Jacob Markström’s new goalie mask traveled across the world before making its game debut on the same night the Florida Panthers unveiled their Hometown Remix jerseys on the ice.
It made stops in Europe on its way from Perm, Russia, to Sunrise, Florida. Markström wore it for the first time in a game on Nov. 2 against the Detroit Red Wings. That same night, the Florida Panthers debuted their coral Hometown Remix jerseys at Amerant Bank Arena.
A city of ballet, opera, and hockey
While the jerseys celebrated South Florida, the mask’s story began on the banks of Russia’s Kama River.
Perm is a city of more than a million people on the western edge of the Ural Mountains, about 680 miles east of Moscow. Its opera and ballet tradition dates back to 1870. Perm also has a hockey club, Molot.
Interestingly, Markström’s mask came from a much smaller corner of the city’s art scene: an attic studio where local artist Darina Yeryomina airbrushes masks for goalies, including kids from Perm’s Molot hockey club youth academy.
Why Markström’s mask needed a second design
The company that asked Yeryomina to paint the mask sent her an approved sketch. Initially, the mask was a gift for Markström, so he hadn’t seen the design. Yeryomina gave the panther and the logo a more realistic look, but Markström recognized the familiarities as soon as he saw the finished product.
“When he got the mask, he said, ‘Guys, I’ve already had one like this,’” Yeryomina told on the Hockey on the Beach podcast. So, the Panthers' goalie asked for something different.
Yeryomina stripped away the first painting and worked for several days on the new design.
“The quickest I can do a mask in a realistic style is at least five days,” she said on the podcast.
There is a trick. The helmet's curves can distort an image, so she plans where each part of the design will go before she paints. She starts with the larger shapes and saves details like individual hairs and highlights for last.
How a small town artist found her way to the NHL
Yeryomina grew up drawing in Berezniki, in the Perm region. She went into research before returning to art. Ironically, a client once paid her with an airbrush. She struggled to use it, put it aside, and forgot about it.
Later, she traveled to St. Petersburg (in Russia, not Florida) to learn the craft. She started teaching it in 2020 and now runs her global online airbrush school.
Her NHL work started with a few test projects. Clients wanted to see whether she could match the quality they’d seen in photos of her work. She did, and they kept sending orders from everywhere.
From Perm to the Panthers’ crease
Meanwhile, in South Florida, Jacob Markström returned from an upper-body injury that had kept him out for five games. He made 24 saves in Florida’s 5-3 loss to Detroit. Yes, the outcome ruined the Hometown Remix debut. But so many fans and experts enjoyed the Panthers jerseys and goalies' gear.
And, after two designs and a trip across the world, the mask finally got its first game.
Does it bother the artist when a puck leaves a mark on something she spent days painting? She sees it differently: “I’m really happy that someone goes out there and plays a whole season wearing something I made.” Hopefully, it will bring the Panthers and the goalie good luck!
For the mask that traveled thousands of miles to reach the Panthers’ crease, a few puck marks here and there are a pathway to perfection and the playoffs.
Add us as a preferred source on Google