HawkeyHouse

Want to run across this bridge with me?

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 21:13:53 -0400

Want to run across this bridge with me?

Welcome to Chicago Johnny Oduya!

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:46:21 -0500

Today the Chicago Blackhawks fulfilled my demand by adding another defensemen. Thirty year old Johnny Oduya began his hockey career in the J20 SuperElit, then bounced between a few European and Junior teams including the two teams in the QJMHL; Moncton Wildcats and Victoriaville Tigers, back to Hammarby IF, Djurgårdens IF and finally Frölunda HC before making his first apperence with the New Jersey Devils in the 2006-2007 season where he played three more season and was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers. Some might say giving up a 2013 2nd-round pick & 2013 3rd-round pick might of been to much. The Hawks might have traded away more value than would he is worth, but in the end hes here, and the team needs help on the blueline.

Hawks to Bring Back Old Alternate Sweater?

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:15:00 -0500

Just a few days ago Icethetics posted their NHL Jersey Watch for 2012. Reports say the black jersey from 2008 will make its return. I have been a fan of this jersey and was sort of disappointed when they used the Winter Classic jersey in replace of this design. I personally think the logo is the best thing about the Blackhawks design, followed by the color scheme. The circle logo from the Winter Classic wasn’t that good, and the design was pretty basic and I have seen it already. Wasn’t anything that stuck out to me. What I did like was the main color being black. I really like the team in black. I hope Icethetics is right and this happens next year.

heartthepens: The mascots all came out before the skills comp....

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:51:45 -0500

heartthepens:

The mascots all came out before the skills comp. and played a quick game. They took a group shot after and of course Carlton would pose in the opposite direction.

#NHL All-Star Skills Competition Events

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:03:05 -0500

Five players from each team will compete, one rookie per team, a goalie, and three All-Stars, one of which will be skating backwards. That is always fun to watch, as well as the Goalies skating, wounder who will crash first? A point is awarded to the winner of the race, and one to the team who won the event.

Three skaters will be compete against the opposite teams goalie. One rookie and two All-Stars will compete against a goalie. One point is awarded to the shooter with the highest fan votes. Each skater will attempt 3 shots. This will be a fun event to watch, since the players add some skill and are less serious than they would be in a regular game shootout.

Four players will compete, three All-Stars and one rookie, as well as four passers for each team. Five points are available, with the winner receiving the point. This is where the snipers shine. I’m always amazed at the players who hit the targets in 4-5 shots. Hell if someone does it in 3 shots I’ll become a fan of that player forever.

The Skills Challenge consists of five different events, One timers, Passing, Puck Control, Stick Handling, and Accuracy shooting. One timers have three shooters, and 1 passer. Each shooter needs to score three goals. The next event is Passing, where one passer needs to pass the puck into each of the six nets. Puck Control Relay consists of one skater who will skate through a series of cones. Stick Handling consists of one skater who will attempt to control the puck through a series of pucks. Finally the Accuracy Shooting event returns with one shooter per team who must hit four targets. This is my second favorite event, by the time this starts, fans are pretty excited. The competitive spirit comes out in all of the players in this event.

Four players from each team will attempt their hardest shot. Five points available, with the winner of each match being awarded the point. Last year we had Chara destroy this event, then in the KHL he was outdone. Lets see if he can beat that. I would hate to be a goalie with these shots coming at me.

This is my favorite event, 11 All-Stars, one Rookie and three Goalies from each team, with a goal scored counting as one point. Shooters that score move onto the next round with the event ending with all shooters being stooped by the goaltenders.

