An Odd Time with a Tablecloth

Yes I did post on the three-quarter hour today. But I put together something that puts a lot of different teams together plus a tablecloth design. Yes, a tablecloth design. Below is the verdict.

You see here the Rangers yoke, Kings numbering, Sabres piping, Lightning's alternate jersey collar, and Maple Leafs' alternate jersey laces. It may seem very busy, but it is rather a replica of that aforementioned tablecloth. The design has the same striping pattern with the randomly arranged stars in navy between each set of striping. Then I decided not to just replicate the tablecloth, but to put USA Hockey branding on it.

-Ricky

HJC Post II

*** The following is my post from a different site, please visit www.hockeyjerseyconcepts.com for the article. ***

Friday: The Time Machine

Another Friday is upon us. It's a busy day with Bruins concepts flying in tomorrow added to an already concept heavy post. We'll be going back and forth between teams of the past and potential new teams of the future.

Today in history: 1980 - Stanley Cup: New York Islanders beat Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 2, 1986 - Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens beat Calgary Flames, 4 games to 1, 1988 - Power outage in Boston Garden in NHL's Stanley Cup finals, 1989 - NHL's New York Rangers fire GM & coach Phil Esposito, 1990 - Stanley Cup: Edmonton Oilers beat Boston Bruins, 4 games to 1.


Please remember that we have a pair of deadlines for today's date. Please make note of them below.


COTW vote May 13-19 (ends tonight @ 11:59pm EST)
Boston Bruins Untouchables entries (due tonight @ 11:59pm EST)

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Bruins Untouchables entries:


There aren't any today, remember the above deadline!

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San Jose Sharks (Brady S.)

This is the only Nike SWIFT concept Brady has for us today. Personally I see either of two things: first that this seems more oriented to the redesign of the AHL affiliate Worcester Sharks and second that this would pass more as a 90s OAK/CAL (Golden) Seals concept redesigned with a modern template. Albeit a bland concept, I do like it to some extent. As much as I like the striping used is simple, I would like to see a slightly more creative stripe like the wave at the bottom of the Lightning alternate from the late 90s or a perhaps even a zig zag. Difficult to put a number to, but I am giving an 8 out of 10.

2014 Stadium Series: NY Islanders (Michael G.)

Michael presents us with an interesting idea, despite the youth of the Islanders organization. While his name appears on the jersey, I will make mention that Tavares' talented uncle (Buffalo Bandits - NLL leader in goals/assists/points) of the same name is even older than the team on the Island - all just by coincidence. Even with an example in front of me, I simply cannot picture the Isles in vintage white but it could probably be made possible. The only thing that would ruin the idea of a winter classic for this team is a jersey from the "Fish-sticks" era and in vintage white. It does look good and I don't know how much better can be made of it, yet this could be what we see. I'm giving a half point for arbitrary purposes for a 7.5 out of 10.

Atlanta Thrashers c.1970s (Jordan R.)

While the bird in the logo reminds me of Norwich City of English soccer (nicknamed the Canaries), the overall concept spells trouble. All of the sudden we have San Diego Padres copycats with the sanitary color scheme and boy were the Padres baseball team poorly dressed. In fact, they were rated by MLB network's Prime 9 series as one of the top eight of 9 "Unique" uniform set (meaning worst presumably). But this team would take away the market from the developing WHA at that time. The only difference is that this would be then nickname instead of the Flames. So that could mean we see the Calgary Thrashers quite possibly and the 90s expansion team to be named the Flames. Who knows? I can like it, but the schematics are the spoiler on this but I'm not letting that be the deciding factor. However this provides the vintage feel to it, after all, the Seals and Kings did have yellow home jerseys too. I'm giving it an 8 out of 10 as well.

2014 Stadium Series: VAN Canucks (Mike S.)

This is exactly a modified version of the inaugural "stick in a rink" jersey that Mike has presented us with. While I never really cared for the logo it is relatively a bump in the road. The numbers are slightly over-sized on the back and are too small for the TV numbers. As much as I like the wide striping, it is also squeezing the TV numbers, thus forcing the smallness of them. To be quite honest, the green and white should be swapped to add variation and match the logo and outline. A 7 out of 10 here.

Team Breakers (Sean L.)

