Caps Prospect Ilya Samsonov Has An Assassin’s Creed Themed Goalie Mask

January 4, 2016 5:59 pm

On Monday, Capitals’ 2015 first-round pick Ilya Samsonov got a surprise start in Team Russia’s World Championship semifinal game against the United States. Samsonov was fantastic in Russia’s 2-1 win over the United States (Russia will now play Finland in the gold medal game), but talk on social media was more focused on his mask.

That’s because the 18-year-old netminder is sporting an Assassin’s Creed themed bucket. Now I know literally nothing about the video game (the most recent system I own is a PlayStation 2), so I’ll let RMNB reader Brian Phillips explain.

Hi, fellow Caps fans! I was looking at Twitter while on my lunch hour, and I happened upon @myregularface putting a call out for anyone to get a screenshot of Team Russia goaltender & Caps prospect Ilya Samsonov’s goalie mask. Twitter user @chrishowrad obliged.

@myregularface @BmoreDaveS pic.twitter.com/7L8sDFJqbZ

— Chris Howard (@Chrishowrad) January 4, 2016

Apparently, Samsonov is a fan of Assassin’s Creed, a series of historical science-fiction open-world video games (as well as other media), featuring several fictional characters who, in the course of their adventures, interact with real-life historical figures.

On the right side of his mask is the character Edward Kenway, from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

Another camera angle, this time from the left, shows the Native-American character Ratonhnhaké:ton from its prequel Assassin’s Creed III.