Friday: A Bruin By Any Other Name Would be Just as Hated

TGIF, mes amis!

Jumping head first into hockey news, the Pittsburgh Penguins have unveiled their new alternate for this season. Was it what I predicted? Yes and No. I said the jersey would be a yellow jersey form the early days of Mario Lemieux, it's not a yellow jersey, but from the same era!

Photo from Penguins.NHL.com

What we get is a modernization of the 1986-92 black jersey, the one the Pens won their first two Stanley Cups in 1991/1992. Not much to say about it, it looks fantastic, always has, always will. If there was ever a case of giving the jersey community exactly what they wanted, this is pretty close to that. The Pens are wearing this 12 times this season, including games against the Flyers, Bruins, Capitals, Minnesota (who the Pens beat in the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals when the North Stars existed) and Blackhawks (who the Pens beat in the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals). Yes, Crosby does look way more mature in that jersey

On Tuesday, we'll see the Caps new threads for the Winter Classic

If you remember a few weeks ago, HJC polled what people's favourite and least favourite teams are. Of course, everyone has a favourite team,varying degrees of favouritism but one team stands out above the others, positively and negatively. The question then becomes, why do we hate teams? Majority of teams in the NHL we are indifferent towards until they play our favourite teams, but otherwise, most teams pass under the radar. What pushes a team to a fan following them for the opposite reason they follow they're favourites.

Here's a short list:

1. History!

Team history can have a huge role in future rivalry. Toronto and Montreal have been rivals since the beginning! They played each other so much during the original 6 era, especially in the playoffs. Relocation also plays a role, most fans in Winnipeg feel the Coyotes took their team away for 15 years and putting their team which they loved in the middle of the desert.

2. Heartbreak

Specific example here: Prior to 2011, did most Canucks fans hate the Bruins?.....probably not, but now, it's a war zone when the two teams play. When a team breaks the hearts of another team's fan base, hatred is almost instant. Though the Toronto/Boston rivalry exists, it didn't have the same vicious nature of Bruins/Habs, until the Bruins beat the Leafs in game 7 of the 2013 quarterfinals. Now, Toronto is very anti-Bruins, less than a couple years ago, but still there.

3. Location, Location, Location

Simple stuff here, team's in the same division/province/state tend to play each other more than other teams and affect standings more than other teams. Toronto/Buffalo/Ottawa/Montreal/Boston/Detroit fans will always be rivals.

4. The straw that Breaks the Camel's Back

Another example: Colorado Vs. Detroit 1996/1997- What I would call the fiercest playoff rivalry ever, but sometimes, it takes just one bad fight, play, series for hatred to brew.

5. Be the Bruins

No disrespect at all to Bruins fans, but in Canada at least, you guys are hated!


There may not be concepts visible, but COTW is totally going. TG Vs. Christian L. The ultimate showdown for the week. It's a duel of recent concept royalty! VOTE NOW!!!

COTW Sept 8-14 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern time)

Disney Competition entries (due Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern time)

Let's look at today's Disney contest entries

Nathan N.

CPM

Phil B.

Andy R.

On to the concepts!

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Anaheim Ducks Baseball Crossover Concepts (By: Christian L.)

While we wait for hockey season to start....baseball is a thing, but another crossover concept to come on the HJC path puts the Ducks in place of the Angels. Good job connecting the Ducks look to baseball form, the arm stripes are just enough to get the point across, the side panels would have been overkill. While the white jersey is near perfect as a home jersey, the orang jersey feels more like an alternate. I'd swap the black and gold on the white, the white and gold on the orange jersey, and add a black jersey. This only applies to the striping, the numbers and script looks perfect matching. Good concept though, just needs some touching up. (8/10)

Nashville Predators Concept (By: Dylan N.)

Ah yes, good old Dylan....Nowak.....Yeah, if my name could spell Wonka I'd do it took, but Dylan wants to go by Nowak now, but his concepts remain just as well executed (New name, same great taste). A blue alternate is an easy guess for Nashville's future, but this jersey attempts to combine the original Nashville with the current and the Bettman apron.This may have been and awesome chance to use side panels to add to the design. It's a unique design for sure, and there are only a few minor problems I have with the concept. The bare pants would be a great chance to use the interlocking NP or at least the numbers. The socks could use more yellow, even a top stripe would fit the bill, and I miss the piano on the inside of the collar. (8.5/10)

Hamilton Stars Concepts (By: Viktor B.)

Those expansion rumour weren't totally reliable, they weren't totally wrong but Hamilton wasn't mentioned, but that doesn't mean one can't concept. Such is the case in this concept, where....I'm not sure what league this is supposed to be for, but let's assume none. The jerseys are a blend between the Blues and a traditional template, and it works. This could have been something Nashville could have attempted when they re-designed to distance themselves from the Blues. My favourite of the 3 jerseys is the white jersey, though that's because it follows the template the least. If the piping was lost and just the horns were seen, it'd look much better. The logo is meh, a decent logo, but something more creative would propel this concept up to an 8. (7.25/10)

Kiekko Vantaa Concepts (By: Taylor R.)

I was unaware the Finnish had a 2nd tier in their hockey pyramid, but their is and Taylor gives HJC it's first taste of it in today's post. Obviously this would never fly in the NHL, but this is tame by European standards, yes, even the pants, which look awesome. Using the same pattern across the entire set keeps things unified, but colour be lancing becomes and issue. The white jersey doesn't have a lot of black on it, and the black jersey doesn't have a lot of white, adding cuffs fixes everything . Also, adding a thin white/black stripe to the top/bottom of the striping/number/name would add even more colour balancing. (7.75/10)

Kouvolan Edustuskiekko (KooKoo) Concepts (By: Taylor R.)

from a distance, you may mistake this kit for a future all star game, but it's not, as per the unpronounceable name above that has been shortened to KooKoo on the jerseys. the striping feels like the middle between the Ducks and pre-edge Penguins kit, simple and curved, but match the curve on the logo, nice touch. The bare helmet/pants combo is a pet peeve, and i'm not sure how the orange helmet/pants combo will look (yellow Pens helmets anyone?). Also, unless the pattern is sublimated, then the stitching should follow the striping, and be cut off at the hem. (8.25/10)

Thanks for reading today's post! Remember to vote/comment/nominate!