For Linus Ullmark, each new NHL season offers a clean slate and a chance to start anew.
And for David Gunnarsson, it often means a new blank canvas for him to showcase his craft.
When the initial excitement that comes with inking a new contract in a market like Boston subsided, Ullmark quickly went to work — beginning the arduous process that comes with shifting a family from one city to the next, reaching out to new teammates and carving out a training/conditioning plan for the remainder of the summer.
And, of course, Ullmark made sure to reach out to Gunnarsson in short order. New gear was going to be a necessity as he switched from Buffalo to the spoked B.
“It is extremely fun to work with Linus,” Gunnarsson told BostonSportsJournal.com.” He is very creative and has a lot of cool ideas. He called me direct when he signed with Bruins and we started to brainstorm.”
Growing up on his family’s farm in the province of Småland in southern Sweden, Gunnarsson has seen his passion for painting and the creative medium offered by goalie masks manifest into his standing as one of hockey’s top artists today.
After starting his own airbrushing company at the age of 16, Gunnarsson now stands at the helm of DAVEART — with his own private studio boasting a client list featuring some of the best to ever play between the pipes.
Goaltender mask painter David Gunnarsson presents a customized Buffalo Sabres Global Series mask to Linus Ullmark of the Buffalo Sabres before practice at Ericsson Globe on November 7, 2019 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
“I love the storytelling part, every mask is a story,” Gunnarsson said. “I also love to connect each mask for each goalie, so all his masks become his own mask art saga.”
Over the years, Gunnarsson has built a special rapport with his fellow countryman in Ullmark — who shares the former’s affinity for goalie masks and the stories that can be etched into their on-ice armament.
With each new chapter penned in his own journey — from Sweden to Western New York to Boston — Ullmark has often had a mask to commemorate a new season or major life event.
The 28-year-old goalie is committed to his craft, with Ullmark and his wife, Moa, even donning goalie gear as a candid polaroid taken during their wedding-day photoshoot.
For Ullmark, the joy that comes with brewing up a new design with Gunnarsson lies in the demiurgic freedom that comes with each new sketch. As such, the evolution of Ullmark’s gear have been about as linear as a Tarantino plotline.
Minion mask Linus Ullmark was on a different level pic.twitter.com/9jqNzSvGCH
— Sabremetrix📊 (@Sabremetrix) October 26, 2020
While some of the hallmarks of Ullmark’s most recent masks (especially in Boston) have featured special touches related to family and his Swedish heritage, his earlier designs took on a bit more of a light-heartened theme. In his earlier days, Ullmark would take to the ice with a mask adorned with green, spiked shell — a tribute to Bowser from Super Mario Bros. Or he’d opt for a mask featuring the toothy grin of a Minion from the “Despicable Me” series.
A bit less consequential, perhaps. But uniquely Ullmark, no doubt.
Sabres prospect Linus Ullmark's Bowser-themed goalie mask is the coolest. http://t.co/hEYE5CVS90 pic.twitter.com/FG788TRH78
— theScore (@theScore) June 9, 2014
"I think my approach is kind of like — if you want to get a tattoo, it's doesn't always have to be meaningful," Ullmark told BostonSportsJournal.com of the stories behind some of his mask designs. "But it's got to be something that you can stand by, and that you might feel is important.
“For me, at least these last ones, I've brought a lot to my heritage and my family, stuff like that. Before that, it was a little bit more on the funnier side when I was growing up. But then you get to a point where you kind of realize, do I still want to be this guy? … I stopped wearing those (minions masks), but at the time, it also felt that it was only so much you can do with them."
Ullmark is not Gunnarsson’s lone client on the Bruins roster. Jeremy Swayman, Ullmark’s battery mate and best bud, also consulted with the established artist when the time came to formulate his latest goalie mask just in time for his first full season up in the NHL ranks.
Much like Ullmark’s latest compositions of his on-ice attire, Swayman has stuck to a similar script with his preferences — melding tributes to his current home with the memories and places that set him on his path to the NHL.
