Meaning Behind The Mask
(FREDERICTON, NB) There were more than 3000 people in the Aitken Centre, but only a few would’ve noticed.
And, even for those who did notice, the letters, initials in this case, would’ve meant little.
But to Rylan Parenteau, they mean so much.
“I decided to include their initials on my mask as a tribute to them and the impact they had on my life and my hockey career,” said Parenteau, speaking of the two sets of initials featured in the art that adorns the back of his goalie mask. “Before every period I always like to raise my water bottle to the sky, acknowledging their presence, knowing they’re up there, cheering me on.”
The back of Parenteau’s mask features an image of Fredericton’s iconic Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge and a cross. On one side of the cross, there are the initials “A.T.” On the other side of the cross, the initials “L.P.”
“A.T. stands for Anna Therres, my great-grandmother,” said the fourth-year goaltender with the REDS men’s hockey team. “She passed away in April of 2020 and was such a strong supporter of my hockey right from the start. Before her passing, at the age of 93, she would watch my UNB games through the livestream. She was able to watch me play in person when I played for the Weyburn Red Wings, of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, and she would travel to Prince Albert when I was with the Raiders, in the Western Hockey League.”
“L.P. stands for Lawrence Parenteau, my grandfather, who passed away in July of 2013,” he said. “He was a huge supporter of my hockey career, but only got to see me play at the midget level before passing. He helped pay for my goalie gear at one point and he worked 35 years underground, in a Saskatchewan potash mine, which had some influence on my decision to pursue a degree in Geological Engineering.”
“To be honest, this was the first time I noticed it,” said photographer James West. “I don’t often shoot from behind the UNB goalie, but this time I was glad I did.”
A seasoned and respected photographer, West works a lot of REDS events, capturing images of hockey, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports.
“My goal, no pun intended, was to draw attention to the helmet, but still show the action in the background to give viewers a sense of relevance to the game so they knew it wasn't during a practice,” said West. “I wanted to show the crossbar, to show where on the ice he was, and I chose to blur the background to make sure the viewer's eye wasn't distracted from the main reason I took the photo, the helmet.”
West says the idea that goaltenders often tie personal themes and items into the design of their mask also factored into his composition.
Parenteau, who currently sports a 10-and-1 record and has the country’s best goals against average, at 1.08, and save percentage, at 0.948, says the grandparents memorialized on the back of his mask are only part of a strong family support system he’s fortunate to have.
“I have an amazing and supportive family,” he said. “My two grandmothers, still with us, have travelled all over the map to watch me play hockey and I’m so grateful for their support. Family is definitely a big deal for me.”
And family, genes to be specific, may be why Parenteau is a goaltender.
“It seems like Anna Therres was the one who passed down the goalie genes, on my Mom’s side,” he said. “Her son, my Uncle Lane, played goalie and three of my cousins, on that side of my family, are goalies too.”
Parenteau, like a lot of REDS student-athletes, will get a chance to spend time with family during the holidays.
He and his REDS family return to action on December 30th, when UNB hosts the McGill Redbirds in the 2021 Peterbilt Atlantic Pete Kelly Cup.
STORY BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics
PHOTO BY: James West/for UNB Athletics