Over the next few months here at DUBNetwork we will be hosting a WHL best jersey competition, where you the fans will vote on the league’s best set of home and away jerseys. This competition will be based solely on the regular home and away jerseys of each team and not on teams’ third or alternate jerseys. That is yet to come.
Because the league has 22 teams it’s not an even bracket. All the teams were put into an online randomizer and randomly ranked 1 through 22, then placed in a single-elimination bracket. This results in 10 teams having a first-round bye.
Keep in mind this is a jersey competition, not just a logo competition. So take everything into consideration: logos, colours, colour schemes, piping and everything else. A few of us here at DUBNetwork will add our opinions on each team, and as fans ourselves we will have our favourites. There are more of you than us, though, so you ultimately will decide the best jersey in the league.
Matchup No. 1
Prince George Cougars vs. Kelowna Rockets
Prince George Cougars
Photos courtesy of pgcougars.com
MT – PG’s colour scheme doesn’t jump out at me in the least. Black, red and white, nothing spectacular. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a big fan of black on sports jerseys. I prefer more colour. I grew up a big sports fan in the ’90s when what seemed like every team in every league adopted black into their jerseys. The Cougars’ logo underwent its third major overhaul since the franchise moved to Northern B.C., and I think this is best logo they’ve had yet. At first I didn’t like the cougar head so much as I found it to be somewhat childlike in its creation, but it has grown on me. It looks great on the jersey, directly incorporating the main colour of the jersey, flowing right into the cougar head in the “C.” To me the jersey would be better without the wordmarks underneath the logo. Make the logo a bit bigger, lose the wordmarks. The piping on the jersey is the new style that we’ve seen recently and I do like it.
PF – I personally love the concept of the jersey’s logo here. The inverted C created out of the cougar’s head really makes a statement about the COUGARS. I agree the colour scheme here is not my favorite but they did do a good job of using the colours they have.
SS – As someone who grew up watching the Victoria Cougars play, I’m partial to the old-school colour scheme and logo. I never really liked the various jersey updates the Cougars made over the years in Prince George, but I think they’ve connected on a pretty good look with their latest jerseys. Like Mike and Paul, I think it’s cool how the primary color of the jersey flows to create the Cougar head in the “C.” I don’t think the wording under the logo is necessary, but overall I think it’s a sharp look.
Kelowna Rockets
photos courtesy of kelownarockets.com
MT – I like the Rockets’ colours. Yeah, they’ve got black, but the red and teal really pop out against the black. This is one of the teams for which I really like the dark jersey and don’t really like the white counterpart much. The red and teal just don’t jump out on the white the way they do on the black. The Rockets adopted the Ogopogo logo in 2000, changing from the simple “Rockets” wordmark on a diamond that we saw them wear as a 20th-anniversary primary jersey last season. I like teams to have an actual logo, not just a wordmark. I know the Ogopogo has absolutely nothing to do with a rocket, but it has everything to do with Kelowna. Have the Ogopogo riding a rocket for a logo and you’ve absolutely appealed to the kid in me. The lines of the new piping are on the jersey, as they are with all teams, but they’ve decided not to contrast them the way many other teams do. The way they’ve contrasted the colours lends more to the older style of jersey.
PF – I’m not a fan of the Ogopogo logo. This jersey in my opinion just isn’t “scary” or “threatening.” Maybe Ogopogo needs to have some fire breathing or some sharp fangs or teeth or horns or something. I just find this jersey is more appealing to children than it speaks to the meaning behind jerseys, which to me is meant to strike fear in the opponent. The colour scheme does work as it makes the teal pop out at you. I think there were more things that could have been done to this jersey to create a real winner here and they just missed the mark. I’m not as heavy on the details as other people but besides the teal it just doesn’t do it.
SS – The Ogopogo logo is a bit goofy, but I’ve always liked the colour scheme. I prefer the 20th-anniversary jerseys they wore last year, but that’s probably a nostalgia thing as I remember watching the Tacoma Rockets often as a teenager. Anything is better than their dreadful red third jerseys, though.
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Polls will be open from 12:00 noon Pacific time on Wednesdays until the following Wednesday.
