What happens when you put 30 goalies together on one sheet of ice? Pure and utter chaos, of course!
Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, and now residing in Oak Harbor, Wash., Kyle Sorenson, known as Salmon Nerd (@NerdSalmon) on X, had a simple yet oddly brilliant idea for a hockey game.
Calling it the “Oops, All Goalies” game, Sorenson, along with 32 other regional goalies from all different ages and levels of competition, migrated up to Bellingham Sportsplex in Bellingham, Wash., last Tuesday night to see his idea come to fruition.
The game went viral across social media platforms and was even featured on a ROOT Sports Kraken pre-game show.
I hosted "Oops! All Goalies" this week. 5 on 5 hockey. Goalies only. This is the opening face off and goal by me.
No skaters allowed. Full goalie gear required. Must be a goalie. We had 30 show up!
The rules were simple. The two teams played five goalies per side, but none were allowed to be in their native position in the crease. There would be no offside calls, and all penalties would result in penalty shots.
So, what was the motive to make this event even remotely possible? Sorenson explained himself…
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Cameron Riggers: What led to this even being an idea?
Kyle Sorenson: I’ve done goalie games at points in the past, but it had never been a full-structured game like this was. The whole idea of it with rules and paying referees to come and manage the chaos, it was all my idea. And then it takes your friends to agree to a stupid idea like this.
CR: What was the main challenge of getting this event to work?
KS: Convincing all those goalies to come up here was the main challenge. There were only three from Bellingham proper, and then the rest of them were spread out along the I-5 corridor. A few were from Everett, someone from Oregon came up, a few from British Columbia, Canada, came down.
CR: How hard is it to move in all that gear goalies wear?
KS: It’s not as hard as you would think. I think there’s a lot of misconception that goalies are the worst skaters on the team, when in actuality I think goalies are some of your best skaters, they have some great edge work. If you give a goalie an opportunity to get out there, it’s kinda cool to see them shine. I know a couple of the goalies who joined us and were only hockey players for a few months were very nervous about getting out there and moving around. Sure, some of them were slower than others, but I think it’s impressive just how fast some of those guys were moving.
CR: What was the age range of everyone who was involved?
KS: Anyone over 18 could join, but most everyone was about 24-60 years of age.
CR: What was Bellingham Sportplex’s thoughts on being host to this event?
KS: I have a good relationship with Bellingham Sportsplex, and they were excited to host such a goofy event. When I told them about it, they were sold instantly.
CR: How much did it cost you put this together?
KS: Initially I had to pay around $700 after tax, but split evenly among everyone, it was only about $40 per person.
CR: This game gained a lot of traction online, going viral on numerous social media platforms. What have been some of the most positive outcomes you’ve seen from this?
KS: I think the main thing was that connecting all those people was really amazing. I really think that it’s generated a lot of attention to hockey in our area. A few of the goalies already made moves to join local leagues like in Everett or Bellingham. This event was a lot of the guys’ first times speaking with other goalies. Almost all those guys are friends now, and this really united a lot of people.
I knew it would be popular just because it’s a weird idea. I think I read about a thousand comments across all the platforms that it was posted on, and almost every single one was positive.
CR: Do you think goalies embody the other stereotype that they’re good at everything they do?
KS: I think so! One of the comments I kept seeing online was how good the positioning was by some of these goalies, and I was like, ‘I think this is because all these goalies are sick of yelling at skaters to get in the right position.’
CR: Which NHL goalies could you see getting on the ice in an event like this?
KS: I think Jeremy Swayman would be all over this, and obviously Joey Daccord if he saw this would be all about it. Maybe in the offseason we could convince him to come out. Henrik Lundqvist made note of this event too, which I thought was awesome.
CR: Seeing the amount of turn out for this special event, as well as what the Kraken have done for growing the game of hockey in this region, how do you think interest has grown in your eyes?
