Thursday: Around The World In 80 Concepts

Hello gang, its Thursday, which means another post from your favourite current Thursday writer, William.

Today, there will be many international concepts, with only 2 NHL concepts out of 80 11, and the rest being international, junior, fictional or historical (or a combination of those).

And since everyone has been making lists lately, I figure I should join the party, and make a list of my 3 favourite and least favourite international jerseys. Disclaimer: I know I've missed some, but these are from what I have seen. Feel free to mention ones you think are better/worse

Least Favourite:

3. HC Asiago (Italy) - image from http://www.icenews.net76.net

Stars...stars everywhere. Their older jerseys had gradients all over as well. They might be one of Italy's powerhouse teams, but they can leave the "star power" on the ice and off the jersey.

2. Lahti Pelicans (Finland) - image from http://www.eliteprospects.com

I always enjoyed the look of the logo, even if it looks pretty cartoony. But the jersey looks awful when you have the logo right near the bottom, and if they use gold on the jersey for no apparent reason. Light blue and orange would be fine.

1. North Korea National Team - image from http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com

I know we're talking about North Korea here, but wow. The originality and creativity is just oozing from this design, isn't it?

Favourite:

3. Bulgaria National Team - image from frosken.com

I can't exactly explain what I like about this jersey. Maybe it's just because most jerseys near the bottom of the IIHF rankings have such awful or plain designs, where this stands out as looking like a very original, legit looking jersey. 

2. Dynamo Moscow (Russia) - image from prorussianjerseys.com

This is the Russian equivalent of any NHL Original Six jersey. Original and classic. In a league full of advertising and tacky designs, no one can argue how great these look.

1. Frolunda (Sweden) - image from gmhockey.com

This one is more of a nostalgic answer, as I've always been a Frolunda fan, but I like this jersey more for the logo than the jersey (although the jersey is looking great too, compared to other Swedish jerseys). As controversial as the logo is to some, to me, its as artistic, creative, intimidating and original as a logo can get.

And now, time for today's concepts.

COTW April 14-20 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern time)

Oilers Steel Drop Top 5 votes (due Friday @ 11:59PM Eastern time

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Columbus Blue Jackets Concept - D-19

Yay: Let's start today by getting the few NHL concepts out of the way. The first one is a Columbus Blue Jackets uniform set by D-19. The striping pattern is very traditional and straight-forward, similar only to their current 3rd. The colours and look of the jersey still look like a solid Columbus set, and I'm happy to see a recoloured version of their original logo used instead. Solid set.

Nay: The stripes on the dark jersey seem a little thicker than on the white jersey. Still don't like the look of red outlying on white background, just looks rough and unpleasing. Maybe some more stripes on the pants would be nice, but overall there's not too many execution errors.

Overall: Pretty basic design, but it is a different look for the Blue Jackets, and it works. A few changes I'd make, but overall pretty solid. 7.9/10



Carolina Hurricanes Concept - Ben A.

 
Yay: The last NHL concept today is from Ben, making a very different Carolina Hurricanes concept. I must say, while execution and realism are things Ben needs to work on, Ben has the creativity in his concepts down perfectly. The white jersey is very, very, very unique, and I'll leave it at that. The red jersey actually looks pretty good, and while it could be improved, using the logo as arm striping is an interesting twist.

Nay: For starters, presentation-wise, it's impossible to read most of that text without squinting. Better choice of background/font colour will help. On the red jersey, the stripes aren't evenly spaced, and the TV numbers should NEVER be on the yoke and tilted like they are. On the white jersey, even though the text sizes help with the design, they need to be a larger size so they can be easily identified. The idea is cool, and with the numbers as so they would almost work better as a football uniform, but some hem stripes to match the arms could help, and some TV numbers are needed.

Overall: Creativity gets an A+ here, and even though the overall score is low based on execution and design, I really do like this concept a lot. Good work. 6.9/10



Minnesota Twins Concept - Ben A.

 
Yay: Ben comes back with a less funky but equally challenging Twins concept. Pinstripes in hockey are avoided for a reason, but for a specialty jersey, this would look pretty cool. It captures the classic baseball look perfectly.

Nay: The stripes are again not evenly spaced out, and the logo is tough to see with all of the stripes in the background. You miss a little patch of colouring at the bottom of the jersey. I know it would take a little away from the baseball design, but I wonder if some subtle stripes on the arms and hems would make this jersey less plain.

Overall: It's a very neat mashup, but this doesn't yet convince me that pinstripes in hockey are a good idea. 6.3/10



Orsa Blue Bears Concept - Filip J.

 
Yay: This one took me a while, until I finally realize that this team doesn't exist, and is a team made up for the Swedish town of Orsa. Checkerboard yokes look really European, but pretty cool. The recolouring of this logo looks pretty decent compared to the original.

Nay: Hence lays the problem: the logo isn't original, and there is no credit to the original artwork. The logo is adapted from SC Bern's logo in the Swiss NLA league. You need to credit any artwork you use that isn't yours, even if it is adapted and changed. For the rest of the jersey, it's not often that a jersey has all 3 primary colours, and doesn't burn your eyes. This does just that. The number font is fine, but the letter font looks really straight and not much like a hockey font. And there is no reason to have white on the collar, since there is white nowhere else.

Overall: Very different, but lots of issues, including crediting artwork. 5.1/10



London Knights Concept - Garrett F.

