Monday, July 4, 2011

RATE MY MASK - Hannu Toivonen

I've been on a bit of a Hannu Toivonen kick of late. His masks just suck me in each and every time.

From his Most recent Chicago "Esposito' tribute lid to the popular St. Louis 'Staniowski' mask, Hannu knows how to turn heads with his goalie mask designs.

None more so than his 2006 creation.


This mask is yet another tribute mask. But can you guess who the original design belonged to?


Anything? Well, for those who enjoy hockey movies, it would be a quick guess.


That's right....Denis Lemieux himself. The goaltender from the famed Charlestown Chiefs in the Slap Shot movie.

The classic fibreglass style mask is reborn on Hannu's lid. This was at a time where tribute masks were more prevalent.

Hannu took the concept and decided to add his own little twist by deciding to pay homage to a fictional goaltender. Awesome.


The simple skull and crossbones look is bold and menacing and the Toivonen tribute sticks to it precisely. The only thing I found odd was that the hair painted on had a bit of a blonde look to it. While Denis Lemieus was probably more grey than anything.

Lastly, what's a Denis Lemieux post without one of the most classic scenes of the movie. Enjoy.


The video alone could bump up my rating, but I'll stick with just the mask.

I give it a 3 out of 5.

Now it's your turn to Rate My Mask!

6 comments:

  1. tough to do a tribute mask while wearing a cage, but props to him for the slapshot reference.

    3/5

    ReplyDelete
  2. I haven't seen that mask before! Looks awesome, I really like it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. 5/5! I freaking love slap shot. Gotta give it to him on this one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Same here. I'd give Hannu a 5/5 not just for the mask, but he was one of the nicest NHL players that we've ever met. Colin has one of his goalie sticks (signed, of course) hanging on a wall.

    ReplyDelete
  5. ill do a 4/5 i like how the ears and hair of the mask look almost realistic and the desighn on the front. what i dont like is their is no color other than the hair and ear part. even like a small haze of color would be nice.

    ReplyDelete