Silver (Grey?) Canucks

Hello again!  It's been a while (sorry about that).  I  just haven't had any ideas for new concepts lately, hopefully that will change now that hockey season is about to start.

Vancouver Canucks:

The Canucks should not have a silver third jersey (or is it grey), they should have a green third jersey (Trevor Linden, if you're reading this do not make this concept a reality (although it would be cool having the Canucks wear a jersey I designed))*.  But even though I dislike the idea of a silver Canucks jersey, I thought it was worth it to create this concept anyways.

Aloha!

*I think I use brackets too often.

Johnny Canuck Part Two

Back on the 15th I wrote a post about Johnny Canuck which included a home and road concept for the Canucks.  Today's concept is a third jersey to go along with that set.

Vancouver Canucks:

This is also an updated version of a concept from March 2013.  The striping is partly inspired by the Canucks' infamous "Flying V" jerseys, but with Johnny Canuck on the front instead of a giant V.

Also, I've added this variation of the template (with the collar-to-cuff yoke) to the Templates page.

Have a good day!

My Thoughts: Johnny Canuck

Hello once again!  Today I'm going to talk about my favourite team the Vancouver Canucks, specifically their full-body Johnny Canuck logo.

Image from instagram.com/canucksstore

Back in November the Canucks released a green fashion with Johnny Canuck as the main logo.  Even though I love the colour green, I wasn't a big fan of the jersey.  The striping gets a bit muddled where green touches blue, the collar looks weird with no blue, and the logo is too small and too high.  But the jersey did get me thinking about Johnny Canuck's potential as Vancouver's primary logo.

As a Canucks fan I love the idea of Johnny Canuck as the primary logo.  There is a nice history behind the logo, it's an updated version of the logo used by the WHL's Vancouver Canucks (who were a predecessor to the NHL team).  The current Canucks have also made Johnny Canuck a bigger part of their brand recently, by partnering with a Johnny Canuck impersonator who makes cool videos (that impersonator now makes videos that appear on the jumbotron at Canucks games).

That being said, I still have some doubts about the Johnny Canuck logo (you might notice that in both my NHL De-Edge Series and NHL Redesign Series the primary logo was the stick-in-the-rink).  It is a bit cartoony, and it's irregular shape can look odd on some applications.  However, my doubts are fading more and more everyday, and I'm becoming increasingly convinced that Johnny Canuck should be the main logo.  But there is one change I think the Canucks should make before they promote it to the primary...

And that change has to do with the outline around the logo.  With the thin silver outline the Canucks currently use, the logo gets lost a bit on dark backgrounds.  I'd much prefer a thicker white outline, which I believe really helps the logo stand out.

That wouldn't be the only change I'd make to the Canucks brand though, I'd also retire some of their other logos.

Actually the only other logo I'd keep would be the stick-in-the-rink.  I think it's perfectly suited to be a secondary logo, and it looks great on the shoulders and pants of the Canucks current uniforms.  On the other hand I'm not a big fan of the Johnny-V logo, I've always thought it was awkward how the head was attached to the V and it's also too similar to the logo used by Vachon Inc.  Another logo I don't like is the orca logo, it just doesn't really represent the team name and it's corporate origins don't sit well with me (the logo debuted when the Canucks were owned by Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment).  The last logo I'd get rid of is the Millionaires-V logo, I don't mind it on the Millionaires throwback jersey but I think it's too primitive to work as a full time logo today.

If the Canucks were to switch logos, I'd also want them to update their uniforms.

For the most part I really like the Canucks current uniforms, so I just made some small changes like adding green to the collars, altering the thickness of some stripes, and using a block font (and of course replacing the orca with Johnny Canuck).  Another reason I only made small changes is that the Canucks have had a major identity problem over the years, and I feel it's time for them to establish a consistent look.

So those are my thoughts on the Johnny Canuck and the Canucks brand overall.  If you have any thoughts on this topic, feel free to share them in the comments.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

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!

Canucks 90's Third Jersey

I have new jersey in my jersey collection to share with you folks!

My parents got my this replica of the Canucks 1995-97 third jersey for my birthday.  I now have basically every Canucks third jersey or specialty jersey, but no home or road jerseys.  You can see this jersey, and all my other jerseys on the My Jersey Collection page.

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!

My Thoughts: Canucks 2001-06 Third Jersey

It's time for another post where I discuss my thoughts on a topic, which I cleverly call "My Thoughts" (it's the same as what other people call opinion posts or rants).  Today I'm discussing the Canucks 2001-06 third jersey.  Before I get started though, I should warn you that I have a lot of nostalgia for this jersey, so my opinion is going to be very biased.

