In the late 1960s, Boston Bruins goaltender Gerry Cheevers was struck in his all-white mask by a puck during practice. When he stepped back onto the ice after going to the locker room, Cheevers’ fiberglass had black stitches painted across it.
He had asked trainer John Forristall to paint his mask in places where he would have been injured if he hadn’t worn one.
Why? Cheevers wanted to stand out. He despised how plain his mask was and wanted to add his own flair, kickstarting a long-standing tradition in college and professional hockey of goalies customizing their helmets.
With technology’s evolution, helmets and their designs grow more intricate every season. Take Quinnipiac’s six goaltenders among men’s and women’s hockey. Give their helmets a closer eye and you can learn a thing or two about the player behind the cage.
(All designs by Doug Wager)
Freshman Felicia Frank
Q: Is this your first custom helmet?
A: I had my last two helmets before this one with the team I played for in (the) SDHL in Sweden.
Q: Can you take me through your helmet design?
A: I have the Bobcat on the (both) side(s) because I wanted to match my pads, and I have the Bobcat on my pads. And then I had a ‘Q’ on top because I also have that on my pads and locker and gloves. And then I have (the Swedish flag) on the backside together with the team I played for when I was a kid (Falko¨ping Blue Riders). (There’s also) lighting bolts on it and it’s just because (it) matches my pads.
Q: What’s your favorite part of the helmet?
A: My brother’s birth year because we are so close, and I admire him. So I wanted to have him with me on the helmet.
Q: Are there any other inspirations to your design?
A: I have a No. 29 on it that is a symbol for my old teammates. We played together (the) last two years, and we got so close and still have contact.
Q: What is the design process like?
A: I did some drafts on it and then sent a picture of it and then they tried to do it as best as they painted on. I submitted (it in) May (and it was here) in September.
Freshman Dylan Silverstein
Q: Is this your first custom helmet?
A: This helmet’s actually a throwback to my first one. Very similar design, navy base. I did the same thing on the chin, wrote my nickname ‘Silvey’ on it. That was my first helmet with the (USNTDP). For the second one (in juniors), I went kind of opposite. I did a white base, just kind of generic (bald) eagle, USA Hockey logo. I actually like this helmet a lot more. I also like that I get to use a cat eye (cage) now, just because (with) those ones, I either used a straight bar cage.
Q: Can you take me through your helmet design?
A: The top we have Bobcat eyes and a bunch of scratch marks. On the sides, just our standard logo. Chin we have my nickname, kind of a dark navy base helmet. Back plate, something I’ve done with all three of my helmets was Darth Vader, pretty big Star Wars fan. Coffee cup, kind of known for being a caffeine addict and it was actually something my strength coach from the national team (who) said I should do on my helmet. And then the last thing I added for the first time on this helmet is actually Naruto, just like a show I liked a lot when I was younger.
Q: What’s your favorite part of the helmet?
A: I really like the Bobcat eyes. I think they came out super well. Whenever I see overhead shots of me playing in games I think they look sick.
Q: Are there any other inspirations to your design?
A: I mean, pretty much just going based off my first helmet. I basically just sent photos of that helmet to our painter and said, ‘Kind of make it look like this,’ since I really like that helmet and I really let him do what he wanted with it.
Q: What is the design process like?
A: We ended up going a very different direction and basically had a white base helmet, scratches on the chin and just pretty much the only thing we kept from the original design was the logos inside. It was a few weeks going back and forth, him sending me mockups, until we kind of sat on something I liked.
Sophomore Matej Marinov
Q: Is this your first custom helmet?
A: So I think my first one ever was in the Slovakian national team two years ago. Then I had one in (USHL) Fargo (Force). I had one last year for my first year at Quinnipiac. And this is my fourth one.
Q: Can you take me through your helmet design?
A: (On the chin) it’s my No. 33 which I changed from last year. Last year I had No. 35, I always had No. 33 so I changed it back. On my left side, I have the (Arnold Bernard) Library just to show the school. On the top, I have the (Quinnipiac) logo which I like. On my right side (university seal). I would say the most important part for me is the back so that’s the date of birth of my parents, the cross because I’m Christian and just (Slovak) flag to remember where I’m from and just never forget.
Q: What’s your favorite part of the helmet?
A: I think overall, the helmet. It’s a really nice design. I think the guy who painted it did a really good job on it. I think that’s my favorite one I’ve ever had.
Q: Are there any other inspirations to your design?
A: The design is from Linus Ullmark who played for the Boston Bruins. I think he had kind of the same one like three seasons ago. It’s also simple which I like a lot, nothing crazy on it.
Q: What is the design process like?
A: I looked (at) Instagram and I just chose my favorite one. And then I kind of sent the painter what I want on every side and on top and in the back. I have some friends who actually (drew) on paper what they want and then they send (it) but I’m not that guy.
Junior Tatum Blacker
Q: Is this your first custom helmet?
A: For Christmas my freshman year of high school, I asked for a customized helmet for my youth team. We were the Chicago Young Americans. So I had the Captain America shield, a bald eagle and a U.S. flag. It was kind of just like red, white and blue, and stars and the skyline.
