HJC Prime Time: YES

WELCOME TO HJC PRIME TIME!!! The occasional unofficial HJC Event when I, Dbro, have to post late. I hate that I had to post late today, but I also kind of like it when I have to post late because it gives me the opportunity to type out "HJC PRIME TIME" a lot. A few of you, including blog boss Ryan, assumed my tardiness was due to some heavy celebrating the past couple nights. Well unfortunately that's not the case, I didn't get my usual Wednesday off from my internship and the post was only half done, which didn't cross my mind until it was too late. ANYWAY....

I finally got to watch a Hawks' cup clinching game where I've always wanted to..... outside of the United Center itself.... Wrigleyville! For those that don't know, Wrigleyville is the name of the neighborhood Wrigley Field is located, and is also home to many many many bars. I'm sure a good chunk of you saw the pictures of what Wrigleyville looked like after the game, and let me tell you... Holy Cow! It. Was. A. Blast!!! Just look at this bar as the clock hit zero!

I'll leave it at that as I'm sure the high majority of you simply don't care, but I'm sure some of you know, it's a great feeling no matter how many times you get to experience it. All you want to do is share it with someone. You never know when the last time you'll experience your team winning a championship, enjoy it like it's the last time.

I planned on doing this next thing though no matter who won. I want to review the locker room hat and shirt from the post game celebrations.

The hat immediately reminded me of the 2010 hat, which was amazing. Gray back and white front, which, if it's anything like the 2010 hat, I'll need to buy a second one in a year or two because the white will turn yellow from wearing it so much. Why wear it so much? Well, my favorite thing about the championship hats is the neutral colors. White and gray... I could wear that with almost everything! The design itself isn't the best one I've seen. It's not the most boring one that comes to mind, but overall, I like it.... probably because of the team logo though.

Rating: 7/10

As for the shirt... Wow. I actually really like it. I don't care for a lot of the official locker room shirts. I end up liking some of the other retail shirts better. 2013 may have the best locker room shirt that will ever be but damn this one is good lookin'. It's simple, but not too simple... It's got some more intricate details, specifically in the CHAMPIONS font that really help the design stick out from the other locker room shirts. I own the 2013 shirt, I will own this one eventually.

Rating: 9/10

Anyway, only one vote this week, but also!... enter the 2 Color Competition!

COTW June 7-13 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Two Colour Comp entries (due Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Before we finally get to the concepts, here's today's 2 Color entries

Daryl D.

Christian L.

Tyler G.

Jack G.

William B.

Taylor R.

Colin M.

And concepts, here...we...go

Kingston Frontenacs Concept - Brandon C.

It's really hard to improve the Frontenacs current look. I don't think this set does that. Not saying that this is a bad look. I really like the double striping pattern for the dark jersey. I'm not a huge fan of the striping patterns not being consistent between the two jerseys, but with both jerseys being very traditional, I think it works.

Rating: 7.5/10

 Kitchener Rangers Concept - Brandon C.

Two bold stripes. One of my favorite hockey looks. I think the striping looks really good on the white jersey. I hope the reason the Rangers don't use their shield logo on the front of the jersey is because it doesn't look right. The shield logo itself is fine, but I hate that the OHL logo is in it. The OHL logo is now on the front of the jersey twice. If you swapped the shield and the shoulder patches, this would be golden.

Rating: 7/10

Arizona Coyotes Alternate Jersey Concept - Brian B.

For right now the Coyotes are still in Arizona, and they still plan on showing off new jerseys soon. Brian shows off an alternate jersey he designed with a little more flair than their current jerseys. The shoulder stripes/pattern are a nice nod to the Kachina designs used in past uniforms. I think the one thing that needs to be changed is the cuff swoops. Make those puppies straight like the hem. Looks odd with these straight lines and sharp angles in the little triangles, but then these swoopy stripes come out of nowhere.

Rating: 8.5/10

Chicago Wolves Firefighter Salute Jersey Concept - Chris W.

This would fit in with your average minor league hockey theme night. Not much to say other than that. The logos fit the theme nicely. Goin' all out on this. I could imagine these selling well in a charity auction.

Rating: 9/10

Indianapolis Racers Concept - Colin M.

The swoopy cuff stripes fit the logo perfectly. I wish there was some hem striping, but this is one of the few times I think a jersey looks just fine without it. I really really like the cuff stripes, did I say that already? My one complaint is the pants stripes. I'd rather see the red and white touch like on the jersey, but it's still a nice tie in to the actual logo.

Rating: 9/10

Washington Capitals Alternate Jersey Concept - Danny R.

Danny puts the Caps in blue. The Weagle looks really good on blue and on the front of a jersey. The striping is nice, but seems a little out of the team's current identity which is shown through through their logos and primary jerseys. Something more modern. The stripes could pass if they were a bit thicker in my opinion, but the 90's font has to go. It'd be nice to see the rest of the equipment.

Rating: 7.5/10

New York Rangers Alternate Jersey Concept - Nick B.

Nick suggests a new blue alternate for the blueshirts. The new wordmark isn't so new after all as it was used in the 40's for one year. I wouldn't be surprised to see it used on a future throwback or Winter classic jersey. I know the front number was colored differently on the original 40's jersey, but I don't care for it being white. I'd keep it in line with the rest of the numbers, OR, change all the numbers to white. Just a thought. I'd like to see the shield logo on both shoulders too.

Rating: 8/10

Ottawa Senators Alternate Jersey Concept - Nick B.

While it would be sad to see the barberpole inspired alternates go away, something like this would be welcome. Ideally, this is a dark jersey and there's a white version of it. The striping is a really neat nod to the barberpole designs in Ottawa's hockey history. And it's even better because Nick uses the 2D profile of the Senator head and not the 3D guy. All around great jersey. This is going to get my COTW Nomination!

Rating: 10/10 - Literally no complaints here besides the fact this is an alternate and not part of a set of home/away jerseys.

Grand Rapids Griffins Alternate Jersey Concept - Ryan C.

Not a bad jersey design. Very throwback-y. The namebar looks awkward to me though, although that is probably how it would be dealt with. The only major gripe I have is logo choice. The Griffin looks good in a roundel and I know somewhere Matt McElroy is looking at it with hearts in his eyes. The G on its own would make a decent shoulder logo, so put it there and give that roundel it's rightful spot on the front of the jersey.

Rating: 7/10

And there it is! Wednesday is done. Hockey is done... for a few weeks... Then there's the draft... then after a few short..........long.........long months... We'll have hockey again!