored like the white jersey here would be great.


Providence Bruins (AHL) - Kyle N.

Kyle suggests that the Baby Bruins adopt brown as a permanent color. I've never been a fan of black and brown together however. Get rid of black and I'm completely on board. Also, I really like that alternate jersey. I like it so much that I want that to be the basis of the whole set. I wonder how it would look with the yellow, brown, and white color scheme.

Rating: 8/10 - Black and brown together doesn't sit well with me but that alternate wows me enough to save the whole set.... I say it should get promoted.


Anaheim Ducks Concept - Matt M.

First off, let me say that I love Matt's Iceborn template. The vector version is very easy to use if you're familiar with Illustrator, and it just looks fantastic. I applaud his effort in making his own jersey system to use, I also kind of helped. Not a lot though, the only thing I really brought to the table was helping him sort of test it out before its release, and the jersey mesh under the arms. If you haven't downloaded it and tried it out yet, I suggest you do.

Now for the concept itself. An orange Ducks' jersey has been wanted for sometime, and then they finally deliver and somehow fall flat. Matt, however, has done it right. Using current colors with the old logo and jerseys that somewhat resemble the old threads, but not enough to be a straight recolor. The only thing I'd want to see changed is the addition of a yoke on the white jersey. I feel that it comes off as a bit too blank. Or, better yet, a shoulder patch. I want to say that sweet new "OC" patch the team released but it might seem out of place with the logo used here.

Rating: 8.5 - Blank white shoulders holds the concept back to me, I'd either color those shoulders or add a patch.


Team Prussia Concept - Alan H.

Prussia hasn't been a country since 1947, but that didn't stop Alan from making a hell of a jersey for them. I like this color scheme. It really shows how bad the Penguins are slacking with their jerseys. I'm a fan of the striping. I can't think of another jersey I've seen with that striping, so that's a big plus for me. The only thing I can't get on board with is the font. I feel it's got too much of a futuristic feel for a jersey featuring a long gone country.

Rating: 9/10 - The fonts are the only thing holding this back for me.


Buffalo Sabres Concept - TG

TG simplifies the Sabres' set with bigger, bolder yellow stripes and ditches the piping. I like how at first glance the doesn't seem to match, but when you look closely the colors on the striping are exactly the same. I really like that especially since it works so well here. I'd like to see some sort of shoulder patch, the shoulders look too blank.

Rating: 9/10 - Love the striping pattern between the two jerseys.


Boston Bruins Concept - Matt M.

Matt thinks the Bruins should adopt brown as a permanent color over black, like Kyle suggested for the Baby Bruins in an earlier concept. What I like about this concept is the brown replaces the black outright instead of just mostly, and leaving some black hang around on the jersey. I loved the Bruins' yellow Winter Classic jerseys and since then I've been a big fan of the team adopting a yellow jersey. But, my favorite thing about this set is, matching socks! I've said it before on the site... I...HATE... that the B's use yellow socks with a black jersey. I do not care what their reasoning is, it's stupid.

Rating: 9/10 and a COTW NOM, I miss the B's yoke pattern, but the jersey looks already good without it!


And there you have it guys. Pretty good day for concepts, a whole lot of them! So there's no excuse not to make your opinion heard in the comments!