Hiller Declares Himself Healthy After Bout with Vertigo

Friday, 08.19.2011 / 5:25 PM

By Brian Hunter - NHL.com Staff Writer

 

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=587202&cmpid=nhl-rxl-twt

 

It was a frustrating end to last season for Anaheim Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller.

Recurring vertigo symptoms sidelined him for almost the entire final two months of the regular season. Hiller was forced to watch the playoffs as his fourth-seeded club was ousted in six games by the Nashville Predators.

Making things even more difficult, the doctors he saw didn't have a definitive answer as to what was causing his ailment or when it might clear up and allow him to resume his career.

Fast forward to Friday, and while Hiller still can't say exactly why the vertigo began, he does know he's been symptom-free for almost a month now and has been able to train both on and off the ice at home in Switzerland. For an Anaheim team still waiting to learn if star Teemu Selanne will return for the 2011-12 season, it's encouraging news for one of its most important players.

"It's just great to feel better," Hiller said during a conference call. "I can't really put a date on [when the symptoms cleared], but pretty much for the last month and a half, it has been progressing almost day by day. I haven't played any games for quite a while so I can't make any promises, but I'm feeling great in practices, seeing the puck well and everything, and I'm definitely looking forward to being back as soon as possible."

Anaheim is set to open training camp on Sept. 17, and Hiller hopes he has gotten a head start on getting his conditioning back to where it needs to be by participating in a camp last month with famed goaltending coach Francois Allaire and then skating regularly with a Swiss team.

An All-Star last season and a 30-game winner the season before that, Hiller had worked his name into the League's elite at the time he was sidelined. How long does he think it will take before he flashes that level of play again?

"I hope first game of the season," he said, laughing before taking on a more cautionary tone. "If I play, I want to play at my best. I don't think it makes sense to go out there and be 80 or 90 percent. If I go on the ice, I have to be comfortable I can play at my best. I want to get back there as soon as possible. If that's the first game, I don't know, but I definitely think being back on the ice and being able to play games, it's lots of fun just to be back and definitely just being excited to be back will help me to get back to the shape I had been in."

Hiller won 26 games and posted a .924 save percentage in 2010-11, but played in just three games after Feb. 1 due to the recurring vertigo symptoms, forcing the Ducks to go with a combination of Dan Ellis and Ray Emery in goal down the stretch. Hiller was left to watch and wonder when he might be able to man the crease again.

"It was really tough, especially at the beginning, because nobody could tell me what it was," he said. "I felt I had to be back, I couldn't let my teammates down, couldn't let the team down. I was frustrated because I was pushing and pushing every day, and it was kind of a disappointment that I wasn't where I wanted to be at.

"The frustrating part was nobody could tell me how long it was going to take. It depends on who it is -- everyone's different in handling this situation and these type of symptoms. I had to realize it's not a one-day, one-week type of thing. It looks like it was a half-year thing, but I'm definitely glad I'm feeling way better and excited to be back on the ice."

Hiller said that while it was a tough time for him mentally, trying to stay positive, he didn't let himself entertain thoughts that his career could be in jeopardy.

"I wasn't really concerned about my career," he said. "It was more uncertainty that, normally if I want something really bad I can just try a little harder and somehow I get there. This situation was frustrating because I was pushing and trying and trying, and I couldn't just push and it was gone. It was a new situation for me."

It's one he and the Ducks hope he never has to deal with again, and while the medical experts can't promise that, Hiller will try to keep those worries out of his mind.

"You can't think too much about it," he said. "It's tough to just put away because I missed quite a few games because of that and it took quite a time, but at the same time I know I'm doing everything right. I'm working hard, I did a lot of stuff to get better this summer and it helped, and I've stopped thinking too much about it. I can't totally blank it out, but I'm not worried about it or anything."

The 29-year-old Hiller, signed by the Ducks as an undrafted free agent, debuted with the team during the 2007-08 season. He posted a 2.06 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in 23 games and gradually wrested the No. 1 job away from veteran Jean-Sebastien Giguere over the course of the following two seasons.

Hiller started all 13 playoff games for Anaheim in 2009, leading the eighth-seeded Ducks to a stunning first-round upset of the top-seeded San Jose Sharks in the first round and helping them extend the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings to seven games in the Western Conference Semifinals before Detroit prevailed. Hiller finished the playoffs with a 2.23 GAA and a sparkling .943 save percentage.

Hiller set career highs the following season with 59 appearances and 30 wins, numbers he was set to eclipse last season before his ailments began.

