Article Archive #48 - Bring These Back

This post originally appeared on Hockey Jersey Concepts on January 13th, 2017.

Hello folks!  So there's sure been a lot of NHL jersey news since my post last Friday.  First we learned there won't be any alternate jerseys next year, which led to the report that the Oilers' orange jersey will become their new home jersey.  It also looks like the Devils will have a new look next season, and most recently the NHL unveiled the 2017 All-Star jerseys.

At least three of those stories have some connection to the past, the new All-Stars jerseys take inspiration from the All-Star jerseys of the late 80's and early 90's, the Oilers' orange jersey was originally used full-time back in the early 1970's, and having no alternates is an unintentional callback to a time when teams only had two jerseys.

Those connections to the past got me thinking about three other uniform related ideas I'd like to see make a comeback.

Home and Road Pants

Photos from DenverPost.com

For a brief amount of time a few NHL teams experimented with different pants for at home and on the road, starting with the Kings in 1970 and concluding when the Colorado Rockies moved to New Jersey in 1982.  I'd like to see this practice come back, I think the two pants, when used right, can make a team's uniforms better and more interesting.  As a specific example, I'd like to see the Arizona Coyotes use a maroon set of pants with their road jersey.

Yellow as a Light Colour

Photo from TheProvince.com

Another idea from around the same era that I think should return, is yellow as a light jersey colour.  The 1989 Vancouver Canucks were the last team to wear yellow as their light jersey, since then every team has had a white jersey as part of their rotation.  Using yellow as a light jersey would provide some nice colour vs colour match-ups, without any issues arising due to lack of contrast (specifically for colour blind people).  However, I'm not sure the Nashville Predators would be happy with this idea, I think they like wearing their gold jerseys at home.

Shiny Fabric

Photo from NHL.com/Predators

A more recent example of an idea I'd like to see revived is the use of shiny fabric.  Back when I was a young boy a few teams used a shiny material for some of their stripes, most noticeably the Nashville Predators.  That shiny material disappeared when the Reebok Edge jerseys were introduced in 2007, I'm guessing it was either too heavy or didn't handle moisture all that well.  If that's the case, its return would only make sense if it were used in small amounts, but I'd be okay with that.  This shiny fabric was unique and it really helped stripes stand out.

Are there any past ideas you'd like to see return?  Possibly white jerseys worn at home, or maybe fourth jerseys like the 1997-99 Mighty Ducks?  Let us know in the comments.

Article Archive #47 - Prototype Blues

This post originally appeared on Hockey Jersey Concepts on January 6th, 2017.

Hello folks!  Do you remember those St. Louis Blues prototype jerseys from back before their inaugural season (pictured below).  Many people were hoping they'd wear those jerseys for the Winter Classic on Monday, which they didn't (you already knew that).  But if you were one of those people hoping for the prototype jerseys, I have some good news....

(Getty Images/Bruce Bennett) via TSN.ca/BarDown

The Blues are bringing those jerseys back and they'll be wearing them this weekend!  Well kind of, they won't be wearing them for an actual game, instead they'll be worn for the teams skill competition on Sunday.  Still though, I think it's cool that the Blues are reviving these jerseys at all.

Image from NHL.com/Blues

I'm also impressed at how accurate the Blues were at recreating these jerseys.  They got all the details correct, they even used the right fonts for the wordmark and the numbers.  It would have been easy for them to cut corners and produce jerseys that were close enough, especially since they're not even a game jerseys, but the Blues cared enough to do it right.

I'd still like to see these jerseys in a game one day though.  What do you think?

Article Archive #46 - Double Eve

This post originally appeared on Hockey Jersey Concepts on December 23rd, 2016.

Hello folks, happy Christmas Eve Eve!  I wanted to do something holiday related for the intro today, so I decided to look back and find all the Christmas themed concepts to appear on HJC.  By my count there have been six such concepts (let me know if I missed any, I'll add them to the post), which I've arranged in chronological order below.

Concept from December 26th, 2011

Back in 2011, Stéphane created a hypothetical outdoor game called the Christmas Classic between the North Pole Reindeers and the Santa's Dwarfs.  The jerseys he designed were Christmas-y but not too crazy, and he paired them with a couple of great wordmark logos (I especially like the antlers on the Reindeers wordmark).