As Sean notes, he wants your opinion on how the socks should be designed for his Breakers concept. Mine would be that since he is using the Buffa-slug template, to have two thick separated stripes the top in green and the bottom white with a thin section of black separating the two. Now onto the rest of the concept. The name on back, TV numbers and even shoulder patches are too small for my liking. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure what the shoulder patch is but it seems that it is improperly positioned. This is a very good original logo and I like the colors but something else is missing in addition to other things, with the dismissal of the lack of socks as a contributing factor. 6 out of 10 and the reader sock suggestions will be given.

Penn State Nittany Lions (Michael M.) 

While these are separate concepts that Michael sent us, I will combine them here for discussion purposes. There are several things here that I wish to discuss. The logo is great and adds value for me. Secondly, I would make the stripes slightly thicker but a great addition to make this concept simple but not bland. I would also like to see the "Penn State - Shenango" a bit more centered between the two stripes. Also the paw on the alternate is higher then the ones on the home and road. In addition, all three should be half on the front right and half on the back right and preferably in the yoke unless there is some sort of intent on placement. I like the nameless jersey as it would save on reproduction cost. I know the logo is a slightly darker shade of blue than what is used and both are school colors, but I feel we should stick with the shade of blue from the logo.

Though the home and road strongly resemble TML jerseys, the extra color on the sleeves and outline-less numbering distinct the jersey as an alternate as of course do the black and pink. One problem with that color combination - I have never seen a professional or collegiate team perform well in those colors, only my high school did well in navy and pink - but again, that's high school. I have a 7.5 out of 10 for the primary set and a 7 out of 10 for the alternate.

London Knights (Kyle C.)

London not only just won their second straight OHL title a week and a half ago, they are also one of the best branded in the league, imo. This may seem like a potential Minnesota North Stars concept, but it suits the Budweiser Garden tenants very well. I don't have any constructive criticism for this one, an  8 out of 10 for Kyle's effort.

Wow, I got through everything (finally) - just kidding. It has been an intriguing day considering this particular combination of concepts. Again, don't forget to vote and send in concepts. We want to see your masterpieces and your start-ups as we continue to display your creativity. For the record, I like outside the box stuff.

Anyway enjoy your weekends as I have a road game tonight and a home game on Sunday as my Indiana Pacers look to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000. I am got my first paycheck of the summer today and plan on getting that Reggie Miller gold 2000s alternate that I've been wanting (to be visible at BNG very soon). Happy concocting!

-Ricky

Hopping Around

The Kangaroos of North Melbourne lost after the siren last week and need to rebound. Unfortunately, my third jersey schedule won't have me wearing it on game day for two months (18 July) at home against Carlton. We did pick up a win with it the only  other time I wore it two matches ago against the Doggies. We got a much needed third win of the season and defeating Western Bulldogs helped make it two of the last three. Though the defeats to Geelong, Sydney, Hawthorn, and most recently the West Coast - all one kick losses except for the abysmal third quarter against Swans in Hobart, Nrorth are actually playing well. However, their third quarters are where they've let all the above teams and Collingwood mount a comeback.

Anyway this clash jumper dates to circa 2009 was cheap compared to standard prices, and got it at virtually half price. A good find indeed.

-Ricky

P.S. - Happy birthday, Mom!

Hands off the Bruins

HJC is running a "Bruins Untouchables" contest which I made a submission for. It will appear there at $;30 this afternoon, but I am letting you get a look at it. It takes a lot of Bruin-esque material while at the same looking different.

As you can see, I used the template for the current set, while changing the striping and yoke orientation. I have also revived the "Winnie the Pooh" logo as a shoulder patch logo, added a yellow outline to the "B" in the roundel (which is also a shoulder patch logo), and promoted the alternate as primary logo in place of the roundel. I don't like the "Boston" version of the jersey crest logo I am using. It would be on the road jersey had I cared for it. It's just like having the team nickname at home and location name on the road on your uniform. I think that covers everything. Tell us what you think.

-Ricky

HJC Post I

*** The following is my post from a different site, please visit www.hockeyjerseyconcepts.com for the article. ***

Friday: New Writer and a Lot of Blue

"Good day to yous," as we say in Buffalo. Ricky Mazella reporting for Hockey Jersey Concepts. Some of you may know me as a contributor to HJC, but others as the founder and owner of Buffalo Nickel Graphics. Shameless plug aside, it is great to be able to help Ryan and the gang share your talent with the world! I am very grateful for the opportunity to be a member of the posting team and look forward to cooperating with them. In the meantime, let's get to the meat and potatoes of it all!

