For decades, NHL fans have become accustomed to seeing intricate designs on the masks of goaltenders around the league. Often times helmet designs pay homage to the team’s city or the country where the player was born. Spencer Knight, the goalie for the Florida Panthers, used the designs on his helmet to help inspire and bring joy to kids who need it most.

Who is Spencer Knight?

Knight is in his third season with the Panthers after being drafted 13th overall by the organization in the 2019 draft. In 21-22, his first full season in the NHL, Knight and the panthers went 19-9 with 795 saves and two shutouts.

The Best Mask in Sports

Knight is always trying to come up with new designs for his helmet, and when he needed a fresh perspective, he enlisted the help of patients from the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Florida. In November, he spent the day playing games and visiting with the kids while they came up with their best design ideas.

“It’s obviously great to come over here to Joe DiMaggio’s,” Knight told reporters. “They obviously have a great facility here. I met some great kids, and I think I am going to come up with a nice helmet design, so I am looking forward to it.”

Check out this video documenting Knight’s awesome day with the kids.

Two months later, Knight was ready to debut his new mask!

Spencer Knight’s new Panthers mask features artwork by some of the young patients at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

This was Spencer’s idea and honestly one of the coolest things I’ve seen an NHL goalie do with his mask. pic.twitter.com/IwKIsFOr94— David Dwork (@DavidDwork) February 10, 2023

Although this may seem like a small gesture to some, the time it took to design the mask gave the patients at the DiMaggio Children’s Hospital time just to be kids, even for a little while, and that is something that’s pretty amazing!

That’s it for this post. If you like what you read, follow us on Instagram or Facebook using the buttons above.