Congrats to all the players making the #NHLASG

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:00:05 -0500

All-Star Weekend is coming quicker than you might think. It is the beginning of the month, and just about the beginning of classes for some of you. The month might drag on for some, and go by fast for others. With just six games left on the schedule till the All Star Break, the Blackhawks surely are ready for a little break. With Patrick Sharp hurt, a break is much appreciated from my eyes. But for three players, their break will be spent in Ottawa. Jonathon Toews and Patrick Kane will appear in their 3rd All-Star Games, and Marian Hossa will make his 5th appearance. Hossa will make a return to the city that drafted him as a young lad. Their will be no one representing the Blackhawks Blue Line this year, instead Dustin Byfuglien and Brian Campbell will be their instead. I know I am asking for a lot hoping that Toews, Kane, Hossa, Campbell and Byfuglien make it on the same team, but that would be awesome.

The Senators are well represented, and the fans sure did vote a ton during the Fan Voting. Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Milan Michalekm and Erik Karlsson all made it in to represent the home team. Toronto’s Dion Phaneuf and Bostons Tim Thomas also made it in during the fan voting. But you should know that by now, if not than yay I helped you learn!

Theres a few players on here that I am happy to see during the game. Claude Giroux, Steven Stamkos, and Phil Kessel mostly. Those three deserve it the most out of the whole list.

The entertainment starts Thursday January 26th at 7PM CST with the Fantasy Draft, the skills competition Saturday January 28th at 6PM CST and finally the NHL All-Star Game is Sunday January 29th at 3PM CST in Ottawa. You can catch the All-Star events on the all new NBC Sports Network, as well as TSN and other channels.

World Juniors Stats for the Blackhawks Prospects

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:44:03 -0500

The World Juniors are over, Sweden won Gold in OT vs the Silver Medalist Russia, and Canada beat Finland for Bronze. The good news about this for Blackhawks fans would be Sweden winning gold. The Blackhawks had three Swedish players in the tournament. Swedish Center Joakim Nordstrom had a total of 4 goals and 1 assist with a +6 rating. While Winger Ludvig Rensfeldt had 1 goal and 5 assists with a +2 rating. Goaltender Johan Mattsson did not participate in a game. On the American side Blueliner Adam Clendening had 1 goal and 4 assists with a +2 rating. While his linemate Stephen Johns had 1 goal and 1 assist with an even rating. Winger Brandon Saad had 1 goal and 5 assists with a +8 rating.

Outdoor Hockey, My Favorite!

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:12:51 -0500

The new year is quickly approaching and that means the Bridgestone Winter Classic. This year we have the Philadelphia Flyers vs the New York Rangers at Citizens Bank Park in the City of Brotherly Love, also know as Philadelphia. They will clash on January 2nd. This is the Flyers second Winter Classic and the Rangers first. The Flyers lost their first Winter Classic to the Boston Bruins and then went on the play the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Four days later on the same ice in the same ballpark, the Adirondack Phantoms will take on the Hershey Bears in the first AHL Outdoor Classic of the year. Just a day after the Outdoor Classic the Frozen Fenway starts up in Boston. Seven games will be played in Boston between the 7th and the 14th of January. Vermont Catamounts take on the UMass Minutemen and New Hampshire Wildcats vs Maine Black Bears on the 7th. January 10th the ladies take to the ice with Providence Frairs and the Darthmouth Big Green. A few days later on the 13th two games will be played first match up is Babson Beavers vs Norwich Cadets and the second is Harvard Crimson vs Union Dutchmen. Finally on the 14th the High Schoolers get a shot on the ice with BCHS Eagles vs Catholic Memorial Knights and then the finale matchup includes Boston College Eagles and the Northeastern Huskies. The following day on January 15th Michigan Wolverines take on Ohio State at Progressive Field om the Frozen Diamond Faceoff. That leaves up with the last outdoor game in North American with another AHL Outdoor Classic takes place in Hamilton where the Toronto Marlies battle the Hamilton Bulldogs. That is a good chunk of outdoor hockey

I have a few pros and cons I’d like to throw out there. First the cons, which I can’t really think of many, well only one actually, that would be the weather. Its unpredictable and when it rains, it sucks. Last year the Capitals and Penguins game was slightly ruined with the rain. This year the weather looks to be good, but I don’t believe the forecasts and I’ll be disappointed if it rains in Philly. Now for the pros, everyone loves Outdoor hockey, brings the game back to its roots and when it flurries during the game, its looks beautiful. I also love new sweaters and every year we get to see new ones made for the outdoor games.

