Qualicum Bay's Ocean Hyland was selected by the Vancouver Canucks to design the team's annual First Nations Celebration game night logo, which will be worn by the players on March 12. (Image Credit: Vancouver Canucks)

By Alex Rawnsley

deep meaning

Qualicum artist creates design for annual Canucks First Nations game

Feb 27, 2026 | 5:56 AM

QUALICUM BAY — Ocean Hyland said the full realization of having her artwork on display in front of around 19,000 Canuck fans at Rogers Arena, as well as a national TV audience, won’t sink in until the night of the game.

Hyland, who is from the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation in the Lower Mainland but moved to the mid-Island six years ago, was selected late last summer to design the Vancouver Canucks’ logo for their annual celebration of Indigenous communities, slated to take place March 12 against the Nashville Predators.

With the night will come a special jersey based around a logo Hyland designed featuring a raven, eagle, wolf, salmon and waves embedded in the iconic Canucks ‘C’.

“As Tsleil-Waututh people, we have stories and connections related to the orca, and Tsleil-Waututh means ‘people of the inlet’, so I felt like that was a really good connection that I could then build a story up of that, using traditional Coast Salish elements, and I did elements from the sky, the land and the water.”

The full logo contains various Coast Salish elements including a raven and eagle towards the top, a wolf in the middle and waves with salmon heads on the bottom. (Image Credit: Vancouver Canucks)

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Hyland told NanaimoNewsNOW the creatures are often referred to as “kin” by Tsleil-Waututh people, and her design is “an ode to the land, waters and skies that we come from.”

Working in the confines of an existing logo was a challenging experience for Hyland, who has been a Canuck fan most of her life.

Games she attended with family in the early 2000s remain firmly in her mind, a reason why she opted for the retro navy and maroon colour scheme the team sported at the time.

An early design featured Johnny Canuck with a fishing spear instead of a hockey stick, however, the team opted instead to stay with their orca-themed ‘C’ logo to avoid confusion.

Hyland said once the scope of the project was decided on, she realized the canvas inside the ‘C’ was perfect.

“Coast Salish art, the way it’s described is there’s a silhouette, and then you punch through the elements that kind of create the design. You’re working with negative and positive spaces, and to be given an outline shape and then fill it in is perfect for Coast Salish style of art.”

Hyland and her family will be in attendance March 12 as the logo is worn by the team during their game against Nashville. (Image Credit: Ocean Hyland)

Hyland will be in attendance with her family on March 12, although what she’ll be doing during the game is still being decided.

Having the opportunity to see her work on a National Hockey League jersey, coupled with the associated products on the night, is something she’s still coming to grips with.

“To be the actual person that will be doing it, it’s still processing. That will probably take until the night of to see all the people being around the rink and family members getting to buy the merchandise and wear it. That’ll be where it feels more real for me.”

The Vancouver Canucks say their annual First Nations celebration will “honour Indigenous communities across the province and highlight their deep connection to the land and the game.”

 

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