Friday: My Favourite Masks

It's snowing!  At least it's snowing where I live, I don't know if it's snowing where you live.  Anyways, I'm going to do something a bit different for the intro today, it's going to be mostly pictures without many words.  The topic of this odd-ball intro is, my favourite goalies masks in today's NHL!

(Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)

I love the glow-in-the-dark gimmick of Ben Bishop's masks (plural, he has one for each jersey), and they look nice with the lights turned on as well.

(Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images)

I talked about Corey Crawford's two matching masks a bit last week, but they deserve to be on this list as well, as I think the headdress design is very sharp.

(Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Shark's backup goalie, Aaron Dell, has a scary looking monster (with very big teeth) on his mask.

(Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)

I think the matte finish of Michael Hutchinson mask looks great.  The overall design is nice as well, and I like the white trim underneath the cage.

(Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

Carter Hutton has an interesting half-and-half mask, on his right hand side is a mean looking animal (monster?) skull, while on his left hand side the skull is covered up a broken up old goalie mask.

(Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

As a Canucks fan I might be biased, but I have both Vancouver goalies on this list.  Jacob Markstrom recently switched to this mask, which is painted to look like an old school goalie mask.  I really like the cracks added to vintage mask.

(Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)

I'm also a big fan of Ryan Miller's mask, which is inspired by First Nations totem poles from here in the Pacific Northwest.

(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Jonathan Quick's mask is a classic not only because he's kept it the same for so long, but also because it's simply a very nice design.

Feel free to share your own favourite goalie masks in the comment section below.

--------------------------------------------------

The deadline for the COTY Logo Competition was today at noon Eastern, which mean these are the final entries...

Brendan P:

Zeke G:

--------------------------------------------------

This upcoming week will have four votes!  FOUR!  The COTY-November, regular COTW, and COTY Logo Competition polls will most likely go live late this evening, while week five of "The Season" will be part of tomorrow's post.

COTY-November vote (ends next Friday @ noon Eastern)

COTW Dec 2-8 vote (ends next Friday @ noon Eastern)

COTY Logo vote (ends next Friday @ noon Eastern)

--------------------------------------------------

Topeka RoadRunners, by Ben M:

The Roadrunners currently wear jerseys similar to the Blue Jackets, but Ben takes them in a different direction here by ditching blue and emphasizing vegas gold.  The use of vegas gold as the main colour is my favourite part of this concept, it's something unique that you don't see very often.  My least favourite part of this concept are the colours for the back name and numbers, they'd be much easier to read if they were red.  The sleeve numbers are good, except none of the second number should be visible.

Ben re-introduces blue for the alternate jersey, which is based off of the old Kansas City Scouts jersey.  Besides the logo, the only noticeable change is with the colours, which I think make a big difference.  This jersey was a bit garish when the Scouts wore it, but it looks much better with vegas gold and navy blue.
Rating: 7/10

2017 Centennial Classic, by Justin N:

Next up, Justin shows us how the Centennial Classic could look if they ditched the silver and used true vintage jerseys.  The Leafs jersey is still inspired by the St. Pats, it's just a much more accurate (and in my opinion better) representation of that jersey, with the added white hem, cuffs, and collar.  I also like the silhouette Leaf and the Arenas' T logos, and the retro canvas pants are great as well.  The Wings jersey is also similar to their actual Centennial Classic jersey, but with some key improvements.  Those improvements include ditching the silver, using vintage logos, adding stitching to the numbers, and removing a hem stripe.  The only change I'd make would be to use red sleeve numbers (with a white outline).  Also, the JN initials are backwards next to the Wings jersey.
Rating: 9/10

Lethbridge Hurricanes, by Brooks F:

Last but not least, Brooks continues his CHL ReDesign with a concept for the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who could really use a look to call their own (instead of copying the Capitals).  This would be a great option for them, the swooping chest stripe is unique, it looks good, and it fits their "Hurricane" theme.  I also really like the half-and-half road jersey, especially since with the swooping stripe it stands out from other half-and-half concepts.  The third jersey is top-notch as well, the striping pattern is nice and classic, but the small amount of silver give it a slight modern feel as well.  My only suggestion (and I hate recommending less unique equipment), is that the third jersey would look better with blue pants (in my opinion).
Rating: 9/10 and my COTW nomination!

--------------------------------------------------

That's all folks for this week folks, I'll see you again in seven days (I promise I won't talk about goalie equipment again next week).