Every mask has a story to tell, and the mask worn by goalie Ty Steinbring is no exception. It tells the story of love: a father’s love and love for the game.
Be the best person you can be, in hockey and in life; that was the motto Trevor Steinbring, Ty’s father, used often, and it still rings true to this day.
His family would say that as a hockey coach, Trevor was one of the best, as a father he was even better, and he left behind fond and treasured memories in the wake of his passing in July 2013.
Ty, 15, used his father as inspiration when considering design ideas for his goalie mask.
“It’s in memory of my dad,” Ty said.
A crest with the motto his father loved to use is on one side of the mask, with a portrait of his father on another.
“He has a saying, which is be the best you can be, but not only in hockey, wherever you are,” Ty said.
The Pee Wee jerseys worn by Barrhead Minor Hockey players have the same motto in remembrance of Trevor.
It was the last team he coached before passing, Trevor’s wife Trisha said.
On the back of Ty’s helmet two ribbons can be found, one for his grandmother who passed away from breast cancer, and another for his father.
“My dad had leukemia before he died, he didn’t die of leukemia but he had it for several years before he passed away,” Ty said.
The mask was designed and painted by Head Strong Grafx, a company used by NHL goalies such as Brian Elliott and Karri Ramo.
“You send them down pictures of what you want,” he said, explaining that some of the designs on the mask came from other masks.
It took approximately two months to complete the design and work, but for Ty it was worth the wait.
“Shock, and a loss for words, it’s something I will keep forever and cherish,” Ty said as he described his initial reaction.
Fellow players and parents had similar reactions to the mask.
“Most of it is wow, and your dad would have loved it,” Ty said, adding he looked up to his dad growing up.
“He always put family first,” he said.
Trevor always played a large role in Ty’s life, and when Ty looks at his mask he is reminded of some of those memories.
“It brings back all of the memories of him and me, and hockey,” Ty said.
Trevor coached Ty’s teams from when he first started playing at the age of five.
“He coached me in hockey for lots of years,” he said.
Ty currently plays as a goalie for the Barrhead Bantam Pirates, but didn’t always play that position.
“I got the idea I wanted to be a goalie,” Ty explained.
Trevor grew up much like Ty, always on the ice, and was unsure about his son’s decision to become a goalie.
“After long months and hours of him trying to encourage me not to be a goalie, he said okay,” Ty explained.
Trevor knew the ins and outs of hockey, but being a goalie was something new.
“He went online and he spent many hours just learning the training and stuff that it takes to be a goalie so he could teach me,” Ty said.
Trisha said it drove Trevor crazy not knowing what the position of goalie entailed because his son was so set on becoming one.
“He knew the game inside and out and all of the sudden his son is playing a position that he had no clue how to do,” Trisha said, adding he was an amazing role model.
For Ty, the mask helps keep the memory of his father’s love alive both on and off the ice.