Now lets all have a safe and fun New Years Eve, don’t drink yourself into a coma and make sure to turn your tv on to NBC on January 2nd.

Photo

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 03:52:07 -0500

Heritage Hockey Concepts (Incomplete Set)

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:56:46 -0500

The idea behind this set came a few months earlier. I already posted v1 on a concept forum, with a good amount of views. I always am not pleased with anything I make, and this is the outcome. Here is v2 of my Heritage Hockey Uniforms. If you have any questions about the concepts just ask. I had most of the designs complete, but sadly I crashed and lost a good chunk of work, including an amazing St. Louis Blues uniform.

Blackhawks Logo Manipulation Wallpaper. If you like it and want...

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:41:12 -0500

Blackhawks Logo Manipulation Wallpaper.

If you like it and want a re-size for your monitor, let me know.

NBC Sports Network, I Can Dream Right?

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 11:31:06 -0500

January 2nd can’t come any sooner. Not only will we be able to watch a fierce rivalry during this years Winter Classic between the Flyers and Rangers, but Versus TV gets a makeover. Versus will now be know as the NBC Sports Network. NBC Sports recently, as in a while ago, bought Versus and started to transition the network into their own. They began to use the NBC Sports scoreboard overlays during all of the games seen on Versus and the NBC personalities began appearing on Versus in new shows like NBC Sports Talk and a show we haven’t seen yet, NHL 36. That will air on Wednesday, December 14th with Patrick Kane being featured on the first episode. Right now I don’t know much about the show, I’ll just wait and see what its all about when I tune it. There will be other shows like Pro Sports Talk, College Football Talk, NFL Turning Point and more. On top of that NHL games will continue to be shown on the channel. Something I am very happy for. Thats everything I know so far, if you know more let me know. (@HawkeyHouse on twitter)

I know theres a group of people out there that want ESPN to crumble a bit, and give way for another network to rise up. Some hoped Versus would be able to accomplish that, while others hopes CBS Sports, Fox Sports or NBC Sports thought they would step it up. Me, I personally didn’t care who would step up. I just wanted another sports network to watch. Now that NBC bought Versus, I have more hope. I’m not saying I hate ESPN, I just wish they broadcasted equally between all the sports and leagues. I feel like the only love the NHL got was from PTI and SportsNation, and that wasn’t even much. Colin always cried like a baby when Michelle would talk about hockey. He tried to learn, but I wasn’t feel it.

Now the NHL and hockey might have a chance to get up there in viewers in the United States. ESPN has some great shows on TV, like SportsCenter, SportsNation, PTI, E60 and others. This is what I want to see from the network. Currently NBC has Sports Talk to compete with SportsCenter. A sports show or maybe even more for every major league, or major sport (Football, Hockey, Baseball, Basketball and Soccer) would be a great idea. Feed the whole fanbase with their own show. Thats important, but what is even more important to me is the games. Sign deals to get more sporting events that people actually want to watch on the Sports Network.

Social networks are huge now a days. Versus tried it with The Daily Line, which I think most people watched because they wanted to talk to Jenn Sterger on her webcam. Show was canceled in no time with no real following. It would be nice to have a talk show like that again on this channel, but do it much better. Incorporate the fans into it and make us feel like we are part of the show. Twitter, Facebook. Use social networking to your advantage NBC. And bring in some better personalities. Eddie O would be great during an NHL portion of the show.

Four Conference Changes ( #NHLRealignment )

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:00:05 -0500

Last night the NHL Governors sat down and took approximately one hour to settle on the terms to fix the issues that several teams posed to the league. A radical new four conference league was set into place, two conferences would have 8 teams while two conferences would have 7 teams. Heres a rundown of the conferences.

