Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Winter 2021
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/24/2021
Once the goaltending hero of youthful superstar Patrick Roy, Dan Bouchard first backstopped the Sorel Black Hawks to a Memorial Cup championship in 1969 before making his NHL debut with the Atlanta Flames in 1972. Eight seasons would be spent in Georgia guarding the Flames crease, with the star netminder well remembered for the noteworthy fiberglass masks he employed, including the iconic “Atlanta” mask with flame motif photo-matched and offered for your consideration.
Produced by the man himself, Bouchard has stated "I started making my own masks when I was 18. After turning professional I briefly used one made by someone else. When it cracked during a game, I went back to making my own.” Featuring a well-moulded and pleasing shape with especially large nostril ventilation holes, the strapping appears period although images show Bouchard using different strapping on the mask, with this possibly changed during the era at some point as the current straps show appropriate wear. Featuring the famous “Atlanta” paint scheme with scorching flames dominating the left side, just a single interior pad remains - affixed to the forehead section, and we should note the original back plate is no longer present.
Exhibiting heavy game-use throughout, there is some chipping to the surface and finish – especially at the base of the chin, with much of the paint job worn away, with a number of dark marks and surface abrasions visible. A half-dozen images show the perfect placement of the ventilation holes, with the paint scheme also perfectly placed in correlation to said holes. The puck mark just above the “L” of “ATLANTA” also shows in a number of these images.
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