KS: Seeing the growth of hockey here is awesome. There’s been a passionate hockey community in Washington for a long time, but to see it be so high on people’s minds, especially for the kids of this region, has been fantastic.
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Expanding beyond the game, Sorenson believes that this event and the arrival of the Seattle Kraken to the Pacific Northwest are just a few of the ways that hockey is piquing interest in this region with the ways it continues to evolve. He is hopeful to have the event return in the coming years, and that events like this will continue to inspire young kids to give playing hockey a chance.
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CR: With events like this, how do you think we could get more people involved in this game?
KS: It’s goofy stuff like that where it’s interesting to people that have never seen anything like it before. But as far as getting more people playing, it’s access. We need more sheets of ice, especially with hockey not being an inexpensive activity. Providing more access to kids, like the Kraken’s One Roof Foundation… If I were to do an event like this again it would be to raise money for kids in youth hockey in some way, whether it be ice-time or a gear drive, to increase kids’ ability to access hockey.
CR: Do you think if someone who’s new to hockey and wants to play sees you out there in a game like this, do you think they would want to give being a goalie a try, or would they stay away from it?
KS: I think they would want to try it, if they see how fun it is. Goalies are particularly goofy, as the stereotypes go, and seeing us out there in a 5-on-5… A bunch of the people who participated mentioned going to learn-to-play events that lead into playing adult hockey, and talking to people who are interested in goalie. Right now, most learn-to-play’s don’t teach goalies, so if you’re an adult starting out, there’s not many current goalies who teach hockey for adults. I think this is something we’re going to start doing.
CR: Could you see yourself doing an event like this and involving the Kraken somehow?
KS: If the Kraken wanted to do something where it was actually at a game, I would love it if it would be all kids. If the Kraken Community Iceplex and the Kraken Hockey League wanted to do it where it involved raising money for kids to access hockey, I’d be all about it.
With the Winter Classic just 11 days away, we have now seen *almost* all of the gear that will be donned by Seattle Kraken goalies in the NHL’s premier tentpole event, set to be held on Jan. 1 at T-Mobile Park.
The only piece of equipment we haven’t yet seen is the mask of Chris Driedger, who wasn’t expecting to be included in the event until Philipp Grubauer went down with a lower-body injury on Dec. 9. It’s becoming more and more likely Grubauer will miss the event, and the fact Driedger has now gotten custom leg pads, glove, and blocker from Vaughn further solidifies our theory that he is expecting to still be with the Kraken on New Year’s Day.
With the exception of that Driedger mask, here is a compilation of all the Kraken goalie gear that we’ve seen, plus my own thoughts on each setup (spoiler alert: I like all of it).
Philipp Grubauer
Let’s start with Grubi’s pads and gloves, which I worry won’t end up seeing the light of day, other than the practice sessions in which he’s already worn them.
Oh, hello Philipp Grubauer’s Winter Classic setup! 👋
Grubauer went with a primarily brown True setup with deep sea blue, ice blue, and red alert trim in the knee rolls and around the logo plates on the gloves. It’s barely visible in the pictures, but on the outer sides of the pads and on the back of the gloves, Grubauer went with a lighter hue of brown that’s closer to the cream color in Seattle’s Winter Classic jerseys.
I like the look in general, but the real showstopper here is Grubauer’s mask, painted by DaveArt.
Here’s Philipp Grubauer’s #WinterClassic mask. Shoutout to @AlisonL for holding the mask. Outstanding work.
It’s a similar layout to Grubauer’s default mask that he has worn for much of the last two seasons, but it’s far more colorful than his mostly white lid he often uses. My favorite part of this mask is the offset “Seattle” word mark, which emulates but doesn’t directly copy the lettering on Seattle’s Winter Classic crest.
I’m on record stating that I’m over the brown look for outdoor hockey games, and in fact, I stated that on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, only for Grubauer to show up at practice THE NEXT DAY wearing an all-brown setup.
BUT… I will make an exception on this set. Seeing it all in person, this is a sharp look. The pops of color give just enough modernity to make this setup clean and unique.
