Concept Art Is Back

It's late. I'm bored. Seems like the perfect reason to write my first random concept art post in over a month. Obviously it's going to involve a lot of third jersey speculation. So let's start at the beginning.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Hurricanes will become the first team to unveil a third jersey in the Rbk EDGE era. You can even join us for a live chat as it happens! On to the art, now.

The one labeled "a" seems to be based on the standard rumors. The other one is pure fantasy. Unique. This same artist has been working on speculative designs for a few other teams. He's got the Kings and Sens covered.

Sens, what a joke. Guess I won't be laughing so hard when my team wears jerseys that read "Bolts" across the front. Our friend Vlad also took a stab at the Thrashers.

Again, rumor-based on the left, fantasy on the right. I really hope Atlanta can do better. I do have another concept design for the Thrash which came before the real text design leaked.

Aside from the choice of font, it's a nice set.

This next one seems to be half-based on rumor. It's a concept for the Blues featuring the Arch but their new third jersey is alleged to be navy.

And we'll finish with an artist just having a little fun with the Devils.

Stare at that logo a little while. You'll start seeing things.

So anyway, time to get excited about all the new third jerseys. The fun kicks off tomorrow when we'll know for sure what at least one of them will look like.

Info On Habs' Retro Jerseys

An article at Cyberpresse.ca which happens to be in French has some interesting information regarding the the vintage jerseys the Montreal Canadiens are rumored to be wearing this season to celebrate their centennial.

I used Google to translate it to English.

Retro Jerseys

In addition, the Canadian will take advantage of the centennial celebrations for dusting four of his old sweaters. This season, the Montreal players will don jerseys retro twice, once on November 15 against the Philadelphia Flyers and a second time on 1 February against the Boston Bruins.

In the first case, it is the jersey of the 1915-16 season to be worn by the Canadian players. The second time, Montrealers will skate wearing the jersey of the 1912-13 season.

Apart from the terrible grammar of the translator, there's some interesting stuff here.

While it appears to suggest the Habs will wear four "old sweaters," it suggests only two dates when they will be worn. Unless the Canadiens are planning on a wardrobe change for each of those games, I think we might need some clarification.

But it sounds like they're at least wearing the 1915-16 sweaters against the Flyers on November 15 and the 1912-13 sweaters against the Bruins on February 1. If someone would like to track down pictures of those jerseys, I'd be happy to post them. A quick Google search turned up nothing useful for me.

UPDATE (3:04 PM): Thanks to Alan for finding an image showing the Montreal Canadiens' uniform history. In the upper left corner are the jerseys we might be seeing on the ice this season.

The 1915-16 sweater is clearly labeled but we have to assume the sweater labeled 1911-12 is what they mean by 1912-13 in the article. Both very interesting jerseys.

Now do you they'll actually wear "sweaters" in those games or adapt these styles to a Rbk EDGE jersey? (Just a joke.)

Sabres New Third Leaked?

Apparently, the Buffalo Sabres' new third jersey has been leaked! Or so it would seem. I first revealed the image in today's Live Chat which went exceptionally well.

But I thought you guys might like it in blog form for anyone who was unable to participate live.

The image was sent to me anonymously. I don't know if it's appeared anywhere else.

Interesting striping along the sides and arms. I like the addition of silver. It looks classy but not dated. What do you guys think? Comment away!

Hurricanes Tease Alternate Sweater

There's a new image on the front page of the Carolina Hurricanes' official web site teasing the unveiling event for their new third jersey next week.

The image and story link to the same article I wrote about yesterday. The only thing I found interesting was this new image.

What I'm interested in is whether they're actually going to use a black and white version of their primary logo as a shoulder patch on the new sweater or this is just a stylized/greyscaled photo. The white circle in the center of the logo makes me think the logo will be black and white.

Personally, I'd be a big fan of a clean, black and white logo. I'm not sure any other team has actually changed the colors of their logo for a third jersey. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

For reference, the Hurricanes will unveil their new third jersey to media and fans at a news conference on Wednesday, September 10. I'll post photos here as soon as they're available.

IIHF Gets An EDGE

I got an interesting email linking me to the International Ice Hockey Federation's web site. Apparently Reebok has now taken their shtick overseas.

