The Goalie Masks I Picked!
Saturday · Mar 22 · 2008 | 11:44 AM PDTAs promised, the unveiling of the rest of the masks that will be included in the tournament that begins in just two days! There are 34 more and here they are.
A couple of things I should explain. Karri Ramo switches off between two masks. Both will be in the preliminary round where you guys will determine which makes it to the main 64.
Johan Holmqvist, at this moment, does not have a mask painted for the Dallas Stars, the team for which he now plays. The one or two games he has played in, however, he's worn a black mask with a Stars logo on the chin. I've opted for his Lightning helmet since it's actually painted. (This doesn't apply to Martin Gerber because he intentionally wears a blank helmet.)
Brian Boucher has been backing up Evgeni Nabokov lately for the San Jose Sharks, yet he's been wearing his Philadelphia Phantoms AHL mask. That's the one I'm going with though at this point I understand he has a new one on the way. If either Holmqvist or Boucher — or any other goalie for that matter — changes his mask prior to his poll being posted, I will likely change the graphic to reflect that. If a change is made after the poll is posted, too bad.
My process here in choosing these 34 was essentially to get in as many if not all of the goalies currently seeing time in the NHL. There are a few exceptions but that's the way it goes. If you think there's been an injustice, feel free to say so. It's not necessarily set in stone until I post the bracket tomorrow. But make sure you present a good argument. No flakes allowed.
Now, as you'll see with the bracket, we'll be narrowing these 34 down to 32 in the preliminary round. I've already decided on how. The two polls will be Marc Denis vs Scott Clemmensen and Jimmy Howard vs Tuukka Rask. Really what it came down to was, in one case, two relatively veteran goalies who now see very little playing time in the league and, in the other, two very young goalies who don't play much but may have big futures (also, nice masks!).
I want to point out that I recognize that I'm leaving out guys like Jean-Sebastien Aubin, Dmitri Patzold, Erik Ersberg, Corey Crawford, Michael Leighton, Curtis McElhinney, Thomas Greiss and even Brent Johnson. But how much NHL action are they really seeing anyway? I know I'm leaving out other names, but I had to draw a line somewhere. They'll have their moment.
And for what it's worth, I'll let you in on some of my future plans. First, I'm already gathering pictures to do another goalie mask competition following this one. For that, we'll go back in time 10 years and judge masks from the 1998-99 season. In fact, I'm even considering a spinoff blog like ToHL that focuses solely on goalie masks. Trying to gauge interest. I'm also considering abandoning ToHL after the CHL logo tournaments. There doesn't seem to be a big interest there like there is here.
That's all I've got for now. Get ready to see the match-ups tomorrow. Remember, they'll be completely random!
UPDATE (3/23 11:08 AM): I changed out Fernandez for Ersberg up there. Enjoy!
Reader Comments (21)
The only thing that buggs me is that Ersberg is now the No.1 goalie in L.A. and he doesn't have a bad mask.On the other hand, great job on the graphics Chris, this is gonna be a sweet tourney.
"First, I'm already gathering pictures to do another goalie mask competition following this one. For that, we'll go back in time 10 years and judge masks from the 1998-99 season."
This is awesome. Hopefully the trend continues and the following tournament we jump back another 10 years.
I am so glad i kept coming back to this sight since late summer when you, Chris, had the news on the RBK Edge jerseys and when they would be released. Congrats on keeping this site fun and interesting! cant wait for the Goalie tournament to begin!
Yay, Gerber is on your list! Everyone, clear the path for Darth Gerber. Haha.
i am really worried that this will turn into a vote for your favorite goalie tourney, instead of vote for the best looking mask...
I can understand not using Brent Johnson because his mask is somewhat generic. But I don't know how you can use the playing time argument when you're including Denis and Clemmensen, who don't even play in the NHL lately, and when Johnson was pretty much splitting starts prior to the Huet acquisition. If you'd rather stick to two goalies per team, that's cool though.
Why is the Dan Cloutier mask, his old one form last season (which he only used for a few games)?
He went back to using the same kind of cage as Osgood like he normally wears.
yay!!! alex auld!!!!! wooooooo
Brian Boucher has a new helmet. It was revealed on FSN Bay Area last night in the 2-1 ANA VS SJS game last night,
I don't think you should have included Osgood. Also, Dan Cloutier went back to the Helmet/Cage combo.
Couple of things: First, I used Cloutier's 2006 mask because it was actually painted. But the truth is, I'm trying to go with current helmets so I'll find a new picture and change that graphic to his current helmet.
Second, I've heard about Boucher's new mask but until he wears it in a game, I can't update the graphic since I'll need a game action photo.
even though Graham's helmet on your post is the best, its not the one he uses anymore
Gerber? Seriously?
gerber sucks ahahaha LEAFS WON ... still a long shot but gotta beleaf.. glad to see raycrofts mask there.. i dont think the holmqvist mask should be included if it's not a dallas one... and cloutier wears a black osgood helmet and should be replaced with Ersberg
Gerber? Seriously?
Obviously, you do not see that the Gerber mask is a replica of Spinal Tap's "Smell the Glove" album.
"It's like, how much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black. "
Just wanted to point out the picture of Budaj's mask is of his old one, photos of his new ones here.
http://www.milehighhockey.com/story/2008/1/31/102123/692
For Boucher, look for him to play either on the 27th or 28th. That will probably be his only other start before the playoffs (if then).
It's too bad that there's only one shot per mask, as a lot of guys don't have symmetrical masks with both sides matching. There's some cool back-plates as well. A view of the front, both sides, and back would be awesome, but also a lot of work. Thanks for doing what you have!
TUUKKA RASK - Boston Bruins. He has one of the greatest masks of all time. Reminds me of the great Andy Moog.
Boucher is playing tonight with his new mask after Nabby got pulled.
I don't know if he's worn it yet or not, but poking around at a site of a mask painter I found that Chris Mason has a new mask: http://www.eyecandyair.com/goaliemasks/chrismason2.htm