Joey Daccord
Joey took a slightly different tack in designing his gear, going with a more modern look and a simple variation from his typical setup. Effectively, he took the same True layout he normally wears, but replaced the white sections with the cream color that will be featured on the Kraken Winter Classic jersey.
I’m thrilled to see how this plays with the full stripey getup on the ice. I think this is a fantastic blend of classic coloration in a modern scheme.
Again, it was Daccord’s mask that really blew us away. Painted by his usual artist, Shifty, Daccord opted to place images of six baseball cards of Seattle Mariners players from various eras. On the left, Mariner legends Ichiro, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Edgar Martinez are pictured, while the right side shows images of current players J.P. Crawford, Cal Raleigh, and Julio Rodriguez.
How Shifty managed to make those cards look so lifelike is beyond comprehension.
There are a couple nice subtle touches on the mask, too. On the side with past players, there’s a faint, old-school trident ‘M’ Mariners logo at the top, while on the side with the current players, there’s an ‘S’ logo with a compass that is more commonly used by the team now.
As always with Daccord’s masks, Sparky, the mascot of the Arizona State Sun Devils, is hiding in the paint job. In this case, he is peaking out from behind the mountains that are prominently displayed on the top of the mask.
Again, we don’t know what Driedger will end up doing with his mask for the Winter Classic, but he did reveal his pads and gloves on social media, and they are stunning.
There are so many touches with this gear that takes me back to several of the first sets of equipment I wore when I was first learning as a goalie. For example, the very first blocker I wore had those holes all over it that made it look like a waffle iron. I still to this day have not figured out why equipment manufacturers used to put those on blockers, but it’s a neat touch here.
The strapping across the shins is completely superfluous, but again, this is what I had on my early sets of gear, when straps went all the way through the pads and buckled behind the leg.
The toe caps, the red stitching, the use of bold colors… it’s all just… [chef’s kiss]. While I haven’t yet been able to speak with Driedger about his setup, I have to think this order came together relatively quickly. Even so, what he and Vaughn came up with here is truly unique and—in my humble opinion—superb.
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The Kraken goalies have all crushed it with their gear setups for this event. Mix in some elite jerseys, and Seattle’s netminders are guaranteed to dazzle with their looks on the ice on New Year’s Day.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Alright, we admit, we’re way overdue here. We once had grand plans of making Goalie Gear Corner a regular article here on soundofhockey.com, but having an actual hockey team to cover got in the way. Still, it’s the most wonderful time of the year—goalie gear season—so there’s no better time to dust off the old gear-rating abilities and do some ogling. Making these proceedings even more enjoyable, we have some great new gear from Kraken goalies to discuss, which we especially appreciate since we’re able to get in-person looks at their setups.
Without further ado, it is with great pleasure that we finally present to you this second installment of Goalie Gear Corner, in print form.
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Goalie Gear Corner
Aaron Dell – San Jose Sharks
At this point, it’s just getting ridiculous with Aaron Dell. After leaving the San Jose Sharks following the 2019-20 season, Dell spent the last two seasons bouncing around between Buffalo, New Jersey, Binghamton, and Rochester. And while he hasn’t had the most memorable seasons since departing the Bay Area, his gear has only gotten better as he has aged.
Now he’s back with the Sharks, and while his previous San Jose setup was our favorite Sharks look ever, he may have one-upped himself with his latest look from Brian’s.
Even at rest, these pads look like they’re moving. It’s like how if you look at a spinning wheel for a while and then look at Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night, the painting appears to be in motion. It’s the same thing here, but on goalie pads. And yes, we just compared goalie pads to one of the great masterpieces of all time. It’s a stunning look, and the cut-and-sew technique that Brian’s continues to employ remains second to none in terms of graphics.
What makes this setup almost perfect is the dorsal fin, ominously rising out of the blocker and catcher. Outstanding setup.
Overall grade: A
Color scheme? Beautiful.
