A new touring hockey exhibit is leaning into the game that hooked so many fans in the first place: the video game. The Hockey Heritage Exhibit unveiled Pucks & Pixels on Saturday afternoon at the Madison Public Library in New Jersey, opening what it calls its inaugural season tour with an immersive tribute to the EA Sports NHL series.
For a lot of hockey fans who grew up in the 1990s and early 2000s, that path to the sport ran through a controller. The exhibit taps straight into that memory, using the evolution of the NHL games to tell a bigger story about how people connected to hockey in the first place.
Geoffrey Wyhopen, the founder and creator of the mobile museum, built the display around that idea. He wanted to bring the joy of NHL video games to the public while also showing how the games changed over time and, just as importantly, how the sport itself has held people’s attention.
The setup mixed old and new in a way that made the point quickly. Visitors saw Stuart Skinner’s goalie pads, Filip Gustavsson’s Four Nations jersey and a piece of the old Boston Garden. They also got a handful of swag, and the centerpiece was a wall that showed every version of the NHL game, with graphics dating back to 1991.
That wall was the real eye-catcher. Wyhopen told The Hockey News that NHL '94 marked a major jump in both graphics and gameplay, and he said the same was true of NHL '98. After that, each version appeared to move the game forward a little more, at least until the early 2010s, when the progress seemed to level off.
The exhibit also borrows a familiar feel from the Hockey Hall of Fame. It has something for older fans, something for younger fans, and a clear emphasis on making the whole experience interactive. That influence comes directly from Toronto, where Wyhopen drew inspiration for the project and from the broader idea that hockey should be accessible to everyone.
That same thinking shaped the choice of venue. The first stop was the Madison Public Library, which is Wyhopen’s local library and free to all patrons. The museum’s community-first approach also keeps admission free.
Wyhopen wants Pucks & Pixels to keep moving. His goal is to take it to NHL arenas, American Hockey League and PHWL games, public settings and anywhere else hockey and video game fans might gather. He also sees room for the project to grow into something even bigger, with the Hockey Hall of Fame as a possible partner down the road.
There’s also a place for teams to help build it out. The New Jersey Devils were among the clubs most helpful to Wyhopen, supplying memorabilia and space at Prudential Center for games.
For now, the challenge is making the experience even more interactive and drawing more fans in. Attendance at the Madison event was not heavy, and the warm weather on a Saturday afternoon in September likely didn’t help.
One idea raised was adding a section where fans, especially younger ones, could actually play games from different eras and see how each version compares. The Hockey Hall of Fame already has a kids area where fans can take a shot or make a save, giving them a chance to feel part of the action.
To learn more about Pucks & Pixels and the Hockey Heritage Exhibit, visit hockeyheritageexhibit.com or contact Geoffrey Wyhopen at geoffrey@hockeyheritageexhibit.com.
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