Concept from December 12th, 2012

A year later we got a trio of Christmas jerseys from Bren.  He created his own logos, a Santa hat and a wrapped present, which he used on three colourful jerseys.

Concept from December 20th, 2012

Also from 2012 is Joey's concept based off of Santa's red suit.  The belt stripe and back numbers are great additions, but what really topped this off was the inclusion of Santa's big white beard.

Concept from December 25th, 2014

We know jump ahead a couple years for David's Los Angeles Kings Christmas sweater.  I could easily see the Kings wearing this if they were a minor league team, the knitted sweater effect is perfect, and I love the snow on the numbers and the Santa hat on the burger king logo.

Concept from December 2nd, 2015

Last year we got a look at this design that Niklas created for the Hamburg Freezers, which the Freezers actually wore for Christmas in 2014.  I love the winter-y scene on this jersey, it makes perfect sense for a team called the "Freezers".

Concept from January 6th, 2016

Our final holiday concept is Jay's Augsburger Panther Christmas jersey from last January.  My favourite features of this concept are the Christmas tree side panels and the bow in the arm and sock stripes. they're both very unique ideas.

Article Archive #45 - My Favourite Masks

This post originally appeared on Hockey Jersey Concepts on December 9th, 2016.

It's snowing!  At least it's snowing where I live, I don't know if it's snowing where you live.  Anyways, I'm going to do something a bit different for the intro today, it's going to be mostly pictures without many words.  The topic of this odd-ball intro is, my favourite goalies masks in today's NHL!

(Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)

I love the glow-in-the-dark gimmick of Ben Bishop's masks (plural, he has one for each jersey), and they look nice with the lights turned on as well.

(Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images)

I talked about Corey Crawford's two matching masks a bit last week, but they deserve to be on this list as well, as I think the headdress design is very sharp.

(Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Shark's backup goalie, Aaron Dell, has a scary looking monster (with very big teeth) on his mask.

(Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)

I think the matte finish of Michael Hutchinson mask looks great.  The overall design is nice as well, and I like the white trim underneath the cage.

(Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

Carter Hutton has an interesting half-and-half mask, on his right hand side is a mean looking animal (monster?) skull, while on his left hand side the skull is covered up a broken up old goalie mask.

(Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

As a Canucks fan I might be biased, but I have both Vancouver goalies on this list.  Jacob Markstrom recently switched to this mask, which is painted to look like an old school goalie mask.  I really like the cracks added to vintage mask.

(Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)

I'm also a big fan of Ryan Miller's mask, which is inspired by First Nations totem poles from here in the Pacific Northwest.

(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Jonathan Quick's mask is a classic not only because he's kept it the same for so long, but also because it's simply a very nice design.

Feel free to share your own favourite goalie masks in the comment section below.

Article Archive #44 - Double Goalie Gear

This post originally appeared on Hockey Jersey Concepts on December 2nd, 2016.

Hello folks!  How's it going?

There's not really any news to talk about today as far as hockey jerseys or logos go (as far as I know), so I thought I'd once again discuss one of my favourite topics, goalie gear!  In particular, let's focus on three goalies that dress different at home compared to on the road.

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

(Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)

(Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)

(Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)

(Photo by Matt Kincaid/Getty Images)

(Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)

As you can see in the above photos, both Corey Crawford and Mike Smith wear black equipment at home and white equipment on the road, while Marc-André Fleury switches up his helmet for home or road games.  You don't see many goalies doing this (at least prior to this year), but I think it's a great idea.  I like the variety that the two sets of gear provide, and the goalies fit in better with the rest of the teammates who wear different helmets for at home and on the road.  Of the three goalies, Crawford's two sets are my favourite, I like how his helmets match and that he switches up his gear as well.

Do you agree with my thoughts about the two sets of goalie gear, or do you think one set is best?

Article Archive #43 - Vegas Baby!

This post originally appeared on Hockey Jersey Concepts on November 25th, 2016.

Hello folks, happy Black Friday!  Today's topic of discussion will once again be the Vegas Golden Knights' new identity.  I know you're probably sick and tired of reading about the Golden Knights by now, and they've already been covered here on HJC twice, but I have some thoughts I'd like to share.

Image from NHL.com/GoldenKnights

Thought #1:  Overall I'm pleased with the identity for the Vegas Golden Knights.  There are some things I dislike, but as a whole I'd give it a thumbs up.

Thought #2:  The V in the negative space of the helmet is genius!  It's my favourite part of their whole identity.

