The Leaf: Blueprint S11 E2: Unmasked

The Leaf: Blueprint S11 E2: Unmasked

There’s the process of pla with Bill Burmore who is a fibroblast guy and one thing led to another and he started he go I can make a mask. Mhm. I read over there he would just try different masks out like he would kind of just experiment and practice and see what he liked. When he played with the Toronto Maple Leafs he wore a white and then a gray mask with a number of holes. Mhm. Played here early7s and so that look was very familiar to my generation. Yeah, with the holes in the mask to see him with that style of mask. Lot of cool stuff here. [Music] [Music] [Music] And now three Rangers against one lead. Back in over the line now comes Radish. Radish center. Oh, they back. He’s done it again. Anthony Sto goes post to post. What a save he makes of the sick of Stanny Terry Matthews 21 [Applause] guys in front of me. They allowed me to see a lot of shots and just stayed patient, stayed with our game and I got the two points. Leafs getting the win courtesy of their goalender. Anthony, I kind of was groomed to be a goalie. My older brother played, so my first pair of pads were his first pair of pads, so my parents already had the uh the equipment. So, I think they were just taking a shot in the dark that it would be something that I would enjoy. And I loved it. I’ve honestly never been in here. So, this is going to be fun and be interesting. Welcome. Come on, guys. So, this is the best kept secret in hockey. The museum downtown’s got about 10% of all the artifacts, and the other 90% you’ll see appears. Oh, really? Anything at all to do with hockey is preserved is in here. Yeah. [Music] Oh, wow. Yeah. Pretty wild. There’s a lot of old old twigs in here. 4,000 milestone in championship hockey sticks. I didn’t realize that we were in the same building with this stuff. Yeah. [Music] just a crosssection of masks that we have here on site. We have at least 104 in our mask exhibit at the museum. It’s crazy to think about in such a short period of time how the mask has evolved and the protection and whatnot. So, yep. And luckily so cuz I mean guys with they shoot pretty hard now. So, I’m sure they do. As a kid, I uh you know, I always liked the the great goalies. We had great masks that were easy to see. Jerry Chvers, Ken Dryden, Mike Puliter. But the best and my favorite mask is uh Tony Espazito. Having a great mask turns into your personality. So, my nickname was Kujo and my mask personified kind of who I was on the ice. Off the ice, I was a pretty calm guy, but on the ice, I was very competitive and kind of like a mad dog. So, my mask was very fitting for my on ice personality. When you have a great piece of art like that on your face and your teammates love it, it’s hard not to play good. What’s that helmet for? My backup. I still like using it taking a beating. Is it for like a special game or something? No, it just I like the blue one. It’s like the blue one, too. You see it every day. You wear it every day. It’s your armor. It protects you and your brain. So, to be able to customize it and make it as personable as possible and have that connection with it is special for sure. I talked to my artist Dave Art and we kind of just went back and forth and you know you kind of want to get something a little different especially like you said I have the uh the chrome so I just kind of something that would stand out and obviously having the blue, white and silver touches into it kind of helps make it pop but just trying to get something that kind of embodies the history of the leaves and for me personally too just to be able to look pretty cool. I think uh you know it was a sleek looking mask and I was extremely happy with it. It’s uh Wedding Crashers. It’s one of my favorite movies. So, I thought it would just be something pretty cool to throw in there. A little motto that I like to follow. You always want to go out there and you want to try your hardest. So, it’s something that uh you know, every time I touch the ice, it reminds me that. I know. My first mask was uh was actually a street hockey mask, but you’re not really facing too many hard shots when you’re you know, 7 8 9 years old. The original ones were heavier, you know, and they were very protective. But I have some Nike shoes today from carrying those masks around. So, they got lighter and lighter and still the same protection. So, I wish I had some lighter ones back in the day cuz my neck is uh dayto-day it’s h it feels it still. I can’t believe I played those. If only the goalies didn’t wear masks. Well, you did the other night. That’s very That’s a good point. That’s probably