In the first part of this series, we brought you the masks for “most” of the goalies in the Blackhawks organization. Rockford Icehogs fans might have thought that we left one particular goalie out. This was by design…
For part two, The-Rink.com is proud to bring you former Merrimack College Warrior, free agent signee last summer, former Indy Fuel and current Rockford Icehogs goalie, Icehogs IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year, and The-Rink favorite Collin Delia.
Delia chose another The-Rink favorite/friend, West Dundee native Michael Figueroa, to design and paint his bucket. Figueroa has previously commissioned masks for former Blackhawks goaltenders Scott Darling and Eric Levine (Indy Fuel) in recent years, as well as a mask for 2017-18 Isabel Cup winning goalie and Des Plaines native Katie Fitzgerald, of the NWHL’s Metropolitan Riveters.
Not only is Mike an accomplished mask artist but he is also an accomplished and successful tattoo artist, who has tattooed several current/former Blackhawks players and coaches, as well as yours truly on several occasions.
Mike is a United States Army vet who proudly served his country with the Charlie Battery 4/5 Air Defense Artillery unit under First Cavalry Division. Figueroa’s art work can be seen on his website FigSigArts. You can follow also Mike at @FigSigArts on Twitter, as well as @FigSigArts and @ChiHawksArt on Instagram. Take a look at his art work, below:
Delia’s mask is a white base with the Blackhawks Indian head on the left side and the crossed tomahawks logo on the right side, just above a special “21” on the chin to salute fallen Blackhawks legend Stan Mikita, who passed away earlier in August.
The tomahawk logo is the same style Mikita wore when he led the 1961 Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup championship. Behind the tomahawk is a wing logo from the Sac and Fox nation, who are the descendants of Chief Black Hawk and now reside primarily in Oklahoma.
There is the Lucas Strong logo on the back plate to support a very brave and unique little Merrimack College fan named Lucas St. Onge, who is fighting Short Bowel Syndrome and Severe Combined Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
Also, on the custom back plate is a squirrel holding a nut, a cross, and a custom designed (now trademarked) minion wearing a vintage goalie mask with a glove, stick, and blocker.
The Indian head on the left side of Delia’s mask is from the 1990’s era Blackhawks logo, picked because this is Figueroa’s personal favorite version of the design.
We hope you all enjoy this reveal as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you.