Torrent Goaltender Gear Breakdown: Carly Jackson 2025-26
By Charles Hamaker
Northgate, WA - A fan favorite for several reasons, goaltender Carly Jackson is uniquely themselves in multiple ways, with their personality always shining through like rays of sunshine through the windows at the Kraken Community Iceplex, where the Seattle Torrent practice. That personality is evident when you look into the details of their goaltender gear for the 2025-26 season with the Torrent, with fun nods to their interests on their mask and some of their journey through life sticking with them in other parts of the gear they wear on the ice. Just as we did with Corinne Schroeder, we were able to chat with Jackson about the gear setup that they’ll wear for Seattle’s inaugural season.
Seattle Torrent goaltender Carly Jackson wearing their mask for the 2025-26 season during a team practice at the Kraken Community Iceplex. (Photos by Nick Lyons for Circling Seattle Sports)
Some will see the pads that fellow Torrent goaltenders Corinne Schroeder and Hannah Murphy have and wonder where the color is on Jackson’s set, but the minimalist approach to that part of the setup is intentional, helping stage the helmet as the centerpiece of the entire look.
Atop that set of somewhat minimal pads, blocker, and glove is a well-detailed dark blue helmet for Jackson that incorporates their interests, life memories, and a former furry friend.
This year's helmet for Jackson is largely a nod to last year’s look when they were with the Toronto Sceptres, but with some newer twists to better represent Seattle and the Torrent colors. CJ is a self-proclaimed nerd who enjoys fantasy, medieval times, and other things, such as Star Wars and other fandoms. Specifically, the medieval times genre is one they’re drawn to, loving the stories and books set in that time period. Drawn to characters like warriors and defenders who “put their purpose into the greater good and something that'sbigger than just them,” the inspiration for the main designs on Jackson’s helmet is that of a knight’s helmet.
“Because that’s almost the position of the goalie, right? And I just think it looks so cool, I think in another life I’d be a knight.”
Seattle Torrent goaltender Carly Jackson before and during the team's 6-4 victory over the Toronto Sceptres on January 20th, 2026, at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Liz Wolter for Circling Seattle Sports)
While the pads are white, with only a little color, the helmet’s colors and details are meant to contrast with that clean white look.
“I want the helmet to be the piece that is where your eyes are drawn to, so that’s why I did allsSlate green, the blue, so that it would be highlighted that way.”
There are plenty of details to note on the darker blue helmet, with nods to the city of Seattle as well as Jackson’s previous stops in life. Fans of CJ will notice that the mask's general outline is similar to what they wore last season with the Sceptres, just with different themes. The overall concept was one that Jackson loved and “felt like me,” so the outline was kept and tweaked. CJ had written notes all summer about what came to their consciousness and what called to them, ultimately sending the list to the designer, and there were no changes to be made when the concept we see now was sent back. A two-person team of Carter, the artist behind the mask that makes it digitally, and Alan (Known as Vice Designs online) helped bring the ideas to life.
Similar to Schroeder and Murphy, CJ made sure to include some Seattle staples on their mask, such as salmon wrapped around just above eye level. The Space Needle is placed behind Jackson’s number #70, right on the chin of the helmet, with the font of their jersey number in a grattifi-esque style to embody the “punk rocker vibe” of Seattle. Lastly, and in a more literal sense, “SEATTLE” is written in the same color as #70 and placed right above eye level, but under the cage of the helmet.
Beyond the nods to the Emerald City are some details relating to Jackson’s personal life. The number 215 is placed to the side of where the capitalized Seattle is, and represents CJ’s former college roommate, Cailey Hutchison. Hutchison and Jackson were roommates during their freshman year of college at the University of Maine, before Cailey went on to play professionally for the Metropolitan Riveters (then called the NWHL, the National Women’s Hockey League) and the Connecticut Whale in the PHF.
“I’ve always put that number there because my first roommate in college, freshman year, that was our room number. I put it on my first helmet, and then I told her I would always do it, so I’m still doing it.”
The nod to Hutchison is important to Jackson, as Carly mentions that they value the history of “who made you, who loved you throughout your phases of life, and where you came from.” Hence, the room number formally shared with their old collegiate teammate is important.
Acknowledging the history of who made them is further represented on Jackson’s helmet in the backplate. The backplate of Carly’s goaltender helmet has always had a “photo of a place that means something” to them, and this year's imagery blends memories from throughout their life. A beach with water in front of it is the main image on the backplate, a nod to a beach CJ had near their family’s old barn cottage on Amherst shore back home in Nova Scotia. A boat is visible on the water close to the beach, which comes from a story about Jackson’s lumberjack father. Doing a favor for a friend and cutting some trees down, Carly’s dad was repaid with a rowboat that was originally black and yellow before it was painted an off-white color. Once repainted, it was named the “HMS Maggie” after their childhood cat, who passed away this past spring after a long and great life. The Maggie name isn’t seen on the boat, and rather, it’s the “HMS Fiona Margaret” for Jackson’s cat Fiona, their first cat that they adopted as an adult. Unfortunately, Fiona the cat passed away two days before Jackson left for Seattle in mid-October. While it was heartbreaking to lose Fiona, Carly feels grateful they got to say goodbye. So, the beach and boat represent more than a few childhood memories for Jackson, with the addition of an adult memory that will always be carried with them.
“It just reminds me of those little creatures, right? They love you no matter what; they see you in your most vulnerable moments, and they bring a lot of love and life to the world. I’m really happy that they’re on there. When I see this, it just reminds me of me, and it reminds me of everything that makes me, me. Sometimes I look at it, and I get a little emotional, but I don’t think that’s good or bad. I just think it’s accessing emotion, and I think that’s really powerful.”
Before we move on to a hidden piece of equipment that not many will notice, when asked to rank their favorite helmets throughout their career, Jackson didn’t have a particular order, but a top three: the helmet from their senior year at Maine, their Sceptres helmet, and now this helmet. Below you can see last year's Scepters mask, and to the right is the senior year Maine mask.
Lastly, another part of Jackson’s gear doubles as a nod to their past. Jackson wears a Franklin brand baseball batting glove on their left hand, the same hand that they wear their goaltender glove on. Throughout training camp and the early part of this 2025-26 season, the glove was powder blue, but Jackson has since received a darker green glove to complement the Torrent slate green better. Two summers ago, CJ found that wearing it helps with grip on their goaltender glove and prevents stingers on their hand from pucks on hard shots. Citing how the stingers trigger a fear response in your neurological system, Jackson found that wearing the glove helps in that regard.
In addition to its usage in their goaltending, the baseball glove is a nod to when Jackson played the sport earlier in their life. Jackson played baseball growing up, throughout college, and represented Nova Scotia at the 2012 Bantam Girls season with Baseball Canada. CJ has expressed their desire to play the sport again at some point, potentially at the professional level, with a new pro league forming later this year, the Women’s Pro Baseball League. Whether it’s catching a ballgame in the stands, playing catch, or potentially entering the professional ranks, Jackson hopes to step onto a diamond at some point in their future. Until then, that baseball love is with them every time they hit the ice.
Seattle Torrent goaltender Carly Jackson throws a puck to a fan during warmups ahead of the team's 6-4 victory over the Toronto Sceptres on January 20th, 2026, at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Liz Wolter for Circling Seattle Sports)
Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social
〰️
Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social 〰️
Check out our previous Seattle Torrent articles here.
Check out our previous articles written by Charles Hamaker here.
Check out previous articles with photos by Liz Wolter here, and her portfolio here.
Support the work of Circling Seattle Sports by checking out our merchandise!