But just like the Heroes and Prospects sets of years past, there are also cards of current and former NHLers — here categorized as “First Round Picks” or “Draft Surprises.” There are also cards of “Future Draft Prospects” who are new to junior hockey and may one day be drafted by an NHL team.

A box costs around $90 and contains 12 cards, including seven base cards, three autographs and two game-used jersey cards.

Here’s what I got in the box I opened:

Seven (7) Base Cards

The base cards in 2013 Draft Prospects are printed on shiny foil board, and are reminiscent of the mid-1990s draft pick sets put out by Classic. The back of each card has a 100-word writeup about that player instead of statistics, which is a nice change of pace.

Like last year’s Enforcers set, 2013 Draft Prospects will be a tough one to put together. You get seven base cards in a 12-card box, and there’s 180 different cards to collect. Plus, one of the cards I pulled was a green “Limited Variant” variant, which would make this set even harder to complete if one in every seven base cards is a  parallel. Just sayin’.

Two (2) Game Used Jersey Cards

The box also had, as promised, two jersey cards. Hunter Shinkaruk (top) was ranked as the 23rd-best prospect by The Hockey News, and should get drafted in the first round. Josh Ho-Sang (bottom) completed his first year in the OHL and is eligible for the NHL draft in 2014.

Three (3) Autographed Cards

Finally, there are three hard-signed (or “on-card,” as I like to say) autographs. These cards are not shiny, and are slightly thicker than the base cards.

• Kerby Rychel (top) is the son of former NHL player Warren Rychel, and is ranked the number 21 prospect for 2013 by The Hockey News.
• Jackson Whistle (middle) is not in the top 100 prospects, but is draft-eligible in 2013 and posted a 1.96 average in 21 games with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets this season.
• Sam Steel (bottom) was drafted by the Regina Pats in this year’s bantam draft with the second-overall pick, and won’t be eligible for the NHL until 2016. Steel is 15 years old, which might make him the youngest person to have an autographed hockey card.

In The Game really owns the prospects niche, and does a nice job with this set. ITG went the extra mile to get not only autographs of 15-year old future prospects, but pretty much all of the players projected to get picked in the first round of the 2013 draft — including Seth Jones, Jonathan Drouin or Nathan MacKinnon.

Purists may find the shiny base cards obnoxious, but to me they “feel” right for a prospect set; sort of like what Classic did with their inserts and parallels for their prospect sets in the 1990s.

One drawback is the price.$90 for a 12-card box is a bit steep, especially when you compare it to In The Game’s Heroes and Prospects set, which costs less, gives you many more base cards (155 or so) and has the same number of jersey cards (two) and only one less autographed card (two instead of three). Then again, the autographs you might pull from a box of these cards are enticing.

Special thanks to In The Game Trading Cards for providing the box for this break.

Click here for a checklist of 2013 Draft Prospects.

]]> http://puckjunk.com/2013/06/19/2013-itg-draft-prospects-box-break/feed/ 0 http://puckjunk.com/2013/06/18/magazine-mentions-for-june-2013/ http://puckjunk.com/2013/06/18/magazine-mentions-for-june-2013/#comments Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:30:50 +0000 Sal Barry http://puckjunk.com/?p=9048 Continue reading →]]> Just a quick heads-up about a few magazine articles I have coming out this month. First up is One and Done, published in Beckett Hockey issue #250. (June 2013, on sale now). The three-page article discusses five hockey card sets from the 1990s — both awesome and awful — that lasted only one year, never to be seen again. And yes, that is a card of Mister Rogers in the picture above, because I freakin’ LOVED the 1991-92 Pro Set Platinum set, Celebrity Captains and all.

Also hitting newsstands this month is the July 2013 issue of The Hockey News. On page 42, you will find short “In the Cards” reviews of three 2012-13 hockey sets. Blink, and you might miss them.

Currently, I’m working on a few articles for Puck Junk (I know, right?), as well as the next two stories for The Hockey Noob. And look for new content each day this month on Sal’s Hockey Autographs.

I am going to blog about it too.

I’d like to introduce my third hockey blog, entitled The Hockey Noob, where I discuss what it is like to be an adult learning how to play hockey. I will also talk, from a beginner’s point of view, about equipment and training, and share advice I get from experts.

This blog is a part of the Chicago Now blog network, which is owned by The Chicago Tribune.

