Catalog of Best Goalie Masks in NHL History

[FerrisRox]

My mask from Peewee hockey...

What was the original paint job?

 

[David Bruce Banner]

What was the original paint job?

It was originally a red mask that, for some reason I no longer remember, I painted metallic turquoise with the touch-up spray paint for my Dad's '66 Ford Fairlane... which then chipped off from puck hits and general wear and tear.

 

[Killion]

My mask from Peewee hockey...

Interesting. Is that a D&R?.... possibly even a road hockey mask?

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Interesting. Is that a D&R?.... possibly even a road hockey mask?

Not sure about D&R. My best guess is that it was bought at Woodwards, who occasionally had their own line of goods. Wouldn't surprise me if it was initially a road hockey mask, but safety standards being what they were at the time, was allowed in Peewee ice hockey in the early '70's.

 

[Killion]

Not sure about D&R. My best guess is that it was bought at Woodwards, who occasionally had their own line of goods. Wouldn't surprise me if it was initially a road hockey mask, but safety standards being what they were at the time, was allowed in Peewee ice hockey in the early '70's.

... oh yeah, long-time dept store's in western Canada.... does look to me to be a D&R who made excellent goaltending equipment, pads, gloves etc, based in Quebec. That D&R model along with Plantes' Fibrosport's, Winn-Well etc available "off the shelf" so to speak, face-flush, just werent custom. I called it a "road hockey mask" as thats basically what road hockey masks resembled when they began producing them in the late 70's & 80's however yes, your mask would have been made for play on the ice, in league games, and safety standards of the day absolutely allowing for it.... Nice piece of gear & that you still have it, great. Brings back fond memories I'm sure.

 

[Chief Nine]

Pre - stitches Cheevers

View attachment 89097

And his old partner, Eddie Johnston

View attachment 89099

I'm actually more impressed that Espo is below the dots in the D zone in that shot!!

 

[Olden McGroin]

Interesting. Is that a D&R?.... possibly even a road hockey mask?

My old road hockey mask was very similar to these, Mylec brand according to the web:

 

[Killion]

^^^ Interesting, and certainly very similar so yes, could be that brand. Mylec coming into existence in 72 when the owner developed a no-bounce orange road hockey ball... followed over the years with various Road Hockey accessories & equipment. Specialized.... Ghosts' mask appears earlier, different & I do vaguely recall seeing them late 60's early 70's in Toronto. D&R brand. Noted as D&R was hard to find. Cooper, Fibrosport etc having the market pretty much cornered.

 

[Olden McGroin]

Seth Martin Seth Martin - Wikipedia

 

[Killion]

^^^ Awesome. Great shots of Martin who as you know made his own masks and as we can see, extremely nice models. That one a sort of cross between the Lefty Wilson / Sawchuk & Pretzel. Very nice indeed.... also note that he unlike most didnt bend his Cooper Waffle Blocker (looks like a GM12 - very early model as its got Cooper-Weeks on it rather than just Cooper as the co became known as). Youd want that bent out in order to ease access to grabbing your stick if you dropped it & when using the blocker to save a shot re-directing the rebound with some air on the puck into the corner. Before the Cooper Waffles, all blockers flat, no curve. Seth there pretty much old-school in terms of technique, style. Played it deeper in the net, more of a ground game, closer to the ice.

 

[DowntownBooster]

Gary Bauman of the Minnesota North Stars

 

[Killion]

Man, that ^^^ is one scary looking home-made mask..... Gary Bauman was originally a Left Winger who a bit late in life had to fill in for an injured Goalie in amateur, liked it so much there he stuck, eventually signing with the Canadiens organization & playing in 2 games as a Hab, also an ASG, sharing duties with Charlie Hodge... Grabbed by Minny in the Expansion Draft, shared the crease with Maniago who was still going maskless at times until one night while sitting on the bench, watched poor Gary Bauman there take a Bobby Hull slapshot to the throat that very nearly killed him. Maniago thereafter wearing his mask for the rest of his career.... Baumans mask looks to be modeled after Plantes first mask though Garys' with additional cutouts across the forehead, cheeks & chin... then left in a septic tank for about 3 months to "steep" because tell ya what, thats about what it looks like!

