Stadium Series Predictions

2016 Stadium Series:

A couple weeks ago I posted my prediction for next year's Winter Classic jerseys, today I'm doing the same for the Stadium Series.  I think the jerseys will once again be modern, and follow a template that is used for all four teams.  I also kept the the giant sleeve numbers and giant pant logos from this years uniforms.  I decided against white pants, instead using white gloves for the road teams.  Also gone are the chrome or carbon fiber logo, but that's mostly just wishful thinking.  The sleeve stripes are angled so that when the arms are down at an angle the stripes will look more vertical to match the stripes on the torso.

Also, I've added a square yolk variation of my new template to the templates page.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

My Thoughts: Blackhawks Winter Classic and Jersey Ads

Back on November 5th the Blackhawks unveiled the new Winter Classic jersey, then the next day a story was circulating that the NHL was considering putting ads on jerseys.  Today I'm going to discuss those two subjects (better late then never I guess).

Chicago Blackhawks Winter Classic Jersey

Images from blackhawks.nhl.com

When the Washington Capitals unveiled their Winter Classic jersey, the graphics in the stadium used the Blackhawks current logo.  That made me go "hmm" maybe the Blackhawks are just going to use their current road jersey (like the Canadiens in the 2011 Heritage Classic), and I thought to myself "I'd be perfectly fine with that".  My second thought was they might take an older version of their road sweater and put their current logo on it, which was exactly what they did.  The Blackhawks went with a design based off of their 1957-58 road jersey, completely accurate except for the use of their current logo.

I think the jersey is a great choice, I especially like the placement of the secondary logo on the sleeve stripes.  I don't like the choice to use their current logo though, although I understand why the Blackhawks would want to use their current logo, and I don't think the logo choice hurts the jersey that much.  Overall I think this year's Winter Classic will be a great looking game.
Grade:  A-

NHL Jersey Ads

Image from marlies.ca - Image from canucks.nhl.com

My thoughts on the idea of ads on NHL jerseys can be summed up in a very short sentence, which is "IT'S A TERRIBLE IDEA"!!!  The NHL would look like a minor league if their jerseys had ads, and unlike minor league teams they don't need the extra money, the NHL would just be being greedy.  I also think jersey ads would hurt jersey sales, I know I would stop buying them.  Another way to look at this is that many people have said that hockey is like a religion, building off of that you could say that hockey jerseys are like a sacred religious artifact, and putting ads on jerseys would be sacrilege, it's simple a terrible idea.

That being said it wouldn't be the end of the world, I would still watch the NHL just as much as I do now, I would still run this blog, and I'd still make jersey concepts.  Eventually I would get used to the jersey ads, I don't really notice them anymore when I'm watching my second favourite sports league the CFL (although the CFL needs the money a lot more than the NHL, so ads are more acceptable for that league).  It would just be very, very disappointing seeing ads on NHL jerseys, especially on timeless classics like the Canadiens red sweater.
Grade (of the idea of ads on NHL jerseys):  F-

Have a good day!

My Thoughts: Outdoor Jerseys

Speaking as a Canucks fan, this last week was a bit of a crazy week.  First of all I attended the Heritage Classic, then a few days later Luongo was traded, and the next day on trade deadline day the Canucks were rumoured to being making some big trades but ended up not doing much.  But for today's post I'm going to focus on the Heritage Classic, as well as all the other NHL outdoor games this year, as I'm reviewing the jerseys worn for those outdoor games.

Before I get to the jerseys I'll briefly talk about the experience of the Heritage Classic.  I went to the game with my dad, and while it was snowing at our house, it was raining in Vancouver which as you know meant the roof was closed at BC Place.  That was a bit disappointing, but I wasn't really expecting the roof to be open.  The result of the game was also disappointing, but the rest of the day was great.  Watching a hockey game with over 50,000 people is a really cool experience, we were doing the wave and chanting "WE WANT LUO!", it was a lot of fun.  We had decent seats about halfway up the lower bowl, and while the sight lines obviously aren't the best for hockey, BC Place has a giant big screen you could look at if the puck disappeared behind the boards.  Overall it was really fun, I'd recommend going to one of these games if you ever get the chance.

