Thursday: Titleless

Hello again everybody and welcome back to yet another Thursday post! As all or most of you would know the first game of the final was yesterday. The Hawks scored two third period goals to put them ahead of the one goal lead the Bolts had for a lot of the game. I'm personally jumping onto the Bolts finals bandwagon, but in the end it really doesn't matter to me seeing as my favorite team was eliminated in the first round and my other favorite was the one who (I think) was the first to be eliminated from even being able to make the playoffs. Well, at least they should (hopefully) get the next Crosby now.

So last Sunday myself, Ryan, and a few other writers (Jack, DBro, Jets96), recorded a podcast revolving mainly around the SCF, just comparing the teams from both a more analytical standpoint and a jersey standpoint, plus some other extra things! If you have the time and it tickles your fancy just click this word and it should link you right to the youtube video of it (for whatever reason like 20 minutes into it).

Design News!

The Prince George Cougars of the WHL unveiled their new logo (and sort of jerseys) last night.

Photos courtesy of Cougars' website & Twitter

Personally I like this logo better than the last, but there's something about it that just can't bring me to really like it, even though I really want to. The "new" jerseys are just the old ones with the new logo slapped on it so not much new to see there. Would look a lot better without the wordmark though.

One vote this week being the regular COTW vote. Also the HJC Open logo competition is going on, so try your best to design a logo for that if it tickles your fancy.

COTW May 24-30 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

HJC Open Logo Comp (ends Tuesday, June 9 @ noon Eastern)

Competition entries (as of 3:05 am Thursday morning, hopefully I remember to update it before the post goes live) (Update: as of 4:05 there are no new entries)

William B.

Matt M.

Wow, I think that's the longest intro I've written yet. So let's get onto the concepts. Here's a little refresher for how I rated them last week for those who are returning, and for anybody who may be new here's how I rate them:

Creativity: 1 point

Execution: 2 points

Pizazz, wow factor, just something that makes the concept really stand out. It's hard to do but I don't think you can have a perfect concept without it: 1 point

Other areas of the concept, or just the overall look, regardless of the other categories: 6 points

The final score will just be all of these scores added up.

And now onto the reviews:

Ben M. - Brooklyn Islanders

For this concept Ben proposes that both Nike produces NHL jerseys and the Islanders pull a reverse Coyotes and change their name to the Brooklyn Islanders.

Creativity: Simple, but I think it has enough creative elements to give it the point (1/1)

Execution: The captain patch and numbers seem slightly small. Other than that solid execution (1.5/2)

Pizazz: I don't really think there's anything spectacular that makes this stand out (0/1)

Other areas: The jerseys have a pretty good look overall. The chest stripe fits in pretty well, the only thing I would do about that is to make it thicker. The black and white jersey seems really drab though. It would look better without that extra gray color. To me it looks like an image of a regular jersey with a black and white effect on it.(4.5/6)

Overall: Nothing else to say about this concept that hasn't been said really (7/10)

Dylan T. - Colorado Avalanche

Dylan gives us a much needed redesign from their original edge sets for the Avs.

Creativity: Not really sure where to go with this one. The set uses unique striping with the mountain striping and a Colorado state flag and/or Colorado Rockies inspired third, yet I don't really think its a new idea by any means. I think I'm going to give this category a (0.5/1)

Execution: Quite frankly I think this category kills the overall look of the concept and yet it's only a few things that make the difference. These apply to all 3 jerseys unless otherwise specified:

-Name is low and small

-Numbers then end up too low and are also a bit small, and in the case of the home and away they're too spread apart

-Chest logo is too low on all of them, slightly big on the home/away, and a bit small on the alternate

-Tv numbers are too small 

Other than that the execution is pretty good (0.5/2)

Pizazz: As I mentioned before, the main elements of this concept aren't really any new ideas (0/1)

Other areas: This set is definitely an improvement on the current. The mountain striping would definitely be embraced by both Avs fans and jersey fans alike, and the alternate does present a cool idea to tie in state pride and even tie back into the city's hockey history (not to be confused with franchise history, since the Avs came from Quebec, and the Rockies moved to New Jersey). (5/6)

Overall: This set would look great with just a few improvements, and a breath of fresh air from the current jerseys (6/10)

