Halifax Schooners NHL Expansion Concept

[TrueNorth13]

My newest NHL expansion is probably an unlikely place to ever get an NHL team. I created the Halifax Schooners. While it may seem like a strange name, it's completely original (to my knowledge). The name is based off of the Bluenose, the schooner (ship) that appears on the Canadian dime. I was looking to have a nautical theme for this concept and I was pleased to discover that the Bluenose was built and sailed in Nova Scotia. What luck! All 3 logos are pretty self explanatory, the bluenose as the primary, an anchor for the alternate, and a compass as the shoulder logo. I should explain a few things though. In the anchor logo, I tried to create an H in the anchor, as well as an S in the rope. With the uniforms, the home and away were created with a generic ship captain uniform. I thought it looked great and it's unique. As for the colours, I'm thinking people will compare it to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, and I can see why. I didn't realize the colours were so close until I was creating the alternate uniform, but I think the concept is unique enough to distance from the Admirals. There's not too many completely unique colour schemes that look good for a professional team. That should be all for my explanation. C&C is appreciated.

[sportsherald]

You're not the first to propose an NHL team in Halifax, but it would be a big stretch, population- and facility-wise. They haven't been able to support AHL teams. You also aren't the first to propose a Halifax team named the Schooners, although the CFL's approved Atlantic Schooners never played a game.

I like your ideas and work, particularly using a Captain's uniform as the inspiration. In keeping with that, wouldn't a yellower gold fit that theme better?

I'm not fond of the shoulder logo. Although you say it is a compass needle (with an awkward squared-off S), it looks like a pencil point.

[TrueNorth13]

Sportsherald: Well, I'm pretty sure I'm the first to create a concept with the Schooners name for a hockey team. I guess a yellower gold could work. I could try that and see how it looks, but I'm also fine with the colours I have now. And about that shoulder logo. I wanted to keep the same font I had from the primary for the S but even I recognize that it doesn't look great. It was midnight when I put this up so I didn't want to spend more time tonight before posting it. I will probably go back and change the S to a smoother font. Maybe I'll use the rope S from the alternate and make the needle point more recognizable.

Also, again with the dark gold, I feel as if not many teams have used that shade of gold. I wanted to have a more unique colour scheme, that's why I chose that colour.

[hockey week]

I think you're on to something here. I love the name,that's definitely good. Your secondary logo is excellent, hiding the H and S in there are superbly done. The jersey idea is perfect.

Overall, I think you're going a bit too literal, and a bit too complicated.

Your primary logo is very busy. Many different colors going on, lots of detail. You have different colored sails (and not just each mast has a different colored sails, there's a lot more going on), the name on the ship wheel, and the handles of the wheel are a different color than the wheel itself. I think some streamlining would go a long way. Look at Winnipeg, they don't need a name on the logo and it works. I'm not sure what the right combination of things is, but it looks like too much is going on.

Especially compared to your shoulder logo, which is nice and simplified, but almost too bland, especially when compared to the other two. Honestly, with how great that anchor logo is, I don't know why you need a shoulder logo. If you're worried about the anchor logo blending, put it on a shield.

and I truly love your jersey idea. Captain's uniforms? How has nobody thought of that?! It's brilliant, and it works well in both white and colors. That's great. I wonder if you're not being too literal there with the amount of stripes and the placement. Those sleeve stripes, like the cuff-stripes on the Washington Capitals throwback alternates, will get largely covered by the players' gloves. You lose a lot. Then it looks a lot more plain. Plus, that many stripes might look great for one player, but there's going to be 15 or so on the bench, and 6 on the ice. it has to look good with a bunch of them. Look at one-off alternates, they look great as one jersey, but when the whole team is skating warmups, it changes the perception. I think you might benefit from stylizing it a bit more. Be a little more abstract. Sure, captain's rank stripes go at the end of the sleeve, but this isn't the navy, it's a hockey jersey, and hockey jersey sleeve stripes are usually closer to the elbow. stuff like that. simplify, stylize, be abstract, I think it'll go a long way.

Really, I hope you won't think I'm being too hard, I like this concept, I think it's a real diamond in the rough. I think if you step back a little, imagine what it would look like on the ice from the stands, and maybe get a little less literal, you'd have something truly special here. play around a little, see what works and what doesn't, and try things out. Good luck!

