My Thoughts: September Jerseys

Hello again, I'm back with another "My Thoughts" post.  This time I'm reviewing all the NHL jerseys that were unveiled in late September.

Pittsburgh Penguins Third Jersey

Images from penguins.nhl.com

For their new third jersey, the Penguins brought back a fan favourite design which they won two Stanley Cups in (1991 and 1992).  It's also their first jersey to feature athletic-gold since they switched to vegas-gold 2002.  I love this jersey, it's a classic look that immediately makes me think of Mario Lemieux, Jaromír Jágr, and those two Stanley Cups.  That being said, I wouldn't want this jersey to become the Penguins' new home jersey, I'd much rather it stay a third jersey and something like this concept by Scott be used for the primary jerseys.
Grade: A

Philadelphia Flyers Third Jersey

Images from twitter.com/NHLFlyers and instagram.com/philadelphiaflyers

The Philadelphia Flyers also brought back a previous jersey, albeit one with less history behind it.  They decided to bring back their 2012 Winter Classic jersey as they new third jersey.  I think this jersey is "just okay", I'm not a big fan of it but I don't hate it either.  The striping doesn't say Flyers to me, since it's their first jersey which uses traditional arm and hem stripes and a yolk.  Although there is a bit of history behind the striping, the arm stripes are from their 1984-2001 orange socks, and the black shoulder yoke is reminiscent of the yoke on the old Philadelphia Quakers jersey.  One thing I really don't like is the use of vintage white, I just think normal white would look much better.
Grade: C+

Washington Capitals Winter Classic Jersey

Images from monumentalnetwork.com

Unlike the Penguins and Flyers who just brought back previous jerseys, the Capitals actually introduced something new, going with a fauxback design for their Winter Classic jersey.  I'm not always a fan of fauxback jerseys, but I think the Capitals got it right.  The jersey is inspired by past hockey teams in the Washington area, and the end result really captures the feel of jerseys from the 1920's and 30's.  There is also some cool symbolism in the uniform, the middle of the W in the logo is a silhouette of the Washington Monument (same with the top of the A's), the three white stars in the logo are a nod to the DC flag, and the white and red stripes on the shoulder yoke appear to be inspired by the American flag.  There are a couple elements that I'm not yet sure if I like or not.  I kind of think the W in the logo needs a white outline, but that might make it seem less retro.  I have the same concern about the darker shade of red, part of me thinks the Capitals normal red would look better, but the other part of me thinks the darker shade of red adds to the vintage feel of the jersey.  The one change I'd definitely make would be to move the hem stripes closer together, as the gap currently looks to big when compared to the spacing on the yoke and sock stripes.  Those concerns are very minor though, overall I think this is a great jersey for a Winter Classic.  And there's no vintage white!
Grade: A

Tampa Bay Lightning Third Jersey

Images from lightning.nhl.com

The Lightning were the latest NHL team to unveil a new jersey, introducing a black third jersey with their "BOLTS" wordmark on the front.  I've never been a fan of that wordmark simply for the fact that it uses a nickname, it would be like if the Canadiens wore a jersey that said "HABS" on the front.  Besides the logo I actually think the rest of the jersey is decent, not great but decent.  I think the striping looks good, it may not be a very interesting design but I don't need to be excited by a jerseys striping pattern (for example I like the Blue Jackets home jersey and the Ducks 2006-14 home jersey, two jerseys other people call boring).  One negative many people have pointed out about the striping pattern is that it's similar to the Kings home jersey, and while I do see the similarities, there are enough differences that I'm not immediately reminded of the Kings when I look at the Lightning's new jersey.  Moving on to the equipment, I think there is to much blue on the pants and socks.  Simply switching the blue and white on those two elements would look much better in my opinion.  Looking at the uniform as a whole, I think it's a slight improvement over their previous third jersey (which I wasn't a fan of, I ranked it as the league's fifth worst jersey in 2012).
Grade:  C+

So those are my thoughts on the new NHL jerseys that were introduced in September.  If you have any thoughts on these jerseys, don't hesitate to leave a comment below.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Guest Concept Post #63

Disney Concept, by Ricky:

For this concept, Ricky designed jerseys for Ridgewood High (from the Disney series Liv & Maddie) and Brewster High (from the Disney movie Hatching Pete).  I don't know anything about the show or movie, which means I have no context for judging this concept, so I'll just review the aesthetics of the two jerseys.  The striping pattern for the Ridgewood jersey looks great, the Coyotes third jersey pattern and the Bruins style yoke look like they were made for each other.  I'd go with another logo though, as the wordmark feels to squished with the side-panels.  Moving on to Brewster, I'm not a big fan of their jersey.  Combing elements from different jersey doesn't work well in this case, they don't look like they belong together.  I'd also recommend using either white or red numbers, the gold numbers don't look good on the green background in my opinion.  Lastly I think red pants would look better, and I wouldn't use the Rangers' pant-stripes as I think that design is too retro to work with the modern jerseys (that actually applies to Ridgewood's pants as well).

Have a good day!

Logo Updates

Hello folks!  Today I have a couple of logo updates to share with you, the first being a very minor alteration of this blog's logo.

