Wearing the Past on Your Mask

There are many personal items on a goaltenders mask. They can range from a loved one's initials or name, a favorite band, or most commonly a nickname.
But my favorite tributes are the ones that include the players from the past. Sometimes they are just honoring the team's greatest moments (Wade Dubielewicz), or players (Andrew Raycroft). Of course, there are some who chose their favorite players from childhood. Case in point: Jaroslav Halak, honoring Patrick Roy, and Mikael Tellqvist, with Thomas Steen and Bobby Hull. Tellqvist updated that mask, but switched the former players for Dale Howerchuck. Of course, some choose to narrow it down to the team that they play for, and the position they play, right Chris?

Player Spotlight: Cam Ward

Cam Ward's most famous mask was this, and it really has nothing to do with hockey or intimidating.
If you cant see the mask well, this is a short description: Some hurricanes, and a whole lot of Nickleback. That's right, the band Nickleback's likeness, is airbrushed all over Ward's mask. I personally don't find it all that great, especially compared to his other masks (one included a battleship and another a really long fingernailed pirate.)
Bonus points, though for continuity. Ward's back plate has always had the same details (mask #1, mask #2) , his cross tribute to Frank Ward (His grandfather), his number (30), and a mini Lord Stanley. A cool little detail on the Nickleback design backplate is that the CWC on the road sign, is actually his wifes initials.


More views are available here.

Winter Classic

Time to break out the bubbly, throw some streamers, and play some outdoor hockey. The NHL's "Outdoor Classic" will be on New Years Day, and expect some nostalgia. Both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres will be wearing throwback jerseys.

But what about the goalies? Last time they played an outdoor game, the only significant detail involving goalies was Jose Theodore wearing a beanie above his mask. This year, Dany Sabourin, goalie for Pittsburgh will be wearing old-school brown equipment. He'll also wear this beauty. Look familiar? It's based on the recently discussed Michel Plasse mask.

The other Penguin goaltender, Ty Conklin, will also be wearing a retro Penguin mask, but no brown pads.

On the other side of the puck, the Sabres might display the beanie look, if practice means anything.

Team Spotlight: Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins logo isn't very intimidating. So if "Happy Feet" and "March of the Penguins" aren't action suspense thrillers to you, how could a mask for a team called the penguins be scary?
Lets start with Ken Wregget, what penguins are famous? There's Tux, the Linux penguin. Or how about those penguins that enjoy Coke-a-Cola so much? Ken's head must have been in a comic book, cause he thought of this penguin. And that, eventually turned into this. Which morphed into this a couple years later. Ken Wregget also wore, a less intimidating, more beautiful, ice sculpture penguin, in this mask.
If you travel back a few more years, you could see the beginning of masks as a piece of artwork in this mask, worn by Michel Dion.
For a short time, the penguins had blue uniforms (which will be worn in the upcoming "Winter Classic" against the Buffalo Sabres on New Years Day, 08 (More about this later)). When they wore blue, so did the men in the crease, including Michel Plasse, seen here rocking the "Warrior" mask.
Which brings us to the man whose name was made for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marc-Andre Fleury. He has had odd ones (what is that, a drooling fish?), ones with cartoon penguins, and even a real penguin or two.
Note to whoever will be the next goalie for the Pittsburgh Penguins, BRING BACK THE BATMAN PENGUIN!


Here are a couple "Bonus Masks"
Tom Barrasso
Another Barrasso
Patrick Lalime

Whats this? Dahwks!

I bring you one of my favorite videos ever. It begins ordinary, J.S. Giguere talking about his cyborg mask. Then the good stuff happens. Ilya Bryzgalov, proceeds to tell us about his cartoon covered mask, broken English and all. This is somewhat old, but hope my one reader* likes it.



*One reader may not be true, there, in fact, may be none