When Karel Vejmelka skates out onto the Delta Center ice for opening night, something will be different.
His equipment, that is.
The Utah Mammoth goaltender will not only sport the team’s new jersey, but a freshly designed pair of pads and gloves to match.
“When I got a chance to vote for the new name and new logo for next year, my choice was exactly the Utah Mammoth,” Vejmelka said. “The Mammoth logo looks incredible. I love it.”
Vejmelka knew he wanted to include the official branding on his gear, so he reached out to Brian’s Custom Sports to get something in the works. Vejmelka has collaborated with Brian’s, which makes handmade, custom professional goalie equipment, for around six years for both his NHL and Czechia national teams.
During Utah’s inaugural season, Vejmelka wore the company’s stock graphic pads with the team’s colors — “Mountain Blue,” “Rock Black” and “Salt White” — with limited customization. This time around, Vejmelka went all out.
(Brian’s Custom Sports) Karel Vejmelka's customized Mammoth goalie equipment, made by Brian’s Custom Sports.
“I fell in love with the gear because they fit really well and I felt great in it. It really works for me, and they always do a great custom design,” Vejmelka said. “It is always fun to work with them, and they did a great job again this year.”
Brad Johnson, who is the U.S. retail sales manager and pro services manager for Brian’s, was happy to hear from Vejmelka in June. He and the lead designer, Reo Roy, put together six options for Vejmelka to choose from, all of which included the Mammoth’s colors and logo.
“With [Vejmelka], he definitely likes to change the graphics up from time to time. He doesn’t want to do the same thing,” Johnson said. “It was very exciting. ... With this particular set, it is a pretty cool logo.”
Vejmelka opted for pads with a white base and a zoomed-in portion of the Mammoth mark on each side. His blocker and glove feature the same look and color scheme.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) as Utah Hockey Club hosts the Minnesota Wild, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.
Once Johnson and Roy had narrowed down the design Vejmelka wanted, it was time to put the equipment into production. All of that happens in-house for Brian’s, which has been based in Kingsville, Ontario, since 1984. While some hockey brands make their products overseas and use print graphics, Brian’s prides itself on its hand-cut and sewn pieces.
The custom wait time for Brian’s is currently 10 to 12 weeks, but professional orders get put directly into the production line, Johnson said. It only takes a few days to a week to complete an NHL set, and then it has to get approved. The gear is sent to the league offices in Toronto to make sure the specs and sizing are legal; all NHL, AHL and ECHL equipment has to go through this process.
Brian’s also has to get clearance from the athlete’s team. Some organizations in the NHL do not allow their goaltenders to branch out too much with the look of their gear, but it is not a league-wide rule.
(Brian’s Custom Sports) An up-close look of Karel Vejmelka's new Mammoth pad and glove.
“There are some teams that don’t like great, innovative designs on the pads. I don’t understand that, especially in the world of social media these days. We saw how many hits that [Mammoth] design got right out of the gate,” Johnson said. “I’m grateful to Utah for being one of those organizations that understands that what their goalies wear does help sell their team and sell their brand. This set helps sell the brand.”
Vejmelka himself was a key piece in selling the NHL in Utah in general last season. The 29-year-old netminder took over as the Mammoth’s starter when Connor Ingram stepped away from the team and posted a 2.58 goals against average and .904 save percentage in 58 games.
His record 23 consecutive starts towards the end of the year carried Utah through the wild-card push and built an internal trust in his game. It earned Vejmelka a five-year, $23.75 million contract extension in March.
Safe to say he could invest in some elevated Mammoth pads.
(Brian's Custom Sports) Two of six options Brian's gave Karel Vejmelka to pick from.
“It is something special for every goalie. They can make special gear every year, they can change what they want,” Vejmelka said. “It is a big part of why I started to play goalie when I was a kid. It’s a great opportunity to make something special and just simply look good.”
Vejmelka has not tried out his setup yet. He said it only takes two to three practices for him to break in new equipment until he feels game-ready. The goalie will enter Utah’s training camp in September with the new Mammoth gear.
“I can’t wait to see them in person when I get back to Salt Lake in a couple of weeks,” Vejmelka said. “I can’t wait to try them for the first time, and really excited to see the whole gear, how it will look like with the jersey and mask too. I think it is going to be great looking.”
Vejmelka is also getting a new mask. While his dinosaur-themed cage was a hit last year, he said he wanted something to fit the team’s updated identity. This season’s mask will include a “big Mammoth on the side” and his jersey number (70).
(Brian’s Custom Sports) Details of Karel Vejmelka's new Mammoth goalie equipment.
Vejmelka is not the only one looking forward to putting his Mammoth equipment into action.
“To be honest with you, we kind of view our goaltenders as part of our goaltending family. Brian’s is a small company. We only make goalie equipment. We don’t have the marketing or leveraging power of the Bauers and CCMs of the world. We can’t throw money at professional athletes,” Johnson said.
“The goalies that wear Brian’s are invested in the product, and we are 100% invested in them. When we’re able to create a design that is unique to them and their personality, and then to see them get to wear that on the ice and be part of their career and their passion doing what they love — when all of that comes together and is out on the ice, it is a really good feeling.”