Non-NHL Guest Concepts

Hello folks!  The NHL season may be done, but it's still an exciting time to be a hockey fan with the NHL Draft this past Friday and free agency right around the corner.  It's been especially exciting for me being a Canucks fan, as new GM Jim Benning had been very active making multiple trades including trading longtime Canuck Ryan Kesler.  It's also the time teams unveil new jerseys, which the Ducks did on draft day.  I actually think the Ducks new jerseys are a bit of a downgrade, in my opinion there is too much orange and the striping pattern is a bit too busy (also I liked the Ducks previous jerseys).  I do like that they are using the webbed-D logo as the front crest.  Overall I'd grade the new jerseys as a C+.

Drummondville Voltigeurs, by Justin S:

We have four non-NHL concepts today, including this Drummondville Voltigeurs concept by Justin.  He brings back their 1987-94 logo (with a few alterations like changing the wordmark), and then bases the striping off of that logo.  The striping looks great and works great with this logo, although the logo looks quite dated so I don't know if bringing it back is the best move.  But if you are bringing back that logo, these jerseys are a great choice.
Grade:  B

Lahden Pelicans, by Jake88:

Jake88 often likes to make jerseys for teams I know almost nothing about, and his two concepts today are perfect examples of that.  Here he gives the Lahden Pelicans some "North American Style" jerseys, which is great because that means no adds.  While googling this team I couldn't find this logo, so I don't know if it's a logo they currently use in some capacity or if Jake88 made it or if it's from somewhere else entirely.  I am a bit confused by the logo, I see the pelican on the right but I don't know if the other gold areas are supposed to be anything or not.  The shoulder yokes look great, they're kind of like the Blues yokes but with the striping on the sides instead of the bottom.  I'm not a fan of the arm stripes though, I like that you tried something different than just matching them to the hem stripes, but the "Dallas Stars 2007-13" style stripes just aren't my favourite.
Grade:  B

Genève-Servette HC, by Jake88:

Jake88's second "North American Style" concept is for the Genève-Servette HC who play in Geneva, Switzerland.  The jerseys feature a classy striping pattern and the team's main logo on the front.  My only issue is that I think the shade of yellow used is too bright, I'd recommend going to ColorWerx and choosing a yellow currently used by an NHL team.  Other than that I like everything else about this concept.
Grade:  B

Before I get to the next concept I want to very briefly review the new Hockey Canada 100th anniversary jerseys (which you can see on the left of the next concept).  Basically I like everything except the black shoulder yokes, which just look too out of place.  If it were up to me, the yokes on both jerseys would be red.  My grade for the new jerseys would be a C+.

Team Canada, by Justin S:

The reason I wanted to review Canada's new jerseys is because this concept by Justin is inspired by those jerseys.  Like on the real jerseys I'm not a fan of the black yokes.  I do like the chest stripe on this concept and how it connects with the logo, although I don't like how the logo is recoloured on the red jersey.  Keeping the logo the same as on the white jersey but using a white outline would work best in my opinion.  Overall I like like this concept about equally as much as the real jerseys.
Grade:  C+

Enjoy the rest of your day!

NHL Guest Concepts

San Jose Sharks, by Jake88:

Today we begin with Jake88's take on the San Jose Sharks.  He gives the Sharks some hem stripes, and then uses a wave pattern on the sleeves (which might sound familiar because this concept is kind of an update to a previous concept he sent in).  I thought the previous version was good, but this is even better.  I like how the stripes are coloured on this concept better, and I also like the use of the Sharks fin logo on the shoulders.  My complaint on the last concept was that the sleeve stripes were angled, but it doesn't bother me as much on this concept.
Grade:  A

Dallas Stars, by Jake88:

Ever since the Stars got new home and road jerseys last year many people have been trying to create a new third jersey for them.  Here Jake88 provides a great black "Texan Alternate", which uses their Texas-state-outline-logo as the front crest.  I think the striping looks great, I like how the sleeve and hem stripes are different but still work together.  There is really nothing I would change here.
Grade:  A

Winnipeg Jets, by Justin S:

For this concept Justin takes the Jets' Air Force theme one step further by using a double gold bar insignia which represents a captain in the Canadian Air Force.  I think it's a great idea to use the air force as inspiration, it can create some very cool concepts like it did here.  I also like using the lighter blue as the main jersey colour, and the sleeve and hem stripes look good.  The one change I would make is using white for the name and numbers, as I think the navy blue blends in too much.  Last of all, I like the use of the side-view template, its different perspective really helps you picture what the jersey would look like in real life.
Grade:  B

Montreal Canadiens, by Ricky:

Speaking of templates that help you picture what the jersey would look like in real life, this concept by Ricky makes use of a great template made by S2dio.  Ricky makes a few changes to the Canadiens classic red sweater, and then adds a matching white jersey.  For the most part I think both jerseys look really good, although I think they're a bit top heavy design wise (more the white jersey than the red jersey).  Adding something along the hem would really boost this concept in my opinion.
Grade:  B

Have a good day!