was my smartest decision. Well, he sure made you a hero amongst all, I tell you. Jeez. Yeah. I don’t know how they did that back in the day. I’m not going to lie. Now you appreciate the helmet even more. Oh man. Gives the puck away in front of the goal. Referee a shot right now. Stop. Now the pass in front of the goal is Stler has lost his mask and the referee did not blow the whistle. Yeah, definitely instinct takes over and then you’re kind of stand there and the shots coming and you always have to play with the whistle. though you maybe get hit once twice a game in the head with a a puck whether that be in warm-ups or in the actual game. So, you know, you’re kind of just rolling the dice and playing the odds that uh you know, it kind of goes somewhere else. So, when you get hit in the face, the snaps actually pop, then it just comes off. So, you think you’re Johnny Bower in there and you you continue to play and continue to make saves. Fear is a factor, but the adrenaline gets going a little bit more. And thankfully I never uh never took one off the face. You see the mask and the straps exploding. How it’s able to to absorb the uh the impact of the puck and kind of get us going and keep us safe is probably the most important thing. We pulled this out because we heard that you’re a fan of Martin Bro. Martin. Yeah. I loved Martin Brodor’s mask growing up. Obviously I grew up a doubles fan. So being from Jersey and him having you know NJ and representing uh the state, it was uh just always something I found fascinating. big big part of my uh my childhood. It’s kind of crazy how small like how small it is. Like I feel like, you know, I use a pretty small stick for for being such a big guy. I got I got the long I got the long arm. So, I feel like, you know, you don’t want that that hole in between your arm. But even just looking at this, this looks like something that, you know, you would give to a a 12-year-old, let alone a guy who’s played in the NHL. Like it even like all these sticks, it’s crazy how like bottom heavy they are. I don’t know how they hit the bucket. He was so good at it. So this this rim covers every league and every level worldwide. It’s a big room all the way. As you can see, this is all North America. This is the American League, ECHL, all the all the current minor pro leagues. and then defunct ones. And then the NHL is down this way. That’s probably pretty big section. Great news for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Joseph Wall because the Leafs announced today that goalender Wall is rejoining the team and will resume team activities and on ice participation as part of the return to play process. He’s been away from the team on a personal leave since training camp. super exciting not just for everyone in Leaf Nation, but more importantly for Anthony Stolar. It’s not Marty Bro era back in the 90s where you’re playing 65 games a year. They switch hit the the schedule pretty pretty heavily. And one of the great things about the Leafs right now is that they have two very competent goalenders, which is a luxury not all teams have. As a competitor, every time you want to win. Doesn’t matter if you’re playing Super Bowl against the other team or, you know, you’re playing an NHL game. You want to win and you want to beat them. win this terrific hockey game. What a finish. Savers on the power play again to the pointed drive. Good glove save made by Primo. James has a break away. He’s in a ball to wins the game. We’re a family in here. We’re looking to push each other and get to our ultimate goal at the end of the day. Some uh big fish in there tonight. Johnny 499. Congrats, but not good enough. This is Tony Ke. Good couple efforts here. Let’s get a rest. Enjoy our Saturday night tonight. Go Jays.

The mask is more than just protection—it’s a goalie’s personal canvas. In this episode, we explore the history and artistry of the gear, beginning with an exclusive trip into the Hockey Hall of Fame’s D.K. (Doc) Seaman Hockey Resource Centre alongside Anthony Stolarz. Stolarz gets up close with legendary artifacts before discussing his own sharp chrome design and personal backplate mottos. We also hear from Leafs icon Curtis Joseph on how he first came up with his iconic Cujo dog mask and his perspective on how the goalie’s equipment has evolved since the early days.

01:01 – Leafs vs Rangers
01:52 – Groomed to be Goalie
02:09 – Inside the Vault: HHOF Artifacts
03:08 – Curtis Joesph speaks on masks
03:52 – The artwork behind Anthony Stolarz’s masks
04:59 – Evolution of Goalie masks
06:43 – Martin Brodeur
08:02 – Leafs vs Sabres

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