New season often means new goalie masks and three of the Montreal Canadiens organization's goaltenders will be wearing fantastic new buckets this season with one common theme.
Montreal Canadiens goaltenders will wear spectacular masks this season. Both Jacob Fowler and Jakub Dobes have had their new buckets made by Sylabrush, a duo of painter Sylvie Marsolais and creative mind Alexandre Mathys, who helps with design and ideas.
Fowler’s is similar to the one he wore last March, as it features a gator (his nickname since he’s from Florida), but the gator is now red, whereas in the March version it was blue. The back plate still features the Quebec license plate and its motto “Je me souviens,” as well as a line for Fix You: “Lights Will Guide You Home,” the song that plays at the Bell Centre when the Habs arrive on the ice.
On top of the mask, a Canadiens logo is painted on the gator’s skin, and another Canadiens logo appears on both sides. Each side features Fowler’s nickname, “Gator,” plus one additional detail. On the left, you can see the gator’s tail, while on the right, he includes Bell Centre organist Diane Bibaud.
That’s a nice tribute to the woman who has become a must at the Canadiens’ home games. If you arrive early at the Bell Centre, before warm-up, you can hear her practice, and throughout the game, she’ll entertain the crowd with fitting songs. As far as we know, it’s the first time that a goaltender has put her on his mask, but we’ll be sure to ask her when the Canadiens open their season at home on October 6. Clearly, Fowler must appreciate her work, even though he won’t hear it for a while now, having been sent down to the Laval Rocket, but he will no doubt be back sooner rather than later.
As for Dobes, who doesn’t remember his quote from last May when he was asked how it felt to become a hero in Quebec?
I’m just a goofy goalie who tries to stop pucks, and trust me, I don’t call myself a hero. I pretty much, I will go home, eat, watch Game of Thrones and go to bed.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that his new mask features Ghost, Jon Snow’s wolf, and the Iron Throne, but each sword includes something linked to the Canadiens, be it a version of the logo or simply Montreal. Unsurprisingly, it still features his nickname “Dobby”, and he has also kept the Fleur-de-lis on one side with the team’s logo and Castle Black in the distance. At the same time, he has added the House Targaryen sigil and a Canadiens logo on the other side.
As for Samuel Montembeault, who's earned the right to be Dobes’ backup with strong camp play, he’s still wearing the snake mask he debuted last season. Jordon Bourgeault painted it and said it’s a literal play on Monty Python, since people sometimes call the Becancour native that, and added that it was also because snakes are badass and scary.
There's more than just one snake on the mask though and even the Canadiens' logos featured are in snake skin. There's even one snake that's made out of bones, making the whole thing even more spectacular.
It’s interesting to see that all three netminders now have reptilian references in their masks: Fowler’s gator, Dobes’ dragon sigil, and Montembeault’s python. We’ve come a long way since the Canadiens’ netminder wouldn’t dare to move away from the more classic designs. Patrick Roy and Carey Price had some classic masks, but these three are downright spectacular.
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