For those of you who thought about playing hockey, but did not know where to start — this is the blog for you.

Regardless of your past hockey experience, though, please check out  my first post on The Hockey Noob, and please leave a Facebook comment at the bottom.

And if you are feeling especially generous, please “Like” The Hockey Noob Facebook page.

Game Seven last month between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings marked the last time these teams will face each other in a Western Conference playoff series.

Next year, the NHL will realign its conference structure, doing away with six divisions in favor of four larger divisions. As a result, the Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets will move to the Eastern Conference. It will be the first time since 1980-81 that the Blackhawks and Red Wings will not be divisional rivals.

The Red Wings are one of two teams moving to the Eastern Conference next season. (Photo by Jeff Powers / Flickr & Creative Commons)

“Detroit and Columbus moving to the East can only be good — broken rivalries aside,” said Alan Bass, author of the book The Great Expansion: The Ultimate Risk that Changed the NHL Forever. “This will make the Red Wings better with the smaller travel schedule, in addition to creating some great rivalries back east with some of the other Original Six teams.”

New rivalries will be forged, while others will be broken. Although they have been members of the Central Division since joining the NHL in 2000, the Columbus Blue Jackets never achieved the same level of animosity that is shared by the Blackhawks and Red Wings. And with good reason: both Chicago and Detroit have co-existed in the same division for 76 of their 86 seasons in the league. While the division names changed–be it the American, Norris or Central Divisions–the rivalry remained the same.

Origins of a Rivalry

In 1926, the Chicago Black Hawks (then spelled with two words) and the Detroit (then called the Cougars) joined the NHL and were placed in the American Division.  It was a high point in the early days of the league, as it boasted ten teams–five in the American Division and five in the Canadian Division. But the league gradually declined to seven teams in 1938 and eliminated the divisions–in essence, making all clubs “rivals” with one another.

For 25 seasons, the NHL consisted of only six teams – known as the “Original Six” Era. (Archives of Ontario, Canada)

Four years later, the Brooklyn Americans folded, leaving the NHL with only six teams: the New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Red Wings and Black Hawks. For 25 years, the “Original Six” era would see a league that, save for the Black Hawks, only played in the eastern time zone.

But just as rivalries can push people or teams to do extraordinary things, the NHL was pushed by its biggest competitor in the 1960s. The Western Hockey League was a top-tier minor league back then–the Western League that exists now is a junior league for underage players–and was looking to expand its reach and up its game.

“The Western League wanted to expand and become professional at the same level as the NHL.” hockey historian Steve Currier said. “This was a genuine threat [to the NHL].”

BONUS: Click here to view an interactive timeline of the NHL’s growth.

This prompted the NHL to expand from six to twelve teams, adding franchises in Minnesota, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Oakland. The NHL also returned to a divisional format. New teams were placed in the West Division, while the Original Six teams were put in the East Division–regardless of geographical location.

The league expanded again in 1970, with the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks playing in the East Division, while the Black Hawks moved over to the West. For the first time in 44 seasons, the ‘Hawks and Wings would not be divisional rivals.

The Western Hockey League was no longer a challenge to the NHL’s supremacy, but another threat emerged: the World Hockey Association. Founded by two former executives from the American Basketball Association, the WHA launched with twelve teams in 1972. This prompted the NHL to add more teams in 1972 and 1974, so as to block the WHA from expanding to certain markets.

“There was so much expansion in a very short period of time that there wasn’t enough talent to go around,” Currier said. ” By 1974, they were up to 32 teams in [between the NHL and WHA], which is more than there are now. There was a great disparity between the top and the bottom, and even the middle teams didn’t really have a chance to win the Cup at all. But there wasn’t much that could be done.”

The 1970s were rife with numerous hockey teams founded, relocated and/or folded as both leagues tried to outdo each other. Finally, in 1979, the war between the NHL and WHA was over. The WHA ceased operations, with four of their teams joining the NHL. The league would remain stable until the 1990s. Between 1991 and 2000, the NHL would add nine new teams while four other teams would relocate.

Worth noting is that the Black Hawks and Red Wings were reunited as division rivals in 1980-81, adding another 32 years of bad blood between them.

Looking Ahead

Nothing lasts forever, including storied rivalries.

