Johan Gustafsson Has a New Mask

I absolutely love goalie masks. Nowhere else in pro sports is there an opportunity for an athlete to wear a glorious piece of self-expression. Have you ever seen a terrible bucket? Me either.

Joining the ranks of Niklas Backstrom and former AHL teammate Darcy Kuemper; Iowa Wild netminder Johan Gustafsson has a fantastic new mask from David Gunnarsson of Daveart. Gustafsson’s mask is called “Into the Wild.” Let’s have a look, courtesy of the Daveart instagram page:

As you can see, Gustafsson’s mask features a primarily green base with the Wild logo on either side of a white cage. Gustafsson’s number, 31, occupies the chin plate.

On top of the mask is a Fir tree that seems to rise from the cage and divide the mask in half. Holographic wordmarks, a cornerstone of Gunnarsson’s masks, can be seen on either side of the tree. Also featured along the top of the mask is a penguin, a common theme seen in Gustafsson’s previous masks.

Gustafsson joins the ranks of many NHL goaltenders that use Vrigstad, Sweden based Gunnarsson for their masks. You can see the work he did on Kuemper’s mask HERE and on Backstrom’s mask HERE. The Prolific Gunnarsson also paints masks for goaltenders around the world.

Now in his second season with the Iowa Wild, the 22-year-old Gustafsson is off to a rocky start behind an Iowa Wild team that’s last in the AHL. Through 14 games, the Swedish standout is 4-9-0 with a 3.53 GAA and 0.890 save percentage. Gustafsson was briefly sent to the Alaska Aces last week, but has since been recalled to Iowa. The Wild’s 6th round pick (159th overall) in the 2010 NHL entry draft, Gustafsson has shown promise in the Swedish Hockey League where he posted a stunning 1.70 GAA and 0.933 save percentage in 33 games with Luleå HF in 2012-2013.

Which netminder has your favorite mask? Let us know in the comments below!

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