The NHL approached Tokens & Icons to create a Commissioner's Award to acknowledge annual team accomplishment. They coined it "The Stanley" and said only, "Think Oscars!"
Tokens prides itself in using "cycled out" game used artifacts, so we cut and bonded 11 plies of game used Winter Classic plexiglass. Then the glass was turned on a lathe for over 20 hours.
Like the Oscars, the awards ceremonies are festive affairs, thus far, all "slap shots" have been confined to the ice.
2018 Stanleys Presentation
Commissioner's Award
The Trophy design is a statuette inspired by the Stanley Cup itself. The sheets of Winter Classic ice rink Plexiglass must be first laminated together into a block and then put on a lathe for several hours of shaping.
Laminated Plexiglass
Shaping on Lathe
After the shaping, an aluminum base is added along with engraving of the winning team and category.
Since 2018, the NHL has requested more Stanleys to acknowledge 6 annual Marketing acheivement categories. As of 2022 this has started to become an anticipated and iconic annual event.
Stanley Award & Handcrafted Box
Like the Stanley Cup itself, special artifacts deserve special handling. The plexiglass had a long journey: from service around a rink at a Winter Classic event, to our California studio, then shipped to another city for the presentation. Thankful for the great effort by the league, transporters, our craftspersons not to mention the staff of the winning team. To ensure each Stanley would make the last leg of its journey safely home, we handcrafted a custom, foam-lined wooden box to accompany it.
Learn more in video below.
