Chiefs’ goalie Esler teams up with local children’s hospital patients for one-of-a-kind goalie setup

Spokane, Wash.- Goalies are known for being *unique*.

But that’s half the fun of the position, at least style-wise, according to Spokane Chiefs netminder Carter Esler.

“I think the best part of being a goalie is you kind of do your own thing, you kind of design your own stuff,” the Okotoks, Alta. product said. “I like to look good. I feel I play better when I do.”

The 17-year-old is no stranger to a custom helmet and has seen plenty of theme jerseys over his two seasons in Washington.

But when he wanted to find a special way to give back to the community, he decided to go in a different direction.

Esler has teamed up with Bauer to design a custom set of pads, a blocker, and glove for the Chiefs’ annual Teddy Bear Toss game, with the goal of putting it up for auction afterwards in support of the Providence Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital in Spokane.

But he knew he’d need some help coming up with the perfect design.

“I was talking with my billet brothers (Owen Martin and Coco Armstrong), and they were like, ‘You should try to go to the hospital and see if kids can do them,'” Esler recalled. “Just to see the kids was touching, to see the battles they go through and just how happy they are, even with all the stuff that’s happening to them. Just kind of helping them out with the art and, you know, just helping out with anything and trying to brighten their day a little bit was really cool.”

Six-year-old Kynslee Pawley’s Christmas tree art is featured prominently in the final product.

“I put some ornaments on, and I put the star on,” she said.

Other work included Santa with a reindeer pulling his sleigh, and the Chiefs’ mascot, Boomer, sporting a holiday makeover.

“The enthusiasm for his visit was crazy,” Providence associate art therapist Katie Rongey said. “I have never had so many children and their families be excited to tell me about a visit in over five years. And then, the call for art like that, trying to get people roused to make Christmas art the week of Halloween was one of those really wonderful moments of trying to make it playful and connective and offer this opportunity to do something really phenomenal. So while some of our kiddos got to meet Carter on the other end, he had a wider impact that was ongoing.”

The art was combined to make a wrapping-paper design that Esler debuted for the Teddy Bear Toss game, where a team-record 9,087 fluffy critters rained down on the ice.

Chiefs’ goaltender Carter Esler partners with @BauerHockey and Providence Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital to create holiday-themed pads for charity 🧸

These game-worn pads will be up for auction through December 16 at 11:59pm PT with all proceeds going back to @providence.

BID… pic.twitter.com/s47neYJOky

— Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) December 15, 2025

“The crowd’s pretty electric, especially here in Spoke,” Esler added. “They’re pretty loud, and it’s awesome. We all love it- especially when (Chase Harrington) scored that goal, they all go nuts. You just see a bunch of bears and whatever flying on the ice and go celebrate with the guys. It just seems like it never stops, they just keep coming down.”

Another child who participated in the project was in attendance for the game, and weeks after submitting her drawing, Kynslee got a chance to see her handiwork in person when Esler donned the pads again in an 8-3 win over the Portland Winterhawks on Friday.

Her favourite part of going to Numerica Veterans Arena is seeing the Chiefs stack up points- and they got plenty for her.

Seeing her art on the ice was just an added layer of excitement.

“I didn’t realize how big this was,” Kynslee’s mom, Bree, said. “I, for some reason, thought that there were multiple goalie pads, so to hear there’s only one, I was like, holy cow. Wow, that’s pretty crazy. It’s great. Providence has always treated us well, so seeing the community and being part of that is super, super awesome. She loves going to see certain staff at Providence. And every time we’re there, we interact with Child Life (a family support service at the hospital), and we’ve seen the Chiefs, we’ve seen members from Gonzaga and WSU when we’re there, and it just brings joy to something that’s not joyful.”

Esler will wear the pads once more when the Chiefs host the Portland Winterhawks on Tuesday, December 16, at 7:05 p.m. PST, with the auction closing at midnight following the game.

He’s also planning to design a custom set for auction for several of Spokane’s theme nights in 2025-26, continuing with Military Appreciation Night on January 31, 2026.