Monday: No Title Family Day

Today is Family Day in Ontario, yes that's what we call it, and for those in the States, today is Presidents'day, lesson: days off, no matter their names, are good!

Voting reminders:

COTW Feb 10-16 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Design A Country Top 5 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Yes, that's right, no Chris Osgood, no bucket masks, no threats of visits from players, I trust you all, the numbers has shown! I'm so proud! I'm not going to tear up...nope, not going to, just keep it up guys, it really helps keep the energy of the site flowing

If you haven't checked out the Team contest page, please do, as of now there are plenty of single concept artists ready to team up with you, so get your teams ready, the contest does begin in a week and it is always best to start early. Me and Wednesday writer Alex O. have teamed up in the name of the Central Division!

For those who are new to the site, please review the Logo Use Policy and those who want to review, please do so! It is a shame whenever a logo is stolen from a hard working artist and is claimed as someone's own work. We had a serious problem with the logo policy during the recent design a country contest.

On to the Concepts!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stadium Series Concept (By: Brady S.)

Boston actually gets snow, so a Stadium Series game makes sense, Brady does a great job of taking two classic teams and Stadiuming them up! The Boston jersey is like a really modern version of their 2010 Winter Classic jerseys, and the modern logo and claw like yokes blend well with the vibrant striping. The Habs jersey, is like a blue version of their current home, and the angled striping looks better than if it were straight. Nothing to complain about, good execution, good use of Stadium Series elements, good job!

Stadium Series 1984 Concept (By: Jordan R.)

Imagine these jerseys in NHL 94..yeah, these are really dated looking, but this is supposed to look dated, it is after all, 1984! Jordan has moved from the Winter Classic to the Stadium Series and wow! The Islanders jersey isn't that extreme, the excess white looks great, I really like the arm band, and the number under the logo isn't a bad touch. The Caps jersey is the really dated one, it looks like a star from a late 70's tv show, but at the same time, at least on the player model looks pretty good. The star doesn't overpower the jersey, and would definitely be remembered! Execution is amazing, as we would expect from Jordan! 

Stadium Series 1985 Concept (By: Jordan R.)

Flash forward one year, and we are now in L.A., where this game would have been a nightmare, but the jerseys are anything but! The Canucks jersey includes some awesome gradient, and would have been a very unique idea for the time, especially with the stark colour changes. The Kings jersey has relatively plain striping, aside from a  purple arm band, but the hidden touch is a subtle one. I'm not sure if the pinstriping has any significance, or if it just looks good, but it sames what is otherwise a plain jersey, and counters well with the Canucks flashy striping.

Winnipeg Jets Concept (By: Jeff H.)

This concept was inspired by an ideal left in the Leave a Concept Idea section and great to see it's being used. Some people actually liked the asymetrical striping the Thrasher had in the later years (Saturday writer Caz W. has mentioned it before, I think) and it would be neat to see Winnipeg pay homage to their former name. The striping is a direct copy of the Thrashers, and Jeff does a nice job putting WINNIPEG on the arm. The execution is well done, but the jersey is missing one thing, the Jets shoulder patch.

Winnipeg Jets Concept (By: TG)

TG gives us his take on Daniel's idea from the LACI section, adding two key elements the previous concept was missing. The first is the shoulder patch, which adds more of the Jets identity to the jersey, but TG also keeps the Thrashers original font and a nice collar effect. The numbers are a nice tribute to the former team, as that is what, I at least, associated most with them (that and bankruptcy) and the collar effect just looks cool, and gives jersey collectors a unique reason to own it. 

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies Concepts (By: TG)

The Huskies currently are the only team in the CHL that wears gradient full time, let alone as their primary set, and people either love it or hate, but the colour scheme can be used to create a classic look, like TG does here. Making red the primary colour is a good move, the Q has 4 other teams that use red as a primary colour and 7 teams which use black as their primary, so it would add diversity. the striping is simple, but maybe a little too simple. The concept doesn't jump out at me as interesting, and maybe some unique elements, like full arm striping that interrupts the arm band would make me like it more, but as is, it is well done, just a little bland. 

Denver Broncos Concepts (By: Stephen S.)

