Thursday: good jerseys, m.A.A.tta city

Hello again guys!

So today is the 3 year anniversary of the release of good kid, m.A.A.d city (hence the title) by my favorite artist Kendrick Lamar. Now I told you guys last week I had something special planned for this week, and that thing was going to be in order to "celebrate" this album, but a lack of knowing exactly what to do for it and also a finger injury that makes typing a bit harder will keep me from doing that, but maybe I'll revisit it another time. But what I will do at least is show you guys a few jerseys that are new to the NHL this year that are some good additions to their lineup. It's not like this is any new information but at least for the most part you get to see what they look like on the ice if you haven't yet.

Edmonton Oilers: WHA throwbacks

Photo: Edmonton Oilers

When I first heard the news (or should I say rumour) that the Oilers were going to have orange jerseys for this season I was pretty excited, as they're my second favorite team and I've been hoping for them to get one for a while. I got even more excited when they unexpectedly unveiled them after picking McDavid, and I still have yet to get my hands on one.

Anaheim Ducks: New alternates

Photo: Fox Sports

This is probably the weakest design of the three I'll be showing you here, at least in my opinion. It's not a bad design either, which goes to show that these are all some pretty good jerseys. It's also the only original one though, the only brand new one. Along with the Oilers, we have seen this jersey on the ice already, as seen above.

San Jose Sharks: Heritage Jersey

Photo: NHL Shop

A direct throwback to the Sharks' original uniforms, which are the best in their history in my opinion. The odd thing about this one is that they said it would be a jersey that reflects their whole jersey history, while it only reflects the original jerseys. Confused on that one, but I would love for them to update the logos on this and make it their home and away set. I always would prefer a (good) new design but this is much better than what they have now.

This week we have a few votes going on again. The gray competition is nearing the end of the voting, as they always are around this time of the week. The COTW voting is on as usual, and that's where it all starts for the concepts that are in the current COTY 3rd quarter vote, and one of those concepts will be in the vote to determine which concept was the best for the whole year on this blog. The fate of these concepts is in your hands, so go vote now!

3rd Quarter Vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

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

Grey Jersey Comp Top 5 vote (ends Friday @ 10:59pm Eastern)

And the concepts:

Lucas D. - UFS (Unidentified flying sketch)

So my best guess for this one is that it's a concept for the Carolina Hurricanes. I'm going to repeat what Dylan said yesterday when it comes to adding your ID , add a description, explain what this concept is for (hence the "unidentified"), and cleaning up the presentation in general. Of course you couldn't do that from yesterday to today but just another reminder. Onto the logo itself, I think it's going in a good direction. The logo plays off of the hurricane storm symbol, as does their regular logo, but this resembles it more than their logo does. The main issue I have with this though is that it's really nothing more than a sketch of that symbol with a few strokes here and there. It would be better to see more added on to the logo for a concept, because most if not all of the people who send concepts into here could add outlines to the shape.

Overall: Good idea to start, but it needs expanded on. The low score is only because it's quite "uncreative" at this stage (4/10)

Lucas D. - San Jose Sharks

First off that is an odd template to use. My assumption is that it will just be a regular Reebok Edge jersey but with the curved hem either folded and sewn in or just kept off in general, please clarify that if I'm wrong because that's what the template shows. As for the design, it's Lucas' entry into the gray competition that is going on now, and this was a good team to choose. The Sharks look great in a gray jersey, and I love to see that color come back. The logo choice was great as well, and the striping is both simple, yet also it's a design they've used before (or at least something similar) so it's recognizable. One big execution problem though is that there is a lot of pixelation everywhere. It's very noticeable just about everywhere besides the stripes, stitching, and collar, so that's a something that definitely needs tidying up.

Overall: This would look good on the ice for sure (7.5/10)

Brooks F. - WWE

Brooks gives us his concept from the WWE competition from a little while back as you can see. The concept takes a route that's far from traditional and matches the WWE branding quite well. The colors are balanced really well on this concept, but I do think the white jersey could have more black.  The font matches up well too. My favorite part of this concept though is the W's in the striping that from this view are a bit more hidden, but if the jersey is being worn it will be much easier to see. It matches the logo perfectly.

Overall: If the WWE were to do a charity hockey game, this is what they'd wear (8.5/10) and my COTW nomination

Ryan C. - San Jose Sharks

Another sharks concept today and this one appears to be an Adidas rebrand for them. From first glance you can already tell that these are better than their current jerseys, mainly because of the addition of hem stripes. I usually don't like orange with the Sharks but I actually think it looks good in this set. My only issue with the colors is that the black and teal may blend somewhat on the ice, so I would just move the orange stripe down between the teal and black and that may solve the problem. I also love the font, a standard block font but with a bit of pizazz.

Overall: Good looks (8/10)

Ryan C. - Winnipeg Jets

First off this concept reminds me more of the original Jets than the new ones, but that isn't a bad thing. One thing that I really like about it right off the bat is the addition of red, rather than just leaving it in the logo. The striping is simple, which is usually solid as well, as it is here. The white jersey could use some more blue though and the name, numbers, and logo look off center, and the name also looks a bit small.

Overall: Good start but needs some touching up (6.5/10)

Steven G. - NASA

What if NASA were a hockey team? That's what Steven (literally) asks us with this concept he brings here to us today. Design wise it's almost as simple as you can get on this one, and also with a one color font that's close to a block font, its very very simple. The American flag on the shoulder seems like an Avs or Flames move, but it actually makes sense here, in the sense that the colors match anyhow. I would say the lack of hem stripes on the jersey is a realistic move, but it wouldn't say it's a good one design wise, and I'd prefer hem stripes. I'd also prefer the red stripes on the white jersey to have blue around them like they do on the blue jersey, except white.

Overall: Simple, sweet, and realistic. (7.5/10)

This post is already quite late so I'm gonna keep this short. I hope you enjoyed the post, thank's for reading, and I'll see you all again next week!