Thursday: I am...

See y’all don’t understand me. My plan B is to win your hearts before I win a COTW.....hopefully at least someone gets that reference. Anyways hello fellow jersey conceptualizers and enthusiasts! It's Bpoe96, and I’m of course the new Thursday writer for the blog, otherwise I’m not really sure why I would be writing this. I’m not going to bore you with my life story or anything but here are a few things about myself:

Location: Pittsburgh

Favorite team: Penguins, 2nd Oilers

Favorite Players: Olli Maatta and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Favorite current NHL jerseys: This is most likely biased but the Oilers' set and the Pens’ new alternate

Besides concepts I also like to do “edits” of hockey players which is basically just editing photos of the player. My most recent one is below, and all of the ones I have made before were on my phone, as I am just starting to learn how to make them on my computer. Outside of hockey my only other interest really is music, and my favorite artist is Kendrick Lamar.

Original photo from russianmachineneverbreaks.com

Anyways, I’ve said enough about myself at this point so let’s get on with the rest of the post.

The 2015 pairs competition is coming up soon, and if you have a partner one of you should probably email Ryan about it so he can see how many pairs there are. I will be entering with my friend Connor, and I remember we entered last year but we never ended up submitting anything because we were both beginners at the time, and I guess we didn't have the motivation to do it. Also don't forget to place your votes for COTW and for the Video Game competition! As far as I'm aware neither of the artists in the vote this week have won COTW yet so it will be cool to see someone new win.

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

Video Game Comp vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Caleb F. - Buffalo Sabres

Our first concept for the day puts the Sabres in yellow. I think the Sabres could look good in a yellow alternate jersey...well one that can't (or at least shouldn't) be confused as a blue jersey. I like the overall design of this concept, it is a simple concept that's unique to the Sabres and it works well. The colors are balanced nicely too, and I like the use of the Buffalo inside their logo as the main logo. The TV number and number on the back both look a tad small however, and a few areas on the jersey are pixelated and rough, namely the IceBorn wordmark on the back and the "A" patch. The hem striping also looks a bit low. It would also be nice to see the equipment to complete the look.

Overall: Simple yet effective design that gets the job done (7.5/10)

Christian L. - Arizona Coyotes

Our next concept of the day is for the Coyotes, who definitely could use a redesign. The striping looks great, as does the Kachina pattern on the yoke. I also really like the sublimated pattern on the front, it's subtle yet stands out, if that makes sense like it did in my head. The TV numbers look just a little too small, and while this doesn't affect the concept, Ekman-Larsson's name has a hyphen in it.

Overall: Great looking and unique design for the Coyotes that I would love to see on the ice (9/10)

Daniel L. - Team USA

I like the inspiration for this concept and the uniqueness of it. I don't think this would look good for a main set but it would look great as an alternate. Like I mentioned I like the uniqueness of the sash design however along with numerous other concepts that use this design the sash ends awkwardly on the back, but I really don't know what else to do for it either. I think it's just one of those things that you have to deal with. I would also separate the red and blue on the number a little with white, the colors start to blend with each other.

Overall: Unique and pretty solid design overall (8/10)

Mike S. - Chicago Blackhawks

This set is not much different than what the Hawks currently wear, and I don't think the changes are beneficial to the look. The main difference is moving down the shoulder patch to the arms like the Winter Classic jerseys did, and while it isn't a bad design feature it leaves the shoulders empty. There are also reverse laces on the jersey, which don't really fit in on a more traditional design. The helmets also need logos on them, and I'm pretty sure this is just a mistake but the box where your ID usually is is just empty, so make sure you have ID so they aren't stolen.

Overall: While it is a good looking design it just isn't creative enough nor are the changes beneficial enough for me to give this a higher rating as a concept (5/10)

Phil B. - Team USA

Phil gives us a patriotic set for team USA for the 2016 World Cup. The jerseys definitely give off an American vibe, and I'm not sure if this was intentional or not but there are 13 stripes on each jersey, including both the red and white ones, and I like it. I also like how you put the World Cup logo in the collar insert. The logo doesn't look all that great though the way it is though, I would go with either one or the other (the star or USA wordmark) or even have one of them on one jersey and the other one on the other jersey. 

Overall: A patriotic look for the Americans (8/10)

Ryan C. - Denver Cutthroats

Ryan has been improving a lot lately and I've been really liking his concepts, this one included. Based on a quick Google search the Cutthroats wore very templatey looking jerseys when they last played, and this set is an immense improvement. The striping pattern and yokes look great, and the colors are balanced well. The only thing I would really change is to add some white to the yoke stripes on the green jersey. Also the TV numbers look slightly too large.

Overall: Great looking set and an improvement on what they last wore (8.5/10)

Ryan C. - Kalamazoo Wings

With our last concept for the day Ryan again impresses me with this set for the KWings. The striping pattern is simple yet works really well. I also normally don't like diagonal wordmarks like that but it works here because of the unique striping. There are a few issues though. The main one is that the red and blue in the stripes on the the white jersey should switch, or they should switch on the dark jersey, in order to balance out the colors better. There is also no need to have the same logo on the shoulders that you already have on the front in the case of the white jersey. The TV number also looks slightly large again.

Overall- Another solid set (8.5/10)

Well that's all I have for today. I'm going to give my COTW nomination to Christian's Coyotes concept, but there were a few others I think are COTW worthy so if you like them comment and nominate them! I hope you guys enjoyed the post, thanks for reading, and I'll see you guys next Thursday.