First of all, having just come back from Bruins territory in Springfield, MA and returning to Sabreville in suburban Buffalo, NY still as a Ducks fan, I'm sad to see my team bow out so early and the heartbreaking loss by Toronto (my apologies and sympathies to Ryan and the rest of Leafs Nation). But we've seen some great first round hockey and so far we are being entertained by these conference semifinals. As much as we all love our playoff hockey, we can't forget about what's happening here at HJC. That includes (most importantly) the reminder below that I am providing you with.

      COTW May 6-12 vote (ends SATURDAY @ 11:59pm EDT)

Will Scheibler is today's featured concept artist! The following is his profile card:

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Philadelphia Flyers (Brady S.)

Resuming his Nike SWIFT Redesign series, Brady presents us with a simple look for the Flyers from Broad St. with this set. What I like about this set are the color distribution and the striping. The thick center stripe with the thin outer stripes add character to this jersey to make it more classy. Except for the white center stripe on the orange jersey (that has always seemed unusual to me),  the colors don't clash with each other and the numbers are legible in the white and you can cheat with it in this set unlike some others. As much as I don't like the yoke, it is an important part of this concept for me where the black accent is more present and not yoke outline is necessary - as portrayed here. An 8 out of 10 is in order for this concept.

Phoenix Coyotes (Brady S.)

The second concept in Brady's series suggests a bi-color scheme. I like it and fortunately for the Yotes, they'd be able to pull it off with this or something similar. The silhouettes are what make this set otherwise, I'm not so sure we have anything. I mean, I definitely favor the white jersey, but I'm not completely sold on the counterpart because the yoke doesn't transfer well. I would replace it with the brick red and ad a white outline, but then a reverse jersey would need to be made and I won't fancy that either. The striping is fine as is, but it wouldn't hurt to see another stripe added on.  7.5 out of 10 is my verdict.

New York Rangers (Adam H.)

I do appreciate the effort in trying to turn back the clock, but I never really liked this template because it is typically an injustice to a good, clean concept. The font used here gives me a bad vibe, but is better than other fonts here. The "R" in the primary logo seems out of place, but can be overlooked. Again, this has a lot of potential, just not with this template. This is a 7 out of 10.

Nashville Predators (Adam H.)

I really want to like this one but it's a difficult decision. I know I said that this template fails typically fails concepts, but it actually works here. The only thing with that is the red throws me off. In addition, the logo gets a little lost in the striping and you can barely make out the crest script on the alternate. On top of that, a gold name and number on a white jersey will never fly as it will get lost in the surrounding white of the jersey. This may be a 6 out of 10, but send this to the drawing board and we'll someday get a winner!

Buffalo Sabres (Tristan M.)

This combination of eras may be epic. The original team crest is revived using the Buffa-slug font (which I personally liked). The striping  is phenomenal with the exception of needing the hem striping to match the striping on the sleeves. Also, I would suggest that there is a jersey color stripe between the number and number outline to create a double number outline as the gold gets lost in translation. Make sure all stitching inside of the panels are not showing (especially over the striping as seen above). Please consult the tutorials link on the side of the page to make sure your concept is well executed. This set brings back a pastime and is very much a retro-modern look that I know would be a well accepted set here in the Western New York community! Overall, 7.5 out of 10.

Chicago Blackhawks (Tyler G.)

Today's final concept comes from my fellow co-author Tyler, who submits a jersey for his beloved team from the Madhouse on Madison. I always liked black jerseys for this team. This however also provides contrast with the hem being white. The slight difference from the actual alternates is that there is an extra red and extra white stripe. To accommodate both, I would either change the bottom of the sleeves to white or color then hem black while adding the extra white and extra red stripe to it. I see an 8 out of 10 with this one.

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It feels good not to be a one-and-done writer on HJC as my only other post was nine months ago from Sunday as a part of the original writing application process. Man, was it really that long ago? Well this is one small step for HJC and one giant leap for me as I learn from my experiences blogging for HJC and as a concept artist myself. Keep on sending stuff in to us as we look forward to your content and appreciate your enthusiasm for designing hockey stuff! I can't wait for the next time I get to post here a week from now, over and out.