Thought #3:  I don't have much to say about the secondary logo or the wordmark, I think they're both solid complimentary logos.

Thought #4:  The steel gray on the helmet looks weird to me, I think those parts of the logo should be black instead.  However, I think a steel gray jersey would be great, and if that's the case then including steel gray in the logo makes more sense to me.

Thought #5:  Right now I don't like the decision to use Vegas instead of Las Vegas, but I may get used to it over time.  It's just that I was expecting them to be called Las Vegas, so right now using only Vegas sounds kind of strange.

Thought #6:  Many people have compared the use of Vegas (instead of Las Vegas) to a team from Los Angeles using just Angeles, but that's not really a fair comparison.  People actually use Vegas as a shortened version of Las Vegas ("Vegas Baby", "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas", etc), but no one refers to Los Angeles as just Angeles.

Thought #7:  The name Golden Knights could be used for really any location, which is why I would have preferred the name Desert Knights.

Image from @NHLonNBCSports on Twitter

In other news, NBC unveiled the Penguins Stadium Series jersey earlier today during the Flyers vs Rangers game.  The jersey is yellow (the Penguins first yellow jersey since 1984) with black sleeves, and a single yellow stripe high up on the arms.  The triangle from their logo has been removed, and the penguin's stick has been recoloured yellow.  The captain's C is in a triangle, and there's a City of Champions keystone patch on the left sleeve (here's a link to a video on the Penguins Twitter page for a better look at the jersey).

My initial reaction to the jersey is very positive.  I love that it's yellow (the more colour in the league the better), and I think the triangle-less logo looks awesome.  But we haven't seen the whole jersey yet, the numbers are still a mystery, and we don't know if there's a hem stripe or not, so it's still a bit too early for me to form a true opinion of the jersey.

Article Archive #42 - November 11th

This post originally appeared on Hockey Jersey Concepts on November 11th, 2016.

On this day 98 years ago, the fighting of World War One ended when an armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany.  Many nations now mark the occasion with an annual holiday to pay tribute to the people who have served (or continue to serve) their country, including Remembrance Day in Canada and Veterans Day in America.

The hockey world observes these memorial days in several ways, including many military appreciation games by junior and minor-pro teams.  Before the Chilliwack Bruins relocated, my dad and I had a tradition of attending their Remembrance Day game, where they would honour local veterans and also wear special commemorative jerseys (although I can't seem to find any photos of the jerseys online).  That tradition ended for us when the Bruins moved to Victoria, but you may be able to continue the tradition with your own local team.

Image from SooGreyhounds.com

If you live in Sault Ste. Marie for example, you could catch the Greyhounds game tonight and see them wearing these beautiful jerseys.  I love that the greyhounds kept these commemorative jerseys nice and simple, with just a subtle camouflage pattern added to the stripes and logo and a poppy above the heart.

Image from NiagaraIceDogs.net

The Niagara IceDogs are also wearing camouflage on Remembrance Day, but there design isn't nearly as subtle.  To be honest, I do like these jerseys as well.  The way I see it is you have two options with camouflage, you can either keep it subtle like the Greyhounds or you can go all out with a completely camouflaged jersey in true camouflage colours.  In fact, I'd like to see this jersey paired with camouflage pants and socks as well.

Image from @IceBears on Twitter

Veterans Day is also getting some love in the commemorative jersey department, courtesy of the Knoxville Ice Bears of the SPHL.  Instead of relying on camouflage, the Ice Bears went with a totally custom design which features fighter jets, a helicopter, saluting soldiers, and an aircraft carrier (I think), all in front of a wavy American flag background.  The logo is also customized, with the bear now saluting while donning a military helmet.  It's a busy design, but of these three jerseys it's the one I'd most want to own, it's just so unique.

Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images

Meanwhile in the NHL, you won't see any commemorative jerseys worn during a game, but some teams are wearing camouflage jerseys for warm-up as part of their military appreciation nights.  Also, all the American franchises have been wearing American flag helmet decals this November leading up to Veterans Day.

Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images

The Canadian NHL teams have a decal of their own, they're all wearing poppies on the back of their helmets.  I really like how it looks on the Jets helmet, it fits in with the military theme of their logos.

Now I'm sure there are many other teams celebrating Remembrance Day and/or Veterans Day today, these were just the few examples I had either come across already or could find with a quick Google search.