“I think a reason the NHL kept Detroit in the West for so long was their rivalry [with Chicago], but 20 years ago, there were way too many teams in the east and not enough in the west,” said Currier, who is writing a book about the ill-fated Oakland/Cleveland NHL franchise. “Now, with 30 teams, the league can make nice balanced divisions.”

The relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg was the catalyst for the NHL changing their division structure next year. (Photo by Keith Allison / Wikipedia & Creative Commons)

The Red Wings and Blue Jackets exodus to the east is thanks, in large part, to the relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers. The team was sold, moved to Winnipeg and renamed the Jets. For the past two seasons, the Jets have played in the Eastern Conference, traveling to face opponents two time zones away. This was partially because the league did not want to do a “quick fix” and swap the Jets with a team in the Western Conference, and partially because the NHL Players’ Association vetoed the league’s first four-division realignment proposal in 2012.

Under the new format, two divisions in the Western Conference will each have seven teams, while two divisions in the Eastern Conference will have eight teams. The top three teams in each division – plus two “wild card” teams in each conference – will make it to the playoffs.

“I’m cautiously optimistic about the alignment,” said Bass. “I think it will create a great amount of competition in the league. Hopefully, the non-hockey fans will take a shining to it.”

Hopefully, the hockey fans will like it too. Next year, The Blackhawks and Red Wings will meet only two times during the regular season – far less times than the teams have traditionally met each year. The team that Blackhawks fans love to hate will go from perennial nemesis to occasional visitor. But if the teams do meet in the playoffs, it would be in the Stanley Cup Finals. A series like that would quickly reignite any rivalry.

BONUS: Click here to view an interactive timeline of the NHL’s growth.

Fortunately, school’s out…for…summer. So, I’m gonna blog my blog all day, and watch hockey every (other) night.

My plan was to write some long, drawn out, stats-laden comparison between the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins.

Instead, I decided to sum it up in five short paragraphs.

Here is how the Blackhawks can win: The ‘Hawks need to capitalize on mistakes made by the Bruins. Chicago takes advantage of quick transitions, going from defense to offense in the blink of an eye. They also need team scoring from all their top guys: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Towes, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa.

Blackhawks player to watch: Bryan Bickell surprisingly leads the team with eight goals in the playoffs.

Here is how the Bruins can win:  While the Blackhawks have a few tough players, the Bruins are “team tough” and need to intimidate the Blackhawks. Hit them hard and don’t give guys like Patrick Kane much room on the ice. Goalie Tuukka Rask needs to continue his outstanding play, as these games will probably be decided by one goal, and their defense needs to continue to help pinch in on offense.

Bruins player to watch: David Krecji leads the Bruins with 21 points (9G, 12A)

Prediction: Every game will be close and hard-fought. Both teams deserve to be where they are, so don’t expect any lopsided blow-outs. Home ice will definitely be an advantage for each team, but the Blackhawks will win in 7 games.

Of course, I’m sure at least two bloggers will disagree with my prediction. Feel free to sound off and let me know what you think.

]]> http://puckjunk.com/2013/06/12/2013-stanley-cup-finals-prediction/feed/ 4 http://puckjunk.com/2013/06/10/im-almost-back/ http://puckjunk.com/2013/06/10/im-almost-back/#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 05:58:51 +0000 Sal Barry http://puckjunk.com/?p=8909 Continue reading →]]>

Sarka Slukova / OpenClipArt.org

Just a quick note for those who still look at this site now and then. I haven’t abandoned this blog, but I’ve just been super busy the past two months, working on my second Masters Degree (I know, quite the boring academic).

Apologies for slacking off and generally being uninvolved in the card-collecting blogosphere.

But I’ll be back with some new quality content later this week--both here on Puck Junk and at Sal’s Hockey Autographs.

Plus, I’ll be launching an all-new project at the start of next week. Stay tuned.

Thank you for your patience.

I never saw Tony-O play. He was my Aunt’s favorite player back in the 1970s. When I got into hockey, she loaned me her Tony Esposito Blackhawks jersey. So, Esposito was a personal favorite of mine. At age 15, I saved up enough money to buy a Tony Esposito rookie card.

And now, over two decades later, I finally picked up the next few cards from the Hall of Fame netminder’s career.

This beauty of a card is from the 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee Hockey set. It has near-perfect corners, great centering and no creases or stains. I would almost get it graded, if I was into that sort of thing. (Still, I might consider it). This was Esposito’s second card.

