![]() ![]() One evening he had gone to watch a game in which Plante was goaltending. Bill Burchmore, a sales and promotional manager for the company, envisioned the mask. Plante's mask was the product of a Canadian company called Fiberglass Canada. By this time, Plante had broken his jaw, both cheekbones, and his nose, his skull had suffered a hair-line fracture, and he had gotten over 200 stitches from past injuries received during games. Plante was forced to leave the game to be stitched up, but later returned wearing a flesh tone mask constructed of fiberglass with cutouts for the eyes. The first recorded goalie wearing a mask came on November 1, 1959, when Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadians was hit with a rising shot in the nose and was knocked unconscious by New York Ranger Andy Bathgate. HistoryĬlint Benedict in 1930 is thought to have worn the first mask-like protection in a game but his mask was not formally recorded. Goaltenders at that time wore their injuries like badges. Goalies also did not wear any form of facial protection during games because they worried that other players and fans would lose respect for them, thinking them to be weak. These forms of facial protection were not satisfactory since they fogged up, there was a glare from the lights in the rink, and they had many blindspots, making them unsuitable for game use. Goaltenders began experimenting with facial protection such as wire cages and clear shatter-proof shields in the 1950s, but they were only used during practice. The slapshot was beginning to hit players in the face, resulted in broken facial bones and skin lacerations. It took decades for the goalies to incorporate the wire cages into the fiberglass masks of today.Īs the game of hockey progressed, the players got stronger and faster, and players were shooting the puck harder and higher. The wire cage was originally worn by baseball catchers. In 1934, Roy Mosgrove, who wore eye glasses all the time, first put on a wire cage to protect his glasses. ![]() This, however, was not recorded as the first goalie mask in history. Benedict ended up wearing the mask for only two games because it blocked his vision. One theory is that it was a modified football faceguard, and the other is that it was a boxer's sparring mask. There are two theories as to the origin of the face-mask that he wore. In 1930, he wore a modified leather mask that covered his broken nose and cheekbone, the result of getting hit by a puck during a game. Shots were low and were not as strong and fast as they are now.Ĭlint Benedict of the Montreal Maroons was the first goalie to wear any type of facial protection in a hockey game. In the early beginnings of hockey, goaltenders had never thought to wear any facial or head protection. Hockey has been played for over 100 years in North America and over 500 years in Europe, but amazingly the goalie mask is a relatively new invention. The first organized hockey league began with four teams in Kingston, Ontario in 1885. The Canucks were left without a captain when Markus Naslund signed a free-agent contract with the New York Rangers in the off-season.As a formal game, hockey began to be played in North America in the 1870s in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Gillis sought clarification of the rule from NHL executives before naming Luongo captain. Luongo is not allowed to discuss calls with officials or participate in pre-game face-offs. More than half a century later, the NHL remains concerned that allowing a goaltender to perform traditional captain's duties will give a team unscheduled timeouts. It prohibits a goaltender from acting as a captain or alternate captain on the ice and wearing a C on his jersey. The Canucks broke tradition Tuesday by naming Luongo as their new captain, the first goaltender to receive the honour since Bill Durnan held the post for the Montreal Canadiens in 1947-48 61 seasons ago.ĭurnan's penchant for leaving his crease to talk to officials prompted the league to create a rule that is still in effect today. It is clearly separate from the mask's painted design and resembles the plain letter that a captain usually wears on a jersey. The dark blue C is located on the bottom of Luongo's mask in the area that protects his throat. "It can stand for whatever he wants it to stand for," said Canucks general manager Mike Gillis, when asked whether the C stood for Canucks or captain. Roberto Luongo found a way to stay within NHL rules but also let the world know he is the new captain of the Vancouver Canucks.įorbidden by the NHL from sporting the captain's "C" on his jersey because he is a goaltender, Luongo had the letter put on his mask for Sunday night's pre-season game against the visiting Anaheim Ducks. ![]()
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