The Canucks: A Photo History of Vancouver’s Team is an exhibition of photographs looking back on the history of the Vancouver Canucks. The rare photos on view span decades, beginning in the 1950s and ’60s when the Canucks played in the Western Hockey League, through the team’s franchising with the National Hockey League from 1970 onward. Most of the pictures were captured by long-time Vancouver Sun news photographer Ralph Bower, a North Vancouver resident, and are being shown for the first time from his personal collection along with photos from the Vancouver Sun Archive and ephemera.
Ralph Bower documented the Vancouver Canucks longer than any other photographer. He was an innovator of new techniques in sports photography, being the first to mount a camera inside the goalie’s net and operate it remotely. Bower’s photos capture action-packed plays and landmark moments, including the Canuck’s first-ever goal as an NHL team. Key figures recur throughout the images, such as Pat Quinn playing for the Canucks in 1970, and later working as the team’s Coach, President and General Manager. This exhibition joyfully celebrates the game, the history and the people of hockey in Vancouver.