Esposito had another card in the 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee Hockey set. This card uses a different photograph and notes that he is the Calder Trophy Winner as the best rookie in the 1969-70 season. The corners are not as good as the above card–and this one has a bit more “yellowing” in the borders–but otherwise it is a nice card to look at. Notice the sweat dripping off of Esposito’s chin; the photo must have been taken right after a game.

My third Tony-O card is from the 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee Hockey set. I have a few copies of the Topps version of this card, so I was glad to find its O-Pee-Chee counterpart. Great corners, great gloss, no creases or stains. Esposito’s neatly-combed hair leads me to believe that this picture was taken before stepping on the ice for a game or for practice.

BONUS: Kicking it back to 1970-71, it’s the Calder Trophy. This isn’t really a Tony Esposito card, though he is listed as the most recent winner (’69-70) on the back of the card, which also notes that the winner of the Calder Trophy receives $1,500, while the runner-up gets $750. I wonder if that was in Canadian or American dollars.

Five packs is not a lot to play with, so this was one of the quickest boxes I ever opened.

As expected, my box had 20 base cards–4 in each pack, with the 5th card being the “hit”. This year’s SP Game Used base set contains 100 cards, so you’d need 5 boxes to try and complete a base set, which is a mix of current players and retired greats.

The back of each card has the player’s last 5 seasons of statistics and their total. Pretty standard for sets like this. No one buys SPGU for the base cards, right?

Moving on, here are the 5 hits I received–one in each pack.

Authentic Fabrics Dual – Florida Panthers – Stephen Weiss & Kris Versteeg – It may be hard to get excited about a jersey card featuring the Florida Panthers, but let’s look on the bright side: it has TWO swatches that ARE NOT white. Team Canada Fabrics – Scott Niedermayer – Because of the 2012 NHL lockout, Upper Deck chose to emphasize Team Canada in many of their products, such as this year’s Artifacts and National Hockey Card Day sets. Niedermayer is no slouch, having played in 7 international tournaments and 18 seasons in the NHL. And this card looks nice with it’s tight black, white and red color scheme. If I was Canadian, I’d be humming “Oh Canada!” right now.

Team Canada Fabrics Dual – Jarome Iginla & Ryan Getzlaf – Two more players that have enjoyed awesome international and professional careers (Iginla more so than Getzlaf). I like that both jersey swatches are the same color; now if only the two players were wearing the same type of jersey (home or road). Plus, I never really got into the black Team Canada jerseys.

Inked Sweaters – Ryan Miller – It’s like the peanut butter cup of hockey cards:

Fan #1: Hey doofus, you got an autograph on my jersey card!

Fan #2: Hey dummy, you got a jersey swatch on my autographed card!

Fan #3: Guys! Guys! Relax–it’s an autographed card and a jersey card.

For $30 a pack, I’d expect the jersey swatch–though larger than usual–to be blue. I also think a sticker autograph on a product like this is inexcusable. What really annoys me is that the clear sticker cuts across the black outline around the jersey swatch. You don’t see it on the scan so much, but when you see the card in person it is extremely noticeable.

Also, it is worth noting that this card is serial-numbered 19 / 50.

Tandem Twigs – Wayne Gretzky & Marcel Dionne – Now, I certainly wasn’t expecting this. I’m so used to seeing jersey cards and their less-frequent cousins, the patch card. So getting a game-used stick card–a DUAL game-used stick card at that–is really an eye-opener. But getting a dual game-used stick card of Wayne Gretzky and Marcel Dionne is something else.

SP Game Used is definitely for the high-stakes “gambler” who wants to score bigger hits than those found in most other sets. I’ve said it a million times, and I will say it again: I am not a fan of jersey cards. However, these jersey cards found in SPGU are better than average–and there are much better ones out there than what I pulled, including patch cards, triple memorabilia cards and quadruple memorabilia cards.There are also cards featuring game-used nets, pieces of game-used gloves and autographed jersey letters. So, if your luck is better than mine, you may score better with your hits than I did.

Special thanks to Upper Deck for providing the box for this break.

