Puck Junk - Hockey cards, collectibles and culture

Blake’s Takes: Team USA Wins the World Junior Championships

NHL games start in a few days. That’s the most important thing about this week. However, last week still provided a ton of news from around the league. We saw another captain named, one of the game’s greats retire, and the end of the World Junior Championships in Edmonton. The NHL also announced a few of their unconventional business plans. I’ll speak to it all in this week’s column. Happy Monday!

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Team USA Wins the World Junior Championships”

TTM Cast: Collecting Hockey Cards & Autographs

Sal Barry was a guest on the TTM Podcast with Jeff Baker and Sean McElroy. He talked about collecting hockey cards and hockey autographs. Skip to the 50-minute mark to hear Sal’s interview on the show.

You can listen to more episodes of the TTM Podcast here. ■

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.

Video: Strange Hockey Collectibles

Sal Barry and Tim Parish were at the November 2020 Sport Card “Virtual Expo,” where they hosted a special video episode of the Puck Junk Podcast. This time, the guys show off some strange hockey collectibles, including the Brett Hull comic book, drink coasters, and zombie hockey figures.

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

Love hockey? Join the Puck Junk Facebook Group, subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube, and support this site and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

Puck Junk’s Top Articles of 2020

Happy New Year, Puck Junk readers! With 2021 barely a week old, now is a good time to take a look back at Puck Junk’s most-read articles of 2020. As the saying goes, if you haven’t seen these before, then they are new to you.

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Blake’s Takes: NHL to Play Outdoor Games in 2021

Outdoor games will be played this season. It won’t be the Winter Classic or Stadium Series, but the NHL will travel to Lake Tahoe to provide us with some outdoor entertainment. That was the biggest news of the week but not the only news. A new captain was named and a few legends of the game switched teams. I’ll fire off takes about all of those topics and more.

Happy 2021 everyone!

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: NHL to Play Outdoor Games in 2021”

Puck Junk Podcast #80: Dec. 29, 2020

Bobby Hull Interview

In this special episode of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry interviews Chicago Blackhawks legend Bobby Hull, a.k.a. “The Golden Jet.” Hull, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, talks about how he and Stan Mikita invented the curved hockey stick, his heated rivalries with John Ferguson and Bryan “Bugsy” Watson, playing advice he gave to his son Brett Hull and the time he suited up for the New York Rangers in 1959 to play in a European exhibition tour. This episode is 23 minutes long.

Show Notes, Links and Images:
Bobby Hull career statistics (HockeyDB)
Bobby Hull official website (link)
The famous photo of Bobby Hull with a bloody nose:

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast opening and closing music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.
Interlude music “Here Come the Hawks” performed by Frank Pelico (YouTube)
Special thanks to the Sport Card Expo for providing the audio for this podcast.

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

Love hockey? Join the new Puck Junk Facebook Group and subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube.

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

Blake’s Takes: One Step Closer to Next Season

NHL news has been plentiful over the past week. Right after I submitted my column for last week, the NHL announced firm plans for this season’s divisional alignment and playoff structure. I’ll comment on that news as well as a few additional major announcements around the league.

I hope everyone who celebrates had a Merry Christmas and celebrates New Year’s Eve safely.

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: One Step Closer to Next Season”

Puck Junk Podcast #79: Dec. 23, 2020

Hockey for the Holidays

In our second holiday-themed episode of the Puck Junk Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish share stories — their own and those submitted by listeners — about getting hockey-related items for Christmas. Karine Hains, Canadiens beat writer for HockeyBuzz.com, joins the guys to tell her tale of an awesome hockey gift she received in 1990. Sal and Tim also talk about the upcoming 2021 NHL season and the fake Alexis Lafreniere hockey cards being sold on eBay.

Thanks to everyone who shared their stories. Scroll down for pictures of some of these great hockey presents.

Show Notes, Links and Images:
Karine Hains’ Montreal Canadiens blog (HockeyBuzz.com)
Karine Hains on Twitter (@KarineGHG)
2021 World Junior Championships (website)
President’s Choice Trading Cards (website)
Quebec Police Investigating Fake Lafreniere Cards (Sports Collectors Daily)
Heroes of the Crease Goaltending Museum & Memorabilia (website)
Puck Junk Facebook Group (Facebook)
Listen to the full New York Islanders Christmas Album (Puck Junk)
More info about this podcast episode’s cover image (Puck Junk)
Here is last year’s hockey/holiday themed podcast (Puck Junk)

The fake Alexis Lafreniere Quebec Pee-Wee Tournament hockey card.

Some of the gifts that our listeners have gotten over the years:

The Wayne Gretzky table hockey game.

Many years after Aaron Nelson got the Gretzky Table Hockey Game for Christmas, he started a table hockey club at the school he teaches at.

Nick Wiseman received this Ducks photo signed by the entire team.

Glenn S., who plays goalie, got this awesome-looking goalie lamp.

Tyler Tenneson received a puck signed by Mats Zuccarello (top left corner) from his wife as a present one Christmas.

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast intro & ending music for this episode is from the New York Islanders Christmas Album, entitled “Home for the Holidays” and released in 1979.

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

Love hockey? Join the Puck Junk Facebook Group and subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube.

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

How to Store and Display Your Hockey Puck Collection?

Many puck collectors I know are the “all-in” type who purchase almost every unique puck they find and then put it on display with the hundreds of other pucks in their collection, usually in some custom-built display that costs a lot of money and takes up an entire wall.

Me? I don’t have the space or the budget for that. I’m more of a casual puck collector. Card collecting is my favorite hobby, but it is hard for me to resist buying a hockey puck every now and then, be it from a special game or commemorative event, or with the logo of some long-gone team. And I love getting pucks signed by my favorite players; pucks look great when signed in silver Sharpie or silver paint pen, and it is a shame to not display those. The problem is that over time, all these pucks start to pile up, can take a lot of display space and be tricky to store without damaging them.

If you don’t want to dedicate an entire room, wall, or bookcase to display your hockey pucks, but still want to show off some of your favorites…Read the rest of the story at the BCW Supplies Blog.