Author: Sal Barry

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

Puck Junk Podcast #90: April 28, 2021

1990-91 Topps & O-Pee-Chee Hockey
Part 1 of the ’90-91 Retrospective Series

Thirty years ago was the “Hockey Card Explosion,” when hockey cards skyrocketed in popularity as several new companies entered the market. In the second part of this podcast series, Sal Barry and Tim Parish examine the often-overlooked 1990-91 Topps and O-Pee-Chee sets, including the insert sets and box bottom cards. 

Show Notes, Links and Images:
Write us a review at Apple Podcasts (link)
1990-91 Topps Hockey Checklist (Trading Card DB)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Checklist (Trading Card DB)
The Card Shop in the Basement of the Hat Store (Puck Junk) 
Chicago Blackhawks – Minnesota North Stars Pregame Brawl (YouTube)
1990-91 Topps and O-Pee-Chee Hockey Card Images 

1990-91 Topps #120 – Wayne Gretzky

1990-91 Topps #120 – Wayne Gretzky (back)

1990-91 Topps #348- Mike Modano (Rookie Card)

1990-91 Topps #175- Mario Lemieux

1990-91 Topps #175- Mario Lemieux (back)

1990-91 Topps Team Scoring Leaders Inserts #14 – Joe Sakic

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #527 – Wayne Van Dorp (Rookie Card)

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #527 – Wayne Van Dorp (Rookie Card)
Note the text on the back that refers to the pregame brawl.

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #436- Alain Chevrier

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #430- Tim Cheveldae (Rookie Card)

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #77 – Brett Hull…what a great smile! 

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #461 – Tim Watters  (Rookie Card)

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #1 – Wayne Gretzky “Number One”

 

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #522 – Wayne Gretzky (Art Ross Trophy Winner)

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #262 – Buffalo Sabres

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #75 – John Vanbiesbrouck

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #131 – James Patrick; note the incorrect border colors

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #214 – Jim Waite Top Prospect (Rookie Card)

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #19R - Sergei Fedorov

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts #19R – Sergei Fedorov (RC)

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts #17R – Viktor Tikhonov (RC)

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts #7R – Arturs Irbe (RC)

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red #501 – Arturs Irbe – AGAIN! (RC)

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #485 – Sergei B. Makarov (RC)
Not to be confused with 1990 Rookie of the Year Sergei Makarov

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #445 – Sergei Mylnikov (Rookie Card)

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Box Bottoms #G – Mario Lemieux 

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Factory Set
Top Panel with Mark Messier & Nikolai Varjanov

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Factory Set
Front Panel with Bill Ranford (Conn Smythe Trophy Winner)

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Factory Set –
Back Panel with some  interesting players shown.

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

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. ■

Review: The Mighty Ducks Game Changers, Season 1, Episode 5

In the fifth episode of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, entitled “Cherry Picker,” the Don’t Bothers are psyched because their next game is against the Hawks. No, these aren’t the black-clad “evil team” from the original Ducks film. The Hawks, who now wear orange and black, are the second-worst team in the league, which means the Don’t Bothers (0-5 thus far) might get their first win of the season. But a surprise visit from Evan’s estranged father suddenly complicates things for Evan, Alex and the team. 

Continue reading “Review: The Mighty Ducks Game Changers, Season 1, Episode 5”

The Wyatt Russell Hockey Rookie Card

Did you know that Wyatt Russell has a hockey card? Yes, the actor who plays John Walker — a.k.a. the new Captain America — in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier used to be a pro hockey player. His hockey card is from a set of movie trading cards made to promote the film Goon: Last of the Enforcers. Russell’s life — going from hockey player, to actor playing hockey player, to actor playing Captain America — took an interesting and unconventional road. 

Continue reading “The Wyatt Russell Hockey Rookie Card”

Review: The Mighty Ducks Game Changers, Season 1, Episode 4

“Hockey Moms” — the fourth episode of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers — is about the characters moving out of their comfort zones, and doing what is right instead of what is easy. The episode focuses on a showdown between the the Don’t Bothers moms and the Ducks moms in a skills competition. 

Note: This review contains very minor spoilers and assumes you’ve seen Episodes 1-3 of Game Changers. 

Continue reading “Review: The Mighty Ducks Game Changers, Season 1, Episode 4”

Puck Junk Podcast #89: April 15, 2021

2021 NHL Trade Deadline Recap

Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about the biggest deals to go down during the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline, including Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno, Jeff Carter and Anthony Mantha. Plus, they discuss COMC problems and The Mighty Ducks: Game Breaker series on Disney+. 

Show Notes and Links:
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers Episode 1 Review (Puck Junk)
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers Episode 2 Review (Puck Junk)
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers Episode 3 Review (Puck Junk)

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast opening and closing music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.
ESPN “National Hockey Night” Theme Song by ESPN. 

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. ■

Titillating Sports: Topps Goes Public & the $2.25M Tom Brady Rookie Card

Sal Barry was a guest on Titillating Sports with Rick Tittle to talk about the Topps Trading Card Company becoming a publicly-traded company in a $1.3 billion deal. They also discuss the Tom Brady rookie card that sold for $2.25 million at a Leland’s auction earlier this year. 

