AHL Redesign: Heat & Phantoms

Hey guys!

Today, I officially start my "AHL Redesign Series", but first some jersey news...

This morning, Sportslogos.net reported that the Calgary Flames will be unveiling a new alternate jersey in the coming weeks. Click the highlighted link to read the story.

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Now for the first two redesign entries...

The Abbotsford Heat currently wear Calgary Flames jerseys with yellow replaced by silver. Here, I simplified their look by removing the vertical stripes in the side panels and the piping. I also modified the arm stripes by giving them a slight curve and eliminated the flag shoulder patches. I personally didn't think there was any need for them..

Next season, the Adirondack Phantoms are slated to relocate to Allentown, PA and be re-branded the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. With that, I wanted to give them a fresh look. These uniforms are based off of the Don Mills Flyers of the Greater Toronto Hockey League.

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That's if for now. Thanks for reading!

-Scott

New Wild Jersey Review & My Sharks Fix

Photo: Minnesota Wild

Yesterday, after about a week of releasing teaser images, the Minnesota Wild finally unveiled their long awaited new road threads! My first reaction to the jersey was "YES!!!". I have ZERO complaints about this jersey! Everything about is screams hockey and very traditional, which I like, and modern at the same time. Also a good move by the Wild using true white as opposed to the wheat or "vintage white" that's used on their 3rd jersey. The square yoke fits perfectly and the use of their circle logo as a shoulder patch is great! It's better suited as a shoulder patch in my opinion. This jersey easily ranks up to one of my favorite in the league!

So after the unveiling, I'm sure a lot of Wild fans and most of us, if not all, jersey geeks thought about the Wild promoting their third jersey as their primary home jersey. I for one think it would be a great idea, but the exact jersey used now isn't exactly strong enough to match up with the new white jersey as a home jersey in my honest opinion. So I made a quick mockup of the changes I would make to bring it up to par.

The first big change right off the bat is the change from the wheat white in favor of true white. I just makes the jersey look cleaner. The second change is the addition of red to the collar & numbers to match the new road jersey. it's just enough red to contrast with the green but not overdoing it. I have also removed the wordmark in favor of the their primary logo as well as adding the shoulder patches and also switching the template to the same one used for the road jersey. I've also narrowed the thick stripes a little.

So as I've said, the Wild's new road jersey is definitely one of my favorite jerseys in the NHL..

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In the last post, albeit a hectic one, I reviewed the San Jose Sharks' new jerseys. Now here's how i would go about fixing them to make them more appealing..

Look, hem stripes! how hard was it to add them? They really don't add an more weight to the jersey which is why they eliminated them.. I've also fully removed orange from the jersey. Either have both orange stripes, or none at all! I know a lot of you are gonna hate me for keeping the chest number, but I actually like them. On a Sharks jersey that is.

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That's all I've got for today's post! Hope you enjoyed it!

-Scott

 

Sharks Review & Wolf Pack Revisited

What's happening everyone?

Since the Stars and Hurricanes jersey unveiling's earlier in the off-season, not much has happened jersey wise in the hockey world. But in the last week or so we've seen the AHL's Providence Bruins update their jersey lineup without a white home jersey but with a yellow one, and the San Jose Sharks finally unveiling their updated threads. Today, I will share my thoughts on the Sharks' new jerseys.

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 Earlier in the week, the Sharks shared teaser videos on Instagram over a couple of days with the hashtag "#NewWave" to promote the jersey unveilling's. What they showed on those seconds long videos were the elimination of some orange and the elimination of the colored shoulder yoke. And what they showed was basically all there is to the new jerseys...

Diagram from the Sharks' Website

Not much to talk about here... Just that the jerseys look empty with the elimination of the hem stripes, ONE orange stripes on the arms and no shoulder yoke. They did add collar laces which I like. If I had to pick my favorite of the two, I would probably choose the white jersey..

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Now a while back I posted a Hartford Wolf Pack concept with striping based off their sock striping that was used before being rebranded in 2010. Today I have another idea of what they should wear.

