On May 9, 2007, I had the silly idea to start a blog about hockey logos. I logged on to Blogger and opened an account. Over the last five years, the site has expanded beyond anything I would've ever expected, averaging a half-million page views every month as more than 2,000 individual readers log on every day.

It's humbling, to say the least. So... thank you all.

The Icethetics Jersey Design Contest

To celebrate Icethetics' 5th birthday, let's do something quintessentially Icethetics. Let's design a jersey!

In March, I launched a contest to design an Icethetics jersey. If all goes as planned, the winning design will actually be available for you to purchase! I asked readers to make some suggestions for what elements should be included in the design. Now I'm ready to start taking your submissions.

If you already have an idea, get started! If you'd like some direction based on fan feedback, read on. Here are some of the suggestions you might consider:

• Modern, "out there" —black[box]
• Traditional feel with something that distinguishes it from any NHL jersey —Zack
• Twitter avatar as the shoulder patch; wordmark on the front —Ryan H.
• No wordmark on the front; Icethetics needs a mascot! —Sean
• No black, no baby blue, no lace-up collar, no circle logo —Brandon & Drew

Really just be creative! There are no rules to this contest. If you want a template, try this one, but you are free to submit your design in any format you desire. I think we all just want to see the best jersey design you could possibly create. If you care to read any of the other feedback, you're welcome to it.

But the best things aren't designed by committee. They're designed by an individual with a vision. The only thing I would suggest is that you stick with the existing color scheme of the website: teal, brown, orange and beige. Other than that, it's all up to you. If you want to redesign the logo or come up with an original crest, go for it!

Disclaimer: I do need to point out one thing from the start. If you submit a design to this competition, you are giving Icethetics permission to create and sell jerseys based upon it. More importantly, don't expect to get a cut of sales or anything like that. I won't even be taking anything from it. Think of it as a fun way of creating something that we can all share.

Since I don't want this competiton to take away from the IceHL North Division jersey design contest, I'm setting a long deadline. You have until June 17 to submit your work to me by email (there's a red Gmail button at the top of the page). That's nearly six weeks to come up with something awesome. And you may submit as many designs as you'd like. I can't guarantee they'll all be included in the voting process, but all will be considered.

I'm excited to see what you guys come up with to celebrate Icethetics' 5th anniversary.