By Amy Tennery and Giulio Piovaccari
MILAN, Feb 11 (Reuters) – From Finnish forests to Canadian loons, ice hockey goalies are wearing national pride on their heads at the Milano Cortina Games with intricate designs giving fans a peek into the personalities behind the masks.
While Olympic outfits traditionally prioritise uniformity over individualism, ice hockey is an exception where the stoic men and women guarding the nets give rein to creativity via their headgear.
In professional hockey, the goalies often opt for tributes to their NHL or PWHL team. But at the Olympics, personal and patriotic inspiration come to the fore.
Washington Capitals goalie Logan Thompson wears stars and eagle patterns on his helmet in the NHL – but the Canadian national team player has put hometown pride on display in Milan with images of a moose and Canadian flag on the back plate.
“We wanted to come up with something more Calgary-Alberta-themed, where I’m from, and how much I love that city,” said Thompson. “So I thought we came up with a pretty unique idea and it turned out awesome … I just love looking at everyone’s artwork.”
Canadian men’s goalie Darcy Kuemper had the image of the iconic loon bird added to one side of his helmet with a grain silo and wheat stalks on the other, the latter a nod to his Saskatchewan province.
Kuemper said he does not get very involved in helmet design when he plays for the Los Angeles Kings but he worked with a painter, Dave Fried, for his Olympic gear. “For this one I wanted to have a little bit of input so it was pretty exciting.”
PERSONAL TRIBUTE
AnniKeisala, a goalie for Finland’s women’s team, included images of Finnish woodlands on her helmet as well as the number 23, a nod to her Beijing 2022 teammate SanniHakala, who retired after she was paralysed in an on-ice accident in 2023.
“I want to respect her and carry her with me all the time when I play here,” said Keisala.
Goalkeeper masks and helmet designs are required to be submitted to the sport’s global governing body IIHF and the International Olympic Committee prior to the Winter Games, with restrictions on what artwork can be allowed.
In another sport, skeleton, Ukrainian Vladyslav Heraskevych has been forbidden during competition at the Games from wearing a helmet showing fellow sportsmen killed in the war with Russia.
U.S. ice hockey goalie Gwyneth Philips said the IIHF rules were “pretty strict” so she let a designer take charge, adding a symbol of her native Ohio – an “Athens block” – to traditional symbols like an American eagle.
“It’s a brick that they make in my hometown… It’s a fun homage to my home town – it’s also a brick wall,” she said, referring to goalies’ self-image.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery and Giulio Piovaccari in Milan; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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