J3 - Bridgeport Sound Tigers

J3 gives us an entry of his from the Get Your Own Jersey competition to review today

Creativity: While the striping is simple at its core, I think there are enough creative differences from Bridgeport's usual jerseys to earn it the point (1/1)

Execution: Solid execution (2/2)

Pizazz: This one is hard to say, but at the end of the day I don't really is that wow factor (0/1)

Other areas: The orange definitely looks good and it looks even better with the darker shade of blue that's paired with it. The white striping pops in a good way and the recolored logo looks great. (6/6)

Overall: Great concept that would look great on the ice (9/10)

Keegan G. - Buffalo Sabres

Keegan brings us a concept for the Sabres that adds black to their color scheme. The image name also says this is your first concept, so welcome!

Creativity: This concept is merely a paint bucket fill job, so I have to give it a (0/1)

Execution: Could be better but could be worse too. The area behind the tag in the collar has been left white as has the inside hem on the front of the jersey, those should be black and blue respectively to match the jersey. There are a few loose pixels here and there, and I guess this one isn't make or break but there is a thicker black outline around the stitching of the jersey. The font also isn't suited for a hockey jersey, check out the templates page for some fonts! (0.5/2)

Pizazz: Tying in with the creativity there's nothing that really makes this stand out (0/1)

Other areas: The addition of black could potentially work for the Sabres, but it wouldn't be very easy to work in the right way. I also like the bringing back of the B logo that you have on the chest, that's one good thing that they should have kept. (3/6)

Overall: Don't take the rating too harshly or anything, everyone starts from somewhere. Just use the critiques to improve and you could be winning COTW in no time! (3.5/10)

Ryan C. - Hamilton Mustangs (Youngblood)

Personally, I have never seen this movie. I actually haven't seen many of the big hockey movies like Slapshot (although I'm planning on watching that). Not a big movie guy. But according to a Google search the team wore Red Wings rip offs in the movie, which is okay since it's a movie, but Ryan gives them a more unique set.

Creativity: Considering there was no basis for this set besides a Detroit jersey I have to give it the point (1/1)

Execution: Solid execution (2/2)

Pizazz: There isn't a wow factor on this concept (0/1)

Other areas: The striping looks solid and fits in with the logo well. The white yoke on the red jersey also looks really good, as does the red on the white. The font works out well, and matches the overall simplicity of the set. (5/6)

Overall: Simple yet good looking set (8/10)

Ryan H. - St. John's IceCaps

Next up we have our blog admin Ryan with what looks to be his entry into the IceCaps competition.

Creativity: Hard to say on this one. Definitely more creative elements but it also partially just mimics the Habs jerseys. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and go (1/1)

Execution: Solid execution, except one thing. There are some loose pixels at the bottom front hem on each jersey. (1.8/2)

Pizazz: Also hard to say, but I don't think it gets it (0/1)

Other areas: I like how the set ties into the Habs set, and moves the same striping down to them hem (in the case of the red jersey). I also really like the Habs logo shoulder patch being inside of the stripe to mimic their chest stripe, nice touch. I don't think that works the way you did it on the white jersey though, although it's a good idea, I think it could work with a different yoke style. The font looks great, but on the red jersey I think the blue blends with the red too much and isn't visible enough. (5/6)

Overall: Good looking concept that ties in with the Habs and would look good on the ice (7.8/10)

Taylor R. - Chicago Bulls

For our last concept of the day we have a Chicago Bulls NBA crossover.

Creativity: I guess the concept of a league crossover is somewhat creative, the striping directly copies the other jerseys. Not sure where to go, but since this does what it should do for a crossover I'll give it a (1/1)

Execution: Solid execution (2/2)

Pizazz: (0/1)

Other areas: I like the pants style, and even though it isn't traditional I think it could work, which helps the crossover even more. The striping looks really good on a hockey jersey too, and I like having the Bulls script on the helmet.(6/6)

Overall: The Bulls would look great on the ice (9/10)

Well that's all I have for today. I think a few concepts here are worthy of a nomination so I'm going to go based off of which one got the highest rating and give it to Taylor R.'s Bulls concept. If you guys have any feedback on the new writing format, or if you disagreed with my critiques leave a comment and tell me! I hope you enjoyed the post, thanks for reading, and I'll see you next Thursday!