Hunter Miska's New Look: More than a Mask
Mar 6, 2025By Michael Fornabaio (@fornabaioctp)
Like a lot of goalies, the Bridgeport Islanders' Hunter Miska loves the gear. It's a great time when the new pads, protectors and masks arrive.
Unlike a lot of goalies, Miska gets his mask from his father.
"That's my favorite part, obviously, growing up with this," Miska said. "A lot of NHL guys come through our shop that we have back home, and just to see their stories and learn from them (is great).
"And then, obviously, every year the start of the year is my favorite part, getting my new gear, and designing my helmet with my dad is always super special."
Todd Miska is a renowned mask artist from Minnesota. Goalies like Hall of Famer Ed Belfour and onetime New York Islander Evgeni Nabokov have worn his work, and it has appeared in a couple of the Mighty Ducks movies, too.
And with Hunter back in North America, they teamed up to design his new helmet, too, replacing the one he wore to begin this season in Russia with Dynamo Moscow.
"The biggest thing with my dad and I, with designing my mask, I like the fans to be able to see what's on my helmet," Hunter Miska said. "A lot of masks nowadays, in the modern day, are getting a little too busy. Up close, the detail is unbelievable, but far away, it doesn't look that great, right?"
So the new lid keeps it clean, incorporating the team logo on both sides, a lighthouse, and Miska's No. 48 on the chin, along with some other details.
"There's a lot of neat stuff we've been able to do together," Todd Miska said over the phone. "It's cool with his career and my career, how we've been able to collaborate on some fun stuff together."
Speaking of fun stuff, that's listening to Todd Miska, who describes himself as a graphic artist his whole life, talk about his career.
When he was young, a local goalie went to a camp and got his mask painted in Canada, but then the helmet broke.
"The sports shop where I used to work, they knew I used to be an artist. They asked, can you replicate it? It'd cost so much more to send it back to Canada and find the guy who did it," Todd Miska said. And so he did it.
"The kid went to a goalie camp, and like three more kids wanted it."
That shop sold a lot of masks, which led to relationships with equipment companies. Eventually, one said they'd get Miska's designs to Belfour.
"I didn't know if they were (kidding) me or not," he said with a laugh.
There was a little back-and-forth with ideas, and then, out of the blue, came a phone call.
"'Todd, this is Ed Belfour.' Yeah, right," Miska said.
But it was. Belfour brought Todd Miska out to Saginaw, Michigan, to go over designs.
"Ed Belfour was an icon out there," Miska said. One mask led to another. Belfour's backup in Dallas was Manny Fernandez, who was traded to the Minnesota Wild for their inaugural 2000-01 season. Nabokov, Miikka Kiprusoff, Josh Harding: the list kept going.
"I'd drag the kids to the rink. We'd wait hours for Manny, take pictures, he'd sign stuff," Todd Miska said. "As (Hunter) got older, he got to meet the guys. It was pretty cool for him, too, got him inspired."
From early discussions, through back-and-forth about details, to painting and producing the finished product, Todd Miska figures he can turn around a project within a week.
"The longest process is just coming up with the design, figuring out what you want in a helmet," Hunter Miska said. "He'll put together your ideas, and give you an idea or two, and then once he comes up with his sample, (in) a couple days he gets the main part down, (then) just a little attention to detail stuff for the final finishes, and then throw the clear coat on, make it shiny."
After two years playing in Straubing, Germany, Hunter Miska began this season in Russia with Dynamo. He signed with Bridgeport, which was strapped for goaltending with three others in the organization out injured, on Jan. 11.
Islanders coach Rick Kowalsky likes the way Miska competes and likes that he's vocal, which the coach said is a help for Bridgeport's younger goalies, Tristan Lennox and Henrik Tikkanen.
"He's a veteran guy that's been around. He's got a real positive attitude," Kowalsky said.
It's a bit of an adjustment, Miska said, coming back to the AHL. The teammates are a little younger on average.
"We've got a really good group of guys here," Miska said. "We've just got to keep working hard, (pay) attention to detail and focus on the little things that are gonna help us grow as players and individuals."
Being back in the United States is nice, too. Since he last played in North America, he has become a dad twice, to daughters Aspen and Oaklee.
"I love (fatherhood). It's unbelievable," Miska said.
"It keeps my mind clean all the time. I get to go home, I get to wake up with two cute little girls smiling every day, and it makes you appreciate life a lot more."