Graphic? Truly unique.
Overly busy? Oddly no, even though there’s a lot going on here.
Magnus Hellberg – Seattle Kraken
When the Kraken signed Magnus Hellberg around the start of free agency, we had a feeling there might be something special coming on the goalie gear front.
Hellberg, in his brief stint with the Detroit Red Wings, had worked with Brian’s to put together an outstanding setup that incorporated Detroit’s winged wheel logo to perfection. Taking a scheme of just two colors and a logo that hasn’t changed in almost a century and turning that into a beautiful, modern gear design is no easy feat.
Give Hellberg and the designers at Brian’s the runway of a newly designed deep-sea brand, with a wide color palette, and you just know there’s magic coming. Sure enough, this absolute stunner was the result.
There's a new Sound Of Hockey Podcast dropping into your favorite podcast apps momentarily.
Goalie Gear Corner season is upon us, and Magnus Hellberg gets plenty of love on this episode for his stunning new #SeaKraken Brian's setup.
The setup uses a whopping five colors and gives the illusion that each piece of equipment is its own mythical sea beast, without being too “on the nose” with the octopus look. It also subtly works in hints of the actual Kraken logo, though that logo has been stretched and adjusted to fit the pads.
Oddly, our favorite part of these pads might actually be the way Brian’s worked their B-star logo right into the Kraken’s “eye.”
Just unreal. We got our first in-person glimpse of Hellberg’s gear on Tuesday, and it truly is dazzling.
Overall grade: A
Incredible use of Seattle’s many colors.
Not too “on the nose” with the Kraken logo, yet there’s no question what team Hellberg plays for when you look at his gear.
Ridiculous level of detail.
Seth Eisele – Lake Superior State University
This is pretty cool from former Wenatchee Wild and current Lake Superior State Laker, Seth Eisele.
It’s very much an “if you know, you know” setup, paying homage to the King, Henrik Lundqvist. In the earlier years of his career, Hank wore TPS gear, from the brand formerly known as “Louisville TPS.” That brand is no longer one of the foremost goalie gear companies, hence Eisele borrowing one of Hank’s looks but putting it on CCM pads. Lundqvist wore two different versions of pads that looked just like this but in Rangers’ red, white, and blue.
The Minnesota license plate on the chin of the mask is also a nice personal touch here for the Minnesota native.
Overall grade: B
We like the subtle homage.
Colors are pretty and crisp, but the setup lacks detail when comparing it to the previous two.
Good job of keeping it clean, yet still colorful.
Martin Jones – Seattle Kraken
Another newly acquired netminder for Seattle released pictures and video of his new Kraken mask on Monday, and it is quite sharp.
Painted by Eye Candy Air, the mask reminds us a bit of the mask Chris Driedger wore for most of last season with its white base color and blue accent stripes. The detail is intense here. We especially love the subtle red Kraken eyes on the side.
Nice new True setups for Philipp Grubauer and Martin Jones. Like the detail on the outer rolls for Jones. Very clean look. #SeaKraken#GGC
We also got a first-hand glimpse at Jones’ pad setup on Tuesday from True Hockey, which is mostly plain white, but has Kraken-colored accents on the outer rolls and across the base. The pads and gloves are nothing to write home about, but we do like the look as a whole. It’s a fresh take on the True setup, which isn’t known for much graphic customization, compared with other manufacturers.
Overall grade: B+
The mask is nice. Great detail, but it also looks good from afar.
Pads are nothing special, but we’re suckers for outer roll details.
Squeaky clean look.
Tyler Palmer – Victoria Royals
Our last entry on this installment of Goalie Gear Corner is a new CCM setup for Victoria Royals netminder Tyler Palmer.
The “print the team logo on the pads” bit has certainly been played out in recent years, but there’s something extra sharp about Palmer’s setup here. We can’t say with 100 percent certainty why this feels sharper than other similar setups, but we think it has to do with the play on the stock graphics that come standard on CCM E FLEX gear. We generally like that look of the E FLEX anyway, but Palmer’s setup takes it and adds some pizzazz.
