Thursday: Roster Moves

Hey everyone.  You've probably found out by now that both Phil and Alex are leaving HJC to pursue new and grand opportunities.  We'll still see Alex for one more post, but I wish you both all the best in the future, and thanks for being part of this awesome community with us. 

As such, HJC is now in need of not one, but TWO new writers.  Obviously, we just had a "competition" for people to apply for one writer position, so Ryan will likely pick the 2nd writer from the same entries.  Best of luck to all those who applied!

I don't have my regular pre-post rant about things prepared today, and the only piece of interesting hockey news I heard this week was that Sidney Crosby "apparently" got arrested in Ottawa, which has now been proven false.  I'm trying to think of a tasteful joke involving Claude Giroux, butt they've all been used up by now.  Yes, that was pun intended.

Before I get to the post, I shall remind you to vote for the COTW, it's good for your health.  Also good for your health is our DEL Redesign Competition going on this week, now 100% gluten free! 

No, I don't know what that means either.

COTW Aug 25-31 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

DEL ReDesign entries (due Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Enough already, it's time for concepts!


Today's DEL Entries:

Christian L.

Connor J.

Mario A.

Derek K.

Jared L.

Caden P.

And now, for our regularly scheduled programming:



 Winnipeg Jets Concept - VKB

Yay: Let's start today with VKB and this Jet's concept.  The logo is altered and simplified so only the actual jet is left, which is definitely a neat idea.  The colours (besides red) are kept the same, but the jerseys also have a more simplified look to them, which matches the logo.  The striping pattern with both jerseys looks nice, and the chest stripe on the white jersey works well with these colours and the contrasting logo.  Overall, love the idea.

Nay: The stripes would be more effective if they were the same on both jerseys.  The chest stripe is probably better off on the white jersey only, but the arms don't match at all, which bugs me.  Either arm design is good, but stick with it on both jerseys.  The dark jersey looks terribly plain, and could use a yoke or a hem stripe.  The hem tripe seems out of place, but would be okay if the cuff trim was coloured the same way. Also, no TV numbers.

Overall: I'd take the white jersey as a 3rd right now. But as a set, this concept hasn't made it off the runway yet. 7.1/10



 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Concept - Cedric L.

Yay: Next up we go back to school with this concept for Notre Dame.  They aren't the first NCAA school that comes to mind when talking about hockey, but they've been consistently successful for the last decade. This 3rd jersey is definitely irregular compared to other NCAA uniforms, but it is classic, symbolic, and definitely believable for the Fighting Irish. The patch on the pants is a nice touch.

Nay: Excluding the front and center of the uniform, everything is perfect.  The chest is where things unravel, though.  There is way too much going on.  I feel like the hem trim (solid brown) should be thinned out, the hem stripes should be lowered, and either A) shrink the leaf logo or B) remove the logo or the "Irish" wordmark.

Overall: Almost an awesome concept, but not quite there yet. 7.5/10




Norfolk Admirals Concept - J3

Yay: Next up is another 3rd jersey, this time for the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL.  It's about time I see a Norfolk concept that doesn't involve blue.  Blue is not in the logo, so why is it their main colour? I get the admiral = sea = blue connection, but their jerseys just look so bad by not matching the logo.  This concept fixes that, and its spectacular.  Execution is great. The anchor on the arms is a cool twist to what is otherwise a pretty traditional uniform.

Nay: To me, either the number on the back looks too big, or the name is a touch too small.  Otherwise, I have no complaints.

Overall: This should be a regular jersey, not just a 3rd. 9/10




Quebec Nordiques Concept - Jaime R.

Yay: Jaime didn't just give us one concept today; Jaime gave us four, with an explanation of each. The top two are if Quebec was around for the Reebok Edge redesign. Ugly, but probably accurate.  The bottom left is a throwback 3rd, which makes perfect sense, as does the bottom right jersey which would be for a Heritage Classic game.  Very cool concept, and totally believable.

Nay: As far as concepts go, we can discard the bottom two, as they're basically throwbacks of previously existing jerseys.  As I said earlier, the Reebok Edge jerseys here are pretty ugly. I think we have enough navy and red teams in the NHL as is, so seeing a uniquely-coloured team go to these colours is painful. The contrasting shoulders and mismatching hem and arm styles really turn me off of these jerseys.

Overall: As much as I dislike the top jerseys, they are still believable considering the Reebok look Jaime was trying to achieve.  The throwbacks make perfect sense as far as the story goes, but add nothing conceptual to the design. 7.6/10




Team Denmark Concept - TG

Yay:  Next up is TG and this concept for Team Denmark.  I'm unfamiliar with this swan logo, but it looks good for these uniforms.  The striping pattern is kept pretty traditional, as Denmark always seems to do, but still looks great. Where Canada, Switzerland and Austria screw things up by adding black and/or gold, Denmark (and this concept) knows you can't mess with perfection. Despite being a bit on the bland side, this concept looks very polished and superb!

Nay:  As noted, a little on the bland side. Also as noted, don't mess with perfection. All I would like to see is a little "something different" with the stripes, or incorporating the lion logo somewhere.  I'm also unsure about the font.  It works, but looks almost too...hmm..."pretty" for hockey.  I don't know what word better describes it.  I think a classic block font would do the job.

Overall: Looks great, but a little uninspiring. 8/10




Edmonton Oilers Concept - Matt Mc.

Yay: Today we end with two soccer concepts from Matt.  The first is for the Oilers, where both eras of Oilers jersey history is on display here.  Both sets are really modern looking (for soccer, I think that's good).  The grey set is alright, but the orange and blue set really stands out to me.  I don't really know what makes a good soccer uniform, but I'm a fan of both of these.

Nay:  I don't really get the striping on the grey uniform. The solid grey with white outline? That's fine.  But I don't get the point of the single white stripe above that, and why there wouldn't be another stripe below the grey, to keep things symmetrical.  The blue/orange uniform is awesome, but my only worry is that the Oilers logo gets a little lost in the middle of the striping pattern.

Overall:  Could take or leave the grey uniform, but loving the other one. 8.3/10




Detroit Red Wings Concept - Matt Mc.

Yay: Last but not least is a NHL-turned-soccer concept for the Red Wings.  Like their hockey uniforms, the Red Wings would stay old-timey with these uniforms.  A classic approach is really what is best for anything Red Wings-related.  I love the "D" mark used instead of the Red Wings logo; makes it look even more classic.

Nay: However, I feel this uniform is too classic, and has reached "boring" territory.  The white uniform looks more like a beer-league softball t-shirt than anything else.  The red jersey could pass for soccer, but still looks boring and could use some more white.

Overall: Executed perfectly, but just a little too mild.  7.6/10



Quite a few great concepts today, but my COTW nominee today is J3's Norfolk Admirals concept.  Many designers try to fix what isn't broken, but he fixed what clearly needs fixing, and did it well.

That's it for me this week.  Thanks for reading, remember your COTW votes and DEL entries, and have a great weekend!