]]> http://puckjunk.com/2013/05/06/2012-13-sp-game-used-box-break/feed/ 2 http://puckjunk.com/2013/04/30/a-great-week-for-hockey/ http://puckjunk.com/2013/04/30/a-great-week-for-hockey/#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2013 06:44:18 +0000 Sal Barry http://puckjunk.com/?p=8806 Continue reading →]]> I’ve been busier than usual lately. Just finished writing a 10-page paper for a research methods class. Anyway, here are a few updates that you may find interesting:

My ’94-95 Lockout Article in Beckett Hockey #249

I have a 2-page article in the May 2013 issue of Beckett Hockey (#249). It is entitled A Hobby-Changing Experience, and is about the 1994-95 NHL Lockout and the long-term effects it had on the hockey card industry. A few sets got cancelled, a few new innovative ideas were tested–and there was even a lawsuit between two companies! Check out the issue–on sale now–for all of the interesting details.

Also making this a GREAT week for hockey…

The Norgeeks are Number One!

For the first time ever, I won a fantasy sports league. The Norgeeks (my team) won this year’s annual Just A Bit Offside fantasy hockey pool. Two years ago (as Team Puck Junk), I finished 4th, while last season I finished 2nd. Talk about progress.

Really, the guy who saved my season was Ray Emery. I picked up the Blackhawks backup goalie as a free agent, and he went 17-1-0 this year. That really helped, since Jonathan Quick and Braden Holtby performed horribly until the latter half of the season.

Unfortunately, Emery was injured for the last few games of the season. But that brings up my last piece of good news:

Carter Hutton Makes His NHL Debut

Who is Carter Hutton, you ask? He is the Blackhawks’ top minor league goalie. And after 4 seasons of working hard in the minors, he finally got a chance to play in an NHL game. This is the first time I really pulled for a player to get a shot in the big leagues.

Hutton appeared as a backup for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2009-10, the San Jose Sharks in 2010-11 and the Chicago Blackhawks in 2011-12. But he never actually stepped on the ice in any of those games, so while he has a few rookie cards in 2010-11 card sets, he never actually played in an NHL game. Until this past Saturday.

After 4 seasons of getting so very close, Hutton finally got his shot. He made 25 saves in a 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues. The Blues, vying for better playoff position, fielded their regular lineup, while the ‘Hawks rested many of their regulars and gave numerous other IceHogs players a chance to play. So, the game was kind of one-sided from the get-go, but Hutton did well enough that I think Coach Joel Quenneville might give him a shot next year in training camp.

So far, a great week.I had an article published, won first place in my fantasy hockey league and a minor league player I like got a chance to play in the NHL. And it’s only Tuesday. What other good hockey-related things might happen this week?

David Perron 66 / 299 – The contrast in these photos is very strong. I think that makes the photos look cool, since it deepens the shadows and makes everything look “grittier.”

Tyler Seguin 15 / 25 – This card is a gold parallel version of the base set.

Steve Downie Board Members 86 / 199 – This card is printed on acetate, so the plexiglass and the words “BOARD MEMBERS” are see-through.

James Neal Authentic Jumbo Material 38 / 99 – This hefty jersey swatch measures 1.25″ x 1.25″ at the widest points. I’m glad that a white jersey swatch was not used here.

Jakob Silferberg Phenoms 13 / 49 – I don’t get the appeal (if there is any) of having a player sign on a piece of fabric. Sure, maybe if it is an actual, intact jersey that you can wear, that I get. I see people do that all the time. But putting a piece of fabric on a card then having someone sign it seems like a silly idea. Why not just have the player sign a card. That way, we can see more of the player’s picture. Of course, the embroidered Senators patch looks cool.

Limited Rookie Redemption – When redeemed, this card will fetch a Minnesota Wild Rookie. Not sure who, but the card number is 14.

Another Redemption!?!? – This card is redeemable for a “Phenoms” autographed card of Calgary Flames rookie Akim Aliu. Aliu was a Chicago Blackhawks prospect, but was traded away a few seasons ago, which is unfortunate for me because I wanted to see him play for the ‘Hawks. I can’t wait to see what this card ends up looking like.

As promised, Panini Limited delivered three “hits”–two autographs (counting the Aliu redemption) and one game-used jersey card. That suits me fine, since I like autographs–even if they are signed on a piece of fabric–and don’t particularly care for jersey cards. If you are a fan of jerseys and autographs produced in smaller quantities, then Panini Limited might be a fun break for you.

Special thanks to Panini America for providing the box for this break.