Jamie Oleksiak described his tattoos for the NHL’s Deep Ink series. The account identifies a right-arm sleeve, a moon on his inner bicep and a separate piece on his left ribs, with meanings he connects to family, birthplace and his birthday.
The Polish eagle anchors Jamie Oleksiak’s right-arm sleeve
The eagle crest sits high on Oleksiak’s right arm and is the sleeve’s main image. He told the NHL’s Deep Ink series that he wanted his first tattoo to represent family and linked the eagle to his father’s Polish ancestry.
Scottish thistles wrap around the lower arm
Oleksiak connects the thistles around his lower arm to his mother’s Scottish heritage. The close photographs show the pointed leaves and flower heads bending around the forearm and elbow.
Canadian maple leaves in the right-arm sleeve mark Oleksiak’s birthplace
The maple leaves scattered across the sleeve refer to Oleksiak’s Canadian birthplace. He told the NHL that more leaves were added in Toronto, where he grew up; they appear as smaller repeated shapes around the larger eagle and thistle designs.
The crescent moon tattoo adds a winter-solstice detail
A crescent moon sits on the inside of Oleksiak’s bicep. He was born on December 21, the winter solstice, and said the moon brings that date into the collection. He also said he had started exploring other solstice-inspired tattoos, without naming a specific next design.
The hidden clan reference
Oleksiak’s separate left-side and rib tattoo includes a lion from the Robertson Clan sigil, another reference to his mother’s Scottish background. He described the piece as a geometric, tribal-style hybrid. It took 16 hours and was done by an artist in Toronto, his hometown.
Heritage is the organizing thread
The right-arm sleeve brings together references to Oleksiak’s father, mother and Canadian birthplace. The moon and clan lion sit elsewhere on the body, so the collection is linked by the meanings he gave the designs rather than one uninterrupted piece.
The images preserve different views of Oleksiak’s collection
The NHL feature pairs a wider portrait with close photographs of the eagle, thistles, maple leaves and inner-bicep moon. Those views show where the pieces sit and how they join the sleeve; they do not reveal every detail from every angle.
The collection took shape over multiple sessions
Oleksiak said he got his first tattoo at 19, after he started playing professional hockey in Austin, Texas. The right-arm sleeve took three visits with his original Austin artist, each lasting six to seven hours. He described the sequence as outline, shading after the skin had settled, then color; the thistles were colored later that summer.
A clear heritage map
When scheduling with the Texas artist became difficult, Oleksiak continued work with Toronto artist Chris Price. He said he was considering more additions to the right arm and further winter-solstice-inspired designs. The Deep Ink interview is the source for his explanations; a separate Trail Talks with Jamie Oleksiak video provides broader portrait context.