Heritage Classic:

(Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

Enough about the game though, what really matters are the jerseys.  If you've been reading this blog for a while (and you have a good memory) you might remember that this wasn't the first time I attended a Canucks game when they were wearing their Millionaire jerseys.  After that first game I said that the jerseys looked great, and my opinion hasn't changed since then.  The colours look so good, and I love how historically accurate the jerseys are.  It would have been easy to go with a lace-up collar and maroon pants, but the Canucks did the right thing by keeping it accurate.  Ottawa went in a different direction by not using a direct throwback, but I also think that was the right thing for them to do.  I don't think they would be allowed to use a full barber-pole jersey against the dark Millionaires jersey anyways.  What they ended up using still honoured history nicely, while creating something that people nowadays would like.  I heard a few complaints that it was hard to distinguish the two teams with them both using a lot of vintage white, personally I didn't have that problem when I was at the game but I noticed it later when I was watching highlights on TV.

Winter Classic:

(Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)

Moving on to the other Classic game, which was much more classic weather wise than the Heritage Classic.  I've already briefly touched on my thoughts of these two jerseys back when I did a "fix it" concept for the Winter Classic, so I'll just quickly reiterate my thoughts here.  I'm a big fan of Toronto's jersey, there are just a few minor things I would have done differently to be more historically accurate (three sets of stripes on the socks, tan/brown pants and gloves, and no laces).  I wasn't really a fan of the Detroit's jersey, it was too much of a faux-back jersey, and it really didn't look like Red Wings to me.  I also wasn't a fan of the vintage white.  I did love that the game was colour vs colour (although I don't want colour vs colour to become a regular thing).

Stadium Series:

 (Photo by Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images)

Lastly we get to the Stadium Series games, and the NHL went in another direction by going with modern jerseys for these games.  I think that's a good move, it keeps the two Classics more special.  I was a fan of the jerseys in general, including the chrome crests and funky numbers, but only as one-off jerseys.  I kind of thought of these jerseys like All-Star game jerseys, they're for a special event and you only see them once so you might as well try some new things.  Now we all know there was one team, the Devils, who didn't want to do anything new.  Part of me wishes they would have gone with modern jersey to fit in with the rest of the teams, but the other part of me likes how traditional they are with their jerseys.  In the end I like the Devils decision, they haven't had a new jersey since 1992, and I would hate to have seen that streak ended by the Stadium Series.

Now you know my thoughts on the NHL's outdoor game jerseys, feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments.  Thanks for visiting!

Central Division De-Edge Vintage Jerseys

I'm back with part two of the vintage jersey program for my De-Edge series, this time for the Central Division.  Also, as you can see, the vintage header at the top of the page is now onto my shield logo.

Chicago Blackhawks Vintage Set:

The Blackhawks wore these jerseys won they won the Stanley Cup in 1961.

Colorado Avalanche Vintage Set:

These are the classic Avalanche jerseys, but specifically from 1999-2007 (darker shade of burgundy).  They won the Cup in 2001 wearing this set.

Dallas Stars Vintage Set:

The Stars wore these jerseys 1995-99.  The Stars won the Stanley Cup in 1999 when these were their home and road jerseys (although they did wear their third when they won the Cup).

Minnesota Wild Vintage Set:

These are the Wild's original jerseys.

Nashville Predators Vintage Set:

I also went with the Predator's original jerseys.

St. Louis Blues Vintage Set:

The Blues wore these jerseys from 1968-73.  The went to the Stanley Cup final three times during that time.

Winnipeg Jets Vintage Set:

This may surprise some people, but I went with the Jets current jerseys.  I wasn't going to throwback to the original Jets since they are a different franchise, so my only other option was Atlanta Thrashers jerseys.

Once again you can let me know if you think my choices are good or bad.  Thanks for visiting!

Carolina, Kitchener, and Blackhawks De-Edge Third

Carolina Hurricanes, by Alan:

For the third straight post we begin with a Hurricanes concept, this time by Alan from AJH Hockey Jersey Art.  I believe this was created before the Hurricanes re-brand, it seems to fit in with that era with the Hurricanes old font and the use of silver in the striping.  The sleeve, hem, sock, and especially pant stripes all look good.  The only striping I don't like is the unique striping on the shoulders, as I think it's too box-y.  My recommendation would be to get rid of the white and silver outlines on the ends of that shoulder design (the vertical outlines).

