Was Ryan Reaves Autographing Tom Wilson Injury Photo Going Too Far?

On Tuesday, Las Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves hit Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson with a blindside hit. Reaves was ejected from the game, and Wilson also left the game with a concussion. Fan response ran the usual gamut, from lauding Reaves for giving Wilson a taste of his own medicine, to demonizing Reaves for making what many would consider a dirty hit (while, presumably, not understanding what “irony” means).

Two days later, Inscriptagraphs, a sports memorabilia store based in Las Vegas that specializes in autographed items, was selling 16″ x 20″ photos of Reaves standing near an injured Wilson — and signed by Reaves in red ink with the inscription “He ran into a Lion in the Jungle,” which Reaves said in a postgame statement. 

Continue reading “Was Ryan Reaves Autographing Tom Wilson Injury Photo Going Too Far?”

Photo of Dominik Hasek at Age 19

Six years before he would make his NHL debut, goaltender Dominik Hasek was 19 years old, plying his trade with Tesla Pardubice in Czechoslovakia. This is the Tesla Pardubice team photo from the 1984-85 season, with Hasek in the front row, third from the right. 

Here is a closer look at Hasek and his Beatles haircut:

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1963-64 Cleveland Barons Team Photo

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The 1963-64 Cleveland Barons Hockey Team. Click to view larger.

If you gaze at a minor league team photo long enough, you won’t see a sailboat, but you will probably find a few guys who went on to play in the NHL. It’s like watching a Burger King commercial from ten years ago starring your favorite television actor before they were famous. Only in this case, it’s a hockey player who was riding buses to far-flung midsize American towns, such as Cleveland.

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Ed Belfour Originally Wore Number 1

belfour_1989This is one of the earliest photograph of Ed Belfour as an NHL player. It predates his “Eagle” mask. In fact, this photo is so old that he’s wearing number 1. Practically every photo you find of Belfour with the Blackhawks shows him wearing number 30, which was his number from 1990 to 1997. His 1990-91 Upper Deck rookie card (and 2003-04 Topps Lost Rookies card) shows Belfour wearing number 31. But Eddie the Eagle started his career wearing number 1 for six weeks — the same number that Glenn Hall donned for a decade. Continue reading “Ed Belfour Originally Wore Number 1”

Five-Photo Friday: June 20, 2014

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Photo by Irving Penn.

Five-Photo Friday is a way for me to share some of the more interesting hockey images that I have collected throughout the years. Some of these I took myself, while others are curated from various sources. Read on to see a sidewalk art from a defunct TV station, a scoreboard like you’ve never seen and a table hockey game for girls.

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Photo Purchases

I have a weakness for 8″x10″ photos.

No, they aren’t collectible, nor are they “worth” anything.

But there is something so immersive about their relatively large size (compared to hockey cards), their ease of storage (just throw ’em in a binder) and their endless varieties. Whenever I see a dealer who sells photos, I try and find offbeat images that I don’t see everyday.

Here are some 8″x10″ goodies I got…a while ago. I meant to put these up sooner, but they’ve been in a pile of stuff on my floor the past 3 months. Either way, enjoy these pics! Continue reading “Photo Purchases”

2002 Olympic Hockey Photos

(Steve Yzerman, Chris Chelios, Brett Hull and Brendan Shannahan at the 2002 Olympics)

Ever since the NHL decided to let it’s best players fully participate in the Winter Olympics, there seemed to be a sort of even / odd “Star Trek” paradigm going on here.

You see, the 1998 Olympics was very much like the first “Star Trek” film–highly-anticipated, but failing to live up to the hype. Of course, I say this from a North American perspective, because I’m sure hockey fans in the Czech Republic thought the ’98 games were just fine.

And like “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” the 2002 Olympics was all it was supposed to be and more, culminating in a final showdown between the United States and Canada. Expectations were met, and then some.

The 2006 Olympics? Totally “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.” Yawn.

That makes 2010 the “Star Trek IV” of Olympic Ice Hockey. In other words, good. Or so we can hope. I’m crossing my fingers, ‘cuz I’ll be dammed if I have to sit through “Search for Spock” twice.

With the Men’s Ice Hockey tournament starting today, I thought it would be fun to look back at some pictures from the 2002 games.

Here we have Mario Lemieux and Joe Sakic celebrating their gold medal win.
 
Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux, Paul Kariya and Joe Sakic. How’s that for a power play unit?
The U.S. bench: Chris Drury, Adam Deadmarsh, Doug Weight, Mike York and Jeremy Roenick.

Photo of Team Canada after winning the gold. Click on the photo to enlarge, and see the enviable and unmatched level of talent.

Let’s hope that the 2010 games are as good as they were in 2002.