Hockey's Founding Fathers

Hello everyone! Welcome to another HJC Sunday post, and Happy Father's Day! 

In keeping with the Father's Day theme, what past players do you think could be called the equivalent of the Founding Fathers of Hockey?

With American Football, I would say Vince Lombardi Jim Thorpe, Y.A. Tittle, Bart Staar, Jim Brown, and maybe Deacon Jones.

Who would be the equivalent in hockey? What players and coaches in earlier days helped define their positions and the sport itself?

I think you would have to include Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Scott Bowman, and maybe Jean Beliveau. I think you could throw in some dark horse candidates from Russia like Anatoli Tarasov for their contributions in rethinking the way the game was played.

As a new-ish hockey fan compared to many of you, I'm probably not as well-versed in the early history of the sport. What names would you include?

Ottawa Senators Concept - Jeremy Lay

Positives: Any other primary used for a Senators concept is simply the wrong logo and bad decision. Secondary mark is a good choice as well.

Negatives: Striping needs some work. Hem stripes are not scaled in uniformity, giving it unsettling proportions. Use less gold on the dark jersey and a little more on the white jersey. It's a difficult color to work with. The numbers are too small, and appear to have been copied/pasted from another concept. The logo and jerseys use different shades of black. The contrasting white outlines on the cuffs and hem don't add anything; they are best left black. NHL logos should appear on the collar insert. The inside of the jersey near the bottom should be the color of the hems. There are odd loose pixels near the shoulders of the dark jersey, the nameplate on the white jersey, and around the white jersey in general. 

Overall: The biggest need here is cleaning up the execution. (5.5/10)

Team Czech Republic Concept - Tyler M.

Positives: Matching the hem to the yoke instead of the arm stripes was an interesting choice. Except for one thing, execution is good. I like the inner outline on the yokes. 

Negatives: First, the NHL logo doesn't appear on international concepts. While the hem/yoke matching works on the white jersey, I think changes are needed to balance color better on the dark jersey. First, make the hem match the arms. Then make the numbers white with a blue outline instead. That balances colors while also making the numbers easier to read. Also, if you must do pant stripes, pick one that matches the concept better than the Oilers' pants. A single blue stripe would be fine. Also, presentation is improving, but there's a lot of empty space. I'd move your ID to the top, then put the Czech logo enlarged beneath that, equally spacing them with the Adidas logo. 

Overall: Not a bad set, but some refinement needed. (7/10)

Team Russia Concept - Tyler M.

Positives: Non-matching hem/arm stripes works here. I think colors are balanced fairly well, as you don't want to over-emphasize blue on a Russia jersey anyway. 

Negatives: The World Cup patch does't appear on the front of the white jersey, just the back. Part of the pant stripes are left uncolored. The set could really use some gold trim. It doesn't need to be prominent, but using it helps differentiate Russia from all the other red/white/blue countries.

Overall: Better than the Czech concept, but some minor execution errors persist. Gold trim would help. (7/10)

Saginaw Spirit Concept - Zack R.

Positives: You won't blend into the crowd when you wear this one. It's highly patriotic. It reminds me of a USNT Soccer jersey. Normally I don't like this many stripes, but I actually think it works well here. With the exception of the Reebok logo, execution is very clean. 

Negatives: I think a blue helmet would be better. With the jersey having so many stripes, keeping the equipment muted is essential. I'd take the stripe off the pants, and leave just a single stripe on the socks. The Reebok logo used here hasn't been put on a hockey jersey in five years.

Overall: With some minor refinements, this could be one of those minor league jerseys that people seek out. (8/10)

Minnesota Wild Concept - Avi S.

Positives: Many, many people have tried to give Minnesota a cohesive set over the years. I'd say only about one in five actually succeed in making something palatable. The colors can be difficult to work with. Colors are balanced and used well here. Execution is so clean you could eat off it. 

Negatives: I still prefer their current away jersey, but I am willing to compromise that to gain a better home jersey. Minnesota needs something like this in the worst way.

Overall: Minnesota can be hard to work with, but Avi makes it look easy. (8.75/10)

St. Louis Blues Concept - Avi S.

Positives: Every now and then I'll open up the zipped folder Ryan sends me that contains the concepts for my posts, and get absolutely floored by a concept. This is one. Colors are perfect. Not using the darker blue is a good choice. The arm stripes complement the logo so well. The typeface is perfect. Striping at the hem and cuffs looks great, and is just different enough not feel typical. The yoke gives the white jersey something unique, a reason to consider buying it as well as the dark jersey. Not enough sets do that in the NHL; with the away jersey feeling like an afterthought. Execution is perfect. Presentation is professional level. This would pop on the ice. You wouldn't be able to take your eyes off it.

Negatives: N/A

Overall: Say hello to the Meryl Streep of concepts. I dare you to find something wrong with it. (10/10) Concept of the Week nomination from me!

Before I conclude the post, I must say congratulations to Brandon P on designing this year's HJC Open logo! Logo design is time consuming and difficult, so I have to respect those who are willing to take on the challenge.

Here are your daily voting reminders:

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COTW June 10-16 vote (ends Friday @ noon Eastern)

HJC Open Round Robin (begins Friday night)