It is officially October, which means it is time for Conceptober. Every October, Conceptober challenges designers to create a new concept design based on a different prompt each day. For me, that means spending the month creating hockey jersey concepts and other hockey-related designs. Each day brings a new prompt, and the goal is to take that prompt and turn it into something unique while still making the design feel like it could realistically exist. For Conceptober Day 1, the prompt was simply “NHL.” With such a broad starting point, I decided to focus on the team that currently sits at the top of the NHL: the Carolina Hurricanes, the reigning Stanley Cup Champions. For this concept, I wanted to create something that connected directly to the Hurricanes’ 2026 Stanley Cup championship. Rather than simply creating another alternate jersey using the team’s traditional colors and logos, I decided to take inspiration from the 2026 championship banner that the Hurricanes raised at the start of the new NHL season. The championship banner provided an opportunity to create a jersey that felt like a celebration of the team’s most recent accomplishment while still connecting to the visual history of the franchise.
The foundation of the jersey is inspired by the Carolina Hurricanes’ 2019–2025 away jersey. That jersey featured one of the more recognizable visual elements in Hurricanes history: the pattern running across the design. What makes that pattern particularly interesting is that it isn’t something exclusive to one era of Hurricanes uniforms. The pattern can be traced all the way back to the team’s first season in 1997. It has become an important part of the visual identity of the Hurricanes and is one of those design elements that immediately connects the franchise to its history. For this Conceptober design, I wanted to take that familiar pattern and connect it directly to the team’s 2026 championship. The same style of pattern can also be seen on the 2026 Stanley Cup championship banner, making it a natural design element to carry over into the jersey. The color scheme was also taken from the championship banner. Instead of simply using the standard Hurricanes color palette, I wanted the colors of the jersey to match the banner and make the connection between the championship celebration and the jersey much more obvious. One of the biggest changes on the front of the jersey is the logo. Instead of using the traditional Hurricanes logo, I created a single “C” logo for the front. The C uses the same pattern found throughout the jersey, helping it feel like an integrated part of the overall design rather than simply placing an existing logo on top of a new uniform. The C itself was taken from the Hurricanes’ “CANES” wordmark logo. I isolated the C from that wordmark and turned it into the primary mark for this concept. There is also a little bit of Hurricanes history behind that decision. A single C has never appeared on a Hurricanes jersey as the primary front logo. The letter does, however, appear as part of the team’s Stormy logo, so the concept isn’t completely disconnected from the franchise’s existing visual identity. That made the single C an interesting direction to explore. It gives the jersey something that feels new while still being directly connected to the Hurricanes’ existing branding. For the shoulders, I decided to use the Hurricanes’ primary logo. This keeps the jersey recognizable as a Carolina Hurricanes design while allowing the new C logo and championship-inspired pattern to take center stage on the front. The combination of the C, the championship-inspired colors, the classic Hurricanes pattern and the primary shoulder logos creates a design that is meant to feel like a special championship-era jersey rather than a complete departure from the team’s identity.
I am a little late getting this first Conceptober concept out, but I am officially getting started. The good news is that I have plenty more concepts planned for the month. I will be getting more Conceptober concepts out today, and my goal is to get all of my Conceptober designs published throughout October. There are plenty of different prompts to work through, and I am looking forward to seeing how each one translates into a hockey jersey or related concept design. And this is only Day 1. Next up is a PWHL concept. Stay tuned to zacelectrifly.com throughout October as I continue working through Conceptober and bringing more hockey jersey concepts and designs to the site.
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