Saturday: All-Star Post

Hello everyone! Last week I didn't have time to come up with an editorial post during our week-long concept hiatus, but I'm back this week, with seven new concepts. Today we have two Chicago Winter Classic concepts that are eerily similar, a Stadium Series concept, alternates for the Lightning and Canucks, and even a concept from SM Liiga!

On Friday, the NHL announced that the 2016 NHL All-Star game will be in Nashville! You better believe I'm going. It's great to see the Nashville fanbase, which has been solid for awhile now, finally get some good recognition from the league. I'm sick of hearing people say the Nashville isn't a legitimate hockey market, or "The NHL should move them to [insert Canadian city here]," so this is big for Nashville to be able to show what the Predators organization has built in the area on a national stage. Forget the game itself. It's boring. It's the event, the festivities, the excitement that it brings; that's the reason I'll be going. If you have the means, I highly recommend going. Nashville is a wonderful city to visit.

Also, have you sent in your entry to our Quad City Mallards Competition? I sent in my design this weekend. The deadline for concepts is October 31st, so get your artwork in soon!

Chicago Blackhawks 2015 Winter Classic Concept - Danny D.

Positives: I like the hem and arm striping. The alternate logo looks good placed on the arm striping as well. Execution and presentation are solid. The roundel logo is a good choice here.

Negatives: The yoke striping is a a little much. There's already enough going on with the arms and hem that a lot of yoke striping isn't necessary. If you must have that, I would at least take out the two stripes that are interrupted by the name bar, as well as the corresponding stripes on the front.

Overall: A solid jersey, but sometimes more is not more. (7.75/10)

Chicago Blackhawks 2015 Winter Classic Concept - Leo D.

Postives: Hem and arm striping looks good. The concept is pretty well executed. Leo took the time to put a logo on the helmet, which I always appreciate. (side note: it's crazy how similar this and the concept above are, especially made by two different people)

Negatives: This, like the concept above, is over-striped. If you must have the yoke stripes, take out the one that is interrupted by the namebar, and the corresponding stripe on the front. The TV numbers seem small to me.

Overall: While I may not necessarily want to see the Blackhawks in all black, this wouldn't look bad with a few tweaks. (7.75/10)

Tampa Bay Lightning Concept - RBowling

Positives: Color balance is a lot better than what the Lightning debuted recently. Have you seen one of those jerseys without expensive lighting? Man, they terrible. I hate it more and more every time I look at it. It's among the worst jerseys in NHL history, in my opinion. Ok, back to the concept. Sorry. A design similar to this could have been a better way for Tampa to pull off a black alternate. I also like that there are subtle references to Tampa's past.

Negatives: I like the yoke as a historical jersey reference, but not the logo. the logo shows it's age in a bad way. Also, I believe that RBowling just modified this from nhluniform.com, which means not all of this is his work. The concept is extremely pixelated; a result of recoloring an existing concept.

Overall: Better than Tampa Bay's new alternate, but pixelation makes the jersey look very sub-par. (5.75/10)

Vancouver Canucks Third Jersey Concept - Scott B.

Positives: I feel like I've seen a thousand green alternate concepts for the Canucks over the years, but I always come away with the same thoughts: the Canucks need a green alternate, and Johnny Canuck is underutilized. The jersey is well executed. The flannel-esque pattern is done well, meaning it's not pixelated.

Negatives: That flannel pattern...I just don't think that an NHL team needs to wear something like that. It feels like a minor league thing. The yoke is unnecessary. 

Overall: The jersey is well-executed, but the flannel pattern is something more appropriate perhaps for a minor league affiliate of the Canucks. (7/10)

Philadelphia Flyers Concept - CPM

Positives: These jerseys are very clean looking. The execution and presentation here is the best we've seen today. This set looks good, and has perfect color balancing. I really wouldn't mind it the Flyers wore this on a regular basis.

Negatives: I don't think the number outline on the back of the white jersey is unnecessary. It doesn't really make the letters more readable or stand out more, though I realize CPM probably just wanted to match the logo. Part of me wants to see the Flyers in orange, but part of me also knows that Philadelphia booed Santa Claus, so this is a town that black jerseys fit.

Overall: Great looking set. (8.75/10)  COTW nomination from me!

Porin Assat (SM Liiga) Concept - Zach W.

Positives: It's not often we see something from SM Liiga. It's good to get some variety. The jersey itself is clean. It's not a bad design.

Negatives: Clean, yes, but not very exciting. Naturally, the cleanliness of this uniform would be ruined when the team sold ad space on it, but right now it's not bad, but it's bland.  Also, I don't understand the two helmet thing. Why is there a black helmet and a yellow one?

Overall: If SM Liiga could refrain from using ads, some understatement like this might bet welcome. As is, it's clean, but bordering on sterile. (7.5/10)

Carolina vs. St. Louis 2015 Stadium Series Concept - Jarrett T.

Positives: Jarrett uses colors that both teams have in their color palatte, but haven't used as a primary color. 

Negatives: Let's count the differences between these two jerseys: 1. The primary colors 2. The logos 3. The number fonts. 4. The "names." That's it. Not exactly exciting. Also, I think the Blues should avoid gold, with the Predators making it a brand signature. A gold vs. grey matchup....not sure that would look great on the ice. The Reebok wordmark is missing from the Blues jersey. Guess that makes five differences, technically.

Overall: I would like to see more variance between these two jerseys. I know the Stadium Series jersey stuck pretty close to the template, but that doesn't necessarily mean that should continue. As an artist, you have total freedom to do what you want. Don't let Reebok's business practices stifle your creativity. (6.5/10)

Did you send in your vote this week? You did? That's great! Accept these Sergei Bobrovsky gifs as a token of my appreciation.

Did you forget? SHUUUNNNNNNNNNN

That's all for today. Stay tuned for Ryan's post tomorrow!