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DAVEART.com Releases Blues' Goaltender Mike McKenna's Mask, And Wow

It's a shame that this mask probably won't see action for a while thanks to the lockout and the fact McKenna's playing in Peoria, because it's a masterpiece of St. Louis-ness.

daveart.com

There've been some pretty spiffy goalie masks over the years, but it's been a while since I've seen one worn by a Blues goaltender that made me go "woah." Well, ok, other than Hannu Toivonen's, but that was for a different reason. Chris Mason's mask was nice representation of St. Louis, though I never cared for how the colors blended. Peoria Rivermen goaltender and hometown guy Mike McKenna takes Mason's mask and blows it out of the Mississippi River.

From David Gunnarson's own description:

I am very happy to present my buddy Mike McKenna´s new St Louis Blues mask. Me and Mike have been working together for four years and it is such a joy to work with you Mike. Mike is an extremely creative goalie with so much cool ideas. We did a lot of thinking and brainstorming before we created this mask, read Mike´s own article about the process on ingoalmag.com.

It was exciting to create the Fleur-de-lis on the chin of the mask, it is in the focal point of the St Louis flag, and the stripes in the flag represents the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and I created it all in St Louis Blues colors. And you will find so much more, for example the Gateway Arch and the St Louis skyline, and also a Clydesdale horse, read more about that in Mike´s article. :-)

The color scheme cannot be more perfect. The choice of the blue and gold absolutely pops, and the incorporation of familiar aspects of St. Louis and its history is striking. It's rare that an athlete has a chance to play for the team that their dad keeps score for and the team that they grew up watching and idolizing, and to be able to represent their hometown on a piece of equipment is rarer still. What a special opportunity for McKenna.