Tuesday: Semi Pro

Hey guys! A new year is fully upon us. Christmas/Holiday decorations have been taken down, school has begun, and I have finally stopped putting 2014 on all of my homework (The turning point). What was your guys favorite HJC memory from HJC 2014? Feel free to comment, it's really cool to see what the readers liked from a previous year, even if I was latecomer to the 2014 HJC blogging team. A bit late, but a New Years resolution for me is to put more time into my posts. I've been lacking lately, and it's not fair to the artists, readers, Ryan (who only wants the best for his blog) and the other writers. So on that note, let's continue!

4th Quarter Vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

COTW Jan 11-17 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

The "massive" fourth quarter vote is underway! This is one of the most important votes for HJC this year, as it determines who will join Jake and Dylan in the vote for Concept of the Year 2014! Do you still see no reason to vote? Well click here! 

3 of the 6 concepts today are for minor leagues, some NHL affiliates, some not (hence the title). It's actually really cool to see US and European minor league concepts instead of the same old NHL teams.

Evansville Icemen: Coby S

(One of three minor league concepts today, this one for the ECHL, a Double AA affiliated league consisting of 28 teams throughout the US and Canada)

 I got to design the (actual) new Evansville Icemen jerseys for this season, adding black, and removing baby blue from the color scheme. Fan reactions to the new set were mixed, mostly good, some bad. But one of the biggest fan complaints was the removal of the baby blue. Coby returns it to it's (rightful?) place, while using navy and white as accents. I'm a fan of the jersey design, but the jersey might look more original, and match better with the team's black equipment if black was used in place of navy as a secondary color. 7.75/10

Tampa Bay Lightning: Eric T.

Eric realized that the Lightning forgot the blue in their new alternate jersey. (which is an honest mistake :P) so he helps them out in that department. He also uses the Lightning current primary logo in place of the "BOLTS" wordmark. I wish you had've made the striping a bit thicker, and then moved the TV numbers between the yoke and the striping. The "TB" ligature on the shoulders looks rather swell, but the white version of the logo would look better, and not blend so much with the black of the jersey. But as is, this jersey isn't creative, and doesn't look good. 5.75/10

Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens: Jamie R

Jamie pits the Canadiens against the Bruins in next years Heritage Classic, which would pretty sick matchup even if the teams wore their regular jerseys, imagine how awesome two special jerseys would be! I like the B's jersey, it keeps the traditionalism of the Bruins while being a somewhat new jersey design, the Canadiens' jersey on the other hand is terrible. It looks too similar to the Habs' current away jerseys, and though there are a few differences, none of them are good. The arm logos in the striping are tacky, the striping itself is pretty awful. And the Bruins are playing in this game, yoke striping for the other team is a bad idea. BOS: 7.75/10, MON: 5/10

Boston Bruins: Jordan R

Jordan somewhat combined a couple old Bruins jerseys to make a pretty sick, yellow alternate. I'm a fan of the new (original) bear logo that he made here. The hem and cuffs make a good combo with the higher arm stripes and yoke and shoulder striping. The number font ties in well with the overall design of the jersey. But a better font could be used for the name. I also would like to see the current Bruins logo on the shoulder, if this was to be a full time alternate. 8.50/10 

Mississippi River Kings: Ryan C

(One of three minor league concepts today, this one for the SPHL, a Single A league consisting of 8 teams mostly throughout the southern US)

Ryan redesigns the Riverkings' jerseys to include their roundel logo with the decapitated head of their mascot. I think that if the logos switched places here the set would strongly benefit. The 'Kings have one of my favorite logos in the SPHL, and the roundel logo would make a better shoulder patch. The striping is okay. It just isn't anything special. 6.75/10

Portland Pirates: TG

(One of three minor league concepts today, this one for the AHL, a Triple AAA affiliated league consisting of 30 teams mostly throughout the US and Canada)

This concept for the Pirates is spectacular! The logo looks great in Arizona's colors, and the coyote logo on the shoulder actually fits here. The side paneling is surprisingly good, and everything ties in well together. The collar looks great, the extended yoke and black cuff tops look amazing! I honestly can't find anything wrong with this concept! 10/10 and a COTW Nomination! 

So, did you enjoy today's post? Did you not enjoy today's post? Leave comments! Artists and contributors feed off your guys' feedback on how to improve. 

You there! Yes you! Kind sir, Please click here! You can vote!  

See you guys next week! 

-Caden