[JetProArt]

Love the concept. The alternate and shoulder logo are great but I have to agree the primary logo is great but needs to be simplified a bit. Overall its great.

[cubsfan2015]

I was gonna say,I though it said CFL instead of NHL.

But sportshearld hit it head on with the Schooners.They got approved for play,but didn't get a approveable stadium in time.

As for the concept.............

It looks like primetime for the NHL.I really love the logo in the wheel.

[jrcollis714]

I really like this. I love how you incorporated letters into the logos, which all look great and nautical. The uniforms are also very creative. I enjoy the captain's uniform look, and the gold piping on the shoulders. Everything in this set is awesome, and I have no complaints whatsoever.

[DTConcepts]

The dark gold isn't all that unique, it just seems like dark for dark's sake. Anyways, the template is bugging me.

There's holes in the shoulders and the front isn't even symmetrical. Anyways, all the logos are good except for the compass, in my opinion.

[Christian Legault]

Sportsherald: Well, I'm pretty sure I'm the first to create a concept with the Schooners name for a hockey team. I guess a yellower gold could work. I could try that and see how it looks, but I'm also fine with the colours I have now. And about that shoulder logo. I wanted to keep the same font I had from the primary for the S but even I recognize that it doesn't look great. It was midnight when I put this up so I didn't want to spend more time tonight before posting it. I will probably go back and change the S to a smoother font. Maybe I'll use the rope S from the alternate and make the needle point more recognizable.

Also, again with the dark gold, I feel as if not many teams have used that shade of gold. I wanted to have a more unique colour scheme, that's why I chose that colour.

No you're not, I actualy did the Halifax schooners in my expansion series. And was inspired by the atlantic schooners.

As for the concept the arms are to bare, and the font is to thin.

[davidmiller5]

One thing that does bother me on the secondary is that the rope isn't connected to the anchor. I would try to tie it to the ring at the top of the anchor and still make an S. It might be a bit difficult to do, but right now when I see the logo I wonder how the rope stays there.

My biggest issue is the font/fonts. I don't like how the midline of the font is so low; it looks odd everywhere but is most jarring on the tertiary logo. Then your number font doesn't mesh with your other font at all. If you do keep the same letter font, try using a font similar to what the Blue Jackets use on their alternates.

I do like your primary (although it might be a bit too busy/detailed) and I really like your unique jersey striping.

[TrueNorth13]

Christian Legault: Sorry, I was not aware of your Halifax Schooners concept. When googling the name, it actually takes awhile before I come to some concepts and mine was first. But after seeing yours, I actually like it. I'm quite fond of some of your other concepts as well. That being said, your input of the arms being too plain, doesn't make much sense to me. First, have you seen the Montreal Canadiens away jersey? Pretty plain but works great. And second, it seems like a lot of people, not saying you necessarily, look at new concepts and want to compare them to other professional teams which I feel is just dumb. Why does every uniform have to be set up the same way? Why can't there be something unique that's not like anything else that still looks good? If every uniform had the same stripes and had to be a specific way, it would just be boring. I don't make these as if they were being implemented into the NHL. I make them for my enjoyment because I love creating sports concepts. Just my two cents.

[1insaneguy]

It's interesting that you used epaulets for the shoulders. But, like Christian Legault said, the sleeves need a bit more. Personally, I think you should stay with the dark gold, as well as get rid of the compass logo. It's sort of unnecessary.

[ujju2]

I have to say, I think that alternate jersey would make a great home jersey. To me, the home you have lacks contrast, just seems too dark.

[TrueNorth13]

After really looking at the compass logo more and more, I might just scrap it. But I still want a different shoulder logo than the anchor. I don't really like having the alternate jersey just switching the primary and shoulder logos around. That's just my preference. So I was thinking of either creating a new logo based on a Halifax landmark, maybe the Citadel (I don't know what it is but its famous in Halifax apparently) or just doing what the Flames do and put the province flag on the shoulder. I'm not sure which one to do though. I do like how the flames out the Alberta flag on the jersey just to represent the province. (Even though the oilers are in Alberta as well) just wanna hear people's thoughts on what to put on the shoulder. Besides the anchor.

[wquarton]

Like it better than the proposed ones I saw on bar down on TSN. Perhaps they'll never get an NHL team, but an NASL soccer team doesn't seem out of the question. You only really need 5000 fans for it to be sustainable, I'm pretty sure Halifax could support that. This concept actually looks pretty similar to one that I came up with for a team called Atlantic or Maritime United with that in mind.

