Wednesday: Red Goalie Pads

Hello folks!  It's Wednesday January 13th, and you know what that means.  Actually I don't know what that means.  Does it mean anything?  Anyways, let's move on...

Photo by Andre Ringuette/HHOF-IIHF Images, from worldjunior2016.com

So I was watching the World Junior's the other day, Finland was on, and something caught my eye about their goalie Veini Vehvilainen.  He was wearing bright red goalie pads, and for some reason I loved them.  Normally I'd hate non-matching pads, but in this case I thought they looked awesome.  I think part of the reason I liked them is that Finland's Olympic jerseys had some red (and other past jerseys have as well), so it's a colour with some ties to Finland.  Another reason might be that most goalies wear white gear nowadays, so any gear that isn't white is a refreshing change (it's noteworthy that these pads weren't a design choice on his part, just his pads from his regular team).

What do you think about his red pads?  Am I crazy or did they actually look good?  Let me know in the comments.

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

Voting.  It's always important, but especially this time of year.  If you don't vote, you're just a being a nincompoop.  Don't be a nincompoop.  Vote!

COTY-December vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

COTW Jan 3-9 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

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

San Jose Sharks, by Lucas D:

We'll begin with a Sharks concept with a gradient-ish striping pattern, likely inspired by their shark-fin logo.  I think this style of striping could work great for the Sharks, but right now it looks upside down to me.  In the water, the deeper you go the darker it gets, and I think this concept would be better with the darker stripes on the bottom.  Also, the middle shade of teal looks too bright.  Execution is good, although the back numbers look a little small.  Overall, this concept is just a few changes away from being great.
Rating:  7/10

California Golden Bears, by Mario A:

If my Googling skills are correct, this team currently uses both the Predators gold jersey combined with the Sabres blue jersey.  Here Mario gives them a matching set based off of the Sabres "Buffaslug" jerseys.  This concept is unique, and I like seeing people try something new, but I don't think it works in this case.  The main problem is that the white jersey isn't white enough.  If you were looking at the player from the side, you wouldn't see any white, and that would cause confusing.  I think keeping the shoulder areas the same colour as the jersey would help solve that problem.
Rating:  6/10

2016 ECHL Winter Classic, by Vaughn R:

Vaughn's Winter Classic series continues today with an ECHL matchup between the Atlanta Gladiators and Brampton Beast.  The Gladiators jersey is great, the logo, striping pattern, and fonts all work perfectly with the Winter Classic theme.  The Brampton jersey isn't as good in my opinion.  The striping pattern is good, and I like the sleeve numbers in the arm-stripes, but I think the logo and back numbers are too modern for a Winter Classic jersey (the back numbers are also off-center).
Rating:  7/10

Colorado College, by Ben S:

This concept walks into a bar, and the bartender asks "Why the long yoke?", ba-dum ching (I'm sorry, that was a really lame joke).  I actually like the yoke, it's unique and it doesn't look bad either.  Using the wordmark on the front is a good choice considering their primary logo is so ugly.  The execution is also good, although the back numbers are a bit off-center and slightly too far apart.  Overall though it's a very solid concept, I have no real complaints.
Rating:  8/10

Toronto Maple Leafs, by Peter L:

Another week, another Maple Leafs redesign concept.  Peter also goes with a T inside of a leaf for the logo, but his version has a modern twist.  Once again I like the idea of a T inside a leaf, but I'm a bit unsure of the bevelled leaf.  It's a good logo, however it just feels too modern for a 100 year old franchise.  My feelings on the secondary logo are the same, it's a good logo, but just too modern for the Leafs.  I do like the wordmark and typography though, those are just the right amount of modern (I'd buy the hat with the wordmark if it was real, and I'm not even a Leafs fan).  I also like the sublimated pattern, but I think more striping is needed on the jerseys, the pattern isn't enough on it's own.  Lastly, the presentation of this concept is amazing, it looks like this was made by a professional design firm.
Rating:  9/10

2015 All-Star Game Logos, by Avi S:

To end today's post we'll travel back in time a year with a concept logo for the 2015 All-Star Game.  After seeing this concept, I forgot what the real logo looked like.  Really, this concept looks so good that I couldn't picture what the NHL actually used.  Every detail of this logo is well thought out and looks great, I especially like the flying puck.  The wordmark logo is perfect as well.  Someone needs to invent a time-machine, because this logo is too good not to be used.
Rating:  10/10 and a COTW nomination!

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

That's all folks!