The reason I have a lot of nostalgia for this jersey is not only because I'm a big Canucks fan and the Canucks were wearing this jersey when I was really getting into NHL hockey, but also because I got this jersey jersey as a Christmas gift as a kid signed by Markus Naslund (and I also later on met Markus Naslund while wearing this jersey).  Here is a photo of that jersey...

My opinion is that this jersey, the Canucks 2001-06 third jersey, is the perfect third jersey.  Think about it, it's a very unique jersey with that gradient from red to blue, but it still has everything that makes up a good traditional hockey jersey (hem stripes, sleeve stripes, and a shoulder yoke).  It also fit in perfectly with the Canucks home and road jerseys from that era, but it looked different from their regular dark jersey.  That's something I hate about the Canucks current home and third jerseys, they look so similar from a distance that I often don't even realize the Canucks are wearing their third jersey until a few minutes into a game.  Back when I was a kid I would immediately know the Canucks were wearing their third jersey, and I loved that, it was always a pleasant surprise seeing the Canucks take the ice in those third jerseys.

Now backtracking a bit, I want to clarify that when I call this jersey the perfect third jersey I don't mean it was the best third jersey ever.  I'm just saying it has everything one could want in a third jersey (at least everything I want in a third jersey), and it was still able to look good in my opinion.

Those are my thoughts on the Canucks 2001-06 third jersey, feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments.  Also I plan on doing a "My Thoughts" post for both the Olympic hockey jerseys and the NHL outdoor game jerseys, but I will wait until after the Olympics are done to do the Olympics jersey post, and until after all the NHL outdoor games are done to do the outdoor jersey post.

Lastly, I've added this jersey to the "My Jersey Collection" page.  The only reason it wasn't there before is because the jersey is a youth small, therefore I'd look pretty goofy if I tried to wear it and I reasoned if I couldn't wear jersey it isn't really part of my jersey collection (but I changed my mind about that now).

Have a good day!

New Year, New Look, New Templates

Well the title should really be "New Year, Updated Look, Updated Templates", but it didn't sound as catchy.

Anyways, as you can see I've made a few changes to the look of the blog, but I've kept the basic design intact.  The logo is the same as before, but it is now only in one shade of green, so it doesn't have the bevel effect it had before.  That one shade of green is a brand new shade of green, it is darker than the kelly green I was using previously but lighter than the forest green.  I also have moved the pages for my concept series and jersey collection up to the top where the other pages are.

I have also updated all the templates that were on the Templates page.  Most of the changes were very minor (ranging from making sure the shade of grey used for the jersey stitching was consistent throughout all the templates, to changing the position of the sock stripes to a more accurate height, among with many other minor changes), but I did make one non-minor change which is the option of adding a visor to the helmet.

I based the visor off of this image on the facebook page of The (unofficial) NHL Uniform Database, so if anyone should get credit it should be the guy who runs that website.  I also made a two layer version of the helmet and visor (that you can find on the Templates page), which is good for programs like Paint.Net that have that the ability to have more than one layer.

Vancouver Canucks Third Jersey:

Now I wanted to create a concept to share using the updated templates, but I had no ideas for concepts so I just made the Canucks current third jersey.  You can see on the image the two layer version of the visor, which has a bit of shading.

Happy New Year everyone!

Millionaires Jersey and Canucks Guest Concept

Hello folks.  I hope you all enjoyed your holidays, I know I did.  I got to see some relatives I rarely see, had some good food, and got some nice gifts including this Vancouver Millionaires jersey.

This jersey had been on my wish-list since the Canucks unveiled it, so I was thrilled to get it for Christmas.  I've added it jersey to the My Jersey Collection page, which you can get to by clicking the image on the right side of the page that says "My Jersey Collection" or by clicking right here.  Now let's move on to a concept.

Vancouver Canucks, by Justin S:

This is Justin's take on a Canucks De-Edge set.  It's not a bad look, but I don't think it's an improvement over their current set, and it's not that original either.  These jerseys are just blue and green versions of the Senators 1995-99 jerseys, but with contrasting shoulder yokes.  I suggest changing the striping pattern to something new, and also adding a logo to the shoulders, the Canucks have lots of good secondary logos.

Have a good day!

Pacific Division De-Edge Vintage Jerseys

It's vintage week on SG-94!  Each day this week I'll be bringing back a header (design at top of blog) that I've previously used, and today's is the first header used on this blog.  There were seven different headers I used before I switched to this blog template, so come back each day to see all seven old designs.  The headers are un-altered, besides being extended sideways to fit the current blog template.

