Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse Crunch goalie Michael Leighton is taking a fierce new approach this season.
Leighton got his new mask in this week and it’s decorated with characters from his favorite show: “Game of Thrones.” The mask is expected to make its debut in game action this weekend.
Leighton said the idea started with his wife, who picked up on the blue tint of the “white walkers” characters in the show. That hue was a perfect match for Leighton’s new organization, Tampa Bay.
“I thought about it for a bit. I thought it was a good idea. I asked a couple people about it and they all said that would look great,” Leighton said. “I called my painter and talked to him. He said we’ll brainstorm a little bit, go over some ideas, and came up with this.”
Leighton almost went with what would have been an unusual pop culture blend on his mask. He is a fan of the Minions of “Despicable Me” fame. When he played for Rockford, he started an organization called Leighton’s Minions, which purchased tickets for community groups to attend games. He also decorated his mask with the adorable characters there.
So this year, he pondered putting Minions dressed in Game of Thrones attire on his Crunch mask, but then opted for the GOT-only theme instead.
“The more we thought about it we just said, hey, let’s just do a cool mask with just the Game of Thrones characters. It turned out really good,” Leighton said.