"Definitely something that represents the team and the city I play for,” Swayman said of what he often looks for in a new mask design. “Like, at Maine, I did the same thing with Alfond (Arena - the Black Bears’ barn). I did the mountains, I did the logo, the crest. So I think anything that connects me with the city to get kind of that home, family feel. I really like doing that.”
So what goes into the process between crafter and netminder when it comes to designing a new mask? And what stories do both Ullmark and Swayman hope to tell with their latest gear?
A collaborative partnership
Be it FaceTime, email, text, or meeting face-to-face, the manner in which clients reach out to Gunnarsson often varies as much as the intricacies and visions pitched to him when the time comes for a new goalie mask.
Oftentimes, the process begins with the initial inception dreamt up by the goalie, which is then issued to Gunnarsson in hopes that their musings will be transformed into a tangible piece of artwork.
“I'll send a pretty detailed email, just saying this is what I'm thinking about,” Swayman said. “And he'll send a sketch back. And we'll just go from there. And he's super good about — if I don't like something, he'll make sure he does it right. So it's a lot of trust, obviously.”
“It’s a very fun and creative process, which I love very much,” Gunnarsson noted. “The ideas bounce back and forth.”
Of course, even when the initial design is agreed upon following Gunnarsson’s first sketch, a lot can change between the encouraging returns of a first draft and the finalized product that’s keeping errant sticks and fluttering biscuits away from a goalie’s visage.
As a client with heaps of masks composed by Gunnarsson, Ullmark knows just how long the process can be — especially if he’s exacting when it comes to his vision.
“Look good, feel good” holds a bit more weight when a season might rest on your shoulders — and your day-to-day job requirements usually revolve around stopping salvos of vulcanized rubber.
“We have this whole conversation going back and forth, usually just talking over the phone or text message,” Ullmark said of his discussions with Gunnarsson. “And then he'll send me maybe two, three, four options, depending on how picky I am with something or if there's something that's not really clear.
“And I give him my okay, and he starts to get to work. Then he shows me, not the finished work, but before the clear paint or whatever. … So I have a great relationship with Dave — always have, and I feel like that's the most important part for me, at least whenever I'm working with him, is that he trusts me and I trust him. And we can have an honest conversation about these sorts of things.”
It’s far from a seamless process, but it’s hard to argue with the final result — as seen in Ullmark and Swayman’s latest gear.
A tribute to their new town
While the easiest way to ingratiate yourself to Bruins fans is dropping the gloves and using an opponent’s face as a speedbag, goalies are usually not afforded such an opportunity.
As such, most netminders try to put themselves in the good graces of their fans and their city by accentuating their masks with various vestiges related to the market and their team.
As such, details such as spoked B's, paw prints and landmarks such as the Zakim Bridge (etched into the left side of Swayman’s mask) were a given for both of Boston’s netminders.
Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The artwork on the mask of Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman (1) is shown during the NHL game between the Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins, held on December 2, 2021, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Ullmark took it one step further with the rest of his gear, with one set of his pads, blocker and glove adorned with Boston’s skyline — featuring the pillars of many local panoramas in the Prudential Center, John Hancock Tower, Custom House Tower, the Bunker Hill Memorial obelisk and Faneuil Hall.
While some local flair often stands as a no-brainer with any new design on a goalie’s accouterment, the sketch on the right side of Swayman’s mask — featuring the huddled shops and restaurants along Hanover Street in the North End — hold special meaning for the young backstop.
Beyond his affinity for Italian cuisine, Swayman wanted to present a visual shoutout to Tresca — the restaurant co-owned by B’s legend Ray Bourque — for its role in helping a fresh-faced rookie feel at home in a brand-new city.
“They were a big part of making me feel like part of the community at first,” Swayman said of Tresca.” I literally walked in there one day and they found out who I was, and they were just like, 'Hey, any time you want to come in.' I walk in there any time now. It's just such a super family feel. So that meant a lot to me. I didn't tell them I was doing (this design) beforehand and they were pretty excited. And then I got the North End on the side too, as well. I just love the Italian district. There’s just so much history.”
(Photo by Chris Tanouye/NHLI via Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ON - February 19: Jeremy Swayman #1 of the Boston Bruins skates during warm ups prior to game against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on February 19, 2022.
