How often do you reflect warmly on your experiences in hockey and the friendships made? These are recurring themes in our archive of oral history interviews [Oral Histories Audio – The Hockey Museum] and something we explicitly seek to capture in the objects and memorabilia we collect at The Hockey Museum. But can a lifetime in hockey get you through a cold winter night? Long-time supporter, Yan Huckendubler certainly thinks so.

Yan lives in Canada where he is no stranger to freezing conditions. He has stitched together a globe-trotting hockey life into one cosy quilt – and proved that a love of hockey and the warmth of his reminiscences are the ultimate winter insulation!

Yan Huckendubler holding aloft his unique quilt.

Yan’s career in hockey has seen him play, coach, officiate and administrate at hockey clubs in France and Canada. He went on to specialise in media and communications, first for Field Hockey Canda and then for the Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF). He has travelled the world to PAHF tournaments and to Commonwealth and Olympic Games as a media attaché and photographer. Much of this is visibly represented in his quilt! But what inspired Yan to have it made?

“I saw that Alison Lee, a member of the Canadian hockey team, had done a small quilt with jerseys of a few teams she played for. I contacted her and, as we were all stranded home during COVID, she suggested that I sent her the material I wanted to be used and she’ll try to do something. She used most of what I sent her and the result was beyond my expectations!

 

“The quilt lives permanently on a bed in our guest room and is admired by all visitors. Each time I see it, it reminds me of the good times I had playing and being involved in hockey.”

The quilt displays memories from:

• Yan’s successive clubs (CASG Paris, now called Paris-Jean-Bouin, Ookpiks in Toronto and Outaouais FHC in Ottawa);
• Yan’s short umpiring career (the grey, white and red striped shirt was briefly the umpiring uniform in Canada);
• Yan’s 18-year involvement with the PAHF communications department;
• Many trips with the Canadian (field) hockey team, starting with the 1998 World Cup in the Netherlands, the first international competition that he covered ‘live from the venue’ for the Field Hockey Canada website – an innovation in these very early days of the internet; and
• Several international competitions and multi-sport Games (Olympic and Commonwealth) in which he was involved in various communication positions, including as a photographer.

Yan’s creativity extends beyond quilting. Since 2011, he has attended international hockey tournaments as a professional photographer. He has self-published several books that illustrate his extensive photographic archive. Copies of these vibrant, hard-bound books have a home in The Hockey Museum’s library.

Three of Yan’s photography books in The Hockey Museum library.