Monday: Heather Gray Hats a Letdown?

Hello there HJCers! We're entering the last stretch of the offseason before we start seeing hockey! Some rookie tournaments were over the weekend and the CHL Preseason has started. Soon we'll start having teams enter training camp and preseason and before we know it, the regular season will be upon us!

Quick reminder to vote for the COTW and to enter the Disney Competition!

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

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

With a new season comes a new set of merchandise that you actually need. More specifically with myself......hats... It's been awhile since I featured a hat but today's a perfect day to do it with only 5 concepts. Lately I've had my eye on this Heather 2-Tone New Era cap. I think it's got real potential as heather gray goes with everything! And New Era used some neat logos that we don't get to see too often including this Vancouver hat featuring Johnny Canuck!

Unfortunately, the bill is black. There's no black anywhere on the hat. Why isn't the bill blue? It'd look so much better and I'd even consider getting this hat despite my stance on the Canucks. Although, with Ryan Miller there I better get over it.

One hat that looks good with the black bill is this Mighty Ducks hat as it features black in the logo. The Jade looks really good on the gray as well. Maybe this hat will join my collection soon. Who knows, I'll probably end up with way too many new hats by the end of this upcoming season.

One hat that really teases me though is this Toronto hat. I love that alternate logo and as far as I know it doesn't show up on a lot of merchandise. I wish the blue was bill so bad. It bugs me with the black bill on every one of these hats. If any of you Leafs fans find a really cool fitted hat with this alternate logo definitely let me know.

Anyway, only 5 concepts today, so let's jump right into those!

Battle Of The Brands Concept - Twitter vs. Facebook - David P.

The two big social networks. Both have very clean and simple branding and that's reflected here on the jerseys. Facebook especially. I think that the white jersey could benefit from having a red Wings-esque white jersey that features blue arms. As for Twitter, the black is unnecessary as I'm fairly certain there's no black in their branding. Maybe the current stitching pattern didn't look good in just two colors but there's definitely some way to have made it work without adding an unneeded color.

Rating: 7/10

2015 Stadium Series Concept - Pittsburgh vs. Boston - Mario A.

Nice to see Mario adding stripes to his jerseys and not coloring in huge chunks. I feel like having Pittsburgh in two straight Stadium Series would be a bad move for the league. Especially with this jersey. The jersey itself would actually look really nice, without the Penguins logo in the striping, which should be rotated so the bottom of the logo is towards the cuffs. Boston looks pretty decent as well. The striping is too thin for my liking and I don't care for the yellow panel all the way up the jersey. I like the yellow yoke though.

Rating: 6.5/10


Toronto Raptors Hockey Jersey Concept - Nathan N.

I think the marks on the sides and elbows of the jersey fit in nicely with the logo. The logo itself is too big. Definitely shrink that down a bit. I don't like the purple pits but overall I think the use of colors is done somewhat well. I think this concept is close to being really great but some of the execution is holding it back.

Rating: 6.5/10


Baltimore Crabs (NHL Rejects) - Taylor R.

I have a feeling this series is going to end up being pretty great. Especially if the execution stays this good. I feel like a better name than "Crabs" could be thought up. Crabs are either something you eat or something no one wants in their pants. I can't see anyone taking a team named the crabs too seriously. The color scheme fits with the Baltimore Ravens. I think the white jersey could use more purple. I'd also like to see the equipment used with the jerseys as well.

Rating: 8/10


Aston Villa FC (EPL) Hockey Jersey Concept - Patrik G.

I feel like soccer teams and hockey teams make for really good crossovers. In my opinion, the two sports have the best looking uniforms. This is no exception. Even the hem pattern is interesting to me, and hem patterns to me look best when stripes and only stripes are used. The colors are very nice and the yellow logo on the front really pops out. The only thing I'd consider changing is adding some white to the hem so it matches the rest of the striping but it looks good without it. Don't forget to ID your concepts!

Rating: 8.5/10 and my COTW vote!


And there it is folks and folkettes! See anything that tickles your fancy? Or maybe something you disagree with? Lets chat it out in the comments!