Finding Minnesota: Todd Miska's Hockey Masks
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Wild may be out of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but a Minnesota man is still very much involved.
Todd Miska has an unique talent that has allowed him to become part of NHL circles more than 20 years ago.
In this week's Finding Minnesota, we take you to Chisago County where Miska's masks are adding art to the sport of hockey.
The pictures that hang on the wall in Todd Miska's office are like a who's-who of NHL goaltenders -- but this is no ordinary wall of fame. Each picture is essentially a goalie "thank you" for making their job of getting pelted by pucks a little easier.
"They called me up and said, 'Hey, you can paint this.' So I looked at the broken mask and so I duplicated the paint job onto a new mask," Todd Miska of Miska Designs said.
Like all professionals, Todd's career began in the rookie ranks. The first mask he ever painted was for a high school player, while working at Dave's Sports Shop in Fridley.
"And that kid went to a goalie camp that summer and all the sudden two, three other guys were like, 'Hey, where did you get that painted?'" he said.
Word of Todd turning ordinary masks into works of art quickly spread throughout hockey circles -- from mites all the way up to college players. Then, one day, he got a call from a helmet manufacturer.
"He called me up and said, 'Hey, I've seen a lot of your designs out there, they look great. Would you be would you be interested in doing an Eddie Belfour mask?'" he said. "I was like, 'Well, really? That'd be great. Are you kidding me?'"
Not only did he paint a mask for the hall of famer, but he helped bring out the famous Eddie the Eagle logo. Then Manny Fernandez came calling.
"He called me because he was with Eddie down in Dallas. He said, 'If you do Eddie's mask you are good enough to do mine,'" Todd Miska said.
And that's how Todd became a player in the NHL. From all-stars like Brodeur and Kiprussof, to Wild goalies over the years. He painted Alex Stalock's mask when he was called up this year.
"We'll do the design on the computer, I'll print it on paper or print it and digitally email it to him. Get the approval. Once Al says that's great, love it, then what I'll do is I'll take all the graphics and I'll hand paint it onto the mask," Todd Miska said.
But what most fans don't realize is there's a story behind every image, every painting, every piece of art.
"He had actually emailed me over his footprint. I digitally printed that and put it on there," Todd Miska said.
He put Stalock's infant son's footprint on his helmet. Ed Belfour wanted a Make-A-Wish logo on the front of his. His favorite was former Wild goalie Josh Harding, who wanted Todd to paint on his hometown rink.
"The background was the old warming house that was there. And then we had his house, as he grew up as a kid, the house was right across the street from that rink," he said.
Todd's biggest fan happens to be the person he admires most. His son Hunter, who was the goalie for UMD's national runner-up finish.
"It's awesome," Hunter Miska said. "Obviously sitting down with my dad, being able to design my mask is a pretty special feeling for me."
Hunter's masks have their own stories too. Tributes to his pet bulldog Bo, and his beloved grandfather..
"He passed away that year so I wanted to give a tribute to him and this year I got my bulldog on my back plate. Pretty cool thing to have my own dog on the back plate as a team mascot," Hunter said.
And for Todd, the finishing touch would be to see Hunter's mask front and center on the biggest hockey stage of all.
"The really exciting part is, he gets to the NHL, someday get into an NHL game and that will be the pinnacle," Todd Miska said. "It would just be incredible."
A couple days after we shot this story, Hunter signed a pro contract with the Phoenix Coyotes.
Todd also does designs for welders masks and baseball players. He also helped design the masks for the Mighty Ducks movies.