Hamilton Goes Nuts And Bolts

There was a pile of news that happened today across this great country when it came to sports radio, but I don't want to dwell on the negative brought on by Rogers Communications and their buffoonery. Instead, I want to head down the road from Toronto to one of the cities that make up the Greater Toronto Area - the GTA - in the southeast portion of Ontario. For as muc as Hamiltonians will tell anyone that they're different in all walks of life compared to Torontonians, they still occupy space in the GTA. Like Toronto, though, they're now an AHL city once again as the Hamilton Hammers will begin play this season. Today, we got to see their jerseys!

I want it on record that I still hate the team name. I'm not here to win any points with Hamilton or its fans, though, so seeing the rest of the jerseys could potentially improve the logo's overall aesthetic or it could drag them down to 1994 levels of hate like the Islanders' Fisherman jerseys got. So what do they look like, you ask?

The design isn't actually that bad if I'm being honest. Simple arm and hem striping keep the hockey sweater look alive, there's good contrast with that horrific logo, and the numbers are easily readable. I'm not a fan of the drawstring necklines anymore, but I don't see a lot of problems here with the Hammers' jersey. The absence of the shoulder yoke isn't even a problem as it allows that solid blue colour to really stand out against the white ice in arenas, so I think the Hammers and, by proxy, the Islanders did a fairly good job here by keeping it simple. There's no wave jersey template, so it's not like they're going to get Fisherman hate spewed at them.

The back of the jersey is just as clean in its design with easily-readable block letting for the name and a standard block font for the number. The two-colour sewing allows the blue to pop with a little more colour from the orange outline, so that works nicely. I'm not fan of the AHL and CCM logos in the middle of the hemstripe as that's all sorts of gaudy and self-aggrandizing, especially when you consider that CCM's logo is already on the neckline as well. If the league dropped the AHL logo back down to the bottom of the jersey and eliminated the second CCM logo, things would improve drastically for the back of the Hammers' jerseys. Because that they don't allow me to do AHL corporate deals, my opinion is simply that the logos look terrible placed where they are.

Hamilton likely won't look bad next season when they take the ice as long as no one is focused on their logo. These are clean, simple jerseys that look like traiditonal hockey sweaters, and that's a good start to the Hammers' legacy in Hamilton. They aren't going to move a lot of jerseys because they have catchy colours or an awesome design, but the Hammers will look like a hockey team anytime they wear their jerseys. That's a win despite the logo on the front.

Should Hamilton be wearing colours that aren't the same scheme as the New York Islanders? Yes, absolutely. However, the limited scope of their colours works well in this design, so here's hoping the Hammers can rise to the occasion in spite of their logo. They aren't flashy, but they're the nuts and bolts of what a hockey jersey should look like.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!