Tuesday: HJC is Dylanless

Hello everyone, today like Dylan Alexander's post recently is my last HJC post. Certainly only my last interaction as a writer but not as a viewer. I hope to continue contributing to this site for years to come. I don't think a site has had a bigger impact in my life.

That might sound ridiculous to say but let me paint you a picture. I was a Senior in high school and I was all out wanting a career in TV production. I wanted to do something in editing. Possibly light producing and writing too. I took a Computer Design class my senior year just because I thought it would be simple enough since I knew some Photoshop work. Then one day at home when playing NHL 12 I made up a Buffalo Sabres vs. New York Islanders Winter Classic game and I had jersey ideas in my head. So instead of letting that idea become just a dream I made them on Paint. Then after that little hobby of posting those pictures on Facebook I decided to see the whole concept world. Searching on google and the first site that popped up...this one.

I quickly became insanely addicted. Sending in 3 concepts a day at one point. I wasn't even that good in the beginning but I just wanted to keep making my ideas. So, high school was over, and I was starting college. I just went as a liberal arts major as I luckily get to go to school for free. There was no TV course their so I decided to just get basic classes done with. One semester in I knew that designing is something I wanted to do, and all because of this site (a little help from IceThetics and CCSL). This site legitimately changed the direction of my life. To that I say thank you. To everyone I've interacted with. To everyone I became acquaintances with,  and close friends with. Thank you to Ryan for giving me extra the opportunity to write for this site, not once, but twice. It's been awesome sharing my opinion but the time is up. Let's see what I have to say here.

I'm sure I'll definitely hear from most of you in the future, and you'll sure hear from me is some form.

COTW Dec 27 - Jan 2 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Gatineau Olympiques Top 3 vote (ends Friday @ 10:59pm Eastern)

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Tampa Bay Lightning - Artem S.

 Artem takes a step back from the KHL he's been sending in to this site and takes a stab at an American team. The lighting I feel have always had nice jerseys for the most part. Even their originals I think look good (some people praise them). I think going back to a similar look to their original jerseys should be the way to go in some sort. This to me is a step in the right direction. I think the logo coloration is a step back, I think leaving the bolt pure white (and having just a black outline for the white jersey) would be the go to decision by me. Overall, it looks nice. Not too much difference from their originals. I would like to see a gray utilized to separate the black and blue in some scenarios so that they don't blend too much.

Rating: 7.9/10

Blainville-Boisbriand Armada - Brooks F.

 I always usually love concepts for this team. For some reason I think everyone has a great idea for them. This is no exception. What makes me love this concept is that it is so slightly unique. You rarely see a chest stripe connect to the arm stripes, and most I know might not like that but I think it looks great. The way it shapes the yoke in the negative space is great. My one change would be to leave the numbers with one color outline, eliminate the double outline. Other than that, this is a very nice set.

Rating: 8.8/10

Barrie Colts - Daniel L.

 Daniel takes his Barrie Colts submission and sends them in here. This looks like the third jersey for the set and to be honest, I think looks absolutely fantastic. The color combinations are awesome and everything goes really well together. My one change would be to change the number font, I think if you just chose a simple block number then this would look so well together. Hell, Florida Panthers should take a look at this!

Rating: 8.7/10

Barrie Colts - Daniel L.

 Same thing said about the last concept about numbers. Overall I think the striping is less effective on these two, especially the white jersey. I think the yellow gets really lost and starts to irritate the eye. I would try and focus on bringing more blue into the white jersey to even out and balance the jerseys. The blue jersey looks fine to me but I think the striping could still look better with a better balance with red. Perhaps adding in the yoke on that jersey too!

Rating: 8.3/10

LA Kings - Josiah B.

 Josiah takes a crack at an LA Alternate. Bringing back the Burger King! I'm going to eliminate the logo from my consideration for how the jersey looks as a whole. Overall I don't mind it. I think making the numbers white would be a better option for seeing them on ice, but then it ruins the striping and yoke and I think that looks really nice. Perhaps utilizing more silver to transition from black to white would help this concept across the board. Like the striping can go black>gray>white and the transition would look very sharp and would help in the whole look have a more modern feel to it and match the logo.

Rating: 7.9/10

Gatineau Olympiques - Ryan C.

A very retro feeling with this concept. I really do like the logo a lot. The jersey as a whole is really simple but has the modern element with the sleeves. Definitely a great example of a retro-modern look. I think part of me wants a bit more consistency in how the colors are executed. For instance, I think if red was separated from the black in more ways, the white jersey would look better. Like having the red stripes outlined by a white stripe. It would give the red and black more pop to the jersey. The red jersey is very nice in that aspect, and I think the white jersey could really look much better if done the same way!

Rating: 8.2/10

Thank you all for the time that you have spent reading (or not reading) my posts. Glad to give new people a shot at writing for a such a great blog. 

From Dylan Wonka, to Dylan Nowak, I say goodbye to all you viewers!