Friday: Stolen Ideas

Hello, my name is Steven, and I'm a thief.  Okay not really, I've never actually stolen anything for real before, but I am stealing a few ideas for this post.  First of all I'm using a like/dislike system for reviewing the concepts, which is basically the same style Caz and the other Steven use.  I'm also stealing an old idea from Ryan, which you can see directly below these words...

Images from nhluniforms.com

This is what a Penguins/Sharks Stanley Cup final would look like (in Pittsburgh) five, ten, fifteen, and twenty years ago.  Ryan did this same thing for the Stanley Cup finals between 2011 and 2013, only he did ten year increments instead of five (I choose five because the Sharks aren't that old).  My favourite looking year is probably 1996, but I also quite like the jerseys from 2006.  Which year do you like best?

Here are the versions Ryan made for the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Stanley Cup finals.

Image from @DetroitRedWings on Twitter

Today is a very sad day in the hockey world, as the lengendary Gordie Howe passed at the age of 88.  He was one of the greatest hockey players of all time, recording 2,358 points combined between the NHL and WHA, but by all accounts he was an even greater person.  Howe was born in Saskatchewan, he played in Detroit, Houston, and Hartford, and he also had a connection to my local area as part owner of the Vanouver Giants.  Rest in peace Mr. Hockey.

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There are three votes this week, the regular COTW, COTW May, and the HJC Open Logo Competition.  Go check out the entries and then place your votes.

COTW-May vote (ends Friday, June 17 @ noon Eastern)

COTW June 3-9 vote (ends Friday, June 17 @ noon Eastern)

HJC Open Logo Top 4 vote (ends Friday, June 17 @ noon Eastern)

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One last HJC Open Logo Competition entry came in before the deadline at noon today...

by Brendan P:

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Great Britain, by Chase C:

Like:  It's great seeing a concept for Great Britain because they're not often featured on HJC.  I think the flags on the sleeves look fabulous, they're very unique and they match the logo perfectly.  I also like the red pants, and the number font on the home and road jersey.  The 1936 throwback jersey is a good choice for the third jersey.
Dislike:  The chest stripe is too low on the third jersey though.  Also the flags don't look centered on the sleeves, I think they need to be moved towards the cuffs a bit, and stitching that covers the flags should be deleted.
Rating:  8/10

Buffalo Sabres, by Ryan C:

Like:  In real-life I prefer a more classic look for the Sabres, but I think modern designs make for more interesting concepts.  I like how the logo combines their current buffalo with their 2000-06 alternate logo, at first I was unsure of the yellow background but it has since grown on me.  The striping on the sleeves look nice.
Dislike:  In comparison with the sleeves, I don't think the hem stripes have enough yellow.  You could add more yellow, but I think a simple hem outline (like what's on the new Panthers jerseys) might look best.  Also the primary and shoulder logos are both too large.
Rating:  7/10

Ontario Reign, by Ryan C:

Like:  The colours are balanced very nicely on this concept with the numbers the opposite colour as the striping, and I think this colour scheme is much better than what they currently use.  The orange pants also look good, and I like that you included goalie gear with your three concepts today.  I'm also a fan of the striping pattern, for the most part.
Dislike:  I just don't think the coloured area near the cuffs (under the arm stripes) look good.  The oversized logos are still an issue on this concept.
Rating:  8/10

Vancouver Canucks, by Ryan C:

Like:  I love the look of this concept.  The vintage striping pattern is great, it perfectly captures the early hockey aesthetic, and the simple "V" logo works very well with this jersey design.  I don't know if this was intentional, but the blue looks darker than normal and I think it looks good.  These might be too retro for a full-time set, but either of these would be awesome as an alternate or a Heritage Classic jersey.
Dislike:  I think the number on the white jersey needs a white outline to so it doesn't blend into the chest stripe.  Also the modern stick in the rink logo looks a bit out of place on such a retro design.
Rating:  8/10

Nashville Predators, by Lucas D:

Like:  I'm a fan of the side panels, they achieve a better blend of modern and traditional than the Predators current jerseys, and they could be seen as a nod to the Predators original jerseys.  Overall I think this concept has a lot of potential, it's just a few small changes from potentially earning my COTW nomination.
Dislike:  I think the yellow jersey would benefit from more blue, I'd either make the numbers or the striping mostly blue.  The name and numbers could also use a thicker outline, the name on the yellow jersey in particular is hard to read as is.  The contrasting hem outline isn't necessary in my opinion, it would look better if the side panels just continued to the bottom of the jersey.  Lastly the guitar strings on the TV numbers blend together creating one thick ugly line through the numbers.
Rating:  7/10

New York Islanders, by Lucas D:

Like:  I'm starting to think the Islanders could (should?) use this alternate "NY" logo as their primary, sure it doesn't really reference the Islanders part of their name but it looks great.  I like the design of each jersey, especially how they use a different style yoke.  The blue jersey looks best with a square yoke, while the full-arm yoke is a better it for the road jersey.
Dislike:  I just wish the Islanders had won one less cup, because I think this would look much better with three orange stripes instead of four.  The amount of stripes clash a bit with the simplicity of the rest of the design.
Rating:  8/10

Los Angeles Kings, by Lucas D:

Like:  This concept is 50 shades of awesome!  Sorry that was a really lame joke, but I do like using grey as the base colour, I wish more teams would try a grey jersey.  Their original logo also looks good in this colour scheme, and I like the yoke based off of their 1980-88 jerseys.
Dislike:  However the yoke would (in my opinion) look better without the overlapping sleeve stripes.  Although the overlapping sleeve stripes do fit with their current jerseys, and without them there's not much new about the striping pattern.  Maybe a good compromise would be to keep the stripes just on the yoke like the Bruins 1995-2007 jerseys.
Rating:  8/10

Calgary Flames, by Lucas D:

Like:  The striping pattern is nice and simple, and nice!  The design of the white jersey if very similar to the Flames 2000-07 white jersey, just with the hem stripes straight instead of angled.  I like how the red jersey emphasizes white instead of black, honestly I think it would look good either way, but it feels fresher this way (if that makes any sense).  Additionaly I think the plain white collar looks suprisingly good on that red jersey.
Dislike:  My only comlaint is that the names have too many outlines, which makes them hard to read.  I think either one black outline, or no outlines at all would look better.
Rating:  8/10

Boston Bruins, by Avi S:

Like:  These are a much better version of the Bruins 2016 Winter Classic jerseys, I like the brown better than black, I like the white better than vintage white, and I like the thinner stripes better than thicker stripes.  The road jersey looks good too, it's a smart way to adapt the design to a white jersey.  Avi's execution is phenomenal, I particularly like how he included a faint outline around the logo on the brown jersey instead of letting it blend into the jersey.  Like Ryan's Canucks concept, I think these are a bit too vintage for regular home and road jerseys, but they'd make great alternates.
Dislike:  Is the lighter shade of brown for the bear in the logo necasarry?  I think it would look better without it.
Rating:  9/10

Buffalo Sabres, by Avi S:

Like:  The idea for this concept is pretty simple, combining the striping from the Sabres 40th anniversary jersey with their original logo and number style, but the end result is amazing.  The new white jersey also looks great, I'm glad you used a round yoke on the Adidas template, even though all the Adidas jerseys we've seen so far have used square yokes.  I'm hopeful they'll still be the same variety of yokes shapes available after Adidas takes over.
Dislike:  There's nothing I don't like.
Rating:  9/10 and my COTW nomination!

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That's all folks!