Wednesday: It's Crunch Time

Everyone should know by now that one of the biggest competitions in HJC history is going on at the moment! The Grand Rapid Griffins have entrusted the HJC community to design a jersey that the team will wear in a game next season. When seeing all of the talent, I can't argue that they chose the right place to look! I'll tell you something that I may or may not have mentioned in my posts before, but my first concept that I ever submitted to HJC was from the Colgate College Autism Awareness jersey contest. I had been making hockey jerseys for a while, but that was the first one that I let the world see. I know that there are some readers that don't regularly make concepts, but I'd urge you to go ahead and give this one a shot. Who knows, your concept might just turn into a jersey worn by the NHL's stars of tomorrow!

The first COTY vote in the second half of 2014 is up! This concept will be one of 3 that moves onto the COTY 3rd Quarter vote, so this is a big one. Don't forget to send your votes in, and especially don't forget to vote for the weekly COTW nominations!

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

COTW Aug 4-10 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Grand Rapids Griffins Competition (ends August 31)

 
Here are today's concepts!

Zach W. - New York Rangers Concept

Design: The colors of Zach's concept seems to be pretty much an inverse of the Rangers current away jersey, but with a crest. I like the striping, and I love the inspiration from the late 1970's by adding a crest over diagonal text. This could be a cool look for an outdoor game, similar to what the Canadiens did with their inaugural Heritage Classic uniforms.

Score: 6/10 - Zach's concept reminds me of my very first concept in the way that he looks to have created it. There are still white pixels around the seams of the jersey. This is most likely the result of using the fill tool over manually coloring in around the template. This was something that I didn't quite understand when I entered my first ever jersey concept into the Saskatoon Blades alternate competition. I'll say that this concept still looks very good, and I look forward to seeing Zach's future work.


Nate F. - Boston Bruins Alternate Concept

Design: College basketball recently had a new fad of gray/silver uniforms, and I thought that they looked amazing. The idea would be cool in the NHL, and I am excited to see more of Nate's series. This concept uses some very modern design elements such as vertical sock stripes, and shoulder stripes that remind me of old USA Hockey jerseys. I very much dislike the gray pants, as it really makes the uniform look more like a baseball uniform.

Score: 6.5/10 - While this concept has many good features, this concept is drastically dragged down by the elongated crest. The Bruins have a very classic logo, that for the most part, has been unchanged through the years. I see no purpose in distorting the logo for any reason but take up space. It really ruins the balance of the front and back designs.
 
 
Phil B. - New Jersey Devils Soccer Concept

Design: Phil's soccer concepts return this week with a couple teams on the east coast. The number font is what really sticks out to me. It reminds me of what the Minnesota Vikings recently did with their Nike redesigned football jerseys. I think that the font would look better if there was only one set of horns on the outside corners of the 6 & 0. The diagonal stripe on the front looks really good with the angle of the Devils logo, and I like how the sock stripes match the jersey stripes.

Score: 7.5/10 - This is an awesome looking concept! I really like how the team's identity is even incorporated into the numbers.
 
 
Phil B. - Nashville Predators Soccer Concept

Design: While the Sabres' new alternates didn't look very good, the general design has been turned into a couple very good looking concepts on HJC. I see some details from that design in this concept. It is pretty interesting seeing the Bridgestone logo in blue and yellow, but it looks sharp on this concept. Like the above concept, I like the uniqueness of the jersey numbers which of course come from the Preds' hockey uniforms.

Score: 8/10 - Simple but bold is the best way for me to describe this concept. This concept is definitely my favorite in the set thus far.
 
 
Phil B. - New York Islanders Soccer Concept

Design: After many soccer concepts that have deviated from the team's current uniforms, this one is a very literal translation. However, it still looks awesome! I like the thick stripes on the socks. It is pretty different from what I have seen in soccer, but it is a great look! Maybe it is because the last two jerseys had really cool numbers, but I wish that these numbers had a little more detail.

Score: 7/10 - I wasn't sure about this series at first, but these are really cool!
   
   
TG - Atlantic Schooners Concept

Design: TG gives the Schooners a second chance, but this time as an NHL franchise. Although the logo is from the 80's, the design of the jerseys gives it a modern feel. I like that the striping is inspired by the Atlantic Provinces, as it really gives this design some meaning in its community. My favorite part of the design is that the same striping pattern is carried over from the primary uniforms to the alternate, but the striping is arranged differently on the alternate giving it its own look.

Score: 7.5/10 - Once again, the primary design being tied into the alternate is what makes this concept unique. The easy way out would have been a gold version of the black jerseys, but TG wanted to impress us again.
   
   
Joey F. - Arizona Coyotes Concept

Design: Joey has made an Arizona Coyotes concept that is supposed to throw us back to the 90's, when the team played in Phoenix. The logo is very close in shape to the alternate logo that appeared on the Coyotes' 1998 alternate jerseys. The difference in the logo, is that it is meant to look more like the current crest. I like the diagonal arm striping, a feature that the organization utilized from 1996-2003. In my opinion, the hem striping, which looks to be inspired by the aforementioned alternate, would look much better if it went all the way around the jerseys.

Score: 6/10 - As cool as this concept looks, there are a couple of big errors here. First, there are many uncolored pixels, mostly in the hem of the jerseys. The biggest lies in the collar insert on the red jerseys that is uncolored. Given the color palette and the away jersey, I don't believe that it was meant to be left white. However, I never mentioned the best part of this concept. The sublimated stripes that appear at the bottom of the jerseys come from the state flag! Arizona has one of the best looking flags, and including that element into the team's uniforms would be a great addition as they rebrand from Phoenix to Arizona.
 

It's been a good Wednesday's post with a whole lot of variety. I'll give my COTW Nomination to Phil's Nashville Predators soccer concept. It takes a whole lot of talent to pull of a great non-hockey concept, and I think this one's got what it takes!

See you next week!