Jacob Markstrom needs a new mask.
The Canucks goaltender is partnering with the Canucks Autism Network to help celebrate the CAN’s 10th anniversary with a contest: you get to design Markstrom’s new mask.
You can use anything you like to design your mask — crayons, markers, paint, photoshop — and, according to the CAN, “Artistic elements will be taken from select entries to incorporate into a special edition goalie mask design.”
To be clear, this isn’t meant to be Markstrom’s new permanent mask. He has committed to wearing it for one game during Autism Awareness Month in April. The game is tentatively scheduled to be April 3rd against the Vegas Golden Knights.
But there is a certain segment of the Canucks fanbase that likely hopes the new mask will replace his old one. A lot of fans don’t like Markstrom’s current mask. Some even find it creepy.
It’s clear what the problem is with his mask: not enough ears.
So here is my submission for Jacob Markstrom’s mask design contest: The Ears Mask.
I think it’s pretty clear that this is the winning mask design. It’s got everything you could want in a goalie mask: left ears. Right ears. Everything!
Just in case Markstrom doesn’t like this masterpiece — though I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t — I decided to design and submit a few more masks.
My next mask design is a tribute to a staple of British Columbian cuisine, particularly in the Fraser Valley during the summer: corn. So, I designed this mask to include a couple ears.
Here it is: The Corn Ears Mask.
I wanted to simplify for my third design, so I went with a symbol from Anglo-Saxon runic alphabet: Ear.
Behold: The Ear Mask.
Finally, I decided to make my last mask design somewhat educational. So, I went with an illustration of an important life-saving technique: Expired Air Resuscitation, aka. rescue breathing and more colloquially known as mouth-to-mouth.
The EAR Mask.
Head on over to the CAN website to submit your own mask design. Deadline for submissions is Monday, January 22nd at 8 AM.