Conference A: Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose, and Vancouver.

Conference B: Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis and Winnipeg.

Conference C: Boston, Buffalo, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, and Toronto.

Conference D: Carolina, Long Island, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington.

Want a closer look? Read this then. Conference A is a mash up of most of the teams from the Pacific and Northwest Divisions. Minnesota and Dallas both were suited better in a conference with teams from the central time zone. Leaving the two divisions and heading to the midwest with Chicago and the other Central Division teams, Winnipeg also joins them making their move from the Southeast. Conference D, yes I’m skipping C for now, is pretty cool. Keeping the Pennsylvania teams together was a great idea, as well as the New York teams around the NYC area. Throwing Washington into the mix betters the rivalry they have with Pittsburgh, and Ovechkin’s rivalry with Kovalchuk. Then that leaves Carolina to add to the mix. Then we have Conference C, the conference that looks the worst geologically placed with Tampa Bay and Sunrise playing teams from the Northeast like Boston and Buffalo, and big name Canadian teams, like Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. Maybe more of Florida might care about hockey now.

If you read my last article I wrote about how many games each team would play one another. I was close with my numbers, but I was wrong in the end. My plan for five games being played between each Original Six team came short. Instead every team will play a home and home and play every team in the league. That is good enough for me giving the Blackhawks at least two games versus Boston, Montreal, New York and Toronto.

That is the easiest thing to understand from this radical change. But it gets a bit more difficult to comprehend with the playoffs. I really haven’t gotten a full grasp of it, nor have I even tried to really.

Overall, I am pretty happy with the new conference realignment. No rivalries being split up, and teams that were asking for change got their change. This also gives Phoenix the opportunity to move easier. If they wish to go to Portland or Seattle, no change is needed. If they wish to go to Quebec City, its an easy change. The only issue if they do somehow go to Kansas City, a bigger change would need to occur, but It shouldn’t be too difficult. Just send Columbus to one of the conferences on the East Coast, just because Chicago still wants to play Detroit.. Right?

#NHLRealignment Talks (Am I thinking to hard?)

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 16:22:39 -0500

With Realignment talks just around the corner I decided to take the time to write a blog about the situation. If you’re to lazy or busy to read the scribble I write, at least read what I wrote after the If. Yes its in bold, you can find it. Its all about how many games should be played.

One proposed divisional realignment plan is having four divisions, and two conferences. Winnipeg obviously shouldn’t be in the Southeast Division anymore, and the idea to put Detroit in the Southeast Division is very stupid. The plan for the Western Conference would be Columbus, Winnipeg, Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, St Louis and Minnesota in one division, while Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Colorado in another division. I agree, well mostly, with this plan. I really wish Detroit would stay in the Western Conference, but I think they will get what they want in the end and Detroit will go to the Eastern Conference and Columbus wil stay in the Western Conference.

I like what they did with the Eastern Conference. Detroit, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Boston in one division while New York, Long Island, New Jersey, Washington, Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Florida in the other division. Theres a plan going around that would split up the Pittsburgh teams and put them in two divisions, something I am against doing. Why split up an inner-state rivalry like that? I have a friend from Philly and he hates Pittsburgh, just because its Pittsburgh. He doesn’t like hockey, nor is he a big sports fan. The state just has a rivalry. I sorta of expect Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to be split up though.

If you are wondering how many games they should play against their division and vs their conference, this is what I thought of. There are 82 games and right now each team plays there divisional opponents 6 times, while they play conference opponents 4 times. my Math might be wrong, I am not a mathematician.

82 games
5 games vs each divisional opponent. (35 or 30 games vs divisional opponents)
3 games vs each conference opponent. (32 or 28 games vs conference)
20 or 19 games vs other conference.

So this is what I was thinking.

