Wednesday: 2016 Sucked
Never mind the celebrity deaths from this past year (now sadly including Star Wars icon Carrie Fisher), 2016 was not one of the best years in jersey design in my opinion. First we had the World Cup jerseys, which each included the Adidas stripes and a shoulder patch with the SAP sponsorship logo. We had the introduction of MORE shoulder numbers (well it started in 2015 but it should've died there in Edmonton, or at least been contained). Then we had the trademark circus that was the Vegas Golden Knights. A weird rebrand in Florida with a quality logo and not so quality jerseys. A bland rebrand in Toronto, though better than a crazy rebrand. USA Hockey's insistence on white helmets with dark navy jerseys continued into the World Cup and now Juniors as we saw Monday against Latvia. The Sharks teasing us with beautiful logos only to keep them as fashion-brand logos. And finally the mediocrity of many of the new special-event jerseys in the NHL, like the 50th Anniversary jerseys of Philadelphia and Los Angeles and the Stadium Series jerseys.
There were some bright spots however. Pittsburgh getting with the (old) times and promoting their third jersey to full time with a matching away. Winnipeg's Heritage Classic Jerseys. The 50th Anniversary logos (outside of St. Louis). The Blues' Winter Classic jersey (and Chicago's to an extent). The NWHL's new jerseys in New York and Connecticut. The Vegas Golden Knights' primary logo. The NHL's Centennial Celebration branding. Boston and Montreal's Winter Classic. But fear not, because 2017 will be fully loaded with jersey design news. It could be good, it could be bad. We shall see starting Sunday!
Speaking of starting Sunday, Dave Maetzold of Fox Sports Ohio (TV home of the Blue Jackets) is reporting that the new 100th Anniversary logo will be on all NHL jerseys starting this Sunday.
https://twitter.com/DMaetzMedia/status/813830076789882880
All we know now is that it will be under the TV numbers for the Columbus Blue Jackets. I expect similar positioning throughout the NHL, considering that many teams have two shoulder patches already with alternate logos (like Columbus) and some teams have numbers or patches on the front of the jersey already. The Rangers have their diagonal script in the way, the Coyotes and Red Wings have their captaincy patches on that side of the jersey as well. We shall see more develop on this story before Sunday.
Speaking of before Sunday, Saturday will begin the FINALS for the Season. This week, San Jose, Milwaukee and New York were all eliminated, setting up Amur and Ottawa in the Semis, with Colorado waiting in the Final. San Jose had the narrowest defeat, Milwaukee putting out a poor jersey (in my opinion) and New York's leap of faith crashed and burned miserably. Vote now!
Speaking of vote now, we also have the COTW vote as usual, with next week's COTW vote *ALMOST* wrapping up the playing field for COTY 2016 Because the HJC cycle runs from 12:01 PM Friday to 12:00 next Friday, this Friday's concepts will be eligible for one last COTW vote for 2016. The yearly competition is almost over, then we'll get started on the new year (and COTY finals).
Speaking of competition, we have a new one to transition into the new year! This one is a big one. We are resurrecting the Americans back into the NHL! And it doesn't have to be New York or Brooklyn (though it can). It can also be Rochester (but that's low hanging fruit, be creative). Any city within the United States. You can keep old logos, make new ones, even modernize the old ones, or all three. Give us new jerseys and bring them to life! For a bonus you may be able to give us something special for them as a wild card aspect to the competition. Entry deadline is January 6th. Just don't send them in until at least Sunday, January 1, 2017. No earlier, as per Ryan's discretion.
Speaking of Ryan's discretion..... I got nothing this time to link to so let's just get on with it.
REMINDERS:
ON TO THE CONCEPTS!
Lucas D: Detroit Red Wings Concept
Lucas brings us a Red Wings concept based on two of their three latest outdoor games, the upcoming Centennial Classic and the 2014 Winter Classic. It has the traditional look and feel of an everyday Red Wings jersey, combined with the four stripes on the arms (what is this, Brooklyn?) and one on the hem. The arm stripes crowd out the TV numbers so a simple solution is to slide the stripes down a bit. Let the numbers breathe. I think the one stripe at the bottom could be replaced by a simple hem trim, running perfectly along the bottom. I like the logo (and how it's perfectly inversed on the away jerseys). I just wish there were arched nameplates, as per tradition with the Wings. There's plenty of room on the jersey for it.
