Wednesday Morning Fly By: Backlund Speaks

Oh. THAT movie.

Watch the whole thing – you will thank yourself later. :)

The 10 Greatest Flyers Games DVD set has it – it’s game #4 in the set. Of course, all the games are worth having. I’m hoping that they’ll release a second 10 greatest for the team’s 50th anniversary (we certainly have enough games for another 10).

They have different cage colors, but I haven’t seen many with different colors on the same cage. I don’t see why you couldn’t (I can ask the goalie on my team tonight if it be distracting if you’d like), but even if you can, the cage wire is so thin, you’d lose a lot of the design in the negative space.

NHL Network just ran a show about the evolution of the goalie mask. The guys who wore the old style mask said that they were very happy about the new cage style mask in the 80s because the old one sat right up against your face, so it was very uncomfortable, didn’t allow much air flow, limited your vision, and it would still hurt alot when you got hit with a puck, but atleast it stopped you from getting cut. So, even if they could still wear the old mask, I’m sure not many would have wanted to.

I can’t answer that definitively without googling, but here is my stab at it.

1)Safety, as you mention

2) I’m not old enough to have played with kids that wore the older style, but I would imagine that visibility wasn’t exactly a point of strength in the old masks, outside of not having wire in the way. So as the new masks came out, not only did they provide more safety but better visibility out of the peripherals, etc.as well (with the possible except of looking down).

3) Again, I never played with anyone who wore one, but I’d imagine the sound in the old school cages when they got hit with a puck was miserable. So I would have to guess that the new cages that first came out offered, not only better protection, but better acoustics

It’s not like playing D or O where a helmet effects your view of the ice, a half shield hampers your vision further, and a cage stops you from seeing even more. So with extra protection, comes a loss of vision. I imagine (again, a guess, that the new style helmets helped not only protection, but also with he vision (assuming they got used to looking through the wire).

Rule 11 – Goal Keeper’s Equipment

11.1 Goalkeeper’s Equipment – With the exception of skates and stick, all the equipment worn by the goalkeeper must be constructed solely for the purpose of protecting the head or body, and he must not wear any garment or use any contrivance which would give him undue assistance in keeping goal.

The League’s Hockey Operations Department is specifically authorized to make a check of each teams’ equipment (including goalkeepers’ sticks) to ensure the compliance with the rule. It shall report its findings to the Commissioner for his disciplinary action.

11.7 Masks – Protective masks of a design approved by the League may be worn by goalkeepers. Protective masks deemed to be worn only to increase stopping area will be considered illegal.

So nothing specifically prohibiting them outside of a goalie wants to still have his eyes in his skull after the game. I could see a goalie wearing a throwback for warm ups, but never putting his safety at risk during game play.