My only criticism would be that I'm not really a fan of the third jersey. Just to light blue for me. Otherwise I like them. Not sure what you could do otherwise though. Sorry to give bad feedback. Good luck.

[kevsim1]

Ok, first of all, with the whole name thing, Schooners would probably be the most cliche thing, first thing most people would think of about Halifax who are familiar with their culture. Don't get me wrong, it's a great name, but it isn't revolutionary by any stretch.

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify would be my advice with this. It's almost more of an illustration than a logo in places.

I'll start with the primary. Thin outlines really hurt the design here. thicken those up a bit. The handles on the wheel should be the gold colour I think, the wheel being two different colours feels super disconnected right now. Again, with the sails, just make it nice and simple. Being aesthetically nice trumps total realism just about every time. I'd say ditch the thin black "connector" lines, simplify the sail colours too.If you ask me, you could get rid of black entirely in the logo. Even a silhouette of the schooner is tempting, as getting the sails right, as awkward as they looked in real life, would be hard to look good. You could try baby blue water, white highlights, navy boat silhouette and white sky.

the secondary is the best mark of the bunch by a wide margin. The anchor is well done, I might even thicken those outlines up just a hair. The rope is what's pulling it down (Oddly enough because anchors are usually, well, the anchor ). The rope has to tie into (well yea, I suppose ropes do tie) the flow of the logo, and frankly, it looks like it should be in a colouring book, while the anchor should be in a sports logo. Simplify the design of the rope, I sound like a broken record, but it would benefit greatly by a thicker outline. I just recently completed a logo with a rope (It's a tough thing to do). What I did was make a bunch of rounded rectangles, slanted them slightly and lined them up. I can add a picture of that idea if you want. i was satisfied how it turned out. Shoulder logo, yep, you could do away with that if you want.

I'm with you, get the citadel shape in there.

Jerseys. I've always liked the Chicoutimi Sagueneens-esque stripes on the shoulders, but I'd fill in four more at the back of the collar.

I would agree, add something to the sleeves. The Habs are a super classic design, this is much busier, so it has to be somewhere between the two. The little stripes at the cuffs are a decent idea, but at least make them straight on the jersey itself, rather than slanted like you have it. Need then to be a bit thicker too. You could even make the first, third and fifth ones thicker and have the others be just thinner. Could spice it up a bit. The nameplate font is too hard to read. The most legible one, the home, is still a bit of a strain. I's also agree with everyone saying that the number font is too bleah. Get something nice and classy, serifs are fine, but much bolder.

Then we have the alternate jersey. chest stripes are really good, I've always been a sucker for those. However the anchor logo: 1. Doesn't go with the style. and 2. The shape doesn't work with that sort of design. Most jerseys with chest stripes, you'll see in a roundel, some sort of shield. The awkward shape of the anchor and rope makes for an awkward in-and-out look, when interacting with the stripe. You know what I mean? The stripe is visible here, covered by part of the rope there, you can see a bit of the outline here, the side of the anchor covers it here. You get the idea. I almost want you to put that anchor logo in a roundel just for that, but the alternate mark remaining without one, for other sorts of application.

Well, you have a long way to go, but it's on its way. Good luck, keep with it!

[Bpoe96]

I’m with a lot of people in saying that this concept looks like a diamond in the rough. I’m also with a lot of people on what I think needs to be changed.

The execution is a bit off, namely with the odd template lines Zeus pointed out. I would also move the arm stripes (or currently more like cuff stripes) up more towards the elbows, make them a bit more bold, and add some stripes behind them, or at least make them bolder (I made a mockup of my idea down below by the way, feel free to use it . I also agree with everyone on the font, and a bolder version of this one still may work out fine.

I would also agree with everyone on the logos, simplify the primary, tie the S to the anchor, and scrap the compass most likely, and replace it with a citadel based logo. It would look good to put the anchor in a roundel as well, and then you could use that and the new logo with the citadel on the shoulders.

I also noticed something in a previous reply of yours. You compared the jerseys’ plain-ness to the Habs jerseys, and then asked why everyone always compared concepts to real jerseys, a bit hypocritical there aren’t ya

But this concept definitely is a diamond in the rough, and the logos already are great and just need a few improvements mostly. If I were doing the concept I would just draw inspiration from the ship captain uniforms, rather than replicating it entirely.