Puck Junk Podcast #16 – August 31, 2016

…with Sal Barry and Jim Howard.

Player not working? Listen to the podcast on SoundCloud.

Sal Barry and guest host Jim Howard revisit the 1990s with the 1996-97 Pinnacle Mint set, which was a set of hockey cards and hockey coins. Yes, coins.

Here are a few pictures of the various cards and coins found in this set.

1996-97 Pinnacle Mint Bronze card (front and back)\

1996-97 Pinnacle Mint Bronze card and Silver card

1996-97 Pinnacle Mint card with hole (front and back)

1996-97 Pinnacle Mint card with coin inserted (front and back)

1996-97 Pinnacle Mint Mats Sundin bronze coin

1996-97 Pinnacle Mint Jaromir Jagr bronze coin

1996-97 Pinnacle Mint Pavel Bure bronze coin

Milton Berle and Pavel Bure coin

1996-97 Pinnacle Mint checklist and sweepstakes rules

1996-97 Pinnacle Mint sweepstakes rules card (large)

Total Time: 33:30

Theme music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Did you collect Pinnacle Mint back in the day? Or are you collecting it now? Did you unearth one of the elusive gold coins? Do you like or dislike this set? Leave a comment and let us know. ■

Puck Junk Podcast #15 – August 22, 2016

…with Sal Barry and Tim Parish.

Player not working? Listen to the podcast on SoundCloud.

There were a lot of surprises in the NHL this summer. Sal and Tim compare eight big NHL news stories from the offseason, trying to determine which in each of these pairs was the crazier story:

Patrick Roy quitting as Avalanche coach
vs.
Randy Carlyle being re-hired as coach of the Ducks

Las Vegas getting an expansion team
vs.
The return of the World Cup of Hockey

P.K. Subban – Shea Weber trade
vs.
Taylor Hall – Adam Larsson trade

Jimmy Vesey free agent sweepstakes
vs.
Steven Stamkos re-signing with the Lightning

After that, we keep whittling it down until we agree which story caught took us by surprise the most.

Total Time: 1:07:56

Theme music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

So, what do you think? What do you believe was the most surprising news story in the NHL this summer? Do you agree or disagree with Sal and Tim’s consensus? Leave a comment and let us know! ■

Puck Junk Podcast #14 – August 17, 2016

…with Sal Barry and Tim Parish.

Player not working? Listen to the podcast on Soundcloud.

Twenty years ago, one of the most over-the-top hockey card sets was unleashed on unsuspecting collectors. Of course, we are talking about the Fleer Metal Universe set from 1996-97, which superimposed hockey players into weird cosmic settings.

Ever want to see Theoren Fleury on an alien planet with giant flowers, Felix Potvin catching an exploding puck, Dave Manson at the nucleus of an atom or Steve Yzerman with a frickin’ laser on his head?

If you said “Yes!” to any of those, well then, this is the set for you.

Podcast #14 is 36 minutes long and features rockin’ new intro music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Here are some of the cards that we talk about.

Curtis Joseph fighting off a swarm of flying eyeballs.

Dave Manson at the nucleus of an atom (or about to go nuclear!).

Steve Yzerman after being assimilated by the Borg.

Theoren Fleury skating through a flower garden on an alien planet.

Doug Weight being attacked by metal claws! Extreme!

Sandis Ozolinsh impersonating the Kool-Aid Man. OH YEAH!

Roman Vopat emerging from a Stargate.

Felix Potvin catching an exploding hand grenade.

BONUS:
Two more cards that we don’t talk about, but are still fun to look at.

Bryan Berard hated his “fish sticks” Islanders jersey so much that he set it on fire. Unfortunately, he forgot to take it off first.

Steve Rucchin shattering a metal wall with a bruising body check. This may be the most “1990s” card ever made because it features a player who was only in the NHL because the league expanded like crazy, wearing a third jersey, on a shiny metallic trading card.

We want to know! Did you ever collect the 1996-97 Fleer Metal Universe Hockey set? What do you think about it? Leave a comment below. ■

Making of “Youngblood” article on THN

Earlier this month, The Hockey News published an article that I worked diligently on writing: “Blood, Guts & Glory – The Making of Youngblood: An Oral History.” For those who subscribe to the magazine, it is in the current issue. However, THN also put my “Youngblood” article on their website for everyone to read.

For those who don’t know, “Youngblood” is a hockey movie that came out in 1986. The film starred Rob Lowe as an aspiring hockey player from the U.S. who joins a junior team in Hamilton, Ontario. The film co-stars Patrick Swayze (who sadly passed away in 2009) as the Mustangs’ team captain.

While Lowe, through his agent, refused to talk with me about “Youngblood,” I still spoke with many awesome sources: director and writer Peter Markle, cinematographer Mark Irwin, hockey coordinator Eric Nesterenko (a veteran of 20 NHL seasons) and former OHL player George Finn, who played the bad guy. I also interviewed a stunt double and two background hockey players, including Steve Thomas.

You can read the article at The Hockey News’ website here. ■