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!

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!

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: Devils' Logo

Hello!  How are you today?  Me, I'm good, thanks for asking.  Enough chit-chat though, lets get to the rest of the post.  Today I'm going to talk about the New Jersey Devils' logo, which is one of my favourites in the NHL.

The Devils, who are named after a legendary creature called the Jersey Devil, were previously the Colorado Rockies before moving to New Jersey in 1982.  Their logo has been the same the whole time they have been in New Jersey, besides switching green to black in 1992.  The Devils have been quite successful with this logo, winning the Stanley Cup three times (1995, 2000, and 2003), and appearing in two other Stanley Cup finals (2001 and 2012).

Why is the Devils logo one of my favourite logos you ask?  Well, I like how it combines an N, a J, devil-horns, and a devil-tail (I've highlighted those parts of the logo in the above image).  With those elements the entire team name is symbolized in one logo, the N and J obviously represent the location part of their name, while the devil horns and tail represent their nickname.  Besides that, I like the overall look of the logo.  It's a simple yet effective symbol that easily fits in with the best logos in the NHL.  But there is one more reason I like the Devils logo...

And that reason has to do with the highlighted areas on the image directly above.  Whenever I look at the Devils logo, I also see the letter D and a hockey stick (I've isolated the alleged hockey stick in a separate image below).  Now I know what you thinking, those areas don't really look like a D or a hockey stick.  I'll admit both the D and hockey stick are far from the perfect shape, and I don't think either of them were intentional, but I still notice them when I look at the logo and that's part of the reason I like this logo so much.

Hockey Stick?

So what do you think of the Devils logo?  Do you see the D and hockey stick I was talking about, or do you think I'm completely crazy?  Feel free to let me know in the comment section below.

Have a good day!

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!

My Thoughts on the Blues, and Three Guest Concepts

As you all must know by now, the St. Louis Blues unveiled new home and road jerseys on Monday.  Those new jerseys were based off of the Blues' 1998-2007 jerseys, but had a few important changes.  I personally love the new jerseys, I also liked the jerseys they were based off but I think the few changes make it even better.  Using bolder stripes, straight arm stripes, and adding a small gap in the striping pattern give the jerseys a more traditional look (compared to their 1998-2007 jerseys) that suit the Blues perfectly.

Photos from blues.nhl.com

While I think the new jerseys are basically perfect, there is one part of the uniforms I don't like and that is the socks.  I don't like the fact that the road socks have no navy blue, and the home socks don't really match the home jerseys.  Personally I'd match the socks stripes to the shoulder yoke, as you can see below.

Overall I'd give the uniforms a high A grade.  And while we're on the subject of Blues jerseys, I just want to say that I never thought the Blues' 2007-14 jerseys were that bad.  I've seen a lot of people saying they were the worst or one of the worst jerseys in the league, but I thought they okay (I'd give them a low B grade) Now moving on to some concepts...

St. Louis Blues, by Ricky:

Sticking with the Blues, Ricky made this Blues concept which features a yellow home jersey and the return of red.  He also uses their roundel logo on the front, and the swooshing striping pattern from the Ducks previous jerseys.  Honestly I'm not a fan of any of those decisions.  A yellow home jersey doesn't say Blues to me, I never liked red in their colour scheme, I don't think the roundel is a good primary logo (and the blue-note is such an iconic logo), and this striping pattern should stay with the Ducks in my opinion.

Calgary Flames, by Ricky:

Ricky also made this concept for the Flames, which I'm glad to say I like better than the previous concept.  The striping pattern on the home and road looks good, I like that the cowboy-shirt yoke from their current third jersey is used, but I think a few minor changes could really help.  First I'd make the hem stripe the same thickness as the arm stripes, I'd also remove the piping on the home jersey, and on the road jersey I'd replace the black with red as I think there is too much black right now.  Speaking of too much black, I think the numbers on the home jersey need to be another colour (or re-work the outlines) because they blend into the jersey too much right now.  I'm also not sure about using the roundel as the primary logo, I think it's a good secondary logo but it doesn't work as a primary in my opinion.  The third jersey is really cool, the striping pattern is unique and matches the logo perfectly.