 
Yay: Now we'll get to the first of two London Knight concepts from Garrett.  The concept leans more heavily on gold than green, which I think is a fantastic look for them. The stripes with the diamond pattern is really well done. A bit much for a main jersey, but perfect for an alternate. Very solid design all around.

Nay: Upon looking closely, I notice that a lot of the logo and number elements on the jersey have a really rough outline. It's not a knock on the design, but it does make the jersey look poorly executed. I'm also not sure if two stripes is the best way to go. I'd maybe try for one, thicker stripe with the diamond patterns. It looks good as is, but a tad busy.

Overall: Very solid concept, but execution and some design choices could be fixed. 7.6/10



London Knights Concept - Garrett F.

 
Yay: The second Knights concept from Garrett is a replacement of their current Home jersey. They currently use black as their home, and their green 3rd is terribly plain at best, so its nice to see a green jersey making a powerful comeback. I'm always a fan of the diagonal hem design, and I have to say that it looks good here.

Nay: On that hem design, I'd like to see the white stripe thicker.  Then, I would like to see the arm stripes more closely match the hem pattern (same goes with socks). Not a big fan of that logo, I'd rather see the white helmet one as seen inside of that logo, or their gold helmet logo. The number outlines should either be thicker (for the main number), or non-existent (for the name), since the outline as-is is tough to see.

Overall: Tough to beat what they already have. This just misses the mark. 7.4/10



American Civil War Concept - Stephen T.

 
Yay: Cool history lesson: during the American Civil War, the soldiers decided to take a break, put their differences aside, and play a nice game of hockey to ease the tensions. Okay, so that didn't happen. But if it did, and Nike was around back then, I assume they'd wear something like this. The designs are great, and very fitting for what they're made for.

Nay: On the Union jersey, the design is good, and the logo is understandable, but I'm just not sold on it. It works, but meh.  For the Confederate jersey, the design is fantastic, but the outlines look awful, and the stripes are so thin and close that it doesn't pop out like it should. Both pants are pretty plain.

Overall: I love the concept idea, and the designs in principle are great, but I'd make some execution changes first before considering this a "great" concept overall. 7.6/10



Hannover Scorpions Concept - Stephen T.

 
Yay: Now we're off to Germany for a Hannover Scorpions concept from the DEL.  I've been having troubles finding images to reference from, but from what I could tell, they currently wear a black jersey similar to the one worn here (with more advertising of course). I haven't seen a "white" version, but it wouldn't be a stretch if they were to use something like it. Overall, I really do like the look.

Nay: I'm pretty confident that Hannover has worn something very similar to the black jersey, so originality takes a huge hit. It doesn't help that the light jersey is just a recoloured version of the black jersey.  The outlines on the name aren't to pleasing to the eyes. The TV numbers are painfully lopsided, and the main numbers and logos look off-centred.

Overall: After the last concept was original and well designed, this was just a digitalization of an existing jersey, done really poorly. 6.5/10



Winston-Salem Roadrunners Concept - Jeff H.

 
Yay: Move over Hanson brothers (not to be confused with Hanson, the mmmBop band), the Roadrunners are coming to the Federal League! The non-fictional FHL is very small now, but a Roadrunner expansion would be cool. The design is clean-cut, but colourful, and is a perfect identity for a team like this.

Nay: The stripes aren't consistent in size, which is a huge execution error. The black cuffs on the arms really look unnecessary, as does the black hem line. The logo seems a tad small, and maybe it would be better to get rid of the circle on the home jersey (whatever jersey that would be) and making the roadrunner bigger.

Overall: Great story, great idea, great design, and great adaptation of the logos. Unfortunately, execution sinks this concept. 7.4/10



Gothenburg Lions Concept - s2dio

 
Yay: Our last batch of concept today are some very international concepts from s2dio, introducing some European teams in their own NHL division. The first concept is for the 2nd largest Swedish city, and appropriate home of a Euro-NHL team. The colours look fantastic, and the logo (coming from the University of Birmingham I believe) fits the jersey well. The equipment, and striping patterns on the jersey look very sharp, and execution is great.

Nay: I think this jersey could use a different coloured collar and/or yoke.  I also thing that the dark jersey needs more white, and both need some more yellow, maybe integrated into the striping somewhere. The largish numbers and high hem stripes make the back look a little cramped.

Overall: This looks sharp! Not perfect, but not far from it. 8.2/10



Stockholm Emperors Concept - s2dio

Yay: Today's final concept goes to Sweden's biggest city. If Sweden only had 1 NHL team, this would be the ideal pick, based on city logistics, and because this uniform seems to represent the country as a whole much better, having the iconic 3 crowns as the base of the logo (logo being homemade, always a plus). The colours are very interesting but awesome, and I love the look of the yoke on the light jersey, collar on the dark jersey, and all of the equipment.

Nay: I'd like to see some white on the dark jersey. Two reasons: 1) To better match the light jersey, and 2) you have white laces, which stick out like a sore thumb since there is no white anywhere else. I'd also space the stripes a little wider apart, or make the "gap" stripes thicker.

Overall: Simply beautiful concept. 8.8/10

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Surprise, surprise: s2dio's Stockholm Emperors concept wins my COTW nomination this week. Everyone has some really interesting concepts today, but no one else's designs were both interesting and well-executed quite like s2dio's, especially the last one.

Well that does it for this week. Let me know what some of your favourite/least favourite international jerseys are, and don't forget to vote for COTW and for the Oilers competition.

As always, thanks for reading, and have a good weekend!