Feeling back at home
It’s a small, but proud fraternity of NHLers that hail from Alaska, and Swayman is no different when it comes to singing the praises of his home state.
Given Swayman’s pride for “The Last Frontier”, it should come as no surprise that the outline of Alaska is mapped out on his backplate.
“It means a ton to me. I wouldn't be here without the home state of Alaska and everyone that's helped me there,” Swayman said. “I keep in touch my the coaches and teammates to this day. And it just means so much to me to be an Alaskan in the NHL."
For Ullmark, his latest mask in Boston offered an opportunity to further tap into his Nordic heritage.
Along the chin, Gunnarsson drew Hugin and Munin — a pair of ravens who, in Norse mythology, traverse the world and serve as messengers to Odin. And across both sides of Ullmark’s mask are nordic runes — whose designs also hit close to home for the B’s netminder.
“We did some research, me and a friend of mine," Ullmark said. "And those (runes) are from like an hour away from my hometown (Lugnvik, Sweden). So they're pretty close to my heart for our heritage when it comes to runes and stuff like that.”
(Photo by Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - OCTOBER 22: Linus Ullmark #35 of the Boston Bruins during the game against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on October 22, 2021 in Buffalo, New York.
Family comes first
Ullmark’s current Bruins mask is not the first to feature those runes etched into both sides. Beyond just the regional ties that come with the ancient script, the meaning holds an even deeper resonance for Ullmark.
On one side, the lettering spells out the names of Ullmark’s family — his wife, Moa, and his two children, Harry and Lily. Linus and his family are also commemorated by the four bears located on his mask's backplate.
On the other side, the runes spell out the word, “Ohana” - the Hawaiian word that, as frequently referenced in the Disney film “Lilo & Stitch”, means, “family”.
“It's from Lilo and Stitch,” Ullmark said. “Ohana means not just your immediate family, but also your work family. And that's what I see in my teammates. So it's a tribute to them as well — that whenever I put the mask on, that's when I'm out to work and trying to compete together with my family."
On the back of Swayman’s mask, he requested the quote, “It’s Not Rocket Science,” a saying frequently echoed by his assistant coach at Maine, (and a fellow goalie) Alfie Michaud.
“I didn't tell him I was gonna do that either,” Swayman said. “But he liked that one a lot. It means a lot to me too. So it's really cool to just get a look at that. It's just another day — it's not rocket science."
Swayman and Ullmark’s masks also serve as on-ice monuments to those dear to them who have passed on.
While Swayman has his last name emblazoned near the bottom of his backplate, above the outline of his home state he commissioned Gunnarsson to inscribe “Uncle Jeff”.
Getty Images
Jeremy Swayman #1 of the Boston Bruins wears a mask featuring an outline of his home state of Alaska on it as he takes a break during a stop in play in the second period of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on March 03, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bruins defeated the Golden Knights 5-2.
"He's an uncle who passed away. He was the main reason why I got into hockey,” Swayman acknowledged. “It means a lot to me.”
For Ullmark, many of his masks have featured “Olsson 35” — a tribute to his former teammate and fellow netminder in Sweden, Markus Olsson, who passed away in 2017 at just 20 years old.
“He was an old friend of mine, a goalie who sadly passed away five years ago now," Ullmark said. "A terrific guy. It was such a sad, sad day, and it’s a very sad thing that he's not among us anymore. And so the year after I asked his family if I could put his name and number as like a little tribute, and they were okay with it. And I kept sticking with it. And it always feels nice to pay respect to those not among us anymore.”
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Both Swayman and Ullmark are far from finished with their respective journeys in hockey. There will be plenty more accomplishments worth celebrating, challenges that must be overcome and new twists and turns in life worth documenting.
And Gunnarsson will be there — airbrush at the ready, set to commemorate the next chapter in their stories.
“I think it is the storytelling, to paint and create stories every day,” Gunnarsson said of where the love for his craft began. “And my passion to paint and create, it has been my only interest since I was a kid. I love movies and stories, so to be a part of storytelling is awesome.”