When it comes to personal artwork, Jamie Oleksiak displays his heart on his sleeve... literally.
The 26-year-old defenceman is a big fan of tattoos - from ones he already has to ones he’s looking at adding down the road.
If you’re into ink, Oleksiak has all the angles covered.
The Dallas defenceman recently spoke with NHLPA.com for this week’s edition of My Top 5.
“I’ve always been interested in tattoos and the history of them. When I was playing in Austin (with the American Hockey League’s Texas Stars), I kicked around some ideas of what would look good. A couple of guys got tattoos, so I decided to check out the place they went to. That’s how it all started.”
Oleksiak's top tats
1. Family tree
“We were throwing around some ideas around when I was in Austin and I thought about my ancestry – Canadian, Polish and Scottish – so I wanted something with that. I asked what would look good and what would work in that style and we came up with an idea for a sleeve. That’s what I got done and I’m still working on little pieces here and there.”
2. Feeling the love
“I got another one done here in Toronto, in the Beaches area. I walked into the studio and it was the same kind of deal – I didn’t really have a set idea in my mind. I think a lot of times with tattoos, there’s a lot of give and take with the artists. I kind of leave it up to them to decide because they have the experience. I really liked the style. He refers to his work as… I think it’s a hybrid/tribal style. It’s pretty unique. We came up with this lion tattoo. It took a while. It’s on my ribs – not a very comfortable spot. I love the way it looks.”
3. Summer time is the right time
“I’m thinking this summer I want to get another one done on my left arm. Again, I’m going to see what’s out there. It’s all about doing homework on the artists. You can have an idea in your head, but it’s about working with the artist. I’d like to get one to do with the Beaches, growing up here and living here my whole life. Maybe the [Leuty] lifeguard station would be one. Something unique to the area and that fits my story.”
4. Family ties
“The Polish side of my family has a crest and there’s a rich history of that in Poland. I’d like to do that, but I’m just not sure where on my body. I’ve been working with my dad – he’s all over that ancestry.com. He’s really looking into the family history and what he can dig up. My mom has a Scottish background and there are some great designs you can do with that.”
5. Ink journey
“I’ve always wanted to go somewhere, Ecuador, Thailand or even Japan, where they have a really rich tattoo history. To get a tattoo done that represents their culture… if I could go overseas and get some work done by an artist that can showcase the local style of tattoo in that area, it would be really cool. That’s something I’ve thought about. At some point, I’m hoping to get something like that done as well.”