200th Post Extravaganza

Hello folks, this is the 200th post on this blog!

Los Angeles Kings, by Jets96:

With the Kings winning the Cup, Jets96 thought it would be a good time to send in some Kings concepts.  For this concept he brings back the colour scheme the Kings used from 1998-2011, a move I really like.  He also uses their shield logo from that era as the main logo, but he removes the wordmarks from the logo.  The shield logo is a good choice, but I'd keep the wordmarks as the blank spots in the logo look a bit awkward in my opinion.  The striping pattern looks good, but it also looks a bit too similar to the Sharks 2007-13 jerseys which wouldn't be good considering they are state rivals.
Grade:  B

Los Angeles Kings, by Jets96:

Jets96's second Kings concept goes back a bit further into the past in terms of both colour scheme and logos, back to 1967-88 to be exact.  I'm a big fan of this colour scheme because it fits the royalty theme and it's unique, and I think this logo is the best fit for the colour scheme (even though the logo is a bit dated).  The striping pattern looks good, I like how the end of the sleeves and hem are a different colour than the jersey.  My only suggestion would be to make the name on the yellow jersey purple, because it kind of gets lost the way it is now.
Grade:  B

Los Angeles Kings, by Jets96:

The final Kings concept by Jets96 today is less of a concept and more of a remake of an old jersey.  This is a Reebok Edge version of the Kings original road jersey worn from 1967-69, complete with no name on the back (the Kings will be wearing the 1969-70 version of this jersey next year).  There are a couple of things that I think should be changed to be more historically accurate, first of all the pants stripe should be yellow-white-yellow, and the bottom of the socks shouldn't be white.  I know nhluniforms.com has white at the bottom of the socks, but that part of the socks was looped under your foot inside of the skate and out of view (look at old game photos and you won't see any white).
Grade:  C+

Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers, by Jared:

Keeping with the Stanley Cup theme of this post so far, we have some St. Patrick's Day uniforms for the Kings and Rangers made by Jared.  Normally I'm not a fan of recolours, but in this case it's okay because it's recolouring their own team's jerseys and because St. Patrick's Day uniforms don't need fancy new striping patterns.  There are a few things I would change though, first of all I would make the Kings dark jersey green because St. Patrick's day is known for being green, and I would also just use one colour of pants for each team.  I think green pants would work best for the Kings, and orange pants would work best for the Rangers.
Grade:  C

Manitoba Moose:

I was a big fan of the Manitoba Moose, not only because they were the Canucks farm team but also because as a kid my family would visit Winnipeg every couple of years (so it's a bit surprising it has taking me 200 posts before I made a Moose concept).  For this concept I simplified their colour scheme to just green and tan, and simplified their logo by removing any shading.

Thanks for visiting!

Stadium Series Guest Concepts

Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers, by Jared:

This concept here is a Stadium Series style version of this year's Stanley Cup Final.  Starting with the good points, I like the return of purple to the Kings colour scheme, the square-ish collars, and the yoke on the Rangers jersey.  The striping pattern on both jerseys is also okay.  I think the logos on both jerseys could use some work, the NYR wordmark needs a white outline, and the LA wordmark is very generic.  I'd prefer the Kings crown or banner logo, but if you going to keep the LA at least use the Kings custom font (the sides of the letters have slight curves, and the top of the A is flat).  The sleeve numbers on the Kings concept are too big, and we should only be able to see on digit on each sleeve.  Also the Rangers jersey could use sleeve numbers.  Last of all, many of the execution errors I've mentioned on Jared's previous hand drawn concept still apply here.
Grade:  C

Keeping with the Stanley Cup Final theme of today's post I'd like to congratulate the Kings on winning the Stanley Cup.  It was a very exciting playoff run, and it was great seeing Willie Mitchell (one of my favourite players) lift the cup again.

Enjoy your weekend!

Russia Guest Concept and the Tigers

Team Russia, by Jared:

Today's post begins with this Russia concept by Jared.  He uses the template the Senators and Penguins use, and places a single star on the front of the jersey.  I think the front of the jersey is too bland, the star is too small and generic.  I'd recommend using the Russia's current jersey logo.  I also don't like the use of the Senators/Penguins template, it's already overused and just recolouring a template doesn't make a very interesting concept.  Also I'm a bit curious why there are two dark jerseys since a team normally has a white or light coloured jersey.
Grade:  C-

Hamilton Tigers:

The Tigers haven't existed since 1925, but I think they had a logo that could of lasted much longer.  For this concept I used that logo as the primary logo, and I also used lots of yellow.