I merged two different eras into one set. The jersey design itself is an edgeified version of their inaugural jerseys, which were the Rangers' liberty jerseys with Wolf Pack logos, and the name/number font they used from 2008-09 until they were rebranded.

Here are full body mockups of the uniforms.

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I apologize if the post looks a little crazy as I threw it together as I was writing it..

 

Well, that's it for today!

 

-Scott

Stadium Series Concepts Part 4 & Ontario Reign Contest Entry

What's happening my fellow jersey geeks!?

Today, I have the last of my "Stadium Series" concepts and my official entry to the Ontario Reign's American Red Cross jersey design contest. If you wish to enter but haven't sent in your entry, you have until tomorrow (August, 4th) to submit it!

Onto the concepts...

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To start off is the host of this particular game, the Vancouver Canucks! Here I mashed different eras of the Canucks history into one jersey. The jersey design itself is based off of their original white jersey when they entered the NHL. The colors are the colors they wore from 1978-1997 with the modern "Stick in the rink" logo recolored to match the rest of the jersey.

Not much to say about the Senators' jersey. It's basically a white version of their third jersey without the shoulder patches...

And to finish off today's post is my entry into the Reigns Red Cross jersey contest. I'm gonna let you critique this one since it's the most "out there" design I've done in a while..

 

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Hope you enjoyed today's post!

 

-Scott

Stadium Series Concepts Part 3

What's happening guys? Long time, no...speak? Post? Anyway....

Haven't had a chance to really sit down and pump out some concepts lately because of work. Hopefully that will change sometime soon!

Before I get to my next two "Stadium Series" concepts, I just want to mention that the ECHL's Ontario Reign are currently holding their American Red Cross specialty jersey design contest. I do plan on posting my Ideas sometime soon, next post maybe? Entries are due August 4th and info for the contest are on their website.

On to the concepts!

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These two concepts are for the outdoor game that will be held at Soldier Field in Chicago. The Blackhawks jersey is based off the ones they wore in their inaugural season (1926-27). And the Penguins jersey is based on the black jersey they wore form 1980-86. Before the arm stripes straightened out.

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That's it for today!

 

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section!

 

-Scott

Stadium Series Concepts Part 2

What's going on guys?

First off, I would like to congratulate the Blackhawks on winning the Stanley Cup last night! With the start they with a shortened season, they deserved it. Congrats!

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Now back to our regularly scheduled program....

Today is part two of my "Stadium Series" concepts which will consist of four uniforms for three teams. I'll get to why that is shortly... In the meantime, let's get started!

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In the last post, I posted my idea as to what the Rangers should wear in their two outdoor games along with one of their opponents, the Islanders. Now, here's their other opponent, the Devils. 

 Nothing extravagant here. It's just a red & black version of their road jerseys when they relocated from Colorado until they switched to the design they currently wear.

It's kinda odd that one of the games will be played at Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine, CA. But the Kings will host the Anaheim Ducks there and I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it works out... I know the kings retired purple this season, but they HAVE to go purple and gold for this game!!

Now before I get to the Ducks, for some reason I decided to make a "light" and "dark" option for them, and since I did it for the Ducks, I will have to do a dark option for the Kings.... I will most likely include it in the next post.

OPTION #1:

OPTION #2: 

I think either of these would be great choices for the Ducks. But I'm leaning towards option two as the number one choice.

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That's it for today...Keep an eye out on Facebook and/or Twitter for updated on the next post!

-Scott

Stadium Series Concepts Part 1

What's going on guys?

Today is the beginning of my "Stadium Series" concepts series, so let's get right to them!

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To start off the concepts series is the Rangers, who will play two outdoor games at Yankee Stadium next season. I tried to mix a couple different eras with this set. Like using their shield logo on the chest for a nod back to the uniforms they used in the late 70's.

The Islanders will be one of the Rangers' opponents in the Stadium Series. Here I basically went with an orange version of their blue uniforms from the early 2000's, which I actually see them using since it's said that their uniforms for the outdoor game wont be too muck different from their regular uniforms.

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That's if for the first part of the series. I haven't set specific days/times as to when the other ones will be posted so keep an eye out for details on Facebook and/or Twitter!