Q: Can you take me through your helmet design?
A: Quinnipiac, (left side) because I go to Quinnipiac. And then I’ve got the Bobcat (right side) and then I’ve got a nice plaid shield of my (number) on it (front). And then the back is the Chicago skyline because I’m from Chicago, well, the suburbs of Chicago, but I like to say Chicago. Keep it simple.
Q: What’s your favorite part of the helmet?
A: Probably the shield with my number on it. I like the shield. That’s my favorite logo of ours.
Q: Are there any other inspirations to your design?
A: I got some ideas from the previous goalies before I came here. I checked out Instagram and copied them, honestly. Probably Catie Boudiette, Logan Angers ‘24 and Corinne Schroeder ‘22.
Q: What is the design process like?
A: I was told that the front is Quinnipiac and the back you can make personal. So that’s kind of what I did, just Quinnipiac in the front, and then my hometown in the back to remember my roots, where I came from.
Senior Noah Altman
Q: Is this your first custom helmet?
A: These are my sixth and seventh. I had another Quinnipiac one from my first two years, but it’s at home. It was blue on the top, blue on the bottom and the sides were white and it just had basic Bobcat logos on it. I’m from Los Angeles and I’m a big Lakers fan and Kobe Bryant (was) one of my favorite athletes. And that was the second helmet I’d got since Kobe passed away, so I had a cool mural of Kobe on the back of my helmet shooting a fade away jump shot.
Q: Can you take me through your helmet design?
A: So the idea of it is the Bobcat goes from the top all the way down to the bottom. So it’s like eating the cage in the middle, it’s like an open mouth with the teeth (down) here, the teeth (up) here and the eyes. If you’re in a resting position where you’re kind of down, this part looks really cool.
(The back) we ran into some timing issues. What I wanted to do was a map. So instead of this, it was gonna be a big map of the U.S., and it was gonna have the logo of all the teams I’ve played for before I came here. Instead of the Bobcat in Connecticut, it was gonna be the national championship trophy. Because we ran out of time, I didn’t really know (the trophy) was going to be this big. When I first saw it, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want the whole focal point to be the national championship trophy, but it’s still cool.’ And then I kept the ‘BELIEVE’ for Michael Torello (former impact player who passed).
I was thinking about doing a different colored cage, it was gonna fade so the outsides where it’s mostly yellow, was gonna fade yellow then into navy over the middle. But I was worried because when they powder coat it they do both sides, so I didn’t know what it would look like to look through.
Q: Are there any other inspirations to your design?
A: Tuukka Rask for the Bruins had one that was similar. And then Michael Garteig — he was the goalie when we went to the national championship game in 2016 — he had a similar one where he had the open mouth. And I think Ullmark for the Bruins had one too.
Q: What is the design process like?
A: If there’s an NHL goalie or college goalie that you saw (and) you really like their design, you can send it to him and be like, ‘OK, I really like this but there’s this green and black. How are we going to translate this into white gold and navy?’
Graduate student Kaley Doyle
Q: Is this your first custom helmet?
A: I’ve had four different painters. I had two different ones at Brown, I had one before in youth hockey and then obviously, a new one here. I would say the ideas are the same. I try to keep my helmets very simple and I try to stick to them. But I like to incorporate new things if I can make it more memorable.
Q: Can you take me through your helmet design?
A: I’m always big (into a) university seal, so that’s something I put on my previous helmet at (Brown). So did that with the new seal, switched it to yellow, just to kind of blend more obviously the Bobcat on (the left) side, just to kind of have a mix of both down the middle of the stripe. But I had the idea of putting puzzle pieces (on top) for my cousin who has autism, so kind of a way to incorporate him into my helmet. And then I’m always big on little low-key details. So if you see there are little ‘Qs’ (faded on top).
The Michigan license plate (on back), (I’m) from Michigan. This was a new license plate they just made a year or two ago, and this is actually the colors of the license plate. So I just used my name (on plate), lightning bolts are something I put on my stick.
(Then there’s) ‘PROVE PEOPLE WRONG.’ It’s something I always put on my helmet, so I thought it looked cool to add it to the license plate. Got an angel wing over here. My grandma, my mom and her sisters wear an angel wing on a necklace that my grandma’s brother gave them and he passed away. The two hearts are for two girls that I played against growing up in youth, passed away in a car accident.
(Above license plate) ‘YOU MATTER.’ That’s obviously mental health awareness, kind of in memory of my aunt who passed away. Her big thing was red lipstick. So I had it written in red lipstick, then lastly just (a) tow truck. My grandparents owned a tow company growing up, and that’s kind of where I was raised. I didn’t really go to daycare. My mom worked there. My aunts worked there, so it was like a family business.
Q: What’s your favorite part of the helmet?
A: Honestly, I would say my favorite part is ‘YOU MATTER.’ I think these days mental health is so important and just raising awareness for it as a student athlete, like being able to have that on the back of my helmet and knowing so many people see it, I think it’s just so important.
Q: Are there any other inspirations to your design?
A: Pretty much everything came from my mind. I’m into drawing, I can decently draw and then I can also do Photoshop. So designing my helmet is actually one of my favorite things.
