Mini Kipper is all grown up and got to chat with his Flames idol

More than a decade has passed, but Calgary Flames fans will always have vivid memories of “Mini Kipper.”

Brendan Peters idolized former Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff and quickly became an icon amongst the fan base himself. Peters would often be at Flames games wearing full goalie gear, copying Kiprusoff’s warmup routine to a tee. He even had a fake beard similar to Kiprusoff’s that he would wear under his mask.

Nowadays, Peters paints goalie masks for a living. With Kiprusoff back in Calgary for his jersey retirement tomorrow night, Peters was able to reacquaint himself with his idol and presented the 47-year-old with a custom goalie mask which he designed.

“It’s truly an honour,” Peters remarked.

For the first time since retiring at the end of the 2012-13 season, Kiprusoff spoke in a scrum setting to Flames media in regards to his jersey retirement. He told reporters that being back in the Saddledome has had him reminiscing on the nine seasons he spent as part of the organization.

“It’s great to be back here, seeing the same people still working in the building and see the players,” Kiprusoff said. “It brings back the memories. It’s fun to be back here.”

Kiprusoff was acquired by the Flames during the 2003-04 season in a trade with the San Jose Sharks. Though he was quite unknown at the time, it didn’t take long for him to make a lasting impression, as he quickly took over as the team’s number-one goaltender and took them on an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final.

The Finnish netminder went on to win a Vezina Trophy at the end of the 2005-06 season and ranks first amongst all goaltenders in Flames franchise history for games played (576), wins (305), and shutouts (41).