Friday, January 27, 2012

Goalie Photos from the 2012 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft

January 26, 2012 in Ottawa, Ontario

Henrik Lundqvist of the NY Rangers and Brian Elliott of the St. Louis Blues (Team Alfredsson)

Henrik Lundqvist of the NY Rangers and Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings (Team Alfredsson)

Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings and Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins (Team Chara)

Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens and Joffrey Lupul of the Toronto Maple Leafs (Team Chara)

Tim Thomas and Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins (Team Chara)

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Brian Elliott 2012 NHL All-Star Game Mask

Brian Elliott of the St. Louis Blues, had a special All-Star Mask created in honor of his selection.
Article found at InGoal Magazine:

The St. Louis stopper celebrated his nod in the mid-season classic by taking the rare — it may even be a first — step of having an special All Star Game mask created just for the game by Head Strong Grafx. The one-off “memento” mask still features the Casey Jones character from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on one side, while the other features the Blues logo and the famed Gateway Arch.
Elliott, whose future in the NHL was so uncertain last summer he had to settle for a two-way contract from the Blues, won’t have the Moose head and “Mr. Moose” license plate on the backplate this time. Instead Elliott had artist Jason Livery paint a faded All Star Game logo on the backplate, one he plans to get autographed by fellow NHL All Stars as a keepsake.



Sunday, January 1, 2012

Flyers' Parent Shines in Brief Return to the Ice

From NHL.com (video included at the site)

Saturday, 12.31.2011 / 9:00 PM / 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic - Rangers v. Flyers
By Adam Kimelman - NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor


When the rosters for the Molson Canadian 2012 NHL Winter Classic were announced, Bernie Parent was scheduled to be a non-playing ambassador.

A fan outpouring, however, convinced the 66-year-old Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender to break out the old pads and strap on the gear one more time.

He played just 5:32, but it was a 332 seconds Parent likely never will forget.

Parent received arguably the loudest ovations of any of the players, and the chants of "Bernie! Bernie!" never really stopped from the minute he came out to start the game until he took one final spin on the ice after his five-minute stint ended.
Even when he came out to watch the game in the third period, he received one more ovation.

"The best way I can describe the feeling you get when people chant your name is like this," said Parent. "Money cannot buy … any amount of money cannot buy that."

Seeing Parent in his No. 1 jersey, old-school brown pads and iconic white mask again evoked images of his prime, when he backstopped the Flyers to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974-75. He hadn't played in a competitive game since suffering a career-ending eye injury in 1979, and had shoulder-replacement surgery earlier this year.

"You always have reservations when you have age," Bob Kelly, a teammate from the Cup days, told NHL.com. "He had a shoulder replacement not long ago. But he's been in good shape."

"It was a lot of pressure," said Parent. "I felt the pressure, and once you get on the ice you want to perform, you want to do well in front of your fans."

He certainly did that, stopping all six shots he faced. Minutes into the game he made a strong save, and moments later he stopped Ron Duguay on a breakaway.

And while Duguay may not have pulled out his A-plus moves -- "I wasn't going to pick the corner on him," Duguay said after the game -- Parent still did his job.

"He was moving pretty good the other day in practice, too," said Kelly. "There's a lot of respect for Bernie form the other team. No one wanted to embarrass each other out there. Duguay is quite a classy guy. That was nice and Bernie got the kick, made the save and everyone was happy."

It wasn't just the fans who enjoyed seeing Parent in action one last time.

"I've been fortunate to know Bernie for a long time," Neil Little, who played the final period in net for the Flyers, told NHL.com. "This meant a lot to him. To see him put on a good show, that was extra special. I was just happy. I was just like everyone else -- a fan."

"It was wonderful to see Bernie," said Eric Lindros. "I think that was fantastic. He's getting out there and I think he was out there for what, six, seven minutes? That's a great feeling. That's real special for me. Nice to see that."

And like the star he is, Parent knew not to stay in the spotlight for too long.

"That was his call," said Keith Primeau, serving as the team coach. "He made sure we knew before we started that he was coming out five minutes in."

Alumni Game Prior to the NHL's 2012 Winter Classic Game

Yesterday afternoon alumni from the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers met in the Alumni Game as part of the festivities leading up to the 2012 Winter Classic Game.

The goalies in the Alumni Game were Bernie Parent, Mark LaForest and Neil Little for the Flyers and John Vanbiesbrouck and Dan Blackburn for the Rangers.

"Parent was scheduled to be a non-playing ambassador, but a fan outpouring convinced the 66-year-old Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender to break out the old pads and strap on the gear one more time.

He played just 5:32, but it was a 332 seconds Parent likely never will forget.

Parent received arguably the loudest ovations of any of the players, and the chants of "Bernie! Bernie!" never really stopped from the minute he came out to start the game until he took one final spin on the ice after his five-minute stint ended."

Here are photos from the game. I'm not even going to post the score, because I honestly forget what it was. I don't feel that's the important part. The important thing is that these guys got the chance to play in front of fans again and have a lot of fun.

I'm posting the photos that I was able to find. If it seems there are more of one team or another, it's just because there were more out there for that team/player.

Bernie Parent's Equipment

Neil Little's Mask

Mark LaForest's Mask

Bernie Parent


Mark LaForest and Bernie Parent

Mark LaForest


Neil Little

John Vanbiesbrouck




Dan Blackburn




And Ron Hextall, 2nd from left, was one of the Flyers' ambassadors. Seen here with Gary Dornhoefer, Don Saleski and Dave Schultz.