To the average hockey fan, it may seem that every Michigan hockey player looks exactly the same — all the players’ sticks, skates and, of course, uniforms make them look like mirror images.
But if you take a closer look at the Wolverines, one glaring difference exists: sophomore forward Max Shuart’s helmet.
While all of his teammates wear a full “cage” face shield — which looks like a wired fence — Shuart opts to wear a plastic face shield, also known as a “bubble” or a “fish bowl.” It effectively looks like a giant piece of clear plastic surrounding his face with a few notches cut out of the bottom for ventilation.
By not wearing a cage, Shuart, who has worn a bubble since his junior year of high school, feels left out.
“It’s a little weird being the only one,” Shuart said. “I get a little crap from the boys about it, but I just like it a lot better. I think it has better vision and I like the look of it a lot more than the cage.”
Unfortunately for Shuart, his teammates don’t share his sentiment. Last season, only then-junior Phil Di Giuseppe wore a bubble alongside Shuart. The bubble, the rest of his teammates say, fogs up too much and creates problems with water entering the helmet that are not worth the sleek look.
Things looked promising for Shuart heading into this season, when freshman forward Dexter Dancs opted to wear a bubble for the first couple of practices. But he quickly reverted back to wearing a cage.
Shuart knew it was time to get back to the drawing board.
“I don’t want to be the only one,” Shuart said. “It’s not by choice.”
Junior forward Andrew Copp doesn’t think Shuart minds, though. “He probably likes the attention,” he said.
Whatever the case, after a failed attempt with Dancs, Shuart scrambled and made a bet with sophomore forward JT Compher.
“If he had my next first assist on a goal before I had a next first assist on his goal, then I would have to put on a bubble,” Compher said. “I think I might have lost the bet. … Let’s just say it’s not on quite yet.”
Compher doesn’t have any plans to put on a bubble anytime soon, because both players are unsure of who actually won the bet. So Shuart knew he would have to come to terms with being the only one.
And it hasn’t been easy.
Because Shuart is the only Wolverine who dons a face shield, his teammates often joke with him by spraying water on his mask, prompting Shuart to take off his helmet to clean it.
Copp has a special infatuation for ticking off Shuart, and takes any opportunity he gets to mess with Shuart’s fish bowl.
“Copp … he likes to spray water on (my bubble),” Shuart said. “He likes to do it so I can’t see.”
But according to Copp, Shuart is overplaying the situation.
“I’ve only actually sprayed water on his bubble once,” Copp said. “But I always act like I’m going to do it and he’ll freak out.”
Luckily for Shuart, he has quickly caught on to his teammates’ antics. “You always have to keep a towel handy with the fish bowl,” he joked.
Come Saturday, things might change for Shuart. Michigan is playing an outdoor game at Solider Field — home of the Chicago Bears — where temperatures are supposed to be in the low 30s. Wearing a bubble in such frigid temperatures could spell disaster.
Monday, while practicing outside at Buhr Park in Ann Arbor, simulating Saturday’s game conditions, Shuart admitted to having problems with fog and said he might have to wear a cage this weekend.
So for one game, the Wolverines may look like mirror images. And Shuart won’t feel so lonely.