Photo: Washington Capitals

A few months ago, NoVa Caps conducted an interview with Swedish artist Dave Gunnarsson, Braden Holtby’s exclusive goalie mask painter. With the highly-anticipated World Cup of Hockey in less than a month, Gunnarsson is working his magic on a number of World Cup goalies’ masks. His works, along with other artists, are included in this look at the goalie masks for the World Cup of Hockey.

TEAM USA – Ben Bishop – Tampa Bay Lightning



The mask above belongs to Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop. The top of the mask features the Team USA logo, and incorporates the Tampa Bay colors of blue and white into the mask. The tubing on the sides of the mask spells USA. Lightning and USA logos are found throughout the mask. But the most fascinating feature of this mask is the fact that it lights up when the lights go out! As illustrated above, the mask features neon tubing that gives the mask the ability to glow when in a dark environment.

TEAM USA – Jonathan Quick – Los Angeles Kings

TEAM CANADA – Braden Holtby – Washington Capitals

The Caps’ very own Braden Holtby’s mask includes the recognizable Canadian maple leaf with distinct, pointed veins and the Caps logo featured in a subtle way behind the leaf in holographic paint. It is only visible up close. The panels of the sides feature the NHL and World Cup logos. Here is a video from DaveArt’s Instagram page (@davidofdaveart) of Holtby’s mask:

TEAM CANADA – Corey Crawford – Chicago Blackhawks

TEAM CANADA – Carey Price – Montreal Canadiens

TEAM NORTH AMERICA – Matt Murray – Pittsburgh Penguins

Made by artist Stephane Bergeron, the young Pittsburgh Penguins netminder features the dark coloration of the North America jersey. It features a somewhat electric yellow and the North America initials on both sides of the mask.

TEAM NORTH AMERICA – John Gibson – Anaheim Ducks

TEAM NORTH AMERICA – Connor Hellebuyuck – Manitoba Moose (AHL)

TEAM FINLAND – Pekka Rinne – Nashville Predators

Team Finland’s Pekka Rinne’s (Nashville Predators) mask features the veteran netminder’s traditional monster style design with the open jaws. On the back, blue flames stand for hair and and the sides feature the Predators and Finnish logos. Also on the sides (near the cage) are blue, glowing red eyes.

TEAM FINLAND – Mikko Koskinen – SKA Saint Petersburg (KHL)

Mikko Koskinen of Team Finland will be using a mask made by Dave Gunnarsson in the World Cup. It features inspiration from the flag of Finland and crest, as well as paying tribute to Finland’s long history in hockey. Sprinkled throughout the mask are NHL and Finnish logos, as well as a tribute to retired Finnish defenseman Timo Jutila.

TEAM RUSSIA – Sergei Bobrovsky – Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky pays homage to Mother Russia in this beautifully designed mask by Dave Gunnarsson. It contains a massive golden Blue Jackets logo on the back, while the Russian coat of arms and colors, with a banner showing the name “Bobs” on the chin. It also features his number (72) and the World Cup logo.

TEAM RUSSIA – Semyon Varlomov – Colorado Avalanche

TEAM CZECH REPUBLIC – Michal Neuvirth – Philadelphia Flyers

Former Capital and current Philadelphia Flyers netminder Michal Neuvirth’s mask for the World Cup of Hockey (made by Dave Gunnarsson) uses the Czech Republic’s flag as inspiration. From the top of the cage to the chin, the Flyers winged logo is cleverly painted with, and the chin has his classic “Neuvy” nickname painted on it. The checkers are inspired by the Czech shield.

TEAM CZECH REPUBLIC – Petr Mrazek – Detroit Red Wings

Petr Mrazek has been known to feature a character or element from the popular TV show Family Guy on his masks, even though he has admitted he’s never seen the show. This mask is no exception. It features Mrazek’s character climbing Toronto’s famous CN Tower, the first mask to honor the host city, dressed as King Kong, while holding the Czech flag. The character is surrounded by fighting jets, which Mrazek says are representative of all the teams in the tournament. The video below gives a better view of the teams’ logos painted on them. The other side of the mask features the Red Wings logo, as well as the Czech Republic shield.

Ondřej Pavelec of the Winnipeg Jets was also named to the Czech team and had his mask painted by Dave Gunnarsson:

TEAM EUROPE – Frederick Andersen – Toronto Maple Leafs

TEAM EUROPE – Thomas Greiss – New York Islanders

TEAM SWEDEN – Henrik Lundqvist – New York Rangers

TEAM SWEDEN – Jacob Markstrom – Vancouver Canucks

By Michael Fleetwood

Once the remaining masks are released, the article will be updated as needed, so please check back for updates!

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