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Oilers’ Ben Scrivens Unveils Mask For Mental Health

By Catherine Silverman

Nov 28, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Edmonton Oilers goalie Ben Scrivens (30) guards the net against the St. Louis Blues during the second period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Edmonton Oilers goalie Ben Scrivens (30) guards the net against the St. Louis Blues during the second period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
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Edmonton Oilers netminder Ben Scrivens wears series of masks to raise mental health awareness

Many NHL fans may only know Ben Scrivens as the face in net for a struggling Edmonton Oilers franchise, but he’s actually one of the most positive role models floating around the league today.

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Earlier in the season, Scrivens unveiled his newest philanthropy project — Ben’s Netminders, a community outreach program for artists and hockey players dealing with schizophrenia and other forms of mental illness. The proceeds his project brings in go to the Schizophrenia Society of Alberta, and he has gotten a chance to allow ten young goalies living with or affected by schizophrenia to attend Oilers games.

To raise awareness for the project, Scrivens announced he would be wearing a series of masks this season; rather than commissioning an artist to design a signature mask for him, the Edmonton native has asked four different schizophrenic artists from his hometown to each design a different mask for him to wear throughout the season.

He started out wearing one designed by Richard Boulet, which stressed the words ’empathy’ and ‘hope’ — both big things to mentally ill members of a community.

About two months after debuting that mask, though, Scrivens is on to the next one.

Designed by Mark Munen, this next mask is all about community. You’ll see it pictured above, as Scrivens started wearing it earlier this month.

Goalie masks, which have long been considered a window into a goalie’s life and personal beliefs, are a perfect platform for social cause awareness. This mask looks pretty badass — and who knows? Scrivens could be starting a trend with this.

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