 

[DowntownBooster]

1969/70 - Tony Esposito sporting his early mask

 

[Chief Nine]

1969/70 - Tony Esposito sporting his early mask

Looks like a generous amount of fabric on old Tony's pants there. Wasn't he one that was known to take liberties with his uniform?

 

[Killion]

Looks like a generous amount of fabric on old Tony's pants there. Wasn't he one that was known to take liberties with his uniform?

.... oh ya, big time. Could quote chapter & verse of the NHL Rule Book, studied it, looked for & found equipment loopholes. Fly trap sewn into the crotch of his pants.... cheater on his catching glove.... over-stuffed his pads....

 

[Chief Nine]

.... oh ya, big time. Could quote chapter & verse of the NHL Rule Book, studied it, looked for & found equipment loopholes. Fly trap sewn into the crotch of his pants.... cheater on his catching glove.... over-stuffed his pads....

OK I thought it was him. Evidence was clear as day in that pic

 

[Olden McGroin]

Eddie Giacomin

 

[Albatros]

Going postal...

 

[Albatros]

Regrettably I don't have his name, but the Chinese goaltender at the 1974 World Championships had an interesting combination:

 

[FerrisRox]

Going postal...

That's a Mylec road hockey mask. It came in all white.

 

[Killion]

Regrettably I don't have his name, but the Chinese goaltender at the 1974 World Championships had an interesting combination:

Extremely unusual.... I dont recall seeing that ever before.... odd looking mask... reminiscent of the faces of the Terra Cotta Warriors of Qin Shi Huang, unpainted masks from the Kabuki Theater, same sort of parched looking faces. Strange. Like a burn victim or something.... Indeed, the rest of his gear thats visible also unusual. The trapper, blocker, skates, the way his pads only then partially cover his skates which is serious throwback, very old school. Appears to be all excellent quality though the pocket on his trapper rather shallow. Interesting.

 

[Albatros]

Their backup had mostly similar pretty custom-looking gear, but a more knight-like mask:

Artis was a Czechoslovak stick manufacturer, rare but not nonexistent in the NHL among skaters:

 

[Killion]

^^^ Wow. The Backups gear looks well & truly used, traditional toe fit on the pads. His catcher looks like a bare wisp, old dried up & smoked arctic char, whitefish or some such species huh?.... Whatdya' figure Albatross... about a 6 pounder?

 

[Albatros]

Looks like it could possibly be the same backup guy in goal in the 1974 film Thunderbirds in China about the University of British Columbia hockey team's trip to that country:



Got to love those fluffy player numbers too.

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Dennis Riggin and Terry Sawchuk in 1962/63.
Riggin is wearing what was then called a “skeleton Mask”, later known as the “pretzel mask” made by Jacques Plante’s company Fibrosport. Sawchuk is wearing an early Ross "Lefty" Wilson designed mask.

Don Simmons also with the pretzel mask. I believe Simmons was the second goalie after Plante who donned a mask permanently in the NHL.

Jacques Caron with another pretzel mask. Not much protection.

Marcel Paille

Kurt Andersson, Swedish goalie who played in the 1950s and 60s with what looks like some kind of homemade design

Klaus Hirche, East German goalie who used to wear a black mask.

Peter Kolbe, his East German buddy used to wear a white one.

Peter Kolbe

Johnny Bower proudly displaying his mask on the wall

Cesare Maniago with a Jacques Plante designed mask

Curtis Sanford with a modern mask.

Greg Harrison who designed/created many of the masks in the 1970s and 80s.

Carey Price with Jacques Plante’s old equipment

Carey Price