Also I'm bringing back the NHL's vintage jersey program for my De-Edge series, but this time it will include all 30 teams, and I've made a few rules for myself.  Fist of all I can't alter anything, the jerseys have to be true throwbacks (not fauxbacks like the recent Winter Classics).  Also both the home and road jerseys must be from the same year.  Speaking of home and road jerseys, I made the home jerseys the light colour and road jerseys dark.  And this isn't really a rule, but I tried to throwback to jerseys teams had success in.

Anaheim Ducks Vintage Set:

These are the jerseys the Ducks wore during their trip to the Stanley Cup final in 2003.

Calgary Flames Vintage Set:

The Flames wore these jerseys when they won the Stanley Cup in 1989.

Edmonton Oilers Vintage Set:

This is the classic Gretzky-era Oilers set.

Los Angeles Kings Vintage Set:

This is the Kings original jersey design, but specifically this set was from 1979-80 (no gold pants but with player names).  The Kings now have five jerseys in my De-Edge series, and none of them are white.

Phoenix Coyotes Vintage Set:

These are the Coyotes original jerseys.

San Jose Sharks Vintage Set:

I also went with the Sharks original jerseys.

Vancouver Canucks Vintage Set:

For the Canucks I went back to the jerseys they wore when they went to the Stanley Cup final in 1994.

Feel free to let me know want you think of my choices for each team.  Have a good day!

Canucks De-Edge Third

Hello folks!  I'm back with a third jersey concept for the Canucks.  I don't plan on making third jerseys for the Blues, Lightning, or Maple Leafs, but I may still make one for the Sharks (if I can come up with anything good).

Vancouver Canucks Third:

My original idea for this concept was to make stripes going up the front and back of the jersey that look like the suspenders Johnny Canuck is wearing in the logo.  That didn't look quite right, so I messed around with it until I came up with this striping pattern.  There is a new helmet, but the pants and gloves are the same as what I used for the home and road jerseys.

Full Set:

Here is a look at all three jerseys together.

Have a good day!

Vancouver Canucks De-Edge

Vancouver Canucks:

For this concept I modernized the Canucks 1970-72 jerseys.  I added a silver outline on the striping to match the logos, along with a few other changes.  I know this isn't as creative as some other concepts in this series, but as a Canucks fan I find it hard to make creative concepts that I would actually want the Canucks to wear.

Thanks for visiting.

More Fashion Jerseys

It's been a bit longer than I wanted, but here are a few more fashion jerseys to go with four from the previous post.  WinnipegJets96 suggested three teams (Oilers, Canucks, and Stars), and I did the Canucks, but I didn't get around to the other two teams.  Sorry about that WinnipegJets96.  I did do a couple of jerseys for the Ducks though.

Vancouver Canucks:

As you can see, I did a navy blue and silver version for the Canucks.

Anaheim Ducks:

And for the Ducks I did two versions, using the "Jade" and "Eggplant" colours from their Mighty Duck days.

Thanks for visiting.

Millionaires Game

Hello everyone, I hope you're all having a good weekend.  I certainly am, as I was at the Canucks game yesterday and got to see the Millionaires jerseys in person.  They looked great, and it was cool to see the Canucks honouring the Millionaires.  The start of the game was amazing, with the Canucks scoring a club record six seconds in, but the final score wasn't so good.  I was also hoping to buy a Millionaires jersey, but they sold out before I could even get into the building.  Anyways, here are some pictures I took when I was there.

Not the best quality photos...

If you're looking for better photos, check out the gallery on the Canucks website.

Also I wanted to include a concept in this post, so I changed my Canucks concept from earlier this month into a Millionaires set.

I included a top view of the sleeve, to give you a better idea of what the design would look like.  Thanks for visiting.

Canucks "V" Jersey

Hello everyone.  Sorry it's been so long since my last post, I've just had no ideas for concepts.  Hopefully I can get some more done soon.

Vancouver Canucks:

I wanted to try a Canucks concept with a "V" design.  I used a green as the base colour, and Johnny Canuck as the main logos.  I realize this still needs some work, so please if you have any ideas let me know.

Johnny Canuck

Vancouver Canucks: 

 

The home and road are updates to their original (and current) uniforms, with the updated "Stick-in-the-Rink" logo on the front.  Johnny Canuck is used on the shoulders and helmets.  The third jersey is green (almost just a re-colour of the home), with skating Johnny as the main logo, and the interlocking VC logo as a shoulder patch.

