There Are More Video Game NHL Goalie Masks Than You Might Imagine
Sports may be like my kryptonite when it comes to writing (and uh, playing), but sometimes our worlds collide like today where video games meet hockey.
A friend passed along this article to me which showed that a lot of NHL goalies are big video game fans, and some have customized their masks to reflect that fact.
The most interesting part of this is what games some of them picked, as you wouldn’t think Rikku and Yuna from Final Fantasy X would exactly be the most intimidating choices.
Check out the full gallery below:
Angry Birds (made by David Arrigo)
God of War (Chris Mason – Nashville Predators)
Pac Man (Scott Darling – University of Maine)
Assassin’s Creed (Peter Budaj – Montreal Canadiens)
Grand Theft Auto IV (and AC) (Antti Niemi – Chicago Blackhawks)
Final Fantasy X (Kari Lehtonen – Dallas Stars)
Update: One from reader Mike who has a wicked sweet Lich King mask.
I’m not in the NHL but here is mine, with a WoW theme: http://has-flavor.com/lichkingmask/
The most interesting part of this is what games some of them picked, as you wouldn’t think Rikku and Yuna from Final Fantasy X would exactly be the most intimidating choices.
Any hockey fan will tell you that most goalies, at least at the NHL level, are more than a little strange. I would assume their gaming preferences run the gamut. As long as they’re stopping pucks, you just let them do whatever they need to do.
Not a video game character, but kinda funny: Peter Budaj also has Ned Flanders on the back of his mask.
Not really VG related but Martin Gerber wore a Darth Vader styled mask for a season:
http://www.zimbio.com/Darth+Vader/articles/121/Martin+Gerber+s+new+mask
Peter Budaj actually plays for the Colorado Avalanche, formerly know as the Montreal Canadiens. Odd thing is, they moved back in the mid ’90s so you are either being sarcastic or really don’t follow hockey…..at all.
actually it was the Quebec Nordiques, my humble apologies, i was confused 🙁
It’s actually Final Fantasy X-2
Mason is on the Winnipeg Jets now, being from Winnipeg I’ll have to take a look at his new helmet and see if the theme continues.
angry birds is the one which i like most from this list……
Brian Elliott of the Blues has Casey Jones from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on his mask