Rating: 85%
Taylor R: Nashville Predators Concept
Let me get this out of the way first: I LOVE the yellow pants. At the same time I HATE the yellow helmet. The checker-board pattern is back for Nashville and this is set up to be the perfect alternate. Striping pattern is clean and uniform all throughout. The name is a tad big on the back. Execution note: On the collar I can still see those neon green template fillers at the ends of the collar. Fix that and add blue helmets and we have a winner.
Rating: 83%
Tyler M-S: Philadelphia Flyers Concept
This looks like an Edge-ification of the Flyers black jerseys from the post-Lindros era. Because of that I don't like how this template works out for that. Coloring the large yoke and the upper arm segments together doesn't recreate the smooth striping pattern the original had. I don't like how the orange and white are balanced here. Socks are improved over the original though.
Rating: 75%
Zack R: Detroit Red Wings vs. Marquette Prison Pirates Concept
I had to do my research in order to properly review this concept. On February 2, 1954, the Detroit Red Wings played a game against inmates from Marquette Prison in the Upper Peninsula, as a challenge from the prison warden. Imagine the Adam Sandler film "The Longest Yard" but with hockey instead of football and an actual professional team instead of the guards. The Red Wings have a photo gallery from this special match here. It shows the Wings in a color-on-color match-up, with the Pirates wearing numbers on the front of their jerseys, instead of some sort of team name or logo. Here, Zack puts the Wings in white against a Pirates team in blue and grey. Historically speaking, these jerseys look accurate minus the name on the back of the Detroit jersey. Lacking TV numbers is good from a historical standpoint. However, the use of an Edge template with NHL tags is not, especially for Marquette Prison, since they aren't an NHL team. Striping also should completely overlap template lines on both jerseys, especially Detroit's. A good idea that needs a few more details to be perfect. Maybe you or someone else can modernize this match-up?
Rating: 68%
The winner of my Concept of the Week Nomination is:
And that does it for 2016. For me at least. Ryan closes out the New Year, with Brendan and Steve G in between. See you on the other side!
There were some bright spots however. Pittsburgh getting with the (old) times and promoting their third jersey to full time with a matching away. Winnipeg's Heritage Classic Jerseys. The 50th Anniversary logos (outside of St. Louis). The Blues' Winter Classic jersey (and Chicago's to an extent). The NWHL's new jerseys in New York and Connecticut. The Vegas Golden Knights' primary logo. The NHL's Centennial Celebration branding. Boston and Montreal's Winter Classic. But fear not, because 2017 will be fully loaded with jersey design news. It could be good, it could be bad. We shall see starting Sunday!
Speaking of starting Sunday, Dave Maetzold of Fox Sports Ohio (TV home of the Blue Jackets) is reporting that the new 100th Anniversary logo will be on all NHL jerseys starting this Sunday.
https://twitter.com/DMaetzMedia/status/813830076789882880
All we know now is that it will be under the TV numbers for the Columbus Blue Jackets. I expect similar positioning throughout the NHL, considering that many teams have two shoulder patches already with alternate logos (like Columbus) and some teams have numbers or patches on the front of the jersey already. The Rangers have their diagonal script in the way, the Coyotes and Red Wings have their captaincy patches on that side of the jersey as well. We shall see more develop on this story before Sunday.
Speaking of before Sunday, Saturday will begin the FINALS for the Season. This week, San Jose, Milwaukee and New York were all eliminated, setting up Amur and Ottawa in the Semis, with Colorado waiting in the Final. San Jose had the narrowest defeat, Milwaukee putting out a poor jersey (in my opinion) and New York's leap of faith crashed and burned miserably. Vote now!
