Session 1 Live and On-line June 20th, 7:30 PM EST (Lots 1-43)

This amazing piece of Canadian Hockey history was in Russia during the 1972 Summit Series. It comes directly from the collection of long time Team Canada Doctor, Charles Bull. This special model Victoriaville Phil Esposito game ready stick is one of the sticks that were made for all players on the team.  Only a Few used them in games in the series unless they already used Victoriaville sticks in the NHL. Doctor Bull took this one back with him after the series and is shaved on both sides to accommodate the 27 signatures that cover one side of the Phil Esposito game stick. The autographs that can be read are; Ken Dryden, Tony Esposito, Phil Esposito, Bobby Clarke, Brad Park, Red Berenson, Dennis Hull, J.P. Parise, Ron Ellis, Rod Gilbert, Pat Stapleton, Pete Mahovlich, Serge Savard, Marcel Dionne, Rick Martin, Ed Johnston, Gary Bergman, Dale Tallon with trainer Frosty Forristall rounding out the legible signatures. Eight signatures are hard to read as they have faded, and some have sunk into the shaved wood and grooved areas. These sticks where mostly signed in red marker which is a tell tale sign of this one being with the team. These signed sticks are hard to find as most remain in private collections and this one comes with direct provenance from the team Doctor. Get this piece of the 1972 series for your Team Canada collection. For many Canadians, particularly  and , the eight-game  series between Team Canada and the national team of the Soviet Union in September 1972 provided the greatest moment in . Most expected that Canada would handily defeat the Soviet Union, but this confidence quickly disappeared when Canada lost the first game. The series was tied heading into the final game in Moscow, which ended in dramatic fashion, with  scoring in the final seconds to give Canada the victory. The series became as much a  political battle of democracy versus communism and freedom versus oppression as it was about hockey. The series had a lasting impact on hockey in Canada and abroad.