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

Review: 2003-04 Topps C55 Hockey

Really, really, really old school design makes for an interesting distraction

2003-04 Topps C55 #68 - Jaromir Jagr

Retro-themed sets based on early 20th century design – such as Upper Deck’s “Champ’s” brand of hockey cards, or Topps “Alan & Ginther” baseball cards – are a popular trend with collectors right now. While few can afford the original cards of Art Ross or Georges Vezina, many still can appreciate the look and feel of current cards that base their designs on these old sets. Earlier this decade, Topps made an initial attempt to make a set of neo-retro hockey cards, naming it “C55” and basing the design on a set of cards that is almost a century old. Continue reading “Review: 2003-04 Topps C55 Hockey”

Whole Lotta Hossa

Dale Tallon must be out of his mind.

Yes, the Blackhawks General Manager did “manage” to sign this summer’s hottest free agent, Marian Hossa.

The problem is, he signed Hossa for twelve years. Twelve years. Let’s think about this for a minute, shall we? In 12 years, it will be the year 2021–which sounds like the title of a Rush album or an Arthur C. Clarke novel–and Hossa will be 42. Continue reading “Whole Lotta Hossa”

Thanks Brandon!

A belated “Thanks!” to Brandon Wagner for sending me some hockey cards. Brandon maintains a blog aptly named Cardboard Hockey, ETC., and usually posts about packs of hockey cards he’s opened recently.

Not only did he hook me up with a bunch of 2008-09 Artifacts cards I needed for my set, he also threw in some cool miscellaneous cards, including two packs of 1990-91 O-Pee-Chee and this 2008-09 Collector’s Choice Jonathan Toews card.

OK, Toews isn’t really miscellaneous. He’s the team captain of the Blackhawks, and was a starter in the All-Star game this year. This card shows him in the ‘Hawks second game from the 2008-09 season, against the Washington Capitals.

As for those 1990-91 O-Pee-Chee packs…maybe I’ll open them up and see if the gum still tastes as good as it did 18 years ago.

Mother Ducker

1999 Sports Illustrated For Kids card #792 – Paul Kariya

1999 Sports Illustrated For Kids card #792 - Paul KariyaSports Illustrated for Kids is a spin-off of the magazine Sports Illustrated, but aimed at the younger set. Each issue includes a sheet of nine trading cards featuring athletes from various sports. The magazine’s editors decided to have some fun, and put “April Fools’ Day Cards” in the April 1999 issue of SI for Kids. This card shows Anaheim Mighty Ducks captain Paul Kariya skating on the ice with other ducks – real ducks. Continue reading “Mother Ducker”

1963-64 Parkhurst #56 – Billy McNeill

It’s been a while since I purchased a 1963-64 Parkhurst Hockey card. The same day the Penguins won the cup, I got this in the mail. It is a card of former Red Wing Billy McNeill.

The card is in decent shape, with the typical discoloration and rounding of the corners. With shipping, it cost me $4.50.

I now have 3 cards, and need 96 more. Slow and steady wins the race…

Thanks, Greg


Thanks goes out to fellow sports card blogger Greg Armentrout, who sent me a bunch of cards featuring Michigan State Spartan hockey players – and a few coaches too – including this card you see here of current NHL player Rod Brind’Amour.

As you know, I love cards that show players before they made it to the pros, from the junior leagues to the minor leagues. You don’t often see too many college hockey cards, either, so these are very much appreciated. The Michigan State set has cards of a few guys who made it to the pros, including Joe Murphy, Bob Essensa, Kelly Miller and Kip Miller.

Video Olympics for the Atari 2600

Early hockey video game is really Pong with great box art

Atari 2600 Video Olympics - box frontSometimes we forget how far video games have come. Those old enough to remember when Wayne Gretzky played for the Oilers probably got their start playing video games on the Atari 2600 – with games like Space Invaders, Combat, Surround and Video Olympics. Continue reading “Video Olympics for the Atari 2600”

The Holy Grail of Hockey Cards

1990-91 Pro Set Stanley Cup Hologram

1990-91 Pro Set Stanley Cup HologramLast week, the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings in game seven, winning the Stanley Cup – the third time the Penguins have won hockey’s “Holy Grail” since joining the NHL in 1967. Not long ago, I too acquired a holy grail – one for card collectors: 1990-91 Pro Set Stanley Cup hologram. Continue reading “The Holy Grail of Hockey Cards”

Beckett Marketplace purchase

Last week, I decided to purchase a bunch of cards from a Beckett.com dealer. I got free shipping, and it scratched a few itches for me.

For several years now, I’ve wanted to own the 2001-02 Topps Heritage Parallel set. Seeded one per pack, the cards resemble the classic 1971-72 Topps/OPC set, which is among my favorites. No one ever sells these cards as a full set, but I was able to find a dealer that had all 110 cards. About 1/3 of the cards were 25 cents, and another 1/3 were 45 cents. It cost me $61.47 to purchase all 110 cards.

I also purchased several cards to kill off some sets:

— 1989-90 O-Pee-Chee (1 card)
— 1993-94 Donruss (1 card)
— 1993-94 Leaf Hat Tricks insert set (2 cards)
— 1995-96 Pinnacle Select (1 card)
— 1996-97 Leaf (1 card)
— 2008-09 Fleer Ultra (5 cards)

Finally, I picked up another 67 different Chris Chelios cards. I’m trying to get all of Chelios’ cards. I now have 326 different Chelios cards in my collection.


If you are considering ordering from the Beckett.com marketplace, you should know that if you order $50 or more from a single dealer, then the shipping is free. However, if you place an order over $100, then for some reason the site wants to charge you for shipping. So, I’d recommend placing an order between $50 and $99.99, because once your order hits $100 they try to charge you $14 or so for shipping.