With the postseason finally approaching, the Redsox have a tough first round against the the Angels. The Angels have the best record in the American league right now but I strongly beleive that the Bosox have what it takes to win four! Would love to see a Redsox vs Cubs final! I love the postseason, can't wait for the first of October! + Comment
My Favortie Masks
Written by Matt Zhe
The Hockey News’ publication is comprehensive, profiling the goalie of each NHL team, as well as having each team writer select their favorite mask worn by a hometown goalie. Throughout the read, you learn some very interesting tidbits about the custom paint jobs for each keeper. Some of them you may already now, some of them you may hear about for the first time. But for instance:
New York Rangers goalie Mike Richter wore a mask so popular it spawned a new logo. The top of Richter’s mask showed the face of Lady Liberty, which eventually became the design of the Rangers alternate jersey.
Peter Budaj of the Colorado Avalanche has a an image of The Simpson’s neighbor Ned Flanders on the back of his mask. Budaj is best know in Providence for fighting the P-Bruins Hannu Toivonen at center ice of the Dunk during a bench clearing brawl, I’m not sure how Steady Neddy would feel about that!
A mask was how Johan “Moose” Hedberg of the Atlanta Thrashers got his nickname. Hedberg was playing for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose when he was acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins late in the season. Not having enough time for a new paint job, Hedberg wore his Moose design mask as he led the Penguins on a nine game unbeaten streak and into the playoffs. Along the way, the fans started serenading him with chants of “Mooooooossssseeee” after every big save. Since then, Hedberg has kept some image of a Moose on his mask regardless of what team he was playing for.
As a Providence Bruins season ticket holder, I’ve gotten an up close look at some interesting mask designs, both by P-Bruins and their opponents. On his second stint with the Baby B’s, Hannu Toivonen wore a mask that was based on the one worn by Denis Lemieux in the movie Slap Shot. Jordan Sigalet, who played parts of three seasons in Providence despite being diagnosed with the disease Multiple Sclerosis, had an image of cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong on his mask, as well as the word “hope.” Though Sigalet no longer plays for the Bruins, his framed jersey hangs in the locker room. After being recalled to Boston, Andrew Raycroft wore a new mask featuring an image of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill bridge. On the visitor’s side, Worcester goalie Thomas Greiss painted his Sharks design pink during breast cancer awareness month in 2007. Jason LaBarbera, formerly of the Manchester Monarchs designed his mask to include pictures of the band Metallica, as well as artwork from their album covers.
So what makes a good mask? To me, I prefer artwork that describes the team logo or city, although as you will soon read, I reserve the right to contradict myself. I am not a big fan of painted images of actual people, either alive or dead. This seems to be a trend lately. Recent masks have included musicians such as Led Zeppelin (Sean Burke/PHI) and Nickelback (Cam Ward/CAR) as well as NHL legends (Mikael Tellqvist in Phoenix and his Bobby Hull mask). Ward has wisely since changed to a design of North Carolina villain Blackbeard the Pirate. Generally speaking, I don’t like designs specifically of a goalies nickname, such as Ed Belfour’s Eddie the Eagle masks. The classic Moose Hedberg design slips through a loophole, as it was originally patterned after his Manitoba Moose logo.
That final brings us to the end, where I will reveal my all time favorite NHL mask. It is not so much as just a mask, as an entire ensemble worn by the Carolina Hurricanes Trevor Kidd. Kidd’s mask was silver, with a skull peering over the face bars. Along the bottom, his nickname “Kidder” was spelled out in red. But the gloves and pads were really what made Kidd the most fashionable goalie in the league. The equipment had a unique ‘checkerboard’ background, with the blocks being made up by a black square inside a red square, the symbol used by weather forecasters for a hurricane warning.
Have a favorite design? Feel free to leave a comment.