8 team divisions would play 35 games vs their division, 28 games vs their conference, and 19 games vs the other conference.
7 team divisions would play 30 games vs their division, 32 games vs their conference, and 20 games vs the other conference.

There is also the issue with the Original Six teams. I believe Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York and Toronto. With Chicago being the only team in the Western Conference, they should take that into affect.

5 games played between the Original Six teams.
Eliminates 5 of the 20 games vs the other conference for Chicago.
Gets a bit more complicated for the Eastern Conference Original Six teams. Boston, Detroit, Montreal, and Toronto are all in the same division and they already play more five games versus each other.
New York gets complicated, like they always do. With already 3 games played versus Detroit, Boston, Montreal and Toronto, 8 of the games they should play versus the Western Conference would be eliminated and those 8 games would be played for the Original Six teams in the Eastern Conference.

Do you think this is fair? To Complex? Do you like it? Is there a way to make this better? Am I thinking to hard? Im done.

yourstrulyak: Crawford is JUDGING YOU

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:42:52 -0500

yourstrulyak:

Crawford is JUDGING YOU

Where do the Hawks sit after first week of ASG Voting?

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:23:00 -0500

FORWARDS
Daniel Alfredsson 131,774
Phil Kessel 128,390
Jason Spezza 117,899
Milan Michalek 108,247
Claude Giroux 97,607
Jonathan Toews 95,860
Jaromir Jagr 91,621
Patrick Kane 86,900
Sidney Crosby 74,528
Joffrey Lupul 69,584
Marian Hossa 68,442
Pavel Datsyuk 63,251
Alex Ovechkin 60,675
Daniel Sedin 58,951
Evgeni Malkin 58,646
James Neal 56,748
Henrik Sedin 52,182
Daniel Briere 50,221
Patrick Sharp 49,479
Ryan Kesler 48,576
Marian Gaborik 47,980
Steven Stamkos 47,488
Thomas Vanek 44,316
* Tyler Seguin 41,443
Henrik Zetterberg 37,256
Anze Kopitar 36,922
Joe Pavelski 36,587
Jordan Staal 36,042

DEFENSEMEN
Erik Karlsson 147,468
Zdeno Chara 110,098
Nicklas Lidstrom 108,042
Kris Letang 105,741
Dion Phaneuf 102,044
Duncan Keith 96,920
Sergei Gonchar 89,561
Brent Seabrook 78,060
Shea Weber 71,266
Chris Pronger 69,593
Kimmo Timonen 65,067
John-Michael Liles 59,554
Alexander Edler 57,261
P.K. Subban 55,517
Dan Boyle 43,300
Sheldon Souray 39,263
Brent Burns 38,450
* Dan Girardi 37,836
Drew Doughty 37,355
Niklas Kronwall 36,571

GOALIES
Tim Thomas 95,681
Marc-Andre Fleury 88,100
James Reimer 73,158
Pekka Rinne 72,235
Henrik Lundqvist 65,441
Ilya Bryzgalov 60,595
Nikolai Khabibulin 51,515
Carey Price 50,251
Roberto Luongo 49,427
Kari Lehtonen 42,527
Jonathan Quick 39,498
* Corey Crawford36,921

#MyAllStarTeam

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:02:39 -0500

Forwards

1- Jonathon Toews, Patrick Sharp, Shane Doan

2- Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Jeff Skinner

3- Eric Staal, Steven Stamkos, Anze Kopitar

4- Andrew Ladd, Phil Kessel, Jaromir Jagr

Defense

1- Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook

2- Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Letang

3- Dion Phaneuf, Jack Johnson

Goalies

1- Corey Crawford

2- Marc-Andre Fleury

NHL Alignment map with timezones.

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:04:34 -0500

NHL Alignment map with timezones.

