Wednesday: More Goalie Pads

Hello folks!  Last week I talked about Veini Vehvilainen's red goalie pads, today I'm going to talk about six NHL goalies and their unique equipment.

(Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)

Easily the biggest name on this list, two-time Stanley Cup champion Corey Crawford switched to black equipment this season.  I'm hoping that his success might inspire more goalies to switch to non-white equipment.  Look how good they look.

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Crawford's back-up goalie Scott Darling also uses mainly black equipment.  These pads might be my favourite in the NHL this season, however last year his pads were even better.

(Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/NHLI via Getty Images)

Another contender for best goalie gear this season is Brian Elliott with his solid blue set.  These are actually inspired by what Curtis Joseph wore with the Blues in the 90's.

(Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)

This list wouldn't be complete without Jonas Hiller and his Koho equipment.  He is the only goalie in the NHL to use Koho gear, although maybe more goalies should because these look good.

(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

I miss Eddie Lack.  Why couldn't Jim Benning trade Miller instead.  Anyways, at least he looks good with his new team.  Yes his pads are white, but they make this list because of the awesome use of the Hurricanes logo as a design element.  Brian's has been making some great custom goalie gear lately.

(Photo by Scott Rovak/NHLI via Getty Images)

Another goalie using custom Brian's gear is Garret Sparks of the Maple Leafs.  He made headlines earlier this season by getting a shutout in his NHL debut, all while wearing Trevor Kidd inspired throwback pads.

Are there any other noteworthy pads in the NHL right now?  Let me know in the comments.

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Here are the All-Star Game Competition entries that have come in since the last post...

Hayden D:

Tyler K:

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Now it's time for a voting reminder.  As 1980's ParticipACTION would say...

Don't just think about it. Do it! Do it! Do it!

4th QTR vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

COTW Jan 10-16 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

All-Star Game entries (due Friday @ 10:59pm Eastern)

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Prince George Cougars, by Phil B:

We begin with Phil's entry into the recent Cougars Redesign Competition.  The sublimated stripes on the upper arm area is a cool feature, and I think it works well on the white jersey, but I think it needs to be more subtle on the red jersey.  I also think the arm stripes would be better if they were less angled.  The shoulder yoke is also intriguing, I can't remember another yoke with both an outline and stripes.  I like the yoke, but I think it would be improved if the stripes were slightly thicker.
Rating:  7/10

Buffalo Sabres, by Alan S:

Some people think the Sabres should emphasise the Sabre part of the name more than the Buffalo part.  Those people should be happy with this concept as Alan gets rid of the buffalo completely.  I like the Blackhawks-Stadium-Series inspired striping pattern, which is also kind of a new take on the Sabres original jerseys.  The crest on the front is cool with the numbers above the sabres, it reminds me of the captains patches on their (now former) third jersey.  I don't think the roundel logo (shown below the jerseys) works without the buffalo though, it looks too empty.  The execution is very good for the most part, but the arm-stripes and numbers should be tilted slightly so they're perpendicular to the angle of the sleeve.
Rating:  7/10

Minnesota Timberwolves, by Jay S:

What would the Timberwolves look like as a hockey team?  Jay gives us a possible answer here.  I like the arm design on all three jerseys, it's a good way to translate the side panels on their real jerseys to a hockey jersey.  I think the hem stripes on the home and road would be improved with a little grey added.  The pants with the third jersey appear to be inspired by the basketball team's sleeved jerseys, however the design on the side panels on those uniforms create M's and W's for obvious reasons, the design on these pants look more like V's.  The only execution error I see are the sleeve numbers on the blue jersey, the opening in the 9 is missing.
Rating:  7/10

Vancouver Canucks, by Matt G:

Have I mentioned the Canucks are my favourite team?  I'd be a happy Canucks fan if they used the jerseys Matt created for this concept.  My favourite part of this concept is that the orca is gone (die, orca, die), replaced by the two Johnny Canuck logos.  I'd love it if the Canucks used Johnny full-time.  I'm also okay with using their current third jersey's striping pattern, even though I personally prefer the striping pattern from the Canucks current primary jerseys (I prefer when blue and green don't touch each other).  Bringing back the 90's jersey would be a very popular choice in Vancouver, and I even like all the changes made to that jersey, the solid yellow numbers look particularly nice.  The only thing I dislike here is the cut-off pant stripe.  Maybe try that for a team like the Panthers instead, no one watches their games anyways.
Rating:  8/10

Gatineau Olympiques, by Alan H:

Alan brings back the Olympiques former colour scheme for this concept, and who knew purple and orange could look so good together?  I think the key to this colour scheme is the minimal use of black, too much would look bad, no black would also look bad, this concept uses the perfect amount.  Having said that, maybe the stripes could be a tad thicker, they look too thin right now.  The logo outlines could be thicker as well, but overall I really like the logo.  I also like the striping pattern, the side panels work well with the logo and colour scheme, and I like that all three jersey uses the same design.
Rating:  8/10

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That's all folks!