My Thoughts: 2015 Stadium Series Jerseys

Hello everyone!  I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, or a good whatever else you may celebrate.  Today I'm going to discuss the Sharks and Kings Stadium Series jerseys, which were both unveiled in mid-December.  What do I think of the jerseys?  Even though there are some flaws, I think both jerseys are good on their own, but I don't like both of them together.

Note:  Since both jerseys are so similar I'm going to (mostly) review them together, instead of reviewing each team separately.

Image from sharks.nhl.com - Image from twitter.com/LAKings

Why do I think the jerseys are good (on their own)?  I like the fact that these jerseys are unique.  I think it's a good theme for the Stadium Series, if they went retro like the Winter and Heritage Classics it could get boring very quickly.  But I don't just like them because they are unique, I think the two-tone jersey is a good look, at least when done right.  I've seen several concepts that have had a light colour on one half and a dark colour on the other half, and I don't think that looks good, but both these jerseys avoided that problem.

There are some elements of these uniforms that I only like for a one off game.  I'd hate to see giant pant logos being used full-time, but I think they will be fun for this one game.  I also like the "carbon fiber" logos, but would be upset if a team kept them around (I'm still mad at the Islanders for promoting their "chrome" logo jerseys to a third jersey).

Then there are a also few features of these uniforms that I haven't decided if I like or not.  The biggest question mark for me are the Kings white pants.  I've always thought hockey pants should be a dark colour, but I don't think the white pants don't look horrible in this situation (also they could be a subtle nod to the yellow pants the Kings wore from 1970-79).  I'm also iffy about the fact that the jersey striping doesn't wrap all the way around the jerseys.  It helps the readability of the back numbers which I think is important, but it might look weird when the players turn around during the game (kind of like the Sabres third jersey).  I'll have to see them in action before I make up my mind on those two features.

Lastly, there are a few things I don't like about these jerseys.  As I alluded to at the start of this post, I dislike the fact that both jerseys use the same striping pattern.  I didn't mind last years' jerseys that used the same basic template yet had different striping patterns, however this years' jerseys don't have enough individuality for me.  The sleeve numbers are also on my naughty list, they are just too big and are lacking an outline.  My final complaint is about the collars, I don't like the shape of them or the way they are coloured (although I'm a big fan of the two crowns on the Kings' collar).

In summary, I think both jerseys are pretty good on their own, but I don't like both of them together (I might have said that already).

Sharks Grade:  B
Kings Grade:  C+
Grade of the overall look of the game:  C-

Have a good day!

Guest Concept Post #72

Hello again!  Before we get to today's concepts I just wanted to let you all know that I'm going to change up the Templates page soon, which will include getting rid of most of the templates that are currently on that page.  So if you want those images, save them to your computer now.

In other news the 2015 Stadium Series jersey designs have been leaked, and they look just like my Montreal Canadiens De-Edge concept from last July (but I can't take credit for the idea, many other people have made similar concepts).  I'll review the jerseys sometime after they have been officially unveiled.

Jean Béliveau Memorial Patch, by Ricky:

Our first concept is a memorial patch for the great Jean Béliveau created by Ricky.  The patch is simple, it's Béliveau's number four inside of the Canadiens' C (which is a similar idea to what Patrick Roy did on his helmet), and I think that simplicity works great here.  I also really like the presentation of this concept, particularly the use of Béliveau's signature.  My one suggestion would be to make the background black and white, since the image of Béliveau is black and white (and also it would make the rest of the concept stand out more).  Rest in peace Béliveau.

Anaheim Ducks, by Ricky:

Ricky also sent in this orange third jersey concept for the Ducks, which is based off of the Anaheim's 2003-06 third jersey.  It was a solid jersey in black and eggplant, and it's still a solid jersey in the Ducks' current colour scheme.  I think the logo and player's name both need to be a bit bigger, but other than that the execution is good.

Thunder Concept, by SM:

Our final concept is from first time contributor SM.  He created this concept for the team he plays for which is called the Thunder (the team is also Canadian which is why there is a maple leaf in the logo).  I think the striping on the torso of the dark jersey and the hem of the light jersey looks good, but the rest of the striping suffers from paint bucket syndrome (which is just colouring in the different panels on the jersey).  The execution could also be improved, there is also a lot of empty space on the image which can be fixed by just cropping the image, and there are a lot of loose pixels near the lines of the template.  I'd recommend trying a different template, because I don't think this one is very good unless you have a lot of experience.  My last suggestion would be to use a light neutral colour like silver or white as the background colour, which will make the jerseys stand out a bit better.

Thanks for visiting!