There is no cooler piece of equipment in the world of hockey than a custom goalie mask. It's the one piece of equipment that can be truly, completely customized. Both Leafs' goalies unveiled new masks to match the Leafs' new St. Pats uniforms tonight, which they will debut against the Carolina Hurricanes on Hockey Night in Canada.
Samsonov has already been through a few designs this season as he thought they may have been the key to getting his game back in the early part of the season. For Woll, this marks the first time his mask has changed from his Belfour-esque bald eagle mask this year.
Samsonov is still the expected starter despite an injury scare at morning skate. His mask features both the old script St Pats logo and the current Maple Leafs one. It's a beautiful mask, but I'm a little surprised that it doesn't feature the new shamrock logo.
Now Woll's is truly a work of art. It features a stained glass motif depicting St Patrick's Cathedral as well as St Patrick himself. A shamrock on the chin for good measure ties the whole thing together and really makes for one of the best looking masks in Leafs, er, St Pats history.
Both masks fall into the "absolutely gorgeous" category, but if I had to give one the edge, it would have to go to Woll. The creativity and the artwork are next level. Honestly, it's a shame he won't get to wear it during the game, but there's more to picking a starting goalie than who's got the better looking mask. Maybe next time Woller!
