When Louis Domingue went to Montreal to join his new Vancouver Canucks teammates, he didn't want to look out of place. Traded from the New Jersey Devils, his goalie gear reflected his previous team: vivid red pads with black accents and a mask to match, with cheerful impish children dressed like devils on either side of the mask.
That colour scheme just wouldn't do; it would clash horribly with the royal blue and kelly green jerseys of the Canucks.
Fortunately, Domingue had a solution: he grew up in a small suburb outside Montreal and his dad, Charles, still lives there. So, prior to the Canucks' game day skate, Charles Domingue made the half-hour drive to Montreal with his son's old gear from his two-year stint with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Their blue and white colour scheme fit in a lot better.
It still wasn't quite right, however: Domingue's mask featured the Tampa Bay skyline on the chin and images of Lightning greats like Vincent Lecavalier on the sides.
Embed from Getty ImagesWearing his Lightning gear was clearly just a temporary solution. If he's going to hit the ice for the Canucks in a game — and the Canucks will likely need him to — he would need either a new mask or to give an old mask a new look.
In stepped Mario Design with a speedy wrap job and the result is impressive.
The end result looks fantastic. Like his Lightning mask, this mask features the skyline of his new city, featuring easily-recognized Vancouver landmarks like Canada Place and the revolving restaurant.
The angled orcas on either side breaking through the ice is a simple design, but it looks great, with a subtle stick-in-rink logo pattern keeping the white areas of the mask from being too boring. Using a darker blue gives the design some added impact that should look great on the ice.
All that's left is for Domingue to get his first start with the Canucks, which could come sooner rather than later. The Canucks have a tough schedule coming up in March, with multiple sets of back-to-back games. Domingue has gone on runs as a backup before, notably an 11-game winning streak with the Lightning: hopefully he can catch some of that lightning in a bottle in his short stint with the Canucks.
