The world’s largest hockey stick is about to get a whole lot smaller.
A Shawnigan Lake man plans to cut the giant stick hanging outside the Cowichan Community Centre into what could be millions of tiny sticks as collectibles for fans and fundraising efforts for sports teams and charities.
“I want to make sure the stick lives on forever,” said Bart Robertson, who owns Maxwell’s Auto Centre in Mill Bay and dabbles in producing collectibles from original pieces with another company he owns called Genuine Collectibles Inc. It produces authenticated pieces under the brand name A Piece of the Action.
“People will be able to have a piece of the stick … it goes back to Expo 86 and it’s been [in the Cowichan Valley] for so long,” Robertson said. “There are photo albums from all over the world with people and that stick.”
The plan is to make key and backpack fobs with a small stick and puck encapsulated inside a protective cover, as well as desk displays replicating the stick and puck, he said. So how many pieces will Robertson be able to make? Judging by the size of the big piece of lumber, “it could be millions,” he said.
The stick, fashioned from Douglas fir and made in Penticton for the Canadian Pavilion at Expo 86, is 62.5 metres long, weighs 28 tonnes and earned the Guinness World Records title as the world’s largest hockey stick in 2008.
The Expo 86 relic has been hanging on the community centre in Duncan for 35 years. After several repairs over the years, the Cowichan Valley Regional District determined the big stick was showing its age with decay and there was a concern for public safety.
A survey by the district on how much residents care about the stick and if they wanted to hold the world title found it wasn’t a high priority, with 70 per cent of roughly 3,000 respondents saying they were ready to say goodbye.
So the district opened up bidding on the big stick in March. It didn’t say how many bids were received, but the CVRD liked what Robertson’s company had to offer.
Robertson won’t pay anything for the stick itself, but he is picking up the full cost of removing and transporting the structure to a manufacturing facility at Maxwell’s Auto Parts, 3330 Trans Canada Highway. There, the usable material of the stick and puck will be transformed into unique, authenticated collectibles.
The CVRD said in a statement that Robertson’s collectibles company is experienced in similar types of ventures, having previously turned pieces of National Hot Rod Association drag-racing cars into authenticated collectibles in partnership with various high-profile companies.
“[Robertson] has acknowledged that a portion of the sales will be donated to local sporting organizations and charities, and looks forward to working with the community in this exciting project,” said the CVRD.
Robertson said some of the wood will be kept by the district for its own display in the Duncan community centre.
He has contacted the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, where the stick is mentioned, to see if it wants a piece or some sort of finished product, and Guinness World Records.
He is interested in opening discussions with Tim Hortons, an iconic Canadian brand long associated with hockey, for potential deals.
Robertson hopes to support minor sports organizations who may want to use the miniature versions as fundraisers.
He said it would carry on the tradition of Maxwell Auto Parts supporting local teams. The Maxwell family owned the company for six decades before Robertson and his family — wife Colleen, daughter Jennifer and son Andrew — acquired the business nearly six years ago.
There is no firm timeline on when the stick will be removed and transported.
Robertson said nesting birds making their home in the stick will have to vacate, likely in the fall, before plans are set in motion.
Robertson said he plans to cut the stick into 40-foot sections and contract some cranes and flat-deck trucks to move it. The CVRD will keep the metal structures supporting the stick for signage.
“I don’t know if I’d be allowed to do it, but I’d like to put the stick along the 1,200-foot-long cedar hedge on the highway at our property and people would be able to see it getting shorter and shorter,” said Robertson.
The CVRD said replacing the world’s largest hockey stick would cost between $1.2 million and $2 million.
The community came under pressure for its world-record title last year when a company in Lockport, Illinois, announced plans to build a 76-metre long stick at a new arena.
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