Like I said it was a very minor change, mostly I was just fixing a few inconsistencies with line widths and spacing.  The only change that is at all noticeable is the "SG" and "94" parts are now a bit closer to the middle.

SG-94 Jersey Concept:

After I updated the logo, I thought I should make a jersey concept for the blog (something I haven't done since I was using the shield logo).  I've noticed the blog's logo doesn't look very good alone on the front of a jersey (although Jake88 showed us it works if there is a chest stripe behind the logo), so I turned the entire logo into a chest stripe.

Also I updated the eagle-talon/E logo I made back in March.  I altered the thickness of some lines, and angled the gap where the claws meet up with the E.  One day I'll update the eagle-head logo I created back then, but I'm waiting until I have a bit more skill at making logos (which might be a while).

Eagles Concept:

Lastly, I re-made the Eagles jerseys using the new E-claw logo as the main crest.  The blue jersey is basically the same as it was back in March, but I flipped the hem-stripes to match the colour order on the road jersey's hem.  The white jersey now has blue on the top of the sleeves, but besides that there is not much different.

Thanks for visiting!

A Few Guest Concepts

Blenheim Blades, by Alan:

Blades' 2013-14 Set - Late 90's Main Logo

To start us off today Alan sent in a couple concepts for teams in the OHA Great Lakes Junior C hockey league (he also included a couple of links on each concept which I've added below the concept).  This concept is for the Blenheim Blades, a team who has been around since 1965.  I like the striping patten used for this concept, it's unique but not too crazy.  I also like the decision to remove red from their colour scheme.  The main logo is just a bit too busy right now in my opinion, I think it would be perfect if the spokes were removed.  The shoulder logo looks great how it is now.

Wallaceburg Lakers, by Alan:

Lakers' 2013-14 Set - New Logo for 2014-15

Alan's second OHA Great Lakes Junior C concept is for the Wallaceburg Lakers, who have been around since at least 1972 (I think).  The primary logo (which Alan created) looks pretty good, the only change I'd suggest would be to make the wave pattern more even and symmetrical.  The jerseys also look good, I like the wavy-striping pattern and the over-sized yoke on the white jersey.  Lastly, the name and number fonts are both good choices in my opinion.

Calgary Flames, by Jared:

We finish today's post with this Flames concept by Jared.  His execution still isn't very good, but looking past that I don't think this design is very good either.  The whole jersey looks very empty and bland, most of the jersey elements (stripes, numbers, and logo) need to be thicker in my opinion.  Also, I think the logo, names, number, and collar all would look better with red included.  Another issue is that the players name is too large, and using Iginla isn't a very good choice since he hasn't been with the Flames for over a year now.  My final complaint is that the logo doesn't look good with the flames going the other way, it doesn't flow nicely and it makes the C look awkward.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

A Couple of Guest Concepts

Pittsburgh Penguins, by Scott:

The Penguins could use a new set of jerseys, and this set here by Scott would be a great way for them to go.  I love how this concept honours the Penguins history with the contrasting colours at the top of the arms, while at the same time being something new and fresh.  The shoulder logo also looks great with the robo-penguin inside of the roundel, and I also like the fact that Scott kept vegas gold.

St. Louis Blues, by Scott:

Scott also sent in this concept which tweaks the Blues new jerseys by changing up the colour placement on the sleeve and hem stripes.  The result looks great, the jerseys still have a classic look which I loved about the Blues new jerseys, but by limiting navy this concept has a brighter, cheery-er look to it.  The logo was also slightly altered by removing one of the outlines, a move I'm a big fan of, it makes the logo stand-out much better (especially on the blue jersey).

Have a good day!

Two Guest Concepts

Oakland Athletics, by Ricky:

Today we have a couple of guest concepts, both by Ricky and both of them are hockey concepts for teams from other sports.  Here he creates four jerseys for the Oakland Athletics.  Starting with the positives, I like the yokes on the primary jerseys, the sleeves on the yellow jersey, the arched player names, and the two colour helmet.  The logos on the first three jerseys also look good, and the Athletics colour scheme is one of the best colour schemes ever.  Moving on to the negatives, there are many elements carried over from baseball that I don't think work for hockey.  Those elements include the light pants, the socks that don't match the jersey colour, the piping on the yellow jersey, and the many pairs of similar gloves.  I also think there is a need for more striping on the primary jerseys, the black jersey, and all the socks.

Arsenal FC, by Ricky:

For his second concept, Ricky gives Arsenal FC a hockey jersey with a unique pattern.  In my opinion that pattern is too busy and garish (and this colour scheme doesn't help that fact), it's kind of like the Canucks' "Flying V" taking to the extreme.  The number font isn't my favourite either, it has a kind of childish feel to it.  I do think the striping on the pants, socks, and shoulder yoke could be the start of something good.  One last thing, I think this template looks better when the lines are black, like how they were for the Oakland concept.

Before you go, I thought I'd clarify what concepts I accept on this blog.  Basically I'll accept any concept for a hockey team (so soccer jersey concepts for hockey teams are okay, etc), or any concept done on a hockey template (like the above concepts).  As long as it's related to hockey somehow, and not offensive or anything, then I'll accept it.

Thanks for visiting!