Masks, Masks, and more Masks! (2011-2012 #NHL Mask)

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:00:00 -0400

With Halloween around the corner I decided it would be a good idea to make a post about goalie masks. Take a quick read, or look at the picture. I’d probably just look at the pictures. I just added depth to this post with words. Click on the NAME of the goalie to see the mask.

Anaheim Ducks - Jonas Hiller
Hiller, why! I don’t get it, Anaheim why do the Ducks look so ugly? Your uniforms look ugly and your goalie has a black mask with no identity. Theres nothing I like about a plain black mask. Put a logo on it atleast! Something at all! Shades of gray or white. That would word too. But straight black? No thank you!

Boston Bruins - Tim Thomas
Thomas’s mask is basically the same as last years. He asked his designer to make a similar design, but tweaks were made. Keeping nearly the same mask we saw last season. I really liked the mask last season, and with little changes I continue to like it this season. I don’t know why but I like white masks similar to design like this and the one Corey Crawford wears.

Buffalo Sabres - Ryan Miller and Jonas Enroth 2
Ryan Miller mask features one angry looking buffalo with red eyes, wait let me re-word that, big red eyes. A nice Buffalo word mark is on the chin of the mask as well. The back of the mask features the line “Miller Time”. No not the beer. Another nicely designed mask for Ryan Miller.

Jonas Enroth’s mask is as good as Ryan Miller’s mask. The wall down the center of the mask with the logos on the side of the mask.

Calgary Flames - Mikka Kiprusoff
Kiprufsoff’s fiery skull mask looks a bit intimidating. The skull and flames are nicely done and blends well. It looks like the skull is chasing Mikka. I like the Kipper wordmark across the chin.

Carolina Hurricanes - Cam Ward and Brian Boucher
Cam Ward’s mask features pirates, everyone loves pirates. Right? The pirates are pretty cool looking. The red eyes, sharp teeth and the pirate hat all are nicely done. I also like how the hand is reaching out towards us. The flames give the design a cool affect. The burns on the Hurricane logo are nicely done as well.

Brian Boucher seems to always have a cool mask. Even though its simple and its still nice looking. It’s pretty similar to his mask from his days in Philly. This time the design seems to work better in Carolina, rather than in Philadelphia.

Chicago Blackhawks - Corey Crawford and Ray Emery
Crawford is wearing the same mask as he did last season. There is a classic Blackhawks logo placed on the top and the ‘Tomahawk C’ alternative logo on the chin. There are gray and red feathers on the side of the mask and also smaller gray feathers and tomahawks throughout the design. Like I said about Tim Thomas’s mask I am a big fan of these style masks.

Emery’s new mask for the Chicago Blackhawks Looks pretty good. White looks good for the Blackhawks, Emery continues that with his new mask. The blackhawk Indian is featured on the side of the helmet. Theres not a lot going on so your focus is mostly on that. I really like the back of the helmet, probably my favorite part of the whole design. I take it thats Emery’s identity.

Update! I decided to take a look at some old Blackhawks goalies and I decided to share a few of their masks. First we have Huet, this is probably the only reason why I would miss Huet. The feathers are awesome looking, one hell of an awesome design for a Blackhawks mask. I’ll also throw inTurco’s Gargoyle masks, which are pretty unique and interesting. I found the home and road masks interesting. I personally like the white one better. There is alsoKhabibulin’s mask, another one that matches his style. We can’t forget aboutNiemi, everyone in Chicago loves Niemi. I really like his mask too, and that intense look he had in his eyes. Can’t forget that.

Colorado Avalanche - Semyon Varlamov
Varlamov’s new mask has two snow creatures, the yeti and the abdominal snowman. I really like what the artist did with the avalanche. There is depth to the snow, instead of it being all white. The top of the helmet features the Avalanche logo and snow flows over and under the logo.

Columbus Blue Jackets - Steve Mason
I really like this side of Mason’s mask with the star and the Blue Jackets logo/State Flag. Very patriotic. Then there is this side with the skull, civil war soldier, the grim reaper, a man on a horse and the black bird. The civil war design on the mask is a clever idea and designed well.

