Jasper hockey goalie pays tribute to fire-ravaged town

Hockey goalie Reid Jackson, whose home burned in the 2024 Jasper National Park wildfire, honoured the beauty of his home on a new set of pads.

Among the things Jasper resident Reid Jackson lost when his family's home was destroyed by the summer fire was his hockey goalie equipment.

But with the arena slated to open this weekend, he knew a few weeks ago it was time to start preparing to return to the ice.

Already a fan of the customization work that hockey equipment company CCM does, he contacted United Cycle in Edmonton with an idea to put some of Jasper's most iconic landmarks on his gear.

They settled on black-and-white renditions of Pyramid Mountain on his pads, Maligne Lake's Spirit Island on his blocker, and Roche Bonhomme (also known as "Old Man") Mountain on his glove.

"Pyramid Mountain is one of the most beautiful mountains I've ever seen," Jackson, who grew up in Vancouver and moved to Jasper 10 years ago when he married his wife, told CTV News Edmonton. "Everybody sees it every day. It's beautiful. So I wanted to have that as a centrepiece."

He continued, "Old Man (Mountain), it's one of the most iconic peaks in Jasper. Again, it's something from town that we see every day and it's beautiful. And then Spirit Island is world known as a special place."

The tribute is also a reminder of what's most important.

"We may have lost our home – but we lost stuff, right?" he said. "We're still here and we're going to be part of the rebuild and the community for a long time. So it's heartbreaking to lose your home – as many did; there's a lot of struggling people here – but I can see light. It'll be good."

The beauty of both the mountains and the pads have caught the attention of other hockey players and fans online.

"They love them. It's pretty cool to see how many people have reached out and think they're amazing. So it feels good, but it's also shining light on Jasper and how beautiful a place it is," Jackson said.

To protect the images, he plans on using a silicon equipment protector and cleaning them frequently.

He said the set cost around $4,000, a little more than a standard set.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nahreman Issa