Freak Out Friday XLIV

Happy Friday, all! Right now, I'm on an airplane bound for Las Vegas. This is the first of five auto-posts that should keep you guys occupied with new concept art while I'm off getting married. I've scheduled one for every day that I'm away and each one has its own theme.

Today's theme is an Icethetics fan favorite: Freak Out Friday! For new readers, this was a very popular regular feature of the site when I used to get loads of concept art sent in. Sometimes it would miss the mark — meaning we would never want to actually see it on the ice. Here's what I mean...

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John B	The last time the Coyotes put a cactus on their jersey, it came to us in the form of one incredibly unpopular green third jersey in the late '90s. Unfortunately, this makes no improvements on that. The designer is obviously trying to take a bad page out of the Lightning and Senators' books by running the nickname across the front. Yotes works about as well as Bolts and Sens. And while the sand and brick colors are still used today in the Phoenix color scheme, the purple and green are not.
John B	While we're on the subject of colloquialism failures on jerseys, let's add Minny to the list. I think Wild fans would agree there's just no call for it. I don't want to dismiss this design out of hand, though. The striping is pretty nice, if not based somewhat off of Minnesota's current home and former third jersey. The red and beige color combo is one of the best looks in hockey right now.
Jules	Some of you may not necessarily be freaked out by this idea of a Kings third jersey, but I sure am. It may not be a popular notion, but I think one of the best uniform overhauls in NHL history was when the Kings switched to silver and black. Then they improved upon it by adding the purple back. But at no point do I want to see them wearing yellow on a regular basis again. The only way I could excuse it is for a special night with historical significance as a one-off jersey. But now that I've said my peace, I'm curious what the rest of you think of a return to the '60s color scheme. At least at that time the NHL wasn't overrun with only two colors. Variety is good.
Matt McElroy	But hopefully we can all agree that such a variety of color on a single jersey is not a plus. A deep purple sweater with neon yellow sleeves and silver accents is in the dictionary next to "ugly." That was harsh, but look, even the purple in the logo doesn't match the purple of the jersey itself. Same with the gold. And that numbering style is not a saving grace either. This jersey design needs to be buried. Deep.

So while I'm enjoying myself in Vegas, I hope this post freaked you out sufficiently. As I mentioned earlier, there will be new concept art posted right here automatically every day until Tuesday.

New Content All Weekend

Hey guys, one last reminder that while I'm in Vegas this weekend, there are five concept posts scheduled to go live automatically from tomorrow until Tuesday. I've set the Concepts page as the Icethetics home page from now until then so each day when you log on, you'll have something new to look at without having to click on anything else.

While I'm gone, I don't plan on updating the blog at all. If anything pressing comes up while I'm away and I happen to see it, I'll make a quick mention on Twitter so keep an eye on that in the sidebar. I'll gather up and post all pertinent news when I return to the blog on Wednesday or Thursday.

Heading Out West

This is the last new concept post until I head out west so I'm making the Western Conference today's theme.

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Mike Ivall	We begin with Mike Ivall, a longtime Icethetics concept contributor. Today we're flashing back to his roots. That first image you see there is, I believe, his first ever concept submission. It was first posted on July 8, 2008 — a year and a half ago. Now he's sharing the fruits of his labor with us. You see that logo embroidered onto a red Blackhawks jersey, proof that perhaps it should one day take its place on an NHL uniform. And if you were wondering what the entire sweater looks like — including its new shoulder patches, just click here. It's really quite something to see an old Icethetics concept come to life that way. As always, great job Mike!
Ryan Haslett	Sticking with the Blackhawks for a moment. If Mike's red jersey is too drastic a change, then maybe Ryan Haslett's is right on the money. I don't know what it is about the red, black and beige that screams old time Blackhawks hockey to me. I love this design and if it ever became a reality, I might be the first in line to get one — and I don't even like Chicago. Sometimes a jersey design just does something to you, though.
Ryan Haslett	If you hadn't already noticed, the rest of this post belongs to Ryan. Knowing that the Predators are planning sweeping uniform changes for 2010, he's come up with a simplified uniform design for the Hawks' Central Division rivals. My only concern is that the gold used here may be a little too light. There's not enough contrast for it to be a standout uniform design. Fix that and you may just have a winner on your hands. I'd also consider reverting to the dark blue triangle on the white jersey. I just think it makes for a stronger design.
Ryan Haslett	Ryan will get us finished up this afternoon way out west in Anaheim. His third jersey concept for the Ducks goes with the beige that slowly seems to be gaining popularity in the NHL as a vintage color — actually called Vintage White by the Boston Bruins. I like the beige and the orange. But I still think the Ducks need to drop the black in favor of a dark forest green. That would really give their identity a complete and unique feel. The one thing I'm not sure about is the use of a wordmark on the front. I think an alternate sweater in Anaheim would provide the ideal opportunity for an alternate logo that actually resembles a duck. An intimidating duck to be sure, but a duck all the same.

That's it. The next time you see concept art on this page, it will appear as if by magic as I will be far, far away from my computer — and Florida! (Really though, don't forget. New auto-posts every morning at 9 from Friday until Tuesday. I've worked really hard all week to make sure that happens for you guys.)