Czech Republic, by Jared:

We end today's post with a Czech Republic concept by Jared that looks more like a Washington Capitals concept.  I'm sorry but I just can't get past the fact that a Capitals logo was used as the main logo for a Czech Republic concept, it ruins the whole concept in my opinion.  The socks also look bad how the panels are just filled in with colour, instead of using an actual striping pattern.

Enjoy the rest of your 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: Olympic Jerseys

The Olympics are over, Canada won gold in both the men's and women's hockey (yay!), and now it's time for me to post my thoughts on the Olympic jerseys.  I'll try not to ramble on to much, to keep this post from getting to long.

I'll start off by saying that I was a fan of the jerseys in general.  Most of the jerseys looked different than a typical hockey jersey to some degree, and I think that's a good thing.  What I didn't like was that a lot of the countries looked similar.  Slovakia, Germany, and the United States (white jersey) all used the exact same template.  Then there were Finland's and Russia's dark jerseys that both used flags as sleeve stripes with contrasting dark yokes, and a few other examples of similar jerseys.  This shouldn't happen, especially when there are only 14 teams.

One of the least popular elements of these jerseys were the "fake laces", but I actually liked the look.  My favourite part of those collars was that they were always the same colour as the shoulder yoke, instead of contrasting like most NHL teams use.  It created a clean and simple look, which I think looked good.  Again though, I wish there was more variety, different collar styles countries could choose instead of just the one.  Also, I was a fan of the shiny material used for the designs on the shoulders, but once again I wish teams had the option to use a regular shoulder logo instead if they wanted to.

Now I'll review the jerseys team by team, going in alphabetical order.  Also, the photos in this post are from the Associated Press (there's a link to the article where I got each photo in the captions).

Austria:

(AP Photo/Julio Cortez) - (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

We start off with the Austrians, who in my opinion had very solid but not terribly exciting jerseys.  The white jersey was my favourite of the two because I think the contrasting yoke worked better on the white jersey, and I also liked the chest stripe.
Grade:  B (white jersey), C+ (red jersey)

Canada:

(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) - (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) - (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

As a Canadian I'm probably biased, but I think Canada had some of the better jerseys at the tournament.  I loved how the home and road jerseys combined the 1972 summit series jerseys with the jerseys of the Winnipeg Falcons who represented Canada at the 1920 Olympics, and I think the black jersey rounded out the set nicely.  A lot of people didn't like the stripes only on one sleeve, and I'll admit the jerseys would of probably looked better with them on both sleeves, but I certainly didn't mind how it was.  It kind of made sense to have the sleeve stripes only on one side, since the chest stripe was only on one side of the jersey.  The one thing I didn't like were the socks, they didn't really match the jerseys and they looked kind of awkward in my opinion.
Grade:  B

Czech Republic:

(AP Photo/Julio Cortez) - (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

If I was ranking the Olympic jerseys the Czech Republic would be right near the top, if not at the top.  The white jersey was one of my favourites, it was the same style as USA's white jersey (along with Slovakia's and Germany's jerseys), but I think the Czech Republic pulled it off the best.  The dark "flag" jersey was quite unique, and it looked good, but it did have a lot of white for a dark jersey.  One more thing, I liked how the Czech Republic had a different number font than anyone else at the tournament.  All the other countries shared their font with at least one other country.
Grade:  A (white jersey), B (flag jersey)

Finland:

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum) - (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

We go from one flag jersey to the other, and without a doubt Finland's flag jersey was my favourite jersey in the whole tournament.  I loved the colours, I loved the striping created by the flag, there's really nothing I didn't like.  The blue jersey wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as the white jersey.  I think the navy blue yokes made the flags on the sleeves look awkward, there was to much navy blue so close to the sleeve stripes to have no navy blue on the sleeves.
Grade:  A+ (white jersey), C+ (blue jersey)

Germany:

(AP Photo/Petr David Josek) - (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Germany used the most overused template at the Olympics, but I think it worked for their yellow jersey, although not so much for the black jersey.  The striping for the yellow jersey made sense, it goes in the same order as the German flag.  The black jersey, being the reverse of the yellow jersey, obviously isn't in the same order as the flag.  I also didn't like how the yellow yoke looked on the black jersey.  I think the yoke on the Nike template is too big to have a light yoke on a dark jersey, I just don't like the way it looks.
Grade:  B (yellow jersey), C- (black jersey)

Japan:

