In the world of sport, few pieces of equipment demand the attention of the goalie mask. It’s the final frontier of personalized expression, not just a uniform component but a bespoke, blank canvas with endless possibilities. For Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Anthony Stolarz, his mask for the 2025-26 season is a fusion of modern design and personal legacy, conceived through the lens of Apple’s “Made on iPad” campaign.
This season, the NHL and Apple have again collaborated to highlight how elite artistry is blending with cutting-edge technology. Stolarz’s new mask, a design brought to life by renowned artist Jordon Bourgeault using the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil Pro, is one of seven masks created for goalies around the league this time around. The result is a high-tech totem that stands as a rich nod to Maple Leafs lore and Stolarz’s own family history.
For the Calgary-based Bourgeault, the shift from paper to pixel represents a revolution in the artistic process, transforming the speed and quality of his work. While a traditional approach required an entire redraw for simple changes, the iPad Pro allows for seamless iteration.
“Working digitally is a lot more convenient than physically drawing it,” Bourgeault explains. The power of the Apple Pencil Pro became essential for executing the mask’s central motif: a fierce yet stoic polar bear inspired by the Leafs’ mascot, Carlton.
To render the bear’s texture, Bourgeault leveraged the iPad’s capabilities to create custom digital brushes. “In, like, one stroke, I’m doing multiple furs at a time,” he notes. He also highlights how the double-tap feature on the Apple Pencil makes detail work so much more convenient, allowing him to instantly switch between brush and eraser. This capability, which mimics stencilling and airbrushing, is key to achieving a professional, clean finish. For Stolarz, this digital transparency was invaluable. “It’s a lot easier to be able to see it and kind of grasp what it actually is going to look like,” says the netminder.
Stolarz’s mask is a meticulously detailed piece of storytelling. While the imposing polar bear provides the flashy front and an element of swagger, the reverse is dedicated to a more intimate narrative. The design includes a goalie family tree adorned with blue maple leaves, each one representing a past Leafs legend who inspired Stolarz. The roots of this tree are deeply personal, incorporating the initials of his entire family — a private touch he wanted to include on his one customizable piece of equipment.
“I take a lot of pride in this mask and am so pumped to be able to wear it.”
Anthony Stolarz
The choice to have Stolarz’s number 41 carved into the bark of the tree and rendered in a subtle, glowing blue was a critical design decision to ensure visibility and impact. The final piece is a perfect balance of public flair and private tribute.
According to Bourgeault, the digital process is unequivocally the future, with the ability to work directly on 3D mask templates allowing players and artists to zoom, spin, and perfect the design before a single drop of paint is laid. Ultimately, this collaboration has taken the NHL’s most personal piece of gear and brings it into the modern day, making the job of the artist easier and the final product even better. As Stolarz puts it, “I take a lot of pride in this mask and am so pumped to be able to wear it.”
FEATURE PHOTO BY KEVIN SOUSA/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES.
