A deep dive into goalies wearing pads that look like the net and the effectiveness of it

While we wouldn't call a unique design on goalie pads an equipment advancement, an argument can be made that pads made to look like the net fall under that category.

mywerkaccount

The pads you're looking at above have been photoshopped and were posted on Reddit by user mywerkaccount.

What do you think of #HenrikLundqvist's new pads? (📷: @hank30nyr) A post shared by TSN (@tsn_official) on Jul 31, 2017 at 7:40am PDT

The point of photoshopping the pads, though, was to ask the hockey community if a goalie has ever worn something like this and would it be effective.

We're going to start with the first of those two questions and the answer is yes, goalies have worn pads like this in the past.

Reddit User Dany_Heatley05

Pipes32

Reddit User Pipes32

In fact, the most notable name to wear pads like this was Trevor Leahy as the New York Times wrote a piece back in 2009 on his pads he designed to look like the net.

New York Times

Leahy didn't go on to play a high level of hockey, but his pads got a lot of attention and rightly so.

In terms of NHL goalies wearing something like this, though, the examples are rare, although Anton Khudobin wore something similar early in his career with the Bruins.

Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images

Obviously his pads were a less extreme example, but you get the point. Plus, because no goalie has tried to wear the extreme example of the net pads, we're not really sure if it's even allowed. Here's what it says in the NHL rulebook:

"Rule 11 – Goalkeeper’s Equipment 11.1 Goalkeeper’s Equipment - With the exception of skates and stick, all the equipment worn by the goalkeeper must be constructed solely for the purpose of protecting the head or body, and he must not wear any garment or use any contrivance which would give him undue assistance in keeping goal."

Now, on to the question about if they are effective. Here is what one of Leahy's teammates said about shooting on him in practice in that New York Times article in 2009:

“The pads are definitely difficult to shoot against,” said Rimmer, 17. “They really blend in with the back of the net. It’s hard to tell where the net ends and the pads begin.”

With few NHL goalies ever using the pads, it's difficult to suggest how effective they would be, but we can say that they would definitely confuse shooters.

Reddit User Pipes32 who owns the net pads gave her opinion on how effective they are:

"They are actually fairly effective. I attended GGSU camp last year with some heavy hitters (ECHL shooters, instructors were Condon, Sparks, Darling, Szabados, Rigsby) and was told fairly consistently by those ECHL'ers that they had trouble with my pads when they just took a quick look up and a fast shot.

In beer league, I see a lot of fast whistles. The refs lose the puck a lot, which is a big help for me."

The pads are a way for goalies to try and get an advantage, but the first goalie that did something like this, as legend has it, was Patrick Roy.

Reddit User Chappy32

Apparently Roy was the first goalie to paint a white triangle at the base of his pads in order to make his five-hole look open when in reality, it wasn't.

The colour white has also been debated over the years as goalies all wear it now to make them look bigger and try and get an advantage, or at least that's what some seem to think.

Then again, Marc-Andre Fleury switched from his all yellow pads to white because an Ottawa eye doctor (Janet Leduc) wrote a letter to the Penguins explaining that yellow is the easiest colour for a human eye to spot, so it was easier for opponents to pick where they wanted to shoot the puck.

Getty Images/Jonathan Daniel

When Fleury switched to the white pads during the 2007-08 season, his stats improved dramatically.

"Since the change of pads for Fleury, he has recorded an amazing record of 17-3-1, with four shut-outs. (7-1 in 2008 Playoffs.)

His save percentage has been .943, with a GAA of 1.52. These are compared to the beginning of the season with the yellow pads. His record was 9-8-1 with two shut-outs and a save percentage of .906 and a GAA of 2.61." (via Bleacher Report)

At the end of the day, how effective unique pad designs may very well come down to who's using them, but with players using different blades and curves and equipment to try and get an advantage, it's only fair that goalies try to do the same.

(H/T: /r/hockey)