Speaking of vote now, we also have the COTW vote as usual, with next week's COTW vote *ALMOST* wrapping up the playing field for COTY 2016 Because the HJC cycle runs from 12:01 PM Friday to 12:00 next Friday, this Friday's concepts will be eligible for one last COTW vote for 2016. The yearly competition is almost over, then we'll get started on the new year (and COTY finals).
Speaking of competition, we have a new one to transition into the new year! This one is a big one. We are resurrecting the Americans back into the NHL! And it doesn't have to be New York or Brooklyn (though it can). It can also be Rochester (but that's low hanging fruit, be creative). Any city within the United States. You can keep old logos, make new ones, even modernize the old ones, or all three. Give us new jerseys and bring them to life! For a bonus you may be able to give us something special for them as a wild card aspect to the competition. Entry deadline is January 6th. Just don't send them in until at least Sunday, January 1, 2017. No earlier, as per Ryan's discretion.
Speaking of Ryan's discretion..... I got nothing this time to link to so let's just get on with it.
REMINDERS:
COTW Dec 16-22 vote (ends Friday @ noon EST)
Bring Back the Americans Comp (due Friday @ noon EST)
The Season Semi-Final vote (ends Friday @ noon EST)
ON TO THE CONCEPTS!
Lucas D: Detroit Red Wings Concept
Lucas brings us a Red Wings concept based on two of their three latest outdoor games, the upcoming Centennial Classic and the 2014 Winter Classic. It has the traditional look and feel of an everyday Red Wings jersey, combined with the four stripes on the arms (what is this, Brooklyn?) and one on the hem. The arm stripes crowd out the TV numbers so a simple solution is to slide the stripes down a bit. Let the numbers breathe. I think the one stripe at the bottom could be replaced by a simple hem trim, running perfectly along the bottom. I like the logo (and how it's perfectly inversed on the away jerseys). I just wish there were arched nameplates, as per tradition with the Wings. There's plenty of room on the jersey for it.
Rating: 85%
Taylor R: Nashville Predators Concept
Let me get this out of the way first: I LOVE the yellow pants. At the same time I HATE the yellow helmet. The checker-board pattern is back for Nashville and this is set up to be the perfect alternate. Striping pattern is clean and uniform all throughout. The name is a tad big on the back. Execution note: On the collar I can still see those neon green template fillers at the ends of the collar. Fix that and add blue helmets and we have a winner.
Rating: 83%
Tyler M-S: Philadelphia Flyers Concept
This looks like an Edge-ification of the Flyers black jerseys from the post-Lindros era. Because of that I don't like how this template works out for that. Coloring the large yoke and the upper arm segments together doesn't recreate the smooth striping pattern the original had. I don't like how the orange and white are balanced here. Socks are improved over the original though.
Rating: 75%
Zack R: Detroit Red Wings vs. Marquette Prison Pirates Concept
I had to do my research in order to properly review this concept. On February 2, 1954, the Detroit Red Wings played a game against inmates from Marquette Prison in the Upper Peninsula, as a challenge from the prison warden. Imagine the Adam Sandler film "The Longest Yard" but with hockey instead of football and an actual professional team instead of the guards. The Red Wings have a photo gallery from this special match here. It shows the Wings in a color-on-color match-up, with the Pirates wearing numbers on the front of their jerseys, instead of some sort of team name or logo. Here, Zack puts the Wings in white against a Pirates team in blue and grey. Historically speaking, these jerseys look accurate minus the name on the back of the Detroit jersey. Lacking TV numbers is good from a historical standpoint. However, the use of an Edge template with NHL tags is not, especially for Marquette Prison, since they aren't an NHL team. Striping also should completely overlap template lines on both jerseys, especially Detroit's. A good idea that needs a few more details to be perfect. Maybe you or someone else can modernize this match-up?
Rating: 68%
The winner of my Concept of the Week Nomination is:
LUCAS D
DETROIT RED WINGS CONCEPT
And that does it for 2016. For me at least. Ryan closes out the New Year, with Brendan and Steve G in between. See you on the other side!
Wednesday: 2016 Sucked
Reviewed by Unknown
on
December 28, 2016
Rating:
1 comment:
Taylor R. for COTW!
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