The Hockey Six (Formerly Known As The Original Six)
Originally published on Shopify March 12, 2016
Hockey is more than a game to Canadians. It is part of the national identity, unifying 36 million people young and old, men and women, and French- and English-speaking from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island. The game is so entwined within the culture of the country, that children learn how to skate and hold a stick as soon as they walk. Others go to their graves wearing their team’s jersey.
The contemporary version of hockey was created in Montreal, Canada in 1875. However, the game wasn’t professionalized until the early 20th century with the Original 6 teams: Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, and Boston Bruins. Years later and despite the expansion of Canada’s hockey teams, the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs are still Canada’s most popular hockey teams.
In the early 1990s, David was commissioned by Maple Leaf of Toronto to create hockey artwork that would be licensed by the NHL and offered for sale at Canadian Tire stores across the country. The final product ended up being the beautifully detailed illustrations of the Hockey Six (formerly known as the Original Six). It is no wonder that this hockey wall art was in many a family room in Canada.
The Hockey Six are available as individual Posters as well as the full Hockey Six wall art. We also have lots of hockey memorabilia including posters, note cards, and mousepads.
Another fun piece that we have for sale is the Hockey Locker Room, which David can customize with your name hand-painted on the jersey hanging alongside such Maple Leafs greats as Eddie Shack, Dave Gilmour and Darryl Sittler.
Want to add to your Original Six memorabilia? Check out this NHL Expansion teams Hockey Poster.
