Sal Barry is the editor and webmaster of Puck Junk. He is a freelance hockey writer, college professor and terrible hockey player. Follow him on Twitter @puckjunk
The Onion newspaper doesn’t riff on hockey too much, but this was in last Thursday’s issue:
Senators Accuse Thrashers Of PouringIt On After 3-1 Loss
OTTAWA—Following their 3-1 loss Wednesday, Senators players accused the visiting Thrashers of poor sportsmanship for keeping up the intensity long after the game was out of reach. “At the end of the second period it was 2-1, meaning the game was basically over,” said Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, who called the Thrashers’ behavior in tallying the gaudy score a violation of the hockey code. “What’s going to happen? We’re somehow going to score a goal and tie it? Maybe. Flukes happen, miracles happen. But are we going to score twice? This is hockey we’re talking about, after all.” Alfredsson would not rule out his team attempting to score three goals on the Thrashers in their next meeting regardless of whether the Thrashers score at all.
The archive of The Onion‘s hockey articles can be seen here.
OK, so we are 1 month into 2011, but I saw another blogger do this and I wanted to steal the idea follow suit. So, here are Puck Junk’s 5 most read articles of 2010.
5. Vintage Rookie Card Haul – Apparently, hockey card collectors like reading about old hockey cards.
4. Painted Penguin – Everything about this card is just plain wrong.
1. Sports Card Girl is a Scam – My investigation of a fake blogger who was running a link farm under the guise of a cute card collecting female. Apparently, this ruffled enough feathers to merit (in-actionable) legal threats against me.
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All right, enough about 2010. I hope 2011 is another good year for Puck Junk–and for my fellow hockey card bloggers too.
Above are my tickets stubs from the 1991 NHL All-Star Game (left) and 1991 Heroes of Hockey and Skills Competition (right–otherwise known as “All-Star Friday.”
My Aunt and Uncle had seasons tickets to the Blackhawks games. They took me to a lot of games when I was a kid, and probably were going to take me to the game anyway. But my Grandmother paid them for my tickets to the game and skills competition as an early birthday present.
For some reason, our seats at the All-Star Game were better than our usual seats. Normally, we were in Mezzanine Row H, but for this weekend we were in Row D–4 rows closer than usual. Heck, we sat closer than Gordie Howe, who was in our section but about 5 or 6 rows back from us. Continue reading “1991 All-Star Game & Heroes of Hockey Tickets”
I thoroughly enjoyed the 2011 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft on Friday night. The players seemed to enjoy the aspect of picking teams, and emcee James Duthie was a fun host.
I bought four boxes of 2010-11 Donruss Hockey Cards back in late December. I didn’t have time to open them until early January, and didn’t have time to post about my results until now. So, without further delay…
This video clipshows highlights from the 1991 NHL All-Star Weekend January 17 to 19, 1991 in Chicago. It is from a VHS tape that the Chicago Blackhawks sent their season ticket holders.
There are many interviews with great players like Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Jeremy Roenick and Mark Messier. It also addresses the controversy of goaltender Ed Belfour being snubbed as an All-Star selection.
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s in the video:
0:10 to 1:45 – All-Star skills clinic & autograph session
1:46 to 4:05 – Heroes of Hockey Game
4:06 to 7:47 – NHL Skills Competition
7:48 to 10:55 – 42nd NHL All-Star Game
The video is a bit long, so I understand if you don’t want to watch it. However, I took a screen shot from the 2:20 mark:
Yes! My 15-year old self is in the background of Dennis Hull’s interview.
This was after the All-Star skills clinic held on Thursday. I honestly don’t remember seeing myself back in the video “back in the day,” so I was quite surprised to see this while digitizing the footage.
Upper Deck will continue National Hockey Card Day for a third year in a row–or NHCD as us cool kids call it.
On Saturday, February 12, 2011, hockey card collectors in Canada can get a free pack of hockey cards at their local card shop or at participating chain stores. The cards themselves are from a special, 16-card NHCD set that will feature some of Canada’s most popular players.
That’s right–this year the set will have an extra card, whereas the previous two NHCD sets had 15 cards.
Personally, I wish Upper Deck would also have NHCD in the United States. Yes, hockey is “Canada’s sport,” but the U.S. has 80% of the NHL teams. Go figure. Plus, there is greater opportunity to grow the hobby in the U.S. with such a promotion.
