JCRGraphix Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I haven't posted anything recently because I've been in the process of moving across the globe to Seoul, South Korea, so I decided to start another series. I may pick my Stadium Series/Winter Classic Series back up at some point. I haven't really decided yet. Anyways, one of the less than splendid things about moving across the world is the travel time (a grand total of more than 60 hours including flights and layovers). My laptop's batteries don't come anywhere even close to lasting long enough for those flights, so I hand-drew some concepts, and digitized them when I got to Korea. So, for this concept, I decided to create an American league that would take the place of the NHL. Basically, instead of getting things figured out, the NHL, AHL, and ECHL folded in 2005 and Gary Bettman was publicly executed in a rather brutal fashion. When the NHL folded, the names of the teams could never be used again. To get rid of many of the issues of the former NHL, the league decided to adopt a format completely new in American hockey. 84 teams from around the country got together and drafted all of the available players from the NHL, AHL, and ECHL with no salary caps or floors. Since the new league still wanted to make decent money, the larger markets got to draft first. Then, a regional tournament was held to separate the new league into four smaller leagues of 21 teams, the American Premier League, American Hockey Federation, United States Hockey Association, and USHA2. Each team was then seeded based on their place in the tournament into their respective leagues. Each season the top 4 teams of the AHF, USHA, and USHA2 are promoted to the next highest league, while the last 4 teams in the Premier League, AHF, and USHA are relegated to the next lowest league similar to the way soccer works in Europe. This has allowed for some smaller markets to have top tier teams for a change. So now, on to the teams. I'll start with the Premier League first: Up first are the Norfolk Neptunes. I lived in Norfolk for a while, and it's a big Navy area. Because of this and its location on the ocean, I decided to name them after the god of the sea, Neptune. Although I designed a logo based on Neptune's trident, I decided to use diagonal text as the logo on the jersey, and use the main logo as a shoulder patch. The design of the jerseys are inspired by the New York Islanders' jerseys from the late 1990s. Up next are the Minneapolis Geminis. The name Geminis comes from Minneapolis-St. Paul being referred to as the twin cities, as well as a nod to the North Stars who played there for more than 20 years. The jerseys and logos are very retro inspired to reflect the vibrant history of hockey in the state of Minnesota. Up next are the Chicago Flames. The name comes from the famous Chicago fire, but the design is a tribute to firefighters everywhere. The logo include a nod to the Blackhawks with the C with axes, but with the C in a more modern font, and the axes are fire axes. The shoulder patch is based on fire department badges, and it features the American flag on the right shoulder. Before you comment on the flag being backwards, please realize I have been wearing a uniform for 8 years now, and I know it appears backwards. The reasoning behind this is that it is worn on the right shoulder (the place of honor in a formation and closest to the heart) and is backward to represent it moving forward as it would in battle. The jerseys are a simple but modern design. Up next are the Sacramento Pines. For this design, I was thinking very traditional with a common striping pattern and retro script inspired logo. What makes it modern is the shades of green used and the sublimated plaid pattern. Finally, we have the Washington Senators. This design is based on the American flag and the flag of the District of Columbia. The logo is simple, but includes references to the Capitol building and DC flags. The home jersey is striped in a manner resembling the US flag, but when the blue is taken away in the away jersey, it starts to look more like the DC flag. As always c/c is more than welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotPixels Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Nice, clean and bold. Like it all so far. Old Dog Learning New Tricks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxon#08 Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Sacramento is by far the best. Great unis for all the teams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamiller99 Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Great look with these! That's what- She Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake3roo Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 nice job. Keep it up   Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragone Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 My favorite is definitely Sacramento. Overall great series. Looking forward for more teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-mer Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Washington and Minneapolis are my favorites so far. Would love to see more if you're still working on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCRGraphix Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 I finally had some time for concepts, so I decided to hop back on this project. I decided to revamp the way I present these... Also, for this project, there was a draft in which all teams in order of market size got to draft one franchise player, and fill out the rest of their team via free agency and trading. Here are the new pics for Sacramento, Washington, and Chicago... more to follow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCRGraphix Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Next up are the Minneapolis Geminis with Hiller rocking the Jon Casey throwback mask and the leathers. The Geminis are one of the teams that really represent old-time hockey in this league... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake88 Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Those Gemini's unis look even better on a player! Especially with those pads.I just need to see Norfolk, but with that complicated striping pattern I can see why its the hardest to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigGameBob Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Beautiful concepts like usual JCR.I'd really like to see a Louisiana team. They're rare for hockey on this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1clkgtramg Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I must admit, the jerseys really come out in the action shots. Still love the Pines the most, but the Gemini's jersey really looks good in action. US and World License Plate Redesign - Fixing the Elite Ice Hockey League - NHL to Soccer Crossover - European Hockey League Twitter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkychewbarky Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Hi JR,The presentation with the subdued action shots is top drawer!I really like the Sens and the Geminis, but I'd love to see how the Gems would look if you swapped the round crest with that awesome old-school "MG" logo. *The Battle of Seattle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOppenheimer Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Sacramento is great! I wish this team could become a reality, Sacramento needs more major sports teams. Noah Oppenheimerbaseballonly on OOTP ForumsPhillies GM in Max Modern BaseballMMB Phillies Blog--League BlogIronPigs GM in Continental Baseball League Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidellias Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Wow, this is a good concept, I love the colors. Although how long will it be till the Washington Senetors move, just like the Baseball team  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCRGraphix Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Thanks for all of the great feedback. I will try some of the ideas out (MG logo, etc.), but for tonight I just have one more. BTW, I live in Seoul now, so it's really really late here.Tomorrow you will see new teams... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamiller99 Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Love the trident yokes, I'm excited to see what's next! That's what- She Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueYankee26 Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 This is nice so far. My fave so far is Norfolk, Minnesota and Chicago. trueyankee26.wordpress.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCRGraphix Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 Up next are the Brooklyn Blades featuring Henrik Lundqvist... This design is inspired by the World Cup and the Reggae music I'm listening to right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCRGraphix Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 Up next are the Philadelphia Brawlers. When the NHL went under, the whole city of Philadelphia rioted, but now they're behind their new team. To make the fans happy, the team adopted the same color scheme and mindset. Today's Brawlers are reminiscent of the Flyers of the 1970s. The logo represents the team's fighting spirit, and the ring on the finger represents their past successes and is a nod to the old Flyers' logo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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