Dallas Stars - Kari Lehtonen
Lehtonen’s mask lacks green, which is something I think of when it comes to the Dallas Stars.The Texas logo is plastered on the top of the helmet. I really like the star and the vintage photographs. The vintage photographs are something new, and it looks pretty awesome.

Detroit Red Wings - Jimmy Howard
Howard’s mask has a lot to look at. What stuck out to me the most is the back of the mask. Tribute to the Wings heritage. There is also the car driving away from the city. That is a nice touch to the design. There is also the old Detroit Cougars logo on the chin and as well as #s 12, 9 and 1.

Edmonton Oilers - Nikolai Khalbibulin
Khalbibulin’s mask features his nickname, the Bulin Wall. When I first looked at the mask I was like, what? Then I remember his nickname and it hit me. Its a decent design, could of been cooler, I would of added in aspects of the Oilers.

Florida Panthers - Jose Theodore and Jacob Markstrom 2
Theodore’s new Panthers mask features some nicely designer panthers. They seem to look a bit to cute and cuddly. Even though Panthers are not cuddly. The panther with the glasses reminds me of the Cheetos Cheetah.

Markstrom’s mask seems to be more of the fierce panther. It uses the actual logo rather than a cool panther design.

Los Angeles Kings - Jonathon Quick and Jonathon Bernier
Quick’s mask remains similar to last years but now lacks the purple, just like the sweaters. We will also see Quick wearing this mask when the Kings wear their purple and yellow retro sweaters.

Bernier’s mask is also similar to his design from last year, and again lacks the purple. The only difference is in the image I provided, the Kings crown logo is used.

Minnesota Wild - Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding 2
Backstrom had a contest for someone to design him a mask, and I feel like the winner made some good choices. I really like the use of white and red as the main colors and green as a secondary color. I personally think the wild need a re-branding and use Red as their primary color and use green as their secondary color.Take a look at the animals the artist added to the mask. A new touch. Take a look at another side of the mask, a blurry one.

Harding’s mask is pretty simple looking, with the Wild’s logo on one side and a rose on the other side.

Montreal Canadiens - Carey Price
I really like Price’s pink mask. It has Montreal heritage and attempts to raises cancer awareness, obviously with the pink color. And pink goes with Red and Blue. The native looks pretty cool and I really like the tree with snow covering the branches. The mask seems to have to much negative space on the top from this picture though. Overall its a good design. Down with cancer!

Nashville Predators - Pekka Rinne 2
Rinne’s mask has a few changes from last season. I really like the eyes on the top of the helmet. The mouth with those teeth looks pretty awesome. The mask is one of the best in the league. Take a look at both sides of the mask and stare at its beauty. (Right and Left)

Rinne also has another mask that he wears. This mask features the city of Nashville and plenty of musical symbols. My favorite part would be the strings on the chin.

New Jersey Devils - Martin Brodeur and Johan Hedberg
Broduer’s new mask looks simple and classic. A lot of MB30 logos are set at a lower opacity throughout the mask. Here is a good side view of the mask. The mask seems to match the man, vintage. Vintage is not always bad.

Hedberg’s mask looks really cool. I like it better than Brodeur’s mask. It’s simple, reminds me of Broudeur’s, but has more of an artistic style to it.

New York Islanders - Evgeni Nabokov and Al Montoya
Nabokov’s mask looks to blah. The only thing I like about this mask is “Nabby” on his chin.

Montoya’s mask, wow. Just look at it.

New York Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist
King Henrik has always rocked a similar design from what I can remember. Its also so simple and has Lady Liberty on the left side of the mask. His designs rarely change, so its nothing new to talk about.