What if Upper Deck were to have International Hockey Card Day next year, and give out cards in Canada and the U.S.? They could even take it a step further and give out different sets in each country.
While the NHCD setstrictly has Canadian players (Gretzky, Crosby, Lemieux, Toews), the United States counterpart could feature some awesome American players from past and present (Joe Mullen, Chris Chelios, Jim Craig, Ryan Miller). And you’d end up with collectors in one country trading with collectors in the other country so as to get both sets. This idea has potential.
Would someone pick me up a complete 2011 NHCD set? I will gladly trade for this year’s set (plus a wrapper), or purchase one if the price is right.
Former enforcer Chris Nilan almost played in the 1991 All-Star Game. His controversial selection changed how All-Star rosters are picked.
Back in the day, the coaches of each All-Star team would select the reserve players. Fans still voted for the starters, but it was up to the coach to choose the rest of the team.
Enter Boston Bruins head coach “Mad” Mike Milbury, who coached the Wales Conference team. Milbury picked Bruins enforcer Chris Nilan over more, ahem, traditional choices like Guy Lafleur or Kirk Muller.
He *IS* smiling. Can’t you tell?
Milbury loves tough guys and physical play. Of course that’s meant in the most manly, bludgeon-each-other-over-the-head way possible. Nilan, who had 277 penalty minutes in 41 games with the Bruins in ’90-91, fit that to a T. He had the numbers all right…just not the numbers one would normally consider for inclusion in the mid-season classic.
In the end, Nilan did not play due to a broken ankle, and the NHL changed how reserve players were selected. Now a panel decides what non-starters are in the game, instead of leaving it up to the coaches.
What I never understood, though, is why Chris Nilan did not get an All-Star card.
The 1991-92 Pro Set Hockey set featured cards of players from the 1991 All-Star Game. All of the players.
Except for Nilan.
Yes, Nilan was injured. But so were these players…
Brett Hull also sat out due to injury. His inclusion on an All-Star card is understandable, as he was voted to the starting lineup.
Brian Skrudland was another controversial selection by Milbury. Skrudland was a defensive forward — and a fine one too. He also sat out because he was injured, but still “suited up” for this trading card photo.
The player who replaced Nilan in the All-Star Game was Bruins’ teammate Dave Christian.
But nowhere on Christian’s card is it noted that he was a replacement for Nilan.
Click to see much larger.
Did the NHL tell Pro Set to exclude Nilan from the set? Perhaps. Nilan was not in the game, and most likely not at the pre-game photo shoot either. Thus no photo. But removing any mention of him seems just like the strange, yet spiteful, kind of thing the NHL would do.
It looks right…but feels wrong.
It is as if the NHL wanted everyone forget that Nilan was going to play in an All-Star Game. And if it wasn’t for Wikipedia and my All-Star Game program, they might have gotten their wish. ■
This hockey puck is a small–yet important–piece of memorabilia from my 1991 All-Star Game collection. The front shows the All-Star Game logo.
Unlike previous years’ logos that used a “shield shape,” the 42nd NHL All-Star Game logo is a round shape that fit perfectly on the surface of a hockey puck, leaving very little “black space.” Continue reading “1991 All-Star Game Puck”
If you haven’t noticed by now, I have been waxing nostalgic lately about the 1991 NHL All-Star Game. Here is the program that I purchased that weekend. It has been tucked away, bagged and boarded the past 20 years so as to remain in mint to near-mint condition
The front features a generic All-Star goalie standing in front of the Chicago skyline at night. I don’t think it is meant to be any specific goalie, just someone from the “home” team–that being the Campbell Conference.
But the cover quadrupled in coolness when you unfolded it…
Click on the image to see super-sized.
Yes! Generic All-Star goalie versus Hall of Fame and all-time Blackhawks great Stan Mikita! Even the mightiest generic All-Star goalie is no match for Stan the Man.
The program itself has pictures both the All-Stars and the retired players who participated in the Heroes of Hockey Game. There is also history about the Chicago Blackhawks (for the out-of-towners attending the game) and info about the Skills Competition.
I think I paid $5 for this, which was kind of steep in ’91, considering that a standard program cost $3. I didn’t mind, though. How many times do you go to an All-Star Game? And with league expansion imminent in 1991, I knew that the All-Star Game would not return to Chicago for a very long time.
Maybe another 10 years and Chicago will get its turn again?
