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Never really thought about it.  As long as he's stopping pucks he could wear a milk crate for all I care.

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I vaguely remember watching a piece on Channel 38 between periods, probably in the 70's or 80's, about a guy who was designing many of the pro masks...I think he was from Lexington, MA or somewhere around there. Not sure if he's still doing it (or alive for that matter!)

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In response to hangnail's comment:

 

I vaguely remember watching a piece on Channel 38 between periods, probably in the 70's or 80's, about a guy who was designing many of the pro masks...I think he was from Lexington, MA or somewhere around there. Not sure if he's still doing it (or alive for that matter!)

 

hang - Your mention of seeing a feature on someone who made most of the NHL goalie masks back in the 70s made me think of a HNIC between periods segment from years ago about a local Brampton, Ontario guy, Greg Harrison.  He made NHL masks in his basement (I think) back in the 70s.  Any chance this could be him?

 

http://youtu.be/1lYPmQqp_Mw

Todays masks are almost too busy..Sometimes it's tough to see whatg the actual design is.. Great masks:

Mike Richter,Patrick Roy,Kirk McLean and Felix Potvin while on Toronto..Also Cujo had a nice one..Carey Price has actually gone to a simpler design this year...

Thought Steve Sheilds mask painted as a tribute to Gerry Cheevers was a nice one...

Remember when Jon Casey had blue at the top of his Bruins mask? Never liked it.

Mine is simple, 33 on the chin like Roy and my two German Shepherds painted on the front. 4 kids names on the back..

Byron Dafoe had a nice one and also had to German Shepherd heads on the back of it to pay tribute ot his dogs.

Guess it all depends on taste.  Here is a Bleacher Report article from Mar 2011 ranking goalie masks.  Rask finished in 4th place.  Interestingly enough Thomas was in 11th eventhough I've heard many people say that his white mask was the ugliest of all time.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/646552-nhl-power-rankings-pekka-rinne-and-the-top-30-goalie-masks-in-the-league#/articles/646552-nhl-power-rankings-pekka-rinne-and-the-top-30-goalie-masks-in-the-league/page/28

 

Rask's mask is awesome! The big red bear eyes on the top and the gold cage are great. I don't see an issue with putting his name on thr chin. Maybe he should get rid of the bruin and add a milk crate.

Best mask I've seen was Peter Budaj's mask when he was on the Avs.  It prominently featured Ned Flanders.

I still can't fathom the reality guys used to play without masks.  Today's players can fire the puck like laser beams but some of those in the Original Six like Bobby Hull, Frank Mahovlich, Bernie Geoffrion and Dennis Hull could also hammer it for their era.  Think I read somewhere Dennis Hull had a harder shot than his brother.  Only difference was it was nowhere near as accurate.

 

Whatever it takes to make them happy that people are shooting pucks at them makes me happy.

In response to RichHillOntario's comment:

 

In response to hangnail's comment:

 

I vaguely remember watching a piece on Channel 38 between periods, probably in the 70's or 80's, about a guy who was designing many of the pro masks...I think he was from Lexington, MA or somewhere around there. Not sure if he's still doing it (or alive for that matter!)

  

hang - Your mention of seeing a feature on someone who made most of the NHL goalie masks back in the 70s made me think of a HNIC between periods segment from years ago about a local Brampton, Ontario guy, Greg Harrison.  He made NHL masks in his basement (I think) back in the 70s.  Any chance this could be him?

 

http://youtu.be/1lYPmQqp_Mw

 

No no no no...no

Ernie Higgins of Norwood Mass made NHL masks in the 70s and into the 80's. He made Cheevers and Johnstons and Gilberts and Vachon's masks. Back in the 70's he made most NHL, WHA and pretty much every college goalie's mask playing in the New England area. I still have the 2 masks he made for me.

Greg Harrison made a number of masks for NHL players but he kinda ripped off Higgins' design and Plante's designs too.

My Higgins in 1979.  Same as Cheevers/Johnston when I bought it.

I really like Tuukka's mask. Agreed that the RASK bottom portion is a bit much, but I like how he fuses the black and gold together.

read an article in SI about a local guy that makes many NHL masks. Tuukka's pic is at the top of the page.

 

http://www.progoaliemask.com/about.html

In response to SoxFanInIL's comment:

Nice design Sox. I had Marco Baron get one made for me when he came to my town to teach hockey school. He knew how to do the plaser of paris mold. I was only in my early teens though & by the time I got it. I was only able to wear it for 3 games when the CMHA said we couldn't wear them anymore, because they weren't CSA approved. So, I could only wear it playing on the outdoor rinks. They weren't the best protection to begin with & they were worse when it was worn in -15 to -20 weather. After my first concussion my parents said that was the end of that. Think my Dad still has it in his attic somewhere. 

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I'm a huge fan of painted goalie masks. I'm also a huge fan of art in general. Here's a link to see some 2013 goalie masks. 

 

http://ilovegoalies.blogspot.com/2012/09/jonas-hiller-2012-13-mask.html

 

I like Hiller's black mask. No nonsense.

I also thought it interesting that Thomas said he saw things better when he wore the square/rectangle screen as it kind of gave order to his sight lines.

Most goalies seem to prefer the cat's eye. Do any goalies here think it makes a difference one way or another?

In response to seobrien's comment:

Nope, after a while you dont even see the bars...Thomas wore his mask because it said it kept him from breathing in dead air, there was more room in his mask near the mouth/chin area.

I really like TT's white mask. I thought it looked awesome. I also heard the larger holes made it easier for him to track the puck. Apparently they are the exact right size so that no stick or puck can make it through but they squares are as big as possible.

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In response to SoxFanInIL's comment:

I'd wondered if that was you in your avatar.  Thanks for the Higgins info. 

I guess I'm in the minority here.....I can't stand Rask's mask.  In fact, I think it's one of the worst in the league and was quite surprised that he had the same design coming into this season. 

 

But, hey, like everyone else, I don't care what he's wearing as long as he stops the puck.