Ottawa Senators - Craig Anderson
Craig Anderson mask has one hell of a freaky looking, person? I don’t even know what to call it, but I like it! Crazy looking monster with a monster truck. I like the use of the maple leafs. if you look at the chin, you can see half of a maple leaf with the rest of it being pulled towards the right side of the mask where it says “Ottawa Senators”. The logo is placed above that.The maple leafs on the top of the mask is a good touch too, very nice effect.

Philadelphia Flyers - Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky 2
Bryzgalov’s mask is pretty awesome. My favorite color combination is Orange, Black and White, which makes this mask even cooler. One side has a historic building from Philly and the other side has a man everyone recognizes. I really like the writing on top of the mask. Take a look at the back.

Bobrovsky always has a new mask, and another cool looking mask. Another brick wall, one that covers the whole helmet. There is also graffiti on the brick wall. The Flyers logo is placed on the top side of the mask as well.

Phoenix Coyotes - Jason LaBarbera and Mike Smith
Jason’s mask is pretty awesome, honoring Pat Tillman and the Military with his camouflage mask. A very respectful mask and nice design. Digital camo is my favorite. The left side of the mask has Tillman painted as a soldier and as a NFL player. Did anyone see the stars and the maple leafs? Thats a nice touch.

Smith is one funny guy, he must like the loney toons. Wiley E Coyote is on the top of the mask.

Pittsburgh Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury 2 and Brent Johnson
Fleury’s mask is pretty cool. I like how the left side of the mask has the Penguins logo, and the right side of the mask is more Fleury’s personal taste. I really like the face you see on the right side of the mask. Thats pretty cool looking.

Johnson’s mask is a tribute to Led Zepplin, he had another mask with the same concept.

San Jose Sharks - Antti Niemi and Thomas Greiss
Niemi’s mask remains the same from last year. I still like the mask. I really like the teeth that surround the opening in the front and how the mask looks like a shark.

St. Louis Blues - Jarsolav Halak and Brian Elliot 2
Halak’s mask is a nice mural. Theres the brick wall with the Blues logo and my favorite part is the top. The bull is pretty intense looking. There is also the other side. The city of St. Louis, with the arch. A nice touch.

Tampa Bay Lightning - Dwayne Roloson and Mathieu Garon 2
Roloson’s mask looks pretty interesting. Adding Thor to the design is a clever idea. The face is nicely done too. But I like last years mask better than his mask this year.

Garon’s lightning mask looks really cool. There is a old pirate ship on the top of the helmet, a nice touch.

Toronto Maple Leafs - James Reimer
Reimer’s new nickname came with a new mask. Optumus Reimer, a pretty funny nickname if you ask me. I like this mask, its not to busy. With the Maple Leaf’s logo on the top, and a fancy wordmark on the chin. Can’t go wrong with this design.

Vancouver Canucks - Robert Luongo and Cory Schneider
I feel like Luongo’s mask is a downgrade from last season. I feel like it would be much better if the white was vintage white and the lines were solid. This is one of the only masks I dislike from his collection of great masks.

Schneider’s mask is a lot better than Luongo’s mask.There are a lot of Canuck logos on the mask, maybe a bit to much.

Washington Capitals - Tomas Vokoun
Tomas Vokoun’s mask features the Weagle logo with the Capitals wordmark down the top center of the mask. I like how there are Bald Eagles within the blue areas of the mask, while the white section on the right side of the mask has historic figures, like George Washington. On the left side of the helmet in the back there is a face of a bald eagle.

Winnipeg Jets - Ondrej Pavelec
Pavelec’s mask contains a few of the logos the Jets initially released. The first one we see would be the main logo. Look at the glare on the main logo too, its honeycombed. Then there is the Air Force logo, as I like to call it. The logo they used on the mask is much better than the one I posted. It has more detail and it looks pretty cool. The last thing I really like about the mask would be the chin design. Classic Air Force WWII design right there. Love the eyes and teeth.

Dear Me, why does no one ask you questions?

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 20:24:05 -0400

I have no fucking clue man!