So, in general, we really like this look, which will soon be coming to a WHL arena near you.
Overall grade: A-
It’s not the most creative look, by any means, but we like the mix of stock graphics with team imagery.
Sound Of Hockey is thrilled to present its second ever video edition of the beloved podcast segment, Goalie Gear Corner. This time, Chris Driedger joins our own Darren Brown to talk through his Vaughn setup and his mask that pays homage to the history of Seattle hockey.
If you missed our first Video Goalie Gear Corner, featuring Joey Daccord, that can be found here.
Kraken goalie and friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, Joey Daccord joins us to walk us through his goalie gear for the first ever video version of a Goalie Gear Corner that features an NHL netminder.
If you listen to the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, you are well aware that we do several regular segments on that show. One of those regular segments is a bit polarizing, being that the other two hosts—John Barr and Andy Eide—pretend to hate the segment (even though they actually love it and actively participate in it), while yours truly continues to plug it into the weekly agenda whenever I possibly can. It’s my firm belief that this segment… is… everyone’s… favorite segment. I’m talking of course about… GOALIE GEAR CORNER!
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We have a couple housekeeping items to cover before we dig into this riveting written version of everyone’s favorite segment. First, we’ve long had listeners reaching out to us seeking more goalie gear content on SoundOfHockey.com, and for this we are thankful.
We’ve heard your feedback and this is our first real attempt to get such content onto the site. We will do more of these articles in the future, but we don’t have much of a cadence in mind for when we will produce them or anything like that. We’re thinking they will come as the goalie gear world warrants them, so just keep your eyes peeled for more GGC’s in the coming weeks and months.
Second, we have to give a shoutout to the GOAT of goalie gear content, Goalie Gear Nerd. They are a great follow on Twitter, and they really keep us up to date on the latest and greatest in goalie gear—with more of a focus on it than we can give—so throw them a follow. You will see several of their tweets embedded in this post.
Now, without further ado, let’s get to it. Here is our first installment of SoundOfHockey.com’s Goalie Gear Corner, in which we will gather ’round and gaze in awe at the dazzling beauty that is goalie gear.
Goalie Gear Corner
Kennedy Blair – University of Wisconsin Badgers
This edition begins with a spectacular CCM setup from the netminder for my own alma matter’s women’s team. Kennedy Blair of the University of Wisconsin has revealed via her Instagram a look that we have not seen before from a Badger goalie.
Softly colored motion W’s are patterned down the faces of the pads, along with the blocker and the trapper. Red and white stripes at the top of the catcher and bottom of the blocker mirror the coloring on the knee rolls, tying everything together in a chef’s kiss fashion.
The softer and slightly transparent color of the W’s—rather than Wisconsin’s more typically bold cardinal red color—make this setup easy on the eyes. It comes through a bit pinkish, but I think if Blair had elected for a more opaque color, these would have been way too busy, so that’s a great decision.
No set of stunning Wisconsin pads is complete without Bucky Badger, of course, so that striped little beast adorns the tops of the pads.
Blair’s mask features a Wisconsin toque. I do like this mask, but it’s been done on many occasions in the past, so considering how well she did with the rest of the setup, I was a little surprised to see her recycle something that’s been done by many backstops in the past. To her credit, the carry over of motion W’s from the pads is a nice touch.
Overall grade: B+
High marks for uniqueness and creativity on the pads, glove, and blocker
High marks for continuity on the gear
Loses some points for going with a re-tread mask design; likely would have earned a higher grade if she had just shared her gear and left the mask out
Adin Hill – San Jose Sharks (mask only)
Next, we focus on a mask-only revelation from Adin Hill who many of us thought would end up with the Seattle Kraken before he was traded to San Jose. It’s not really fair to compare just a mask with Blair’s full setup above, but we will be looking more at the details when we consider individual equipment items, so hopefully that levels the playing field at least a little.