 

My I Love Goalies tumblr Page

I'm not sure if any of my followers here are familiar with tumblr, or have a tumblr page. But if you do have a page, feel free to follow my I Love Goalies tumblr (http://ilovegoalies.tumblr.com)

It's going to be mostly photos, because that's what I use tumblr for. It's a good place to just blog a bunch of photos without much writing.

I will be posting the photos of all the new masks over there, as well as here, when they come out. I guess I don't think I can ever have too many blogs?

http://ilovegoalies.blogspot.com, http://josetheodorenhlgoalie.blogspot.com, http://ilovegoalies.tumblr.com, and http://fuckyeahjosetheodore.tumblr.com

During hockey season I spend a lot of time online! Who am I kidding, I've spent a lot of time online during the off-season too. Haha.

Jacob Markstrom 2011-12 Mask

Jacob Markstrom of the Florida Panthers (born Jan. 31, 1990 in Gavle, Sweden.)

Artist: David Gunnarsson

From The Goalie Guild

Ilya Bryzgalov 2011-12 Mask

Ilya Bryzgalov of the Philadelphia Flyers (born June 22, 1980 in Togliatti, Russia.)

You will find Bryzgalov's Winter Classic Mask here.

Found at InGoal Magazine. The tiger is sharp-looking, that's for sure. Bergeron said Bryz chose the tiger because: “Well it’s Bryz’s idea. The tiger is the emblem of Russia, called the ‘Amur‘.”

So that's cool that it worked out that the emblem of Russia was orange, black and white like the Flyers. Very cool. It's my favorite so far this season.
Artist: Stephane Bergeron

On 8/23/11 there was an article at InGoal Magazine giving a sneak peek of another Bryzgalov mask, this one being painted by Drummond Custom Airbrush.

And more photos from 8/25. This is a beautiful mask!

From The Goalie Guild

In late February Bryz debuted a new pair of black pads.

Martin Biron 2011-12 Mask

Martin Biron of the New York Rangers (born Aug. 15, 1977 in Lac St. Charles, QC.)

Artist: Steve Nash of Eyecandyair

Here's the entry for Biron's Winter Classic Mask.

There's an  article about the mask at InGoal Magazine.
The mask is essentially the same as the one Biron wore last season (see here) with only the Rangers logo on the forehead having changed for 2011-2012 as well as the addition of the Bauer logo.
While the paint is similar, the shell is different. Biron wore Itech masks since he was 15 years old, but said he switched to a Warwick last season after experiencing fitment issues following Bauer’s purchase of Itech and the retirement of Itech’s Jerry Wright.
Biron was so enamoured with the old Itech fit, he wore the same for four full seasons.
“The mold was different,” Biron told InGoal Magazine last season. “The year I got traded from Buffalo to Philly (2006-07) right through my year on Long Island (2009-10) I just kept getting it repainted and re-foamed, but it was the same mask.”
This season Biron will be back to a Bauer mask that was built for him by Pro's Choice, the company that has been building the custom masks for Bauer before switching over to work with Vaughn for the upcoming season.

From The Goalie Guild

Jean-Sebastien Giguere 2011-12 Mask

Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Colorado Avalanche (born May 16, 1977 in Montreal, QC.)

From InGoal Magazine.

"Giggy’s new Avs mask was leaked on the internet yesterday much to the surprise of the artist, F-X Allaire, who also happens to be the son of Giguere’s long-time goaltending guru, Francois Allaire, now working for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

F-X sent us some images this evening and a bit of background about the mask. In his words:

Anyway, we decided to go with a very old shcool design to give it a 70′s look that matches the 3rd jersey! Its basicaly two red stripes and a blue background with the rockies. I think it really brings out the old designs that were painted on early masks in the league.

 

From The Goalie Guild 

Veteren Goal Mask Artist Todd Miska

Another article from InGoal Magazine (I'm finding all sorts of goodies while looking for new masks.)

Veteren Goal Mask Artist Todd Miska

By Joe Drennan on August 13, 2011

Todd Miska of Miska Designs started painting goalie masks for Dave’s Sport Shop in Fridley, MN while working as a sign painter. Fast forward 20 years and anybody with a little knowledge about painted goalie masks knows who Miska is. What is interesting about that though is how that all happened.

A request to paint then Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Eddie Belfour’s mask in the early ‘90s has rippled into a nice business that allows Miska to spend time with his kids and have fun.

“It’s neat to look back and see how it just grew,” Miska said.

Miska went from having a Mask he painted in the Minnesota boy’s hockey state finals every year, to having a client list of NHL and college goalies that keeps him busy.

“I don’t want to paint every mask in the NHL,” Miska said. “To give each mask the attention they deserve, I wouldn’t have enough time to paint everybody’s mask. If I took on all that work I’d need a pool of guys working for me and I don’t want that.”