Hopefully I'll make a few more concepts sometime soon.

Crazy Canucks Concept

Vancouver Canucks:  I've seen a few soccer inspired jersey concepts recently and I got an idea for this Vancouver Canucks concept.  The angled stripes are supposed to be subtle V's.  I also added sublimated stripes similar to my Ottawa Senators concept.

Is it too crazy?  Leave your thoughts in the comments.


Edit:  Tyler J. Gross suggested that I end the sublimated stripes at the blue/white stripes.  I couldn't get that to work, but here is a version without any sublimated stripes.

NHL Redesign Updates

Here are some updates suggested by the folks at CCSLC.

Dallas Stars:  I changed the inside of the star to white on the green jersey.  Here is the original concept.

Nashville Predators:  I changed the collar on the home and roads to what they have now.  Original concept.



New York Islanders:  I brightened the orange and changed up the striping on the road jersey.  Original concept.



New York Rangers:  I thickened the white space between the stripes on the road jersey.  Original concept.

Phoenix Coyotes:  I switched the shoulder patches.  The logo that was on the third is now on the primary jerseys, and vice-versa.  Original concept.

Tampa Bay Lightning:  I added a blue outline to the numbers on the home and road.  Original concept.

Vancouver Canucks:  I switched the third jersey to the jersey that was on my "We Need More GREEN!!! " post.  Original concept.

So now all the teams are final.  I will post some bonus jerseys in the next day or two.

Final Three Teams

Here are the last three teams in the NHL Redesign.  There is one more NHL Redesign post left with a few bonus concepts.

Vancouver Canucks:  The Canucks are my favourite team, and these home and road concepts are my ideal jerseys for them.  They're an update of their 1972-78 jerseys, with a updated logo too (the logo is basically halfway between their old and new stick-in-the-rink logos).  The third jersey is green, with johnny as the logo, and a V-pattern on the sleeves.

Washington Capitals:  I changed up their home and road a bit, getting rid of the side-panels.  I then included a throwback red third jersey.  I was considering a blue jersey with the weagle logo, but I couldn't get it to look right.

Winnipeg Jets:  I went with a military theme for the home and road, with the chevrons on the sleeve and the stencil name and numbers.  The home jersey is also the lighter blue, because I thought it provided better contrast with the logo.  The third jersey is inspired by the WHA Jets 1975-77 blue jersey.

So that's all 30 teams completed.  Anyone have a favourite concept?  Anyone think I messed up a team?  Let me know.

My Concept History

A special post today about the history of my concepts.  The execution is pretty bad on some of these, but please don't laugh.

I first starting making concepts near the end of 2009, when my local minor hockey association got new jerseys.  These "concepts" were basically me recolouring jersey from The Hockey Uniform Database, like this Team USA concept from January 2010.

A few months later I found the website Icethetics, and I took someone's concept to make a better template.  Here is a St. Louis Blues concept I made in May 2010, using that template.

Later that year I found a cleaner template, and decided to attempt an NHL series.  That series was very incomplete, I only made concepts for about half the teams, and many of the concepts were incomplete.  This Canucks concept from July 2010, and this Ducks concept from November 2010, are from that NHL series.

By the beginning of 2011 I had started using a brand new template.  This new template was a lot harder to use, but I thought it looked better.  I also didn't put numbers on my jerseys, because the numbers for the other template were to small.  This Predators jersey from February 2011, was my prediction of what their new jerseys for 2011-12 would look like.

I was still using the older template as well, and in March, when it looked like the Coyotes might move to Winnipeg, I sent Icethetics this concept.  This was my first concept posted on the Internet.

Image from Icethetics

Then two months later, when we knew the Thrashers were moving to Winnipeg, I sent in this concept to Hockey Jersey Concepts.  This was my first concept on HJC.

By summer 2011 I almost quit making concepts.  It just took too much time to create a concept on the template I was using.  Finally, by the end of August, I decided to switch back to my old template, and use my name and number on the back to save time.  I also made an attempt at an NHL series.  This Sabres concept from September 2011 was from that series (which I didn't complete).

For Christmas 2011 I got a new Laptop, and downloaded Paint.net (previously I was using MS Paint).  I also added a double outline to my concepts, and started posting concepts to CCSLC.  This Stars concept was from January 2012.

Most recently I started another NHL series, which I will complete, and I started this blog.  I hope you enjoyed reading about the history of my concepts.  The next NHL Redesign will be posted in a few days.