There are jerseys in the Rbk EDGE style for the 14 teams in the Champions Hockey League — not quite sure what that's about. (I guess I could've read up.)

I have a passing interest in that one only because they Lightning are playing them in an exhibition game before hitting the ice in Prague against the Rangers for the season opener. I believe they are called Slovan Bratislava. (That was a copy/paste.)

Thanks to Paul for the info.

Making Over The Sharks

One of my favorite regulars has a new logo redesign. You've seen him give new looks to teams like the Red Wings, Devils, Predators, Senators, Flyers, Coyotes, and most recently the Panthers. Now he's taken a shot at the San Jose Sharks — who just unveiled a new look last season.

As you can see, it makes use of the Shark in the triangle. Here are a couple of secondary logo designs.

And even a couple of jerseys.

It's great work as always if you ask me. Feel free to post your opinions on these designs below.

Third Jersey Interpretations

A few weeks ago, the folks over at JerseyDatabase.com posted their interpretations of Howard Berger's descriptions of this year's new crop of third jerseys. I realized I hadn't written anything up about it yet.

These images are by no means official nor have they been created with any information beyond what Berger wrote — as far as I know. But I at least thought they made for an interesting discussion. Here are a few of the speculative designs.

credit: JerseyDatabase.com

For a complete look at what they've come up with, check out their web site. They have all 18 jerseys plus a couple of bonuses divided into two parts. Click for Part 1 and Part 2.

Remember, this is all speculation and nothing official has been confirmed yet. And for what it's worth, I understand NHL 09 is coming out soon and may feature the new third jerseys. If they do and someone can provide screenshots, I'd be happy to post them. But for official release dates, stay tuned to the Countdowns element in the sidebar.

Bergeron Dons Bs' New Third?

A new video on TSN.ca appears to show Patrice Bergeron in what could be the Bruins' new third jersey — or something close to it.

First, a few stills from the video.

If you go watch the video — which is titled "Road to Recovery" — you'll find a few seconds of him skating in this jersey around 2:35.

Now, some background. Back in February, I posted a video clip from an NESN broadcast that showed a guy skating around in what was described as a third jersey "finalist" for the Bruins. Despite wearing a Bergeron jersey, it was not Bergeron. Here are some stills from that video.

The differences between these two jerseys are fairly obvious. Notice the crest. On the TSN video, there's a white stroke around the logo. Not so on the NESN video. There's also a yellow stripe around the bottom of the NESN jersey while there are no stripes on the bottom of the TSN jersey.

Just some things to think about as we anticipate the Boston Bruins' new alternate sweater. No word yet on when we should expect it. Thanks to Steve for the tip.

Hurricanes/Whalers Jersey Contest

This upcoming season will mark the 30th anniversary of the Hurricanes franchise — this includes their time in Hartford as the Whalers. The guys over at Hockeybums have a contest going to mark the occasion. It's something a lot of you might be up for.

They want artists to submit designs incorporating both the Whalers and Hurricanes jerseys. I'm guessing they also want some sort of hybrid logo as well to keep it from being too easy. They're also promising a "special prize" to the designer of the best jersey.

The contest runs until the start of the season.

Catching Up On News

It seems I've been slacking a little this week when it comes to news coverage. I really try to stay on top of this for you guys so here's a wrap-up some of what's going on.

The Buffalo Sabres became the first team in my book to bring the new third jerseys into their marketing campaign. This ad began appearing on their official web site this week.

This comes after Sunday's announcement of a sweater unveiling ceremony to be held on September 20.

…
On Monday the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins — better known as the baby Pens to fans — unveiled their new third jersey. Yes, even the AHL is going that route this year.

credit: wbspenguins.com

No word on whether the green plaid shorts will be part of the official uniform.…
The WHL's Prince George Cougars unveiled a new logo on Wednesday.

credit: pgcougars.com

You may remember the Cougars saw a first-round exit courtesy of the Regina Pats in the WHL Tournament of Logos back in March. Perhaps this logo will give them a better shot at advancing further in the future.

Such a cute kitty.

There you have it. Sometimes I think it's just better to get it out all at once.