This is a real stunner. Painted by Alberta-based tattoo and mask artist Dave Fried, Hill has managed to take his new team’s mascot and actually use it in a way that is truly unique. He could have mailed it in and just slapped a few logos on there, but he found a way to make this very team-centric bucket a bit more personal.
Though we’re giving credit to Fried and Hill, apparently it was actually Hill’s brother and dad who did the design, which features a school of very fierce-looking sharks patrolling the area around a shipwreck.
One thing I love about the design is the bold teal color that makes up the bulk of the mask, with different shades being used on top to create the illusion of sunrays dancing through the ocean depths. The artist also did a masterful job of keeping the mask balanced while avoiding any symmetry on the two sides. Finally, with the shadowy shark figures cruising around in the background, and some bits of the paint job spilling over onto the white frame around Hill’s face, the scene looks truly three dimensional.
While the front and top of the mask are outstanding, it may be the backplate that makes this one truly special. A shipwrecky-looking goalie stick and ghoulish mask lie at the bottom of the sea. On the stick, Hill’s late goalie coach from junior, Michael Maniago, is memorialized with the insignia, “MM30.” And let’s not forget the octopus tentacles, clearly a shot at the Kraken, hanging from the jaws of the lone fully detailed shark on the backplate.
Overall grade: A-
High marks for color and depth
Good use of theme
Nitpicking here, but the mask as a whole could be a little more personal to the goalie instead of focusing so heavily on the team theme
Aaron Dell – Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres may have some issues in their goalcrease this season, as their two current netminders are Aaron Dell—who bounced to three different teams last season and played just seven games, turning in a 4.14 goals against average and .857 save percentage—and 40-year-old Craig Anderson.
Fortunately for the Sabres, stats and age don’t matter in this space, especially when you have one of the best gear wearers of all time playing between the pipes. Yes, I said it. Dell is reaching legendary status for his gear, a veritable Trevor Kidd for the modern era.
After crushing it with his Sharks, Maple Leafs, and Devils gear last season, Dell outdid himself with his latest setup from Brian’s (who doesn’t love a good Brian’s setup?).
First off, can we talk about the Buffalo head that is formed when Dell brings the pads together? As John Barr pointed out on our last SOH Podcast episode, that could truly make an alternate logo for the team, so you’re welcome, Sabres marketing department. And the swords framing the Buffalo? Those are beautiful enough before you realize that they will align with the handles of said sabers, which are neatly displayed on Dell’s glove and blocker, when the full setup is worn.
There’s just nobody on Dell’s level right now in terms of gear, and the good folks at Brian’s continue to help him put together near-perfect custom setups.
Overall grade: A
It will be hard to top this look this season
Cassie Reale – Princeton University
If you like bold gear designs, you will love this setup from Cassie Reale, a junior at Princeton.
There’s a lot to unpack here. Reale worked with Brian’s to come up with something that I’ve never seen before. While Dell’s Buffalo face is formed when he is standing and his pads are together, the face of the Princeton Tiger becomes whole when Reale drops into the butterfly. Adding to the beauty of the pads is the subtle Princeton crests on the outer rolls.
Have you ever seen anything like this? I’ve never seen anything like this.
With such a bold choice of pad design, I thought Reale could have dialed it back a bit and gone with a less-is-more approach on the gloves. Instead, she went bold on bold on bold, with tiger stripes covering both the catcher and blocker and a big black “PRINCETON” running down the waffleboard. (Shoutout to Doc Emrick for his love of saying “waffleboarded away.”)
Nonetheless, HUGE credit to Reale for doing something truly unique. She took a theme and ran with it, and for that, we can’t really knock the bold choices.
Overall grade: A-
A truly one-of-a-kind look
The tiger face forming in the butterfly is awesome
Bold choices, bold design
Loses just a few points because the stripes on the glove and blocker, plus the word are just a little much
