Evgeni Nabokov's Olympic Goalie Mask Revealed

In what has become a surprisingly fascinating storyline heading into the Olympics, another goaltender’s mask has been revealed and then meticulously examined. Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov unveiled his Team Russia mask this week:

Fear The Fin breaks down the various aspects of the design:

The next thing we see is the bald two headed crowned eagle. There is no surprise here either, as this is the official Coat of Arms for Russia that dates as far back as 15th century. That symbol was not used during the era of Communism, but Yeltsin ressurected it back in 1993 under his new regime.

As a Russian, I’m glad that Nabokov chose these symbols for his goalie mask and he apparently is pleased with the work. We take great pride in accomplishments of our athletes, and the country is never as united as it is during the Olympics. However, I almost feel that Nabby took too conservative of an approach, because this imagery doesn’t have a lot of his personality on it and is very predictable. In fact, it will not surprise me if all three Russian goalies have the same imagery on their masks.

This mask was designed by the same artist who worked on Ryan Miller's Team USA mask.