-Scott

The Aeros Go Wild!

What's going on guys?

Today's post isn't a concepts post, but more of a news post.

Last week, the American Hockey League and the Minnesota Wild announced that they would be relocating their AHL team, the Houston Aeros, to Des Moines, Iowa for the 2013-14 season. The reason given for the move was that the Wild could not come to a lease agreement with the Aeros current home in Houston, TX. And today, the " NHL Wild" unveiled the "AHL Wild's" primary logo and home jersey.

Basically it's a white version of the Minnesota Wild's third jersey (which the Aeros used as a third this season). Anyone think it's a sign of what's to come for a new road uni for the big club?....We'll have to wait and see.

Also, anyone think it's weird that they did the unveiling while the Aeros are preparing for their run in the Calder Cup Playoffs?

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That's it for today!

-Scott

Messing With The Rangers

What's going on guys? Here's another quick post for today!

This was originally going to be my entry into this weeks "Untouchables" contest over at HJC, but it was deemed that the blue jersey was too close of a resemblance to the Rangers early 90's road jersey.

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That's it for today!

-Scott

Clear Seas In Hartford!

What's going on guys?

A lot has been going on lately in the hockey world ranging from the Blackhawks going on their historical points streak to Buffalo firing head coach Lindy Ruff after 16-years behind the bench and also the professional hockey future in Hartford. In the last post I told you guys what was going on until that point but to day we received great news that Madison Square Garden and Global Spectrum have come to an agreement to keep the Rangers' AHL franchise in Hartford through 2016 with an optional 2-year extension! There is still no word on weather there will be a name change for the team.

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Now onto today's concepts!

I decided to start a new "Promoting The Alternates" concept series. Like the ECHL redesign series, I will post them as I get them done. So let's get to the first of them!

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 You guys have seen these from me before. But I decided to do some tweaks like putting them in my 2013 presentation and adding details that weren't on the original concept.

The Bruins have one of the more simple alternate jerseys in the league. Along with one of the best in my opinion. For the road version, I could have easily went with the "Boston" version bear logo, but I felt that having two crest logos would be weird. That should stay with word marks.

It's like a weird flashback to the 80's! The flamed re-introduced the red jersey as an alternate a couple of years ago but in a CCM template. Then they converted them to the Reebok Edge template the following season.

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That's it for today! As I said, I will try to post them as they get one.

-Scott

Tweaking the Rangers & Outdoor Classic

So the NHL season is in full swing after a long lockout and I bet you guys have watched a game or two on TV or have gotten to a game. Anyway, today's post consists of some minor tweaks to the Rangers' uniform set and my entry into HJC's AHL Outdoor Classic (Grand Rapids vs. Toronto) comp. And without further delay, here they are!

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It's sacrilegious to mess with an original six teams look so I mad some minor changes. Mainly, the template of the home jersey to match the template of the road jersey, I replaced the "RANGERS" word mark with "NEW YORK" and also altered the striping on the 3rd jersey and have different pants to go with it. I'm not too crazy about the changes, but some fans would like to see the change.

And here's my HJC contest entry!

 -Scott

A WILD-ly Quick Post

 What's happening guys? So the shortened NHL season begins in just three days. I for one am pretty psyched about it. Believe me, AHL hockey is great but their schedules are made up mostly on weekend dates so it will be great to watch a game on a weekday. Anyway I have another quick concept for you guys. It's what I think the Minnesota Wild should look like next season. So here ya go!

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For this concept, I modified the Wild's alternate uniform by adding red and putting their primary logo on the front and made a matching road. I have also demoted "vintage white" to an accent color.

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Please feel free to comment!

-Scott

Binghamton Senators Specialty Jersey

So the NHL is going to have a season after all! The NHL BOG have ratified the new CBA and now it's time for the players to do the same...From what I'm hearing, the Rangers are opening up in Boston on the 19th and will have their home opener the next night against Pittsburgh. And already the Rangers have been labeled the favorites to win the cup. I think it's too early for predictions for the cup, and with a shortened season, there is a lot of uncertainty. Anyway, I have only one concept to share today and it is my entry to HJC's Binghamton Senators Specialty Jersey contest...

