Every time goalie Dan Vladař stops a puck in the Flyers playoffs, he’s wearing a piece of art painted by a kid who grew up rooting for the Flyers in Langhorne, writes Matt Breen for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
That kid is Franny Drummond. He’s not on the roster or behind the bench. But his fingerprints are all over the ice.
Drummond grew up a Flyers fan, played goalie at Neshaminy High, and chose art school in Miami over Division III hockey in Maine.
Smart call. He’s now one of the most sought-after goalie mask painters in the NHL.
As the founder of Paint Zoo Studios in Langhorne, he designs and paints custom masks that blend team identity with each player’s personal story.
A mask takes about two weeks to create, including sanding, priming, sealing, and then airbrushing designs fit for a canvas.
His work with Vladař shows how the process unfolds. When the Czech goalie signed with the Flyers last summer, he knew little about Philadelphia.
Drummond changed that, walking him through the city’s landmarks, including Independence Hall, the Art Museum, and the Liberty Bell, then building those elements into a mask that connects the player to the city.
“I live through my clients,” Drummond told Breen. “I live through all of them. Watching Dan succeed and I’m like ‘Wow, this is awesome.’ Plus, it’s the Flyers. It’s the best.”
Goalie masks are one of the few pieces of equipment in professional sports that allow for true individuality. Drummond turns that space into a branding tool, giving players a way to tell their story every time they take the ice.
His work goes beyond game nights. He has collaborated on Hockey Fights Cancer masks with young patients and players, and created a Bernie Parent replica mask that the Flyers now use to celebrate wins, a tribute to the legendary goalie who died last September.
There’s deep history behind all of it. The painted goalie mask was born in Philadelphia in October 1970, when Flyers trainer Frank Lewis painted Doug Favell‘s mask orange for Halloween.
Favell wore it that night, the Flyers won, and a tradition was born. Drummond carries that tradition forward, one airbrush stroke at a time.
Learn more about Franny Drummond and his work by reading the full story in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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