Kitchener Rangers, by Alan:

I love this concept because it gets Kitchener away from looking like the New York Rangers, and gives them a look that (as Alan's description says) "is simple, classic, and modern all at the same time".  The striping, logos, and fonts all look great.  I especially like the shoulder patch Alan created.  The only two things I don't like were carried over from their current uniform, and those are the red helmets and New York Ranger's style pants.  I think a blue or white helmet would look better with the white jersey, and I think the pants are to retro looking for these jerseys.  Those two things are fairly minor though, and they don't take away from this great concept.

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Chicago Blackhawks Third:

As you can see this is a black version of the home and road jerseys.  I felt like this jersey made the whole set more cohesive.  All the equipment (besides the socks) are the same as the home jersey.

Full Set:

Here's a look at all three jerseys together.

Have a good day!

Chicago Blackhawks De-Edge

Well, the Blackhawks won the cup last Monday, something that this Canucks fan isn't exactly thrilled about.  They did deserve to win though, they were the best team all year long.  And speaking of the Blackhawks, they are the next team for my De-Edge series.

Chicago Blackhawks:

I'm trying to make something new for each team in this series, so even though I wouldn't change the Blackhawks jerseys in real life, they get changed here.  I started off by adding some of the colours in the logo to the striping on the home jersey.  I then based the road jersey off of that jersey, but only using red white and black.  Also the Blackhawks secondary logo is over top of the sleeve-stripes again like it was back in the 1950's.

 Thanks for visiting, and as always feel free to leave any feedback you might have.

Chicago Revisited

With the Chicago Blackhawks Untouchables Redesign contest happening on HJC, I thought it would be a good opportunity to add another concept to my revisited series.

Original Concept:

I made this concept in the summer of 2011, and at the time I thought it was an amazing concept (now I think it sucks).  The logo is based on a patch worn by the Black Hawk Battalion.

Revisited Concept:

To update this concept I made the striping more reminiscent of the Blackhawks 1937-55 barber pole jersey.  I also used the Chicago's current logos and colours (the red is much brighter).

Have a good Trade Deadline Day!!!

Two Concepts

Remember back in June when I posted about what the Quebec Nordiques might look like if they never moved.  I said back then that I might do the same for the original Winnipeg Jets, and I have now started working on that.  Expect that post sometime this week.

A few weeks ago Ryan posted a Florida Panthers concept on HJC.  I really liked the look of the logo, and used it as inspiration for a few concepts.  These were already posted on HJC, but I'll post them here anyways.

Chicago Blackhawks:  I was going for a retro look for this jersey, with lots of stripes.  I took inspiration from their current road jersey, their 1957-58 white jersey (logo on the sleeve stripes), their 1926-27 jersey, and the Chicago Cougars jerseys.  I also used red pants and their retro logo (with some modifications).

St. Louis Blues:  I wasn't going for a retro look for this jersey, but I did use their old trumpet logo (again with some modifications though).  I used their double blue colour scheme, but without any yellow.  The striping pattern is modelled after their 1998-2007 jerseys.  (I got some suggestions when this was posted on HJC saying I should add yellow.  I agree it would be more realistic, but when I tried I couldn't get it to look right).

Flames, Canes, and Hawks

I'm Continuing the NHL Redesign today with the Flames, Hurricanes and Blackhawks.  I hope you like the colour red, because there's lots of it.

Calgary Flames:  The home and road jerseys are an updated version of their pre-edge set.  The third is a darker red, complete with red pants, gloves and helmets.  For the shoulder patch I updated the old Calgary Cowboys logo (in my imagination the Flames would buy the Cowboys logo, similar to what the Vancouver Canucks did to the Millionaires logo).

Carolina Hurricanes:  The home and road have very minor changes.  The third has a more classic striping pattern (because the home and road are already pretty un-traditional), and feature sublimated hurricane-stripes.

Chicago Blackhawks:  The Home and road stay the same, except the helmet logo faces forward.  I added a throwback jersey that would only be worn five times a year.  It is white so it could be worn on the road or at home.

Next up for the NHL Redesign are Colorado, Dallas, and Detroit.  If you're wondering what has happened to Columbus, they've been renamed.