Fun Fact: The US Womens team scored more goals against Switerland than the Broncos did in the Super Bowl this year! Anyways, NFL crossovers have been popular recently, and Stephen gives us not only and home and road, but also a throwback. the home and road are clearly based on the Orange Crush look from the 1980's and early to mid 1990's, and most those elements are well used here. The white pants would be 100x better as blue, they would match the Broncos look more, and not look like the 72 Capitals. The throwback is sort of like the jerseys it is based on, which are really ugly, but the increased number of stripes actually helps the look, but again, brown pants would be better than white. 

Team USA Concepts (By: Jacob K.)

Jacob is a relativley new artists, or this may be his first concept, not sure, but none the less, welcome to HJC! Jacob creates an interesting logo for the States, sort of like a stamp, neat idea, but a little too busy, maybe a good shoulder patch. Many of the execution errors like the mismatched shades of red on the concepts are easy to fix, and the numbers, while done right, are too small and misplaced on both concepts. It is an interesting idea for sure, and I like the striping pattern being used, but check out the Tutorial section to get some helpful tips and keep making concepts to gain experience.

Team Germany Concepts (By: Stephen T.)

\
Germany's women's hockey team did make the Olympics this year, and wore similar jerseys to the States and Slovakia, just with black, red and yellow instead of blue, white and red. Stephen uses a more traditional striping patter, one that matches Germany's flag, which is always a plus with any IIHF concept. The hockey logo replaces the eagle as the primary, which is a decent move, because the eagle is then moved to the striping, which looks really cool. The colours are balanced well and the execution is done well, but the only thing I would add is some white to the numbers on the black jersey.

New York Rangers Concept (By: Christian L.)

Another non-Nordiques concept from Christian (don't worry, there are more Nordiques concepts coming this week from Christian) The big apple gets a more subtle Lady Liberty logo and navy jersey. The logo is the big addition to the Rangers look in this concept, and wow does it look good. The 3D font and Statue of Liberty crown look great, but maybe it would look better as a helmet logo & shoulder patch. The logo looks more like a script than a logo, and this would look phenomenal along side the Lady Liberty logo. Other than that, the striping looks good and the execution is very well done. Kuddos for designing your own logos!

Sentinel High School Concept (By: Matt Mc.)

Similar to what I did last year, Matt designed a jersey for his high school hockey team, and it was made into their jersey, though his looks 100x better! It looks like Matt had a lot of creative control with this concept, something I didn't have, and everything transferred really well from the concept to the jerseys. I really dig that shoulder patch, it goes well with the log, and the multitudes of stripes would set this apart from any HS team that just wore a template jersey. No complaints at all, it is always great to see someone's concept be made into an actual jersey, let alone a team actually using it, so Congrats, Matt!

Pembroke Lumber Kings Concepts (By: Gerard M.)

The Pembroke Lumber Kings are a Junior A team in the CCHL, and currently wear Detroit Red Wings jerseys with a red 1980's Kings logo. Gerard updates the logo to the 21st Century, with a unique look and a Kings inspired alternate. The home and road remain Red Wings inspired, but the red jersey resembles more of a 80's Pens jersey. The alternate looks great, though it is a Kings jersey with PLK all over it. Execution is good, but the only thing I'd change is making the red arm striping an inverse of the white jersey.

Erie Otters Concepts (By: Gerard M.)

There's no denying it, the Otters have ugly jerseys, maybe the ugliest in the OHL, but they didn't always. Gerard brings the Otters back to their pre-edge days, and updated their red alternate. The home and road remains mostly the same, but the blue almost looks purple, intentional or not the OHL doesn't have any purple so this would be a welcome change. The alternate is updated, as mentioned before, and though something like that wouldn't fly in the NHL, the lack of hem stripe and numbers under the script look good here, and fit the theme of the jersey. I'm not sure how I feel about the NASCAR numbers, they don't look bad, but don't match the look of the rest of the jersey.

Nasvhille Predators Concepts (By: Gerard M.)

This idea has been done a few times, and every time it is done well, this is no exception, including a new alternate! The home and road are clearly based on the Preds original jerseys, but the white accents look like the Sabres little arm flicks on their 3rd jersey, not a bad thing, just resembles the look. I'd love to see the Guitar Pick logo on the pants and helmet, but the alternate..is...amazing! I love every part of it, including the subtle checker stripes and Nashville script above the logo. COTW Nom From Me.

That's today's post! Agree with my criticism? Disagree? leave a comment for whatever reason, generate some discussion! Remember to vote for COTW, Design a Country contest and get your partners for the Team Competition next week. I'm Jets96, Go Canada Go, have a great last week of the Olympics, and hopefully for most, last week of a brutal winter.