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It also appears that HJC is down again for the same reason as before. Let's hope Ryan can figure something out to keep the blog going!

-Scott

Goodbye Phoenix, Hello Arizona!

Whats going on guys! Not much has been going on with NHL lockout since the last post but the players and owners have agreed to meet face to face without the players union today and early indications are that they went well enough for them to meet again tonight or tomorrow. I'll believe it when it actually happens. Also, the Phoenix Coyotes are going to change their name! Well, not much of a name change but more like a location change in their name. They will be changing it to the Arizona Coyotes. It's sort of seems right since the Coyotes haven't played in Phoenix since their arena in Glendale was built. It also stated in the lease agreement with the city of Glendale that they had to change the name. Any way here is what I think the Coyotes sholder patch will look like when it happens:

In a nutshell, I think they will just replace the "PHX", the abbreviation for Phoenix with "AZ", the abbreviation for Arizona.

On to the concepts...I have on ECHL concept and my two entries to HJC's NHL expansion competition which it in the voting stage right now. I don't have time to explain them so I encourage you guys to leave your thoughts and feedback in the comments section!

Here they are:

Baby, It's Cold Outside

What's happening guys?! Well, a lot has happened since the last post, non-hockey related things that is. The east coast got hammered by Hurricane Sandy last week with widespread devastation in New Jersey, New York and the Connecticut shoreline and today, we are getting the first snowfall in CT. Looks like it's gonna be a crazy winter in the northeast.

The NHL and NHLPA have resumed talks and are meeting for the second day in a row and for the third time in five days since not talking for two weeks. If all goes well, we could have a season come December...It's getting real tough to be optimistic on having a season after the Winter Classic being cancelled.

On to the concepts.
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Today I have two more ECHL redesigns and a Montreal Canadiens throwback concept. So let's get to 'em!

A lot of people want the Canadiens to bring back their retro third jersey and I'm one of them! It's really unique and it compliments their home and roads really well by blending the elements from both jerseys together.

The Reading Royals sport a recolored Flyers jersey for a home jersey and a black jersey with "READING" in the Rangers style for a road jersey this season. Before, they had recolored Flames jerseys. The jerseys now are a huge step down from what they had. Although here I gave them recolored Bruins jerseys, I think it works really well for them. It would have been too easy to go with purple LA Kings jerseys or Manchester Monarchs jerseys.

This season marks the first season for the Bulls. They sport recolored mid-90's Sabres jerseys with Flyers inspired name-bars. Here I gave them a simple set with traditional striping based on their socks stripes. I do wish they would come out with some sort of a shoulder patch.
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Well that's it for today's post. Feel free to comment and leave any feedback.  Not sure when the next post will be done but stay tuned!

Also, be sure to "Like" SMC on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter for updated on new posts and some other news in the sports world! Just click the designated tabs at the top of the page and they will redirect you to Facebook or Twitter!

A Sunday Post

So the start of the NHL season was supposed to be this weekend. I hope everyone is finding ways to get their hockey fix or found other things to do to supplement the extra time. For me, I have the Connecticut Whale. I went to their home/season opener on Friday against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Whale had a strong first period but epically broke down in the second period giving up five goals. The highlights of the game were Kris Newbury had two goals, Rangers playoff hero from last season, Chris Kreider notched his first regular season pro point and recently signed NHL vet and former Ranger/Lightning/Senator, Matt Gilroy notched a point.

Anyway, it's been another slow week for me with hammering out concepts but I have a cuple to share with you today. So let's get to them.

 Originally, this Whalers concept was planned to be my entry into HJC's Whalers redesign comp. But I had a hard time making a matching home jersey look good. So this is now a theoretical alternate.

For this senators concept, I tried to give them a traditional looking set while giving a nod to their original jerseys and also a nod to the original Ottawa Senators. **I do realize that I had spelled "Ottawa" wrong**


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That's it for today. not sure when another post will be up but keep checking back and always feel free to leave your feedback on any of these or past concepts!