Monday: Hockey Is Upon Us!

Happy happy happy Monday people. I know Mondays normally suck but today is different, at least for me. As this post goes live in the afternoon I'll be at the United Center in Chicago for the Blackhawks' training camp festival. This last week or so we've seen rookie tournaments and training camps get underway. This is it people. Everyone gear up. Hockey is upon us!

And to celebrate we have three votes this week! TWO COTW votes and the Disney vote! That may not sound like a celebration but trust me it is. Totally vote. Give the artists nominated the recognition they deserve. Do it or else. Seriously...or else.

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

COTW Sept 15-21 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Disney Competition Top 5 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Speaking of the training camps, I love going to the Blackhawks training camp festival. Last year was the first year I didn't go. Personally, I love being there for it. I can't imagine it's too different from any other publicly open training camp. But unlike fans of some other teams, I get to see current Blackhawks that are already on the team as well as the future Hawks, who I'll get to see for the rest of the year in Rockford. It's a nice little sneak peek of the upcoming season as I can see the players from the two teams I pay most attention to.

But, most importantly, it's a first look at any new goalie gear that may be worn by the goalies ;)... Speaking of which... Look at these absolute beauties

Twitter: @Tendy_Gear

Mmmmmmmmmmm, he rocked a similar look for Milwaukee last season and I saw him quite a bit in Rockford, odds are he'll be an AHL guy again this year so I look forward to seeing these babies all year.

But more importantly, let's get to the concepts!

Dallas Stars Alternate Jersey Concept - Connor J.

Connor thinks it's time that the Stars bring in an alternate jersey, and he's not the only one. He's not the only one who thinks it should be black either. Personally I think I'd like to see a gray/silver jersey if they don't go green or white. I like the idea of the angled hem stripes, I think it goes with their primary logo well, but not so much the Texas logo. I think the angle is too extreme, maybe straighten up a little bit. Not a fan of the name font or the use of the Kings numbers. I also think that with an angled hem, the arm striping should be angled as well. Another thing, for how much green there is on the hem and arms, the white stripe should be a lot bolder. Definitely get some equipment in there, odds are the pants would be the same as their primaries, but it's nice to see everything together. Lastly I find the yoke a bit too much. Either square it off or get rid of it completely. I think this concept has a lot of potential, there's just a little holding it back.

Rating: 6.5/10


Calgary Flames Baseball Style Concept - Christian L.

Now first off, the Nike baseball template gives off a very College baseball look, and what I mean by that is it's more modern than what you'd see in the MLB. College teams tend to get very creative with their uniforms and experiment more, while most professional teams, especially the MLB, have uniforms based on simplicity and tradition.

I think for a baseball uniform, there's a bit too much going on. I think the wordmark is stellar on a baseball jersey. I think if you're going for a college baseball style then you nailed it, but if you're going for a professional baseball look you're too busy. I feel like the sock pattern would go mostly unnoticed since a lot of players wear their pants baggy instead of high pants like they used to...and still should... I think if the arm pattern looked more like the pants striping then the concept would be better, at least in my eyes.

I also prefer the aesthetic of the white uniform. Flames uniforms look better with very little to no black. At least they do to me.

Rating: 7/10

Eagles Concept - Steven G.

Steven updates a previous concept of his with some custom logos. It's nice to see some artists here sharpening up their logo design skills. I think the primary and secondary logos should be swapped. Someone who wasn't looking at this concept might not know what the "E" is for but the Eagle is obviously a logo of an Eagle. As for the logos, they seem pretty bland as is. There should be some personality in them. Make that eagle look mean and aggressive, add some motion which could possibly be achieved by simply shearing it horizontally or rotating it slightly, Make the "E" look less geometrical and simple. Give that E some character. I think what you've got here is the beginnings of something that will look fantastic if you keep tweaking it.

I've got an eagle logo myself that I first sketched out during the 2013 playoffs. I haven't used it in any concepts that I've posted or shared it outside of a few people but I've gone back to it and tweaked the shape a little bit and it's turning out to be one of my favorite things I've made. Definitely keep working on these, I'd love to see what they could turn out to be.

As for the jerseys, the dark jersey is the better of the two. Either make the sleeves on the white jersey all blue or color swap the dark jersey.

Rating: 7/10


ACU Wildcats Concept - Taylor R.

Ooooh, purple, and a lot of it. I think the color balance on the white jersey is fantastic, but I think the dark jersey could use a tad more white. I think the striping overall is a bit too much. I think that has to do with how stripe-y the yokes are. Either make the yoke simpler or get rid of one of thick and thin stripes from the hem and arms. OR... make the arm stripes as thin as the hem stripes. I definitely don't like how the striping is different thicknesses. But, personally, I'd simplify the yoke as the colored name bar doesn't look great to me.

Rating: 7.5/10

Minnesota North Stars Concept - Christian L.

Christian resurrects the Minnesota North Stars with a jersey that looks very very similar to their original jerseys. The only difference is the green stripes added into the arm, hem, sock, and pant's striping as well as the numbers and logo while removing green from the collar. Neat new pants logo too. I think the addition of the green makes the jersey look more modern than the original but still keeps it classic. Not really anything we haven't seen around before but damn it looks good.

Rating: 7.75/10


St. Louis Blues Concept - Scott D.

Scott takes a stab at the recently new-sweater’d Blues. He takes the same approach the team did by going classic arm and yoke striping. I like the amount of lighter blue used on the dark jersey. I kind of want to see what the dark jersey looks like with the arm/hem striping’s darker blue swapped with the yellow or white. The white jersey has the color balance on point. I think this uniform could benefit from some pants striping. It'd be nice to see the helmet and gloves too.

Rating: 8/10

Trent Excalibur Concept (NCAA) - Taylor R.

Can’t say I’ve ever heard of this team but boy is that name sure something. I really like the color scheme, these colors work very well together and the striping looks fantastic, especially on the dark jersey. This is pretty much the best logo this school has as the other logo is pretty “meh”. I think the logo used here would look really good on the shoulders. Maybe experiment with a wordmark or something on the front, or, hell, just put the logo on the shoulders AND have it on the chest. 

Rating: 8.5/10

And there you have it people! a good daily dose of concepts! Don't forget to vote this week! All three votes people! C'mon, do it!