Creative Inspiration

Has it really been seven weeks since the last concept post? Unacceptable. Yes, there have been a lot of blog and tournament updates. And yes, I've been busy lately. But seven weeks is a long time. So I'm going to try some new things to keep the concepts flowing.

Since getting this page updated is lower on my list of website priorities due to the time/effort required, I'm going to start adding new concept art to our brand new Facebook page on a regular basis to keep everyone satisfied. However, I will continue to save some items to be showcased here on the site.

So I'm taking some time out this holiday weekend to post a handful of new work. Most of the concepts sent in tend to be a slight re-imagining of a team's uniform. Usually some stripes are rearranged or colors changed. But every so often, an especially creative concept appears. That's today's topic.

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Peter Debay	Peter has an interesting take on the look of the Vancouver Canucks. Interesting choice of colors and type. Gives the sweater a very classic feel.
Ryan Haslett	Ryan is one of our most prolific designers, and here I've got three of my favorites. (I know there's only one rating, by the way, so just make it an average.) First, awesome Canucks jersey. Forgot the Johnny Canuck V logo, go Johnny Canuck all the way! I also like this Avalanche concept. Great callback to the old Colorado Rockies logo in the burgundy and blue. And green is just what the doctor ordered for the Ducks. Heck, I'd settle for orange if they'd just use the webbed D on the front!
Matthew Duke	This post is about creativity and sometimes that can yield a somewhat disappointing result. I like where Matthew is going with the uniform designs, but that ATL logo was not well-liked as a 10th anniversary mark, and it's sure not any better here. But at least it gets us thinking about things for the Thrashers.
Vin Maccioli	Here's a cool one. Vin offers up a unique alternate sweater with a very retro feel. It may not work for the Red Wings on a regular basis, but maybe as a one-off specialty thing instead. And yes, I'm also posting this one as a tribute to my Bolts' new GM — Stevie Y! I'm expecting great things from him.
Jake Slavik	The last concept is a little Winter Classic 2011 bonus. And with all respect to Jake, this is pretty far out. He's combined so many different eras of the Penguins and Capitals that it's become kind of a jumble. On the other hand, it does help us see what was good and what was bad about these clubs' past uniforms. For example, Weagle good, funky striping not. And sadly, he's left the gold out of the Penguins' jersey entirely. Despite the blue sweaters in the Pens' early years, the penguin logo was never without gold.

I'm shooting for concept updates on a weekly basis, but that may be too much to ask for. Just know that I'm doing the best I can. I'm assuming things will quiet down on the news front as the summer goes on, which will allow more time for concept posts.

Black & Blue in Pittsburgh

The playoffs start next week so I figured why not post some concepts in honor of the Stanley Cup champion that's soon to be unseated. My prediction: Sharks vs Caps for the chalice. So here are some Penguins concepts that have been sent in — some dating back over a year!

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Matt Marczel	Is it bad that I still have concept submissions waiting to be posted from December 2008? The first two items were sent by Matt long ago. But I haven't forgotten about them. And now as the Pens mull a third jersey overhaul, they certainly have piqued my interest. The second one, titled Version 3, incorporates a little black and calls back to the logo introduced in 1992. Seems strange in blue. But two more recent black-based designs are also pretty slick. The Penguins seem to like black and light blue, so why not combine them? And while I think the '90s logo is the best the Pens have had, I'm sure a lot of Pittsburgh fans would disagree.
Joshua Heckman	So let's just lose the logo altogether. After all, the dark jerseys from that era were just black and yellow with text on the front. But those were based on the original 1967 sweaters — before the team was comfortable placing a skating penguin there. Joshua's design is based in part on the distant past and more recent past — the Reebok Edge era excluded. But this dark blue is looking better and better the more we see it, as long as the light blue doesn't make itself too scarce.
Brad McPelican	Brad gives us another way of looking at it — going back to the classic gold in the primary logo only. It's always odd to see a crest that doesn't match the rest of the uniform. Odd in a good way, that is. I could see the Pens wearing an alternate like this one day.
Ryan Haslett	Ryan's going both ways. He likes a blue jersey and a gold jersey. His two-tone blue incorporates the Vegas gold penguin and some odd striping patterns that Reebok would just adore, I'm sure. But it does give the uniform a cutting-edge look. As for the other... Personally, while I think the yellow gold worked for the Bruins at the Winter Classic, I'm not sure it's a good way to go for Pittsburgh. If you want to return to the glory days, do it properly. Lemieux and Jagr would be proud only then.
Doug Graham	Doug has tried a few things. First, he's got a throwback-based look using current Vegas gold. It's not bad but it's not great. And it looks like Pittsburgh's coat of arms on the shoulder. He also went back to the vintage yellow in what's essentially a recoloring of the current powder blue third jersey. Works better in blue if you ask me — and I know no one did.
Matt McElroy	We finish where we started — with a Matt. In the most sweeping change, Mr. McElroy changed the logo by losing the penguin's legs. He's also added a gold jersey reminiscent of the Habs' in a way. But man that's a lot of yellow. I'm sticking with my hopes for a dark blue third in 2010.

Even more concepts on the way this week as any blog-worthy news seems to have slowed down. Don't forget that Elliott Strauss' NHL Rebrand series picks up with Part 8 this weekend.

JerseyWatch Concepts

In today's brand new concept post, we take a look at what's in store for the 2010-11 season. The following designs are what Icethetics artists came up with based on descriptions in the initial JerseyWatch 2010 post.

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A.J. Bloomquist	One concept that caused a stir after the JerseyWatch post went live was this one by A.J. He posted his work on Sabres' message board months ago. The crest, a script similar to what was described to me, is taken from the old logo of the Buffalo Bisons of the AHL. A.J. submitted a clean version of his concept so we could all get a good look at it. And who wouldn't love to see Buffalo paying tribute to their town's hockey history on their 40th anniversary?
Jeff Wozniak	Similarly, Jeff sent in his understanding of the rumored new script crest. But this veers pretty far from what I was originally told — which is that it's basically a baseball-type script with the 1970s logo positioned in the tail. Still, that was just a preliminary concept and things can change. So Jeff may be right on the scent.
Doug Graham	The Penguins are also big news right now. Word from Reebok is they're launching a new alternate sweater for 2010, not to mention all the rumors that the Pens will see action in their second Winter Classic in four years. Doug's concept is based on the rumor that the Penguins will dig up another blue jersey from their past. He could be on the right track with this. I could see them making it the home jersey one day.
Tony Galiffo	The Blue Jackets will allegedly be debuting a new third jersey in the fall. The team has said it will feature a cannon as its primary emblem. So Tony's incorporated that as well as his own little tribute to the old Cleveland Barons, who wore large patches shaped like Ohio on their sleeves.
Michael Lapsley	Michael tackled a couple of JerseyWatch rumors. The Maple Leafs will be putting stripes and shoulder patches back on their mostly-plain jerseys next season. This is more than likely what we should expect to see — unless the Leafs design a brand new shoulder patch.
Michael Lapsley	And the Ducks are on the list to add a new third jersey in 2010. Absolutely no details have circulated as of yet, but Michael's thinking they go with an orange sweater with the webbed D front and center on the chest. He's done some nice work but I kind of hope he's wrong. I'd like to see the Ducks introduce a new logo with this alternate sweater. Maybe something that actually resembles a duck wouldn't be too much to ask?

Our NHL rebrand series continues with Part 7 this weekend!