Hockey fashion show. Goalies present their helmets
Just as painters paint, writers write and musicians compose, hockey goalies have their helmets. Many of them just express what team they play for, while others express something about themselves. The following article surveys some of the masks from this championship.
Goalkeepers are in unique positions, as each team only has two or three of them. Every time they step onto the ice, goalies have the power to decide games. If a goalkeeper doesn´t sleep well and wakes up in a bad mood, the whole team is threatened with defeat. And that´s why you have to treat him like he is a treasure. Despite the goalie´s complicated role on the team, they have one extra privilege which no other player has: on their gear they can show some kind of aesthetic sensibilities.
Most of goalies the U18 World Championship admitted that they change the design of their masks every year, but there are also those who remain faithful to a single theme for several years. Among these goalkeepers is Dane George Sørensen. He is so fond of the design on his mask that its appearance has not changed for three years. It is decorated with simple gold and white motif, which is based on the colours of Sorensen’s home club, the Herning Blue Foxes.
Several young goalies arrived with a specially-designed helmet mainly for this tournament. For example, Swiss goalie Malvin Nyffeler has a helmet painted in a combination of red, white and black. Its perimeter is surrounded by mountains, which are one of the landmarks of Switzerland. On the back is the club´s logo and there are the words "Proud To Be Swiss." Malvin is truly an ideal Swiss representative.
Nationally-themed masks were also brought by Finn Joonas Korpisalo, American Collin Olson and Canadian Matt Murray.
The second category consists of goalie masks primarily expressing club affiliation. Interesting design was chosen by Czech Patrik Polvíka. The simple combination of red with blue does not lack imagination. Remarkable is the red grid (usually there are used less aggressive colours, such as white or silver). Zelená brána, a historic landmark in Pardubice, was chosen for the helmet of Polívka´s partner, Marek Langhamer. Right next to it, a lot of space is dedicated to ginerbread, for which his home town Pardubice is famous. In addition to the two traditional items, there is a threatening puppet from the horror film series Saw. Beside that is Soviet goaltending legend Vladislav Tretiak; a very interesting medley indeed.
German goalkeeper Patrick Klein, similar to his Czech colleague, paid tribute to the city where he plays: Düsseldorf. The lower part of the helmet is decorated with a nice view of the city.
This championship is full of interesting ideas. Latvian goalie Ivars Punnenovs use theme of old aircraft wings, which looks spectacular. But the current design will be replaced with plans for a new mask next season, based on an old pilot helmet. Kloten Flyers fans have something to look forward to.
Elvis Merzlikins has on his helmet a tiger in mid-leap. It smacks of routine, but Elvis assured us that his mask has more a important theme. On the back of the helmet is the name of his mother, father and brother, it supposedly gives him luck. Like his teammate, Elvis has a great vision for next season: he is considering a mask decorated with a picture of Elvis Presley, after whom he is named. Merzlikins is not the only goalie who is inspired by his family. On Nyffeler´s mask are the dates of birth of his parents.
Generally, all goalies in the championship tried to create a visually attractive topic. But one mystery remains unexplored. The wizard in the Swedish net, Oscar Dansk, has a helmet which is completely black. However, this riddle was soon handled. People from Brynäs, Dansk´s original team, don´t pay for the painting of their young goalies´ masks, concentrating instead on the development of their disciples. It makes a sense. Helmets of this tournament´s goalkeepers have a lot of great and interesting designs and themes, but their performances often do not even got close to the greatness of their masks. We can hope that hockey won´t become just a fashion show.
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Best goaltender: Collin Olson (USA)
Best defenseman: Matt Dumba (CAN)
Best forward: Filip Forsberg (SWE)
