Monday: Mish Mash Day and Blackhawks Review

Happy Monday everyone!

Before I jump into what I'm going to talk about let's get some real business out of the way...

Those of you interested in the HJC Mailing List, send an email to Ryan to get put onto that list.

Also, our CHL Redesign competition has started so email in your entries by the end of the week!


And we've got our usual weekly vote as well as the October vote, so vote vote vote! Maybe we'll send you one of them stickers that says "I voted" so you can show it off....Maybe...

COTY-October vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

COTW Nov 3-9 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

CHL entries (due Saturday @ 11:30am Eastern)

Something happened last week that I really hoped would have happened on a weekend so I could cover it immediately. The Blackhawks unveiled their Winter Classic jerseys last week and it was covered on the site on Friday. But since they're my team, I paid very very close attention to the unveiling and the jersey itself and wanted to go into a little more depth about it.

Team President John Mcdonough mentioned that the jersey was their 1957 model before the jersey had officially been unveiled so people that were posting concepts and guesses based on their teaser images during the day were mostly correct.

This image was shared all day on social media as this was most people's guess.

Image from www.heritagesportsart.com

It ended up being the correct guess...mostly.

Photo from Chicago Blackhawks

As you can see, most of the elements of that classic '57 jersey are used here. Black collar, white tie lace up, the alternate C logo is on moved down onto the sleeve, and a new all black serifed font.

At first glance, my feeling was mostly disappointment... I had hoped for something from their stripe heavy era of uniforms or maybe a fauxback like the Capitals went with. And this jersey is almost their exact away jersey.

As the time went on though, and people's reactions were getting put out there, I found myself defending the jersey. Yeah it's not what I wanted but... it's a nice ass jersey... It's so sharp. I've seen countless attempts on this site to move the C logo to the arms and I've never been a fan, but to actually see it on a jersey I can see how nice it actually looks. Especially with the C's new coloring. I love the alternate C logo and I love when it gets recolored on the jersey.

The new font is also very classy. And I'm surprised that the Hawks haven't been using a lace up collar since Reebok took over, they're one of the teams that would pull it off with smashing success. The all black collar also looks very nice.

A lot of the negative response called out the jersey for being their away jersey with the C moved, which is mostly true, but that's the team's history, they nailed down the look decades ago and have only slightly tweaked it. Also, hey, the black cuffs are missing for what it's worth.

Now while I'm saying I really like the jersey, there are some flaws that could have been fixed. For one, the old Blackhawks logo definitely could have been front and center on this jersey instead of the current logo. And maybe the use of vintage white could have set this jersey apart from their current white jersey. Or maybe a different striping pattern?

If you follow me on the social medias you probably saw a bunch of fixes I did for both Winter Classic teams, and they should be popping up here on HJC pretty soon so you'll get to see my ideas for a slightly better WC jersey soon.

But as for this jersey, I think it's solid, but not without its flaws...  8/10 and a COTW NOM.... I can't do that? Whatever...

Before we get to the rest of the post... look at this sexy new C logo....mmm

Photo from Chicago Blackhawks ... mmm

And now back to your regularly scheduled concepts.... also, just so you don't forget

COTY-October vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

COTW Nov 3-9 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

CHL entries (due Saturday @ 11:30am Eastern)

And now back to your regularly scheduled concepts.... 

Hershey Bears Concept - Zach W

First of all, lighten up the background, presentation is important and the brown/brown/brown jerseys on the brown/brown/brown background is a bit much. I love the new Bears' logos so it would be hard to make a jersey that they look bad on. The striping is neat, especially with the different browns. The jerseys are very classic looking, which works in Hershey, they like to remind you how old they are with throwbacks all the time. The only thing I don't agree with is the light brown pants and helmet, they should be dark brown.

Rating: 7/10

Vancouver Canucks Concept - Brights Series - Colin M

Colin brings back the Millionaires V and...yellow? That definitely brightens up this already bright color scheme. The can live with the V logo and the V striping, but I don't care much for the yellow. It's definitely a unique concept, I don't think I've seen this color scheme used for the Canucks yet, but why not, they've had just about every other color scheme haven't they? Like I mentioned, the jerseys as a whole aren't bad, but I don't think the yellow adds anything to the set, I'd lose it.

Rating: 7.5/10


Calgary Flames Alternate Jersey Concept - David P

David wants to see the Flames get another black jersey, but he wants them to keep the new logo. I think it's a good combo, the jersey is black, but the colors in everything else make the jersey seem bright. It's visually pleasing. I think it'd be cool if the same yoke used on their current alternate was used, it's a really neat and unique yoke, it would set it apart from other jerseys that use this striping pattern. The one little thing that bugs me is the white in the logo while there's no white anywhere else. Maybe change that white to yellow or add some white trim to the numbers or something.

Rating: 7.5/10


Vancouver Canucks Concept - Jamie R

Classic striping that the team has seen in their first jerseys, plus the yoke stripes from their 80's jerseys, as well as the current Johnny Canuck logos. What a mish mash of eras here. The only part I don't care for is the yoke striping. Everything is so bold and loud except for the yoke stripes, which are thin and meh. Ditch those and you have a pretty basic and sharp set of jerseys with Johnny on them, something I think the fans in Vancouver would appreciate.

Rating: 7.9/10


Colorado Avalanche Alternate Jersey Concept - Taylor R

My first thought when I saw this wavy hem stripe was Pepsi. Which makes sense as Pepsi sponsors the Avs' home arena. But the hem looks really nice as the idea is from the logo. It seems odd though with the arm stripes straight and the hem all wavy. I kind of want to see the jersey in blue since that's what their other alternates are. The blue pants and helmet are interesting, but I don't think they work, that's why the team uses black. If you really wanted to avoid black, then make them burgundy.

Rating: 8/10


Toronto Maple Leafs Alternate Jersey Concept - Taylor R

Taylor wants the green back in Toronto, sometimes. I can also appreciate the former Rockford Icehogs Petri Kontiola on the back of the jersey. Hell Yeah. This is a big mish mash of Toronto hockey history. The St. Pats' green and thick chest stripe, the Arenas' T and thin stripes, and the Maple Leafs TML logo. I think it works in the way only a one off specialty jersey works. I think if the jersey isn't so busy and stripe heavy it could work as a full time alternate. But how would Leafs fans feel about green making a comeback in Toronto? Leafs fans, fill me in.

Rating: 8/10

Los Angeles Kings Alternate Jersey Concept - Dylan N

Dylan brings back the purple! I'm on board! He also brings back the classic crown, but yellow is now silver. This is a very good mashup of eras for the Kings, a lot of concepts try to just recolor the crowns in way that don't really work but this one totally does. I think this concept could be slightly improved with a little bit of black in the color scheme, but this works fantastically without it.

Rating: 9/10 and a COTW NOM!

Well there you have it! Monday...Done...Dylan...Out...