(AP Photo/Petr David Josek) - (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Japan's jerseys weren't very popular (there were ranked last by Icethetics readers), with a lot of people calling them boring.  I'll admit they weren't the most exciting uniforms, but I don't think they looked bad, I actually think both jerseys looked quite intimidating.  One thing I don't get though is why Japan is written in English, why not use Japanese.
Grade:  B

Latvia:

(AP Photo/Julio Cortez) - (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

My opinion of Latvia's jerseys is basically the same as my opinion of Austria's jerseys, they're decent jerseys but not very memorable.  I do like that Latvia didn't use a contrasting shoulder yoke on the dark jersey.
Grade:  B

Norway:

(AP Photo/Bruce Bennett, Pool) - (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Norway's jerseys were unchanged from the 2010 Olympics (besides the new jersey cut and collar), and that's not a bad thing.  These jerseys, with both sleeve and hem stripes, looked the most like a traditional hockey jersey of any of the regular Olympic jerseys.  I know that at the start of the post I said I liked that most of the other countries' jerseys didn't look like a typical hockey jersey, but with all the other teams trying more nontraditional designs, Norway's jerseys actually stood out the most from the rest of the pack.
Grade:  A

Russia:

(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) - (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

The host country's results at the tournament weren't very memorable, but their white jersey sure was.  From the the giant eagle silhouettes on the front to the wing pattern on the shoulder, everything about this jersey was unique.  I think it looked great and it looked very Russian.  My only concern about the jersey was that the front had a lot of red for a white jersey, although that didn't seem to be a problem in the Olympics.  I also think Russia made another good move by paring their unique white jersey with a more traditional red jersey.  The Russian flag looked good on the sleeves, but I didn't like how the blue yoke was cut off in the back.
Grade:  A (white jersey), B (red jersey)

Slovakia:

(AP Photo/Julio Cortez) - (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Slovakia revealed their jerseys after USA did, and my first reaction was that the two countries looked identical, especially the white jerseys.  The blue Slovakia jersey was an inverse of their white jersey, so it was different than USA's blue jersey, but again I don't think the light yoke on a dark jersey was a good look on this template.  I also think Slovakia should have stuck with royal blue, the colour they have traditionally worn, instead of going with navy blue.  One thing that was awesome about these jerseys were the pinstripes made out of the lyrics to Slovakia's national anthem.  I just think that was an amazingly unique feature.
Grade:  B (white jersey), C+ (blue jersey)

Slovenia:

(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) - (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

While most countries used the colours from their flag for their uniforms, Slovenia went in another direction by using blue and bright green.  It wasn't done out of nowhere though, Slovenia has used this colour scheme for other sports.  I liked the new colour scheme, there were already a lot of countries that used red and blue.  Slovenia also used a cool mountain striping pattern on the front of the jerseys (which would look great for the Colorado Avalanche).  There are a couple of things I didn't like though, first of all the green numbers on the white jersey looked terrible, and I also think the navy blue pants didn't work well with the jerseys.
Grade:  C+ (white jersey), B (blue jersey)

Sweden:

(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) - (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

For the most part Sweden resisted Nike's attempt to change their classic jerseys, except for the lack of sleeve stripes.  I missed the sleeve stripes, but everything else about the jerseys looked as good as Sweden normally does.
Grade:  B

Switzerland:

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum) - (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

The white jersey looks exactly like the white Switzerland jersey I made for my IIHF Redesign over a year ago.  I like to think Switzerland was inspired by my concept, but realistically I know they weren't.  Obviously I like that white jersey, it's exactly what I would have done.  One thing different is that on the real jersey there is a sublimated pattern on the red stripes (it's also there on the red jersey).  I love hidden features like that.  Switzerland's red jersey was simpler than what I did for my concept, and part of me thinks it was too plain, but I also kind of think that level of simplicity works for Switzerland.
Grade:  A (white jersey), B (red jersey)

United States:

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum) - (AP Photo/J. David Ake) - (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

We finish today's post with the Americans, who had two good main jerseys and one awesome throwback.  Besides being an overused template, the main white jersey looked good.  I also liked the blue jersey, especially how it avoided having a white yoke by using a different striping pattern than the white jersey.  My favourite parts of those two jerseys were the shiny stars on the shoulder yoke, although from what I've read I think that's an unpopular opinion.  The USA also used a throwback to their 1960 gold medal team for a game, like they did during the 2010 Olympics.  That jersey looked just as good now as it did in 1960, and I liked how it was able to keep a normal lace-up collar instead of the "fake laces" that every other jersey used.
Grade:  B (main white jersey and blue jersey), A (throwback white jersey)

Those are my thoughts on the 2014 Olympic hockey jerseys, feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments.  Have a good day!

