Sunday: 16 Remaining

Hello jersey fanatics, welcome to another wonderful Sunday post!

We've just begun the entry phase for the Semi-Quarter Finals (Not the Eight Finals or Round of 16, apparently Semi Quarter makes more sense).  I somehow managed to sneak my way into the next round, but face a monumental task of taking down Christian L.  And even if I manage to do the nearly impossible, the bracket is so stacked with great artists that it will be a great feat for anyone who ends up winning the event.  In all of the HJC Opens I've witnessed, this is probably the most stacked talent pool I've seen.  Good luck to everyone remaining!

We also have out COTW vote as well as our COTY June vote this week.  Tons of great and worthy concepts to pick from, but only one (each) will win.  It's easier than ever to decide, now that we have our polls handy on the right of the blog.  No need for emails or comments, your vote is literally two clicks and BAM, vote cast.

Nothing too exciting on the jersey news front, besides all of the new players wearing new jerseys, including Phil Kessel! I don't really know how I feel about that trade. It was necessary, but I feel like the Leafs got the short end of the stick with their return. 

Speaking of Toronto... who's excited for Raptors 905? No one? That's what I expected.

Let's get that nightmare fuel idea out of our heads with some concepts, shall we?

HJC Open Quarter Semi-Final entries (due Tuesday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

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

COTW June 28-July 4 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Buffalo Sabres - Adam G.

We start today with Adam's Buffalo Sabres classic style alternate, and oh boy this is a beauty!

Similar to their last decent classic.
Simplified the stripes.
Got rid of the colourful but ugly name bar.
Added vintage white, which looks great on these jerseys.

The shoulder patches look too rough and modern for this type of jersey.
Having vintage white on the cuffs but not on the hem looks a little strange.

Overall: This isn't a far stretch from their 2010 alternate, but the improvements are necessary and the end result is fantastic.  8.7/10




Winnipeg Jets - Christian L.

Next up is Christian's Winnipeg Jets concept.  A different Jets concept got him into the round of 16 of the HJC Open, how will this design fare?

Light blue seems like an awesome jersey colour for the Jets to use.
The stripes are simple, yet bold and give this jersey some identity.
White cuffs and hem go well with the design.
The colours are balanced well and the execution is perfect.

The chest stripes and the hem stripes as close together as they are make the front and back look a little busy.
I feel like a dark blue yoke would look good on this jersey.

Overall: Another alternate jersey that would surely be welcomed by fans. 8.6/10




Dallas Stars - Coby S.

Next we have Coby's entry into the 2 Colours Competition, choosing to design for the Dallas Stars.  Coby got a handful of votes for this entry, coming in 8th. Does that rank do this concept justice?

The 2D, recoloured logos look really sharp, and dare I say almost better than the originals.
Even though the stripe pattern remains the same, with one less colour, I think it actually improves the look of the jersey.
Fonts look good, and text is sized correctly.
Execution is pretty solid.

The gloves could use a little more design to them.
The helmet could use a wordmark or alternate logo on it.
On the green jersey, using the white logo, with a green outline and an additional white outline would look better than simply inverting the logo.

Overall: The competition was very tough, but Coby pulled through with a great piece.  8.1/10




London Knights - Daryl D.

Daryl brings us his idea of a new Away uniform for the London Knights. He brings some old flair to their current alternate, while creating something totally new.

Going back to light green is an awesome move.  This is one team that definitely should fault their old style.
The stripe pattern is traditional, uses their colours wisely, yet looks original.
As classic as this jersey is trying to be, it keeps the current logo, which goes better with the colours and still looks old-school enough on it's own right.

This shoulder patch isn't a bad logo to use, but one of their classic logos would be better, like what's on the helmet.
The font for the numbers is okay, but not very classic, modern, or exciting. Just ehh.
The name should probably be gold or white, and a little bit bigger.

Overall: I'm not a fan of their current away jersey, so this is an improvement, but it's not that exciting yet.  7.6/10




Montreal Canadiens - Lucas D.

Lucas touches the untouchable with his Montreal Canadiens set.  Is this concept one for the ages?

The home jersey is basically untouched.
The away jersey adds blue bands on the chest and arms, taken from their short-lived 1944 design which was brought back a few times in the 2000's.
The only change I really notice between this away jersey and the previously mentioned one is that the red cuffs on the arms are gone, which made the arm look busy.

Is it just me, or do the numbers look skinnier?
The hem stripes look skinnier too.
The outlining stripes?  Yeah they're a little skinny as well.
For accuracy and contrast sake, there should be a white outline between the red number and blue outline.

Overall: It's a small refresh to a classic set, but there's nothing new or mind-boggling here.  It looks good, I'd be happy with it, but show me something new.  7/10




Oshawa Generals vs Windsor Spitfires - MJFWerks

Did someone say different? MJFWerks plays up the classic Canadian football tradition in hockey form, putting two CHL teams into classic CFL-style uniforms. Oh Canada!

The jerseys are very well adapted from the CFL originals.
The logos look fantastic in the different colours.
Numbers, fonts, colours and equipment all look great.
Awesomely executed.
Fantastic, creative and unique idea that warms my Canadian heart.

I get that you're trying to be as close to the football originals as possible, but it's a crying shame that the beautifully recoloured logos aren't on the front of the jerseys as they should be.  We don't need two large numbers, and it just feels like more of a hockey jersey with logos instead. We'd still get the idea.

Overall: This concept, and the series idea in general, is way too cool for school. Love it!  8.9/10




Kelowna Rockets - Phil B.

Last up is Phil's Kelowna Rockets set.  He attempts to create a brand new set for the Rockets, one of my favourite sets in the WHL.

Their diagonal arm striped jerseys were awesome, but lacked diagonal hem stripes.  This set executes this tricky design perfectly.
They've barely used teal/green as a primary jersey colour, but it looks fantastic, so it's great that Phil finds a way to include it as (I assume) the main home uniform.
Using all 4 of their colours as jerseys is a pretty good indication of an awesome colour scheme controlled beautifully.

All of the jerseys are the exact same stripe and yoke pattern, just recoloured.
Looking at it again, I can tell why teal isn't a jersey colour, it makes the logo very hard to notice. More outlining could help, or a different logo.
No helmets for the red and teal jerseys? They could use the black pants through the whole set, but different helmets would be nice.

Overall: I love the diagonal stripes, but the set in general falls flat for me.  7.3/10




MJFWerks' Oshawa vs Windsor concept gets my COTW nomination for today.

To those who made the Top 16 of the HJC Open, congratulations and good luck in the next round.  For those that didn't, congratulations for being awesome by sending in your work. Your effort is just as valuable as the champion's to this blog, so don't give up, improve your skills, and try again next year.

Don't forget that we have 2 votes going on this week, both with our handy dandy poll on the side of the blog (sign in required).

As always thanks for reading and see you next week!