CHICAGO, IL – While the Chicago Blackhawks net protectors combined to designed their gear centered on Tony Esposito and classic brown, at least one visiting goaltender will bring Cardinals legends to his Wrigley Field crease.
Opting to focus on St. Louis baseball sluggers Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols along with ace pitcher Adam Wainwright, the star Cardinals adorn his protective lid.
Under the classic blue note logo sweeping from front to rear on each side, the catcher and home-run hitter occupy the area below Binnington’s right ear while the pitcher and bird-on-bat logo are below the goalies left ear.
Outfield wall bricks and ivy streak across the top of the mask between the “St. LOUIS” sweater logo which is positioned on each side of the mask.
The netminder’s #50 is secure on the chin with the grayscale event logo on either side of it.
Dennis Morrell has developed a deeply rooted passion for our game over many decades as a goaltender, writer, photographer, goalie coach, and active Level 3 USA Hockey-certified, on-ice official with over 2,000 games with the whistle. His passion for the game began in the early 70s upon his first glance at players battling for the puck at Clayton’s Shaw Park.
And yes, the ice is perfect.
He has been fortunate to journalistically cover 2 NHL Entry Drafts, 5 NHL All-Star Games, 8 NHL Outdoor Games in two countries and 25 games played in the context of 10 Stanley Cup Final series, witnessing the oldest trophy in sports lifted by the champion 4 times, including when his beloved hometown team, the St. Louis Blues, won their first chalice in 2019.
He has witnessed over 1,000 major and minor professional games in over 250 different arenas. He can be reached at dennis.morrell@prohockeynews.com and you can follow him on Twitter at DMMORRELL.