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!

Wild Review and a Guest Concept

Photo from wild.nhl.com

The Wild unveiled their new road jersey this past Sunday (actually they leaked it on Saturday), and I'm a big fan of the new look.  I was also a big fan of their previous road jersey, so I was nervous the new jersey would be a downgrade, but it wasn't.  I was most nervous that they might remove their awesome bear-head logo from the front of the sweater, so I was very glad to see it was still there.  The new striping pattern also looks good, and it fits in with their third jersey.  One thing that seemed a bit unpopular was the red numbers, but I actually like them, they make the jerseys more interesting and it fits with their logo nicely.  I'm not going to call this an improvement over their last jersey, but their old jersey had been around for a while so I am glad they made this change.

SG-94 Concept, by Jake88:

Jake88 sent in this awesome concept for the blog.  I love the striping pattern used here, it works great with the logo in my opinion.  I also like how the logo is on a green background on both jerseys, because I think this logo looks best on that colour background.  I have no complaints about this concept at all.

San Jose Sharks De-Edge

The Sharks are the next team in my De-Edge series, so I thought this would be a good time to provide a brief review of their new look.  I like that they eliminated one of the orange stripes from the sleeve and sock stripes, it makes those stripes slightly more interesting.  I also like the removal of the shoulder yoke, without it the jersey is less busy.  The updated numbers are also an improvement, and I don't even mind the front numbers anymore without the shoulder yoke to crowd them.  The one thing I don't like is the removal of the hem stripes.  Some jerseys look good without hem stripes (like the Sharks third jersey), but I don't like how it looks in this situation.  Overall I would say this was a lateral move.

San Jose Sharks:

This is a combination of my favourite stuff from different Sharks jerseys.  Most noticeably the shoulder/sleeve design from their 1998-2007 jerseys, and the striping pattern from their 2007-2013 jerseys.

Enjoy your weekend!

My Thoughts: New Star Rising

Welcome back to another post on SG-94, the second today (I think this is the first day with two posts on this blog).  Here I'll be talking about the Stars new logos and jerseys.

I'll start off by discussing the new logos that we leaked earlier.  I like the new D-Star logo, it's better than their previous logo, but it's not perfect.  I do like the new colour scheme, the kelly green looks great paired with the black, white and silver.  I don't miss the gold at all (I have made six Stars concepts since I started this blog, and only three included gold).  My biggest complaint about the logo is those little notches where the star connects to the D (the right and bottom portions of the star).  Those just look awkward and poorly rendered in my opinion.  I also don't like how the D is angled more than the star, which you can see if you compare the right side of the D to line created by the bevel on the top portion of the star.  They matched the angle of D to the slope between the top and bottom-left portions of the star instead.  Another minor thing that bugs me is that the outside outline changes colour depending on the background, which is something I think a logo shouldn't have to do.  Overall I'd give this new logo a 8/10.

The new secondary logo isn't nearly as good as the primary.  It doesn't add anything to the identity, it's just the D-Star from the primary logo in a circle with the team's name written around the edge.  Too many NHL team's use these lazy roundels as secondary logos.  It's also a little odd that the D-Star doesn't have the black outline from the primary logo.  I wouldn't give this more than a 6/10.

Photo from Icethetics

We also got a look at another logo which will be on the pants.  I like this logo much better than the roundel logo.  It represents the team's location nicely, and it just looks better than a lazy circle.  Again though, I wish the D-Star part of the logo was surrounded by a black outline like the main logo.  This logo also gets an 8/10.

