Hockey goalie pays tribute to Bruce Springsteen on mask

When the New York Rangers have their next homecoming with the Winnipeg Jets, there might be a Bruce Springsteen fan in goal.

Ondrej Pavelec, a Czech-born goalie for the Jets, has a new mask which pays tribute to the Boss. The right side of the mask features the iconic "Born to Run" album cover and the left side has three pics of Springsteen from various stages of his career.

The mask art was designed by Swedish airbrush artist David Gunnarsson.

"I remember when I was a kid and I sat in my big brother´s room and looked at his posters of the Boss," Gunnarsson said on his Facebook page. "The Boss is a part of my pop culture life."

"(It's) a clean cut old school design with Bruce painted in different eras. Everything created in light colors and a design that breathes Winnipeg Jets."

Allan Walsh, a Pavelec's agent, tweeted pics of the mask on Friday, Feb. 27.

Chris Jordan: 732-643-4060; cjordan@app.com