A passion for hockey and love of the region has inspired an incredibly unique and personal series of artwork and attire that has grown immensely in popularity in the first months of the company's existence.

The story starts with Brice Wizner seeing a personal collection of old hockey sticks as a medium for a type of artwork that could embody the history of the game and even tell a personal story. As Wizner explains in the video above, the whole concept of Great Lakes Hockey is to simply provide nice products and artwork that hockey fans will enjoy and be proud to own.

The ability to mix in different types of wood, old rink boards, and sticks from anyone to customize a completely personalized piece of art provides the opportunity for someone buying a piece the ability to tell a rich story or pay homage to a favorite team. The team of less than 10 people, comprised primarily of Brice, his brother, and roommate/business partner has hand-crafted pieces for local coaches, fans, and even athletes like Canucks winger Brock Boeser.

Nick Cooper - TSM Duluth
Nick Cooper - TSM Duluth
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Wizner explains that while many types of art come at a premium to be customized, Great Lakes Hockey doesn't charge any extra for a customized design or the use of a personal stick. This allows customers to truly have a personal item created that tells a story at no extra cost beyond the normal cost of labor. This makes these pieces great gift items, especially around the holiday season. Wizner explained that most of the time a customized order can normally be completed within a week's time, with the most time consuming part of the process is allowing the glue to properly dry.

While the company does ship around the United States and Canada, Wizner welcomes locals to drop off sticks and pick up their finished items to save on shipping time and costs.

Great Lakes Hockey has no retail space, with most of their in-person retail time occurring at hockey tournaments around the region, including the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament. They look to these face-to-face opportunities, their online presence, and word of mouth from happy customers as the key ways to allow potential customers to experience the company's products.

Courtesy Great Lakes Hockey
Courtesy Great Lakes Hockey
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While most of their designs encompass the shapes of Minnesota and Wisconsin, they have received requests for a number of other states, and continue to grow and expand their offering. A long term goal for the company is to offer as many different shapes as possible to offer an even more personalized piece for customers.

In the first few months of the company's existence, they've seen a strong and steady growth in orders from all over the United States and Canada. Some of these orders have been custom orders, requesting specific color schemes or shapes, while many others have just been from the stock the company offers on their website.

Be sure to watch the video above to learn more about the artwork and the history of Great Lakes Hockey!


This piece has been written in partnership with Great Lakes Hockey. Great Lakes Hockey offers a variety of hockey-inspired wall art and attire via their website. To see their products or contact them regarding a custom piece of art, visit their website. 

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