Book Review – Chris Chelios: Made in America

Chris Chelios is the greatest American-born defenseman to play in the NHL. He may be the greatest American to ever play hockey at any position. Chelios spent 26 seasons in the NHL, breaking in with the Montreal Canadians at age 22 in 1984, winning numerous accolades along the way, and finally retiring at age 48 in 2010.

Also, Chris Chelios is my favorite hockey player of all-time. So, I am not sure why it took me this long to review “Chris Chelios: Made in America,” penned by Chelios and former USA Today hockey writer Kevin Allen in 2014. Nor can I guarantee that this will be a totally unbiased review of his book.

Regardless of how you feel about Chelios — hockey fans either loved him or hated him for his physical, almost reckless style of play — his book is an enjoyable memoir of his storied career.

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Collectors Corner #40 – Panini Select Hockey & Topps Million Card Rip Party

In this episode of the Collectors Corner, Sal Barry and Ron Barr talk about 2019-20 Panini Select Hockey cards, the Topps Baseball Million Card Rip Party, and more. Runtime is 15 minutes.

Collectors Corner airs Friday nights at 9:25 p.m. CST. Find a nearby radio station that carries Sports Byline USA here, or stream online here.  You can also listen to past episodes here.Special thanks to Sports Byline USA for providing the audio clip.

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Sports Byline USA on Twitter @SportsBylineUSA. ■

Puck Junk Podcast: January 22, 2020

The Upcoming 2020 NHL All-Star Game, plus Patrick Kane and Gerard Gallant

In this week’s episode of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about the upcoming 2020 NHL All-Star Game — including the 3-on-3 women’s game that will take place during the Skills Competition. Plus, Gerard Gallant’s firing, Patrick Kane joining the 1000-point club, and more. This podcast is 1 hour and 5 minutes of pure hockey goodness!

Show Notes and Links:
Here is what the 2020 NHL All-Star Game jerseys look like (picture).
And here is a visual history of NHL All-Star Game jerseys (pictures).
Did you see Dougie Hamilton’s leg injury? Ouch! (video)

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast intro and ending music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox , Castro,
Overcast, TuneIn and SoundCloud.

Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

Blake’s Takes: Milestone Watch

Last week, we saw two of the game’s best players reach tremendous milestones. We also saw a milestone reached off the ice. And, as is tradition this season, another team in the hunt for the playoffs fired their coach. Read all about it below!

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Review: Panini Missing Sticker Service

If you ever collected a Panini sticker set than you’d probably understand the frustration of getting close to completing a set but falling a few stickers short. With an apparent ever- expanding checklist each season and introduction of more foil stickers created plenty of headaches for set builders.

The usual choices for set completion would include binge buying packs, which would prove to be a costly endeavor and leave you with plenty of extras, trying to find a trading partner via websites such as laststicker.com or a similar site.

Maybe the easiest solution for completing a set was right at our fingertips at Panini’s Online Store.

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The Best Twitter Clapbacks at Brad Marchand’s Shootout Whiff

On Monday, the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Boston Bruins 6-5 in a game that came down to literally the last shot. Travis Konecky, shooting second-to-last, scored in the fifth round of the shootout. Then it was Brad Marchand’s turn for his shot. Only, he forgot to take the puck with him.

Marchand overskated the puck, and the Flyers won the game. This was after the Bruins blew a 5-2 lead, making Marchand’s mistake even more epic. He is the first player since the shootout was instituted in 2005 to overskate the puck on a shootout attempt.

“I was just trying to get going and just missed it,” Marchand told NHL.com. “I know the rule, you touch it on a penalty shot, it’s your shot. Unfortunate. It’s a tough way to lose on a play like that.”

But on Tuesday, Marchand — instead of showing a little bit of humility, or even taking a joke like he is sometimes willing to do — decided to tweet a photo of himself hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2011.

Of course, the peanut gallery that is Hockey Twitter had to get involved and razz the Rat.

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Puck Junk Podcast: January 14, 2020

Matthew Tkachuk vs. Zack Kassian.
Plus, Pekka Rinne’s Goalie Goal and Whalers Night in Carolina!

In this week’s episode of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard talk about the blowup between Zack Kassian and Matthew Tkachuk. Other topics include the New Jersey Devils firing GM Ray Shero — yes, we’re calling it a firing! — the Carolina Hurricanes’ “Whalers Night,” Pekka Rinne’s goalie goal and more.

Show Notes and Links:
Zack Kassian Ragdolls Matthew Tkachuk (video)
Why the New Jersey Devils fired GM Ray Shero now, and what’s next (ESPN)
Martin Brodeur’s Enterprise Commercial (video)
Review of Ken Dryden’s book Game Change (link)
Ilya Kovalchuk’s first goal with the Canadiens (video)
Jeremy Roenick’s Apology (video)
Pekka Rinne’s goalie goal (video)

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast intro and ending music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox , Castro,
Overcast, TuneIn and SoundCloud.

Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

Blake’s Takes: The Battle of Alberta

In this edition of Blake’s Takes, I’ll share my thoughts on the latest chapter in the Battle of Alberta and chaos that ensured last weekend. There was a goalie goal last week — and I can’t ignore that. I’ll take a look at why I think Auston Matthews is the NHL’s coolest player.

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Do You Know What You’re Missing On E-Pack?

Do you know that feeling you get when all you want to do is open some packs? But it’s late in the day, or there are no card stores nearby. How would you like to open packs, boxes or even cases of hockey cards no matter where you are, no matter what time of day it is, while also being able to chat and trade with fellow hockey collectors?

With the evolution of online shopping and e-commerce over the past few years, it was only a matter of time until the sports card industry caught on to the “buy stuff in my pajamas” concept. Upper Deck’s e-PACK sports and entertainment platform provides collectors the ability to do just that and even more.

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Puck Junk Podcast: January 9, 2019

1993-94 Hockey Card Retrospective

Sal Barry and Tim Parish go oldschool and discuss their memories of collecting hockey cards during the 1993-94 season — what was great about that year, what could have been better, and why Sal says it was the last truly fun year of hockey card collecting. Plus, they talk about some new card releases, including the 2019-20 Upper Deck MVP Hockey retail boxed set.


Show Notes and Links:
2019-20 Panini Select Hockey Cards (info)
2016 Leaf Jack Eichel Collection Boxed Set (review)
Every 1993-94 Hockey Card Set Ranked (article/review)
1993-94 Donruss Ice Kings Inserts (review)
1993-94 Topps Stadium Club All-Star Inserts (review)
1993-94 Topps Team USA (review)

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast intro and ending music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox , Castro,
Overcast, TuneIn and SoundCloud.

Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■