The hunt for hockey history is on. With assistance from our friends in Toronto, we have started our own search for items on the Hockey Hall of Fame's most wanted list.
We want this to be interactive, so if you know where any of these artifacts are located, or if you've heard rumors of their whereabouts while standing around the skate sharpener, be sure to reach out to me on Twitter @ESPNJoeyMac.
The first few items we're investigating are a rare sweater, a record-breaking stick, a historic game-winning puck and an iconic goalie mask.
"Our main objective is that [artifacts], once we know about them or find them, are preserved and kept for heritage sake," said Izak Westgate, manager of outreach exhibits and assistant curator at the Hall of Fame in Toronto. "Would it be great to have them in the Hall of Fame, where they can be displayed and shown to everyone? Absolutely. But as long as we know they're out there and someone is keeping it and making sure it'll be in good condition long-term, then really that's the most important thing, whether it's another museum or in someone's special collection who really cares about it. Because you would hate to see -- especially the extremely rare items -- go missing because once they're gone, they're gone forever."
Let the scavenger hunt begin.
WANTED:
The first sweater worn by Boston Bruins pioneer Willie O'Ree
O'Ree, now 81, became the first black player in the NHL when he made his debut with the Bruins on Jan. 18, 1958. He played only two games that season and another 43 during the 1960-61 season, wearing No. 22.
After the 1961 season, coach Milt Schmidt told O'Ree to return home, enjoy the summer and prepare for the next season with the Bruins. Six weeks later, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens. And he never played in the NHL again. "If I knew back then I was going to be traded, I would have tried to take my sweater with me," he said. "But I thought I was coming back and I never saw it again. I would love to have my Bruins jersey. I would have framed it."
Dick Meissner wore No. 22 for the Bruins in 1961-62 and a series of players (mostly short-timers) wore it before Brad Park's arrival in 1975, including Irv Spencer, Bill Knibbs, Tom Webster, Bill Lesuk, Jim Lorentz, Ivan Boldirev, Chris Oddleifson and Doug Gibson. From 2008-14, it was worn by Shawn Thornton.
O'Ree has become an ambassador for the game and is highly regarded in the world of hockey.
During the 2016 Stanley Cup finals, the San Jose Sharks' Joel Ward, who is black and wears No. 42 in honor of baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, said the NHL should discuss the possibility of retiring O'Ree's No. 22. "It would be great if they did," Ward said. "With the amount of respect Willie has around the league, it would definitely be something special if that did come up."
WHY:
"Everything tells a story, but a sweater is generally colorful and everyone likes to see them," Westgate explained. "Where sticks kind of all look the same, sweaters generally all have a unique identity to them, whether it's the logo or the colors they wore or the style, the era, etc., and they're always, along with goalie masks, the two most popular things we get requested or that we display.
"Any of those rare sweaters, obviously if one was found, we would want it to be in the Hall of Fame and be able to show it to everyone."
STATUS:
Unknown. "I have no idea where my jersey is," O'Ree said. "I often wondered."