-Ricky

Posting Changes

Attention! We will no longer be posting concepts from day to day, I will sometimes (at random or on scheduled days) have posts that are only script without concepts. The reason being is that even though summer has started, I can kep up with the blog and still have some control during the school months, plus I have newly been appointed the Friday writer for our friends at Hockey Jersey Concepts with my first post coming later today at 4:30.

I am thinking of putting up today's HJC post on this blog to prevent any lack of Saturday posts. This during the academic year is a busy day with two radio shows on campus as well as Saturday night professional indoor lacrosse in the spring semester. This move (not always posting concepts) is also to ensure that if I am behind on daily posts, that there will be time to make those up. for now, nothing else changes. Either way, I will always update you with such changes (when necessary, if major).

So continue to always keep your eyes peeled for exciting new things on the BNG blog!

-Ricky

Renegade Basketball

Yesterday I mentioned playing around with "renegades" when toying with a new NBA team in Seattle. This was what I came up with. A good idea but not necessarily the best to work with and put a jersey together (at least in its current state).

Certainly a much blander concept than the Sonics one yesterday. for that reason, I put this in my concept recycle bin to potentially be used for a later point in time.

-Ricky

P.S. - I send my birthday wishes to my Springfield College broadcast partner Barry Ebua, who turns 21 today!

A Needle Point and Sonic Boom

I was asked to help a group of friends who designed a new arena in Seattle (not constrained to a budget) for a facilities class we were in (albeit separate classes with the same professor). They then asked me to create a  design for them without deciding on a team at first. Then after a few hours they decided to keep the Sonics moniker. That actually mad it easier and replaced the "renegades" which will appear in tomorrow's post.

I have combined three eras of Sonics basketball with this concept. The most recent logo with the "Est. 1967" from the alternate was used as primary, with the 70s logo used for an alternate and for housing the front number on the alternate jersey (similar to Golden State's current home and road). Then on all pairs of shorts as well as the home and road jerseys I incorporated the space needle form the maroon era logo of the early 2000s.

-Ricky

1st Anniversary and Concept of the Year

Happy birthday to us here at BNG, that means that we are going to award our concept of the year! The votes have been cast and counted and we have selected the Buffalo Destroyers concept as the winner.

We included the Zubaz idea via guilt by association for it wasn't part of the original concept but was later added.  Also we have a celebratory banner which will fly for the rest of the week along with a new photo. Thank you for being a part of our BNG community as we continue to seek the development of our site. We would like to wish those who celebrate a wonderful Cinco de Mayo and to our Eastern Orthodox audience, a very blessed Easter. Enjoy the rest of your day!

-Richard F. (Ricky) Mazella II
Proud founder and owner of Buffalo Nickel Graphics

The Trading Card

I have created a trading card for anyone who wishes to do so . . . this is just the front, as we are focused on the player and not necessarily their stats.

These will now be available in the "Templates" tab. One more day!

-Ricky

Wild Wing, You Make My Heart Sing!

I found this absolutely fantastic on HJC by Stephen Truman.

We'll never see it, I don't think many people like it, but great execution!

Keep in mind that a big announcement in addition to the BNG Concept of the Year will be displayed along with some site changes will debut on anniversary day which is Sunday.

-Ricky

I'm Going to ACT on Moving Fitzroy

In preparation for 2009, Fitzroy do eventually leave Melbourne. Fitzroy does leave for Canberra in the ACT as the AFL has it's first ever team to actually be located in Canberra following several matches previously hosted at the Manuka Oval.

So the bottom two jumpers are for clash purposes. and the logo is a cheap replication of the one they actually used prior from their actual waning years in Footscray.

-RIcky

Clashing in Melbourne

I thought I would add a clash jumper for the non-existent Melbourne Hawks. Melbourne actually merged with the Brisbane Bears according to the BNG version of AFL history, but I wanted to do this as it was one of the closest of mergers to actually occur.

The normal jumper, remember, is  the one above except with narrow vertical stripes instead of the superimposed hawk on the front and the back is blue and not gold with gold (not blue) numbering.

-Ricky