Miska added that there are many talented mask painters out there, and each one has their own style. Not every goalie has the same personality, so it’s good for them to have options in mask painters. With every mask designer having their own style, Miska has a firm grasp on what he believes makes for good masks design too.

“You should be able to tell what it (the design on the mask) is from the stands or on TV. Some of these guys have such intricate designs that you have to be right on top of them to tell what it is, but you are seeing a trend back to simplicity,” Miska said as he pointed to a Molson poster on his wall featuring several Greg Harrison masks with clean, simple lines.

One goalie that has tested Miska’s idea of simple and identifiable from the stands and TV is Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding. Miska has worked with Harding quite a bit as he changes his masks regularly, often times to raise money for charity. Many hockey fans will remembers Harding’s breast cancer mask with pink ribbons and the “Fund the Fight – Find a Cure” wording on it. The mask was a tribute to Harding’s sister who battled breast cancer.

“When Harding came to me he wanted to go all pink” Miska said, “so I threw the idea out of the smaller ribbons while blending it with the Wild colors and he liked it.”

The mask raised breast cancer awareness as most hockey announcers discussed it when their teams faced the Wild, but it also opened the doors for other promotions to raise awareness that spread to the minor leagues and other sports.

Of course Harding is known for another mask of his, the one that depicts the Wild’s equipment van burning.

“When I heard the news of the Wild’s equipment van burning, I got on the phone to the Wild equipment manager and asked is Harding’s new mask that I had just finished was in the van,” Miska said. “He told me that both goalies (Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding’s) masks were lost.”

Harding came to Miska to discuss a new mask and that’s when he floated the idea of a tribute to the Ottawa Fire Department for extinguishing the fire.

“I found some actual pictures of the burnt equipment, went off of that and added the fire truck on the other side,” Miska said.

Other notable Harding Masks have included his favorite band, Rascal Flatts, and a tribute to his childhood friends playing some rat hockey across the street from Harding’s house.

It's easy to spot a Miska helmet by the "M" above the eye brow. Miska simply uses the same template for all the masks as seen here. He does say that he has to replace it every so often as it gets worn out.

 

More than hockey

Goalie masks are not the only things Miska paints. He has painted the catcher’s helmet for the Minnesota Twins American League M.V.P. catcher Joe Mauer and his back up Mike Redmond.

“The Twins equipment manager asked the Wild equipment manager who painted their masks,” Miska said. “After that he gave me a call and asked if I could paint Mauer and Redmond’s helmets to look like their throwback helmets.”

And the sign painting Miska was doing when he started? Well those signs were mostly billboards. Billboard technology has changed in the past 20 years. Instead of painting the advertisements on billboards, the ads are printed on vinyl and stretched over the billboard. Miska still works on billboards, but since he only has to hang the vinyl, he has more time to devote to masks.

A family affair

Miska’s son Hunter is enjoying some success of his own in the hockey world.

“It’s just been the perfect storm,” Miska said of Hunter’s accent as a goalie.

It started a few years back when Harding invited Miska and his kids to meet for lunch. While at lunch Hunter asked Harding how old he was when he put the pads on and Josh told him 14, the same age as Hunter. Hunter had wanted to play goalie before, and even put the pads on when his goalie was sick or could not make it to a game when he was a squirt. His dad had seen the natural ability he had in the net and always had full gear ready for him to play, and of course a custom painted mask. When Hunter learned it wasn’t too late to give the position a serious try, he did everything he could to make that happen.

As a forward, Hunter had a chance to tryout for his high school’s team as a freshman, but when the coach asked the players to list what position they wanted to play, Hunter wrote down goalie. Hunter’s coach called Miska to discuss this with him as they both knew Hunter’s fondness for the position, but they were also aware of his mom’s objections. It was decided that Hunter was old enough to make the decision himself.

Hunter made the right decision as he backstopped his North Branch, MN team as a freshman, earning All-Conference honorable mention honors. It is something that doesn’t happen often in hockey crazy Minnesota. His play also earned him an invite to the Advanced Hockey Festival in St. Cloud, MN in the summer of 2010. He played well enough and moved onto the USA Hockey Boys Select 15 camp later in the year in New York.

Hunter performed well enough at the select 15,16 camp and through out the season that earned himself a spot on the USA National U-17 Development team, where he will reside in Ann Arbor, MI, for the next two years.

“As a parent it’s awesome,” Miska said. “I look at some of the USHL masks I’ve painted last year, and I’m thinking hey, Hunter will be playing against these guys next season, that’s wild.”

Hunter will be getting his mask custom painted by his Dad to represent the U.S. National Team Development Program.