You can learn more about Rick Tittle here and listen to full episodes of his show here. Special thanks to Sports Byline USA for providing this audio clip.

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

Review: The Mighty Ducks Game Changers, Season 1, Episode 3

“At least we’re the good guys. And the good guys always win in the end. Or we learn a lesson about ourselves. Either way, it’s a ‘W’.”
– Evan, to Sofi, in Episode 3 of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers.

Things go from better to worse, but then slightly better again, for the Don’t Bothers in the third episode of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. Evan and his teammates work as a team, but not on the ice; Continue reading “Review: The Mighty Ducks Game Changers, Season 1, Episode 3”

Puck Junk Podcast #88: April 8, 2021

1990-91 Bowman Hockey Cards
Part 1 of the ’90-91 Retrospective Series

Thirty years ago was the “Hockey Card Explosion,” when hockey cards skyrocketed in popularity as several new companies entered the market. In this multipart podcast series, Sal Barry and Tim Parish will take a look back at a different set from the 1990-91 season. First up, it is the 1990-91 Bowman Hockey set, which was quite possibly the worst set released that year — from its dark and uninspired photos, to the questionable player selection, to the “fancy stats” on the back that no one asked for. It’s one hour of hockey nostalgia goodness! 

Show Notes, Links and Images:
Write us a review at Apple Podcasts (link)
1990-91 Bowman Hockey Checklist (Trading Card DB) 
1990-91 Bowman Hockey Wrapper & Factory Set Box Pics (Trading Card DB)
1990-91 Bowman Hockey Error Cards (Puck Junk)
Every 1990-91 Hockey Card Set Ranked (Puck Junk) 
1990-91 Bowman Hockey card images:

1990-91 Bowman #143 – Wayne Gretzky 

1990-91 Bowman #143 – Wayne Gretzky (back)

1990-91 Bowman #143 – Wayne Gretzky “Tiffany” Version

1990-91 Bowman #143 – Wayne Gretzky “Tiffany” Version (back)

1990-91 Bowman #7 – Ed Belfour (Rookie Card)

1990-91 Bowman #204 – Mario Lemieux

1990-91 Bowman #24 – Brett Hull

1990-91 Bowman #50 – Patrick Roy

1990-91 Bowman #1 – Jeremy Roenick (Rookie Card)

1990-91 Bowman #259 – Chris Govedaris (Rookie Card)

1990-91 Bowman #181 – Clark Donatelli (Rookie Card)
Donatelli captained the 1992 U.S. Olympic Ice Hockey Team

1990-91 Bowman #6 – Denis Savard
This card uses a photo that is from the 1988-89 season

1990-91 Bowman #55 – Jim Sandlak
This card uses a photo from the latter half of the 1988-89 season, as evidenced by the “BABE” patch the Canucks wore to honor
Cecil “Babe” Dye. 

1990-91 Bowman #32 – Rejean Lemelin
Lemelin looks like Mr. Wilson from “Dennis the Menace,” doesn’t he? 

1990-91 Bowman #197 – Petr Klima
He looks like a scaled-down version of Andre the Giant

1990-91 Bowman #168 – Tony McKegney
He looks like he is trying to skate off of his own card!

1990-91 Bowman #46 – Petr Svoboda Error (pictures Chris Chelios)

1990-91 Bowman #215 – Brian Leetch Error (missing “L” in last name)

1990-91 Bowman Hat Tricks Inserts #2 – Mario Lemieux

1990-91 Bowman Hat Tricks Inserts #2 – Mario Lemieux (back)

1990-91 Bowman Hat Tricks Inserts #5 – Steve Yzerman

1990-91 Bowman Hockey Wrapper

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

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. ■

Book Review: Thin Ice

Most hockey books chronicle the tales of elite players who were great at an early age, usually playing against older kids before going on to renowned  hockey programs en route to an NHL career. “Thin Ice: A Hockey Journey from Unknown to Elite — and the Gift of a Lifetime” is not that book. Instead, “Thin Ice, ” by Ryan Minkoff, is for the rest of the players; those who work hard, get passed over again and again, yet have the drive to keep going, no matter the odds against them. 

Continue reading “Book Review: Thin Ice”

Review: The Mighty Ducks Game Changers, Season 1, Episode 2

NOTE: This review contains minor spoilers and about Episodes 1 and 2. 

Duster – [duhs-ter] noun: a player who does not get a lot of playing time and collects dust sitting on the bench. 

“Dusters,” the second episode of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, is a fitting description of the underdogs recruited to play on the new team — called The Don’t Bothers, as a dig to what Coach T. told 12-year-old Evan Morrow in the first episode. (“It’s like at this stage, if you can’t be great at hockey, don’t bother.”)

On any other team, each of the kids on the Don’t Bothers would be a duster, mainly sitting on the bench and only getting a few token shifts if the team is up by a lot of goals. But here, each one is a vital piece. Continue reading “Review: The Mighty Ducks Game Changers, Season 1, Episode 2”