Photo from stars.nhl.com

And now on to the jerseys.  I'm a big fan of the white jersey, it has a nice look to it, and it doesn't look like any other current hockey team.  The green jersey on the other hand looks too close to the Chicago Blackhawks home jersey in my opinion (which is made worse by the Blackhawks St. Patrick's Day jerseys).  I do really like the fact that the jersey is green, especially the bright shade of kelly green the Stars used, I just wished the jersey was a bit more different than the Blackhawks jersey.  Even if they just moved the hem stripes up, so the hem was green and not white (matching the arm stripes), then it would be different enough for me.  Getting past that though, the rest of the look is nice.  I like the "Stars" and "Dallas" wordmarks in the collars.  Overall this is a huge improvement over the Stars previous jerseys, and I'd rate them an 8/10 overall (home jersey 7/10, road jersey 9/10).

Feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments.  Also stay tuned for a De-Edge concept tomorrow.

My Thoughts: New Storm

So the Hurricanes just unveiled new home and road jerseys, the first major change since the teamed moved from Hartford in 1997.  I know you all already know this, so this post isn't reporting the changes, it's my thoughts on the changes.

Photos from instagram.com/nhlcanes

First I want to talk about the teaser picks the Hurricanes were posting on Instagram.  I think that was a great idea, it was fun trying to piece together what the jerseys would look like from the pictures.  It was also cool waking up in the morning knowing there was going to be a new photo.  The Hurricanes marketing team did a great job with this in my opinion.

Screenshot from hurricanes.nhl.com

And now on to the actual uniforms, which I don't think the Hurricanes did as good as a job with.  I don't mind them getting new jerseys, the old ones were around for 15 years and were starting to look a bit dated, but the new jerseys look a bit too traditional.  It's also a bit weird that the jerseys don't match at all, I think it would have been better if the red jersey looked more like the white.  In my opinion the red jersey looks too similar to Team Canada's jersey, and is lacking some much needed black accents.  Also I miss the Hurricane striping pattern, it was such a unique element that is now hidden in the collar.  There are a few things I do like, including the unique shoulder yoke on the white jersey which extends down beneath the NOB.  I also like the new fonts used for the NOB and numbers.  The smaller crest also looks good (although it is a bit high up on the jersey).  Overall I'd give these Jerseys a 7/10, and in my opinion it's a downgrade from their previous jerseys.

I'll have another post like this for the Stars unveiling later today, so stay tuned for that.  Thanks for visiting.

My Thoughts: Month of May

Well, it's been almost a month since I last posted an opinion post, so I thought it would be a good time to do another one.

Also there is a new poll up on the side of the page.  I'm trying to judge if there would be any interest in a Google+ page for this blog.


Third Jerseys in Playoffs

Three teams used third jerseys in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs (Minnesota, San Jose, and Toronto), and I'm not a fan of that.  I believe that only home and road jerseys should be worn on the playoffs.  If teams feel their third jersey is better than their home jersey, then they should make it their home jersey at the start of the season.  I don't know why this bugs me, but it does.


Prince Albert Raiders Rebrand

Back on May 16, the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL unveiled a new logo and new jerseys.  Green was made the primary colour, which I'm a huge fan of.  The logo (seen above), is a mix of a sword, the initials "PA", and the team name Raiders, all on top of a shield.  It might not be the best logo ever, but it is certainly a good logo for a CHL team.  I'm also a big fan of the new jerseys, their unique, unlike a lot of CHL teams that copy NHL team's templates.


Saskatoon Blades Memorial Cup Jersey

Photo from whl.ca

Sticking with the WHL, the Saskatoon Blades wore special commemorative jerseys for their first game of the Memorial Cup.  This is continuing a recent tradition, I believe since around 2008, where the host team of the Memorial Cup wears a special memorial jersey for their first game.  I love that the CHL does this, it is a great way to honour the people who serve our country.  The jersey design is pretty good too, nice and simple.


Peoria Rivermen New Look for SPHL

Photo from Peoria Rivermen's Official Facebook Page

And last but not least, the Peoria Rivermen were reincarnated in the SPHL after the Vancouver Canucks announced the AHL's version of the team would no longer exist.  After the league switch, the Rivermen unveiled new logo and jerseys (seen above).  I love the new look, it's way better than what they were wearing in the AHL.  The logo gets rid of that cartoony person, and the jerseys trade a standard template mess for a unique yet classy striping pattern.  The updated colour scheme is also an improvement.  I'm very impressed with the SPHL version of the Rivermen so far.


Hopefully I'm not boring everyone with these opinion articles, because there will probably be another one after the Stars unveil their new look.  And if these aren't you cup of tea, I should have more concepts soon.  Thanks for visiting.