Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Winter 2014
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/25/2014
OK, here’s an incredible offering for a hockey stick display, a prototype Easton aluminum stick that is really a museum-worthy piece for its place in the history of the game. An Easton engineer developed the concept of an aluminum hockey stick in the 1970s as the aluminum baseball bat was taking off. The benefits of a lighter shaft and a potential scarcity in quality ash wood for hockey sticks combined to create an environment that opened the opportunity for aluminum sticks to get a foothold in the NHL, which approved them in December 1981. HOF defenseman Brad Park of the Boston Bruins and Winnipeg Jets forward Dave Christian were the two players that pioneered their use during the 1981-82 season. Offered is a two-piece prototype featuring a blue aluminum shaft with three different grip textures applied to it and a wood blade insert, which also has a textured surface applied to the bottom edge that was experimented with. A rubber grip knob is affixed to the top of the shaft. This historic stick comes with three Easton “Hockey Stick – Blade Hosel Tenon Preparation” blueprints drawn to full scale. These prototype sticks were used by Canadien, the hockey stick manufacturer that teamed up with Easton to market the stick. Mid-1970s aluminum shaft made by Easton in Van Nuys, California was sent to Canadien's Drummondville, Quebec plant, where Canadien developed the wood blade insert and screened the shaft with its branding. Prototype "Canadien" sticks with Easton aluminum shafts were never sold, only gifted to players for tryouts, including members of the Soviet national team. Five vintage early 1980s photos taken at the Montreal Forum picture of Russian players and coach Viktor Tikhonov handling the Canadien aluminum stick. Also included are period clippings featuring stories about Park pioneering the use of aluminum sticks, a vintage Canadien aluminum stick blade insertion and removal instruction sheet, and a July 1983 NHL letter to Dick Bielous, Easton Aluminum’s Canadian Representative.
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