Have a good day!

Canada Guest Concepts and the Kings

Team Canada, by Jared:

Jared sent in this concept Team Canada concept he made in NHL14 for Xbox.  Aesthetically this is a very good looking uniform, the simple red and white colour scheme looks great, but the problem is this is just a recoloured Maple Leafs jersey.  The logo is even the Maple Leafs logo recoloured, and the socks use the same distinct pattern the Leafs use.  If the logo and socks were changed this would be a better concept, but really it be best starting over and making something more creative then just a recolour.
Grade:  C-

Los Angeles Kings:

Game five of the Stanley Cup Final goes tonight and for the second game in a row the Kings could win it all, so I thought it be a great time for a Kings concept.  The striping is inspired by the Kings Gretzky era jerseys, but I got rid of one of the silver stripes just to change things up.  I used their current crown logo as the primary logo, and a slightly altered version of their current logo on the shoulders.  The number font is their current font but without any outlines.

Thanks for visiting!

Stars and Avalanche Guest Concepts, and a Canucks Concept

Dallas Stars, by Jets96:

Hello folks, today we have a couple of concepts by Jets96.  These are his first concepts on this blog, although I have reviewed his work before back when I was writing for HJC.  For this concept he combines the Stars current logos with jerseys inspired by the Stars 1993-99 jerseys (home and road), and the North Stars 1988-91 green jersey (third).  I have a lot of nostalgia for the Stars 1993-99 jerseys because my minor hockey association wore copies of those jerseys, so I really like the home and road jerseys of this concept.  The third jersey looks really good too.  There are a couple of issues I noticed though, first of all I think the shoulder logos on the home and road are too close to the collar, and also the names and numbers on the back appeared to be off center.
Grade:  B

Colorado Avalanche, by Jets96:

Jets96 also sent in this Avalanche concept that brings back the mountain striping from the team's original jerseys.  I love seeing the mountain stripes make a comeback, but I'd like to see it on the sleeves too.  I also think those sleeves should use the lighter shade of blue as well to better match the hem stripes.  The third jersey looks like a much better version of their current third jersey, I think the new striping pattern looks great.  Blue is made much more prominent on this concept, by adding navy blue into the colour scheme as the primary colour.  I do like the idea of adding navy blue, but I also think the colours need to contrast better because in certain areas the colours seem to blend together.  I think it would help if the lighter blue was made lighter.  Lastly, the shouler logo issue from the previous concept applies here too.
Grade:  C+

Vancouver Canucks Third:

I'm a Canucks fan and also a fan of the colour green, and often those two things will collide when I make third jersey concepts for the Canucks (like this, or this, or this, or this, or this, or even this).  This time I started off with sleeve stripes that are inspired by the Canucks first jerseys, and then added a yoke and a simple hem stripe.  I then used the full-body Johnny Canuck logo as the main crest, but added a white outline to make it stand out more.

Have a good day!

Original Six Guest Concepts

New York Rangers, by Ricky:

Today we have three original six concepts by Ricky, starting with this red third jersey for the Rangers.  I don't know if the Rangers (aka the "blueshirts") will ever have a red jersey, but it's fun to make red concepts for them anyways.  I think the striping pattern is really good, I especially like how the yoke from the white jersey is carried over to this jersey.  Where this concept loses me is the logo, I don't like how the logo uses navy but the jersey uses royal blue, and it seems like too modern of a logo for the jersey.  Execution wise, I think the shoulder logos are too close to the collar, the Reebok logo should be the script logo, and where are the sleeve numbers?
Grade:  C+

Detroit Red Wings, by Ricky:

Ricky's second concept is for Detroit, and unfortunately I can't say I'm a fan of this concept.  The only thing I like are the sleeves, everything in the middle of the jersey doesn't look good in my opinion.  First of all the black used on the wordmark and numbers looks like an afterthought since it's not used anywhere else, and it doesn't make sense to me why the numbers are black outlined in white and the wordmark is the opposite.  Also the wordmark and numbers using a drop-shadow makes them too similar to the Rangers.  Another thing is the Red Wings are such a old team, I don't think a phantom yoke and no hem stripes work for them.  And once again where are the sleeve numbers?
Grade:  C

Montreal Canadiens, by Ricky:

Now our final concept today is a blue third jersey for the Canadiens.  Ricky combines the chest stripe from their home jersey with the red yoke from the road jersey, and the results look great.  I also like the sleeve numbers in the sleeve stripes, which is something the Canadiens did with their red jersey from about 1966-80 (they also had a logo in their sleeve stripe from 1924-35).  I do think the hem could use a thin stripe like what's on their home jersey, and the jersey stitching should continue below the chest stripe.
Grade:  B

Thanks for visiting!