Vancouver Canucks goaltender Anders Nilsson has had arguably the best few months of his life.
After the Canucks signed the Swedish netminder to a two-year, $2.5 million contract in the offseason to push Jacob Markstrom for the starter’s role in Vancouver, Nilsson has endured on the best starts amongst NHL goaltenders to open up the campaign.
In five starts with his new club, Nilsson has gone 4-1-1 with a .929 save percentage and a 2.30 goals against average.
The 28-year-old made his return to the Canucks crease on Saturday night in a 4-3 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues. Nilsson had taken some time off away from the team to be with his wife, Emelie, who gave birth to the couple’s second child, Loui, on November 8th.
In the past, several Canucks players have joined up to celebrate the You Can Play initiative and marched in the Vancouver Pride Parade. As great as it was to see NHL players honour the movement, we don’t often see players showing their support for pride out on the ice.
Nilsson decided to keep the tradition of supporting his gay friends by having a pride flag painted on the back of his mask.
The Canucks ‘tender decided to have two masks this season: one for home games, and one for out on the road. His new mask will be debuted on the Canucks upcoming six-game road trip that starts Tuesday in Philadelphia.
There was just one problem. His new mask was painted before the birth of Loui, so mask artist David Gunnarsson was unable to include a tribute to the baby boy on the new mask. So, Nilsson decided to draw a silhouette on the mask to honour Loui, and it’s pretty darn cool.
Nilsson’s two-year-old son, Mio is illustrated on the ask, as well as a silhouette of his pregnant wife. The new road mask also features a blue and white painted cage, as well as the Swedish’s Tre Kronor symbol, a standing flag, a pride flag and some glitter.
In an interview with the Buffalo News during his time with the Sabres where Nilsson first got involved with the league’s You Can Play Program, Nilsson explained why he decided to honour the movement.
“I have a couple friends who are gay, and life hasn’t been easy for them growing up … It’s time that hockey starts to pay some attention to that.”
Nilsson’s save percentage ranks 10th in the league, and he’s given the Canucks a formidable 1A, 1B goaltender duo alongside fellow Swede Markstrom.
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(h/t Daily Hive Vancouver, In Goal Mag and David Gunnarsson)
