Hockey collectors looking for a good read on an obscure hockey collectible might want to pick up the November 2013 issue of Beckett Hockey Magazine (#255), available at newsstands now.

“Ahead of Its Time” (pages 6-8) is an article I wrote about a set of 13 different Montreal Canadiens figurines sold at Provigo grocery stores during the 1989-90 season.

I must extend a special thanks to fellow blogger Sebastien Hell (Hell’s Valuable Collectibles), who collected these figures “back in the day” as a 10-year old boy and spoke to me at length about them. His firsthand experience purchasing these toys was invaluable in putting together my article.

How I first discovered these figures has an interesting story. I used to frequent this collectible toy store in Elmwood Park, a suburb of Chicago, in the mid-to-late 1990s. One day, in the summer of 1997 (or was it ’98?) I found a Mats Naslund figure there, sitting in a display case with some M.A.S.K. and My Little Pony toys. Poor Mats had quite a bit of paint wear — must have been one heck of a season — and looked so out of place with the other toys. I bought the Naslund figure for $5, hoping one day to learn more about this mysterious figure that predated Headliners and even Starting Lineup figures.

Eventually, I found these figures on eBay, and picked up a few sets.  I even displayed them on my shelf with my other hockey toys. I might be from Chicago, but the 1989-90 Montreal Canadiens was a pretty good team. And the Provigo Canadiens figures are a pretty cool set.

The October 2013 issue of Beckett Hockey (#254) has not one, but TWO articles I wrote. I feel that I really raised the bar in this issue.

First, I interviewed Jeremy Roenick (“It’s Roenick – He’s Good,” pages 6-8). The video game NHL ’94 is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and Jeremy Roenick is considered the best player in the game. “I wish I was as good in real life as I was in that video game,” says J.R. in the interview. Besides his NHL ’94 legacy, Roenick also discusses what it is like to be a video game cover athlete, being name-dropped in the film Swingers, and lots of other cool stuff. Roenick is a lot of things, but he’s never dull.

If an interview with a video game (and real life) legend is not enough, I also wrote about the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks Convention (“Puck Powwow,” pages 16-18). The Blackhawks are one of the few NHL teams to hold a summertime convention, where fans can get autographs, attend panel discussions and participate in other cool activities. Several attendees and a dealer share their experiences from the weekend, while numerous photographs give you an inside look.

I know that some card shops have stopped carrying Beckett publications for one reason or another. I suggest checking a bookstore like Barnes & Noble, since they tend to carry almost everything in their magazine seciton. Or look online. Many dealers sell Beckett Hockey on Ebay.for less than the $10 cover price, and sometimes even include free shipping.

Puck Junk celebrated its 6th anniversary this weekend. And by “celebrated,” what I really mean is “did not get updated for over two weeks.”

Yeah. That said, I’m still “all-in” when it comes to the hobby of collecting hockey cards. A few things have kept me away from this bliggity-blog, including playing in a low-level recreational hockey league, writing for Beckett Hockey and teaching college once again.

But another, more important “Junk” celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The album “Love Junk” by Canadian rock band The Pursuit of Happiness was released in 1988. It was TPOH’s first LP, and it went Platinum in Canada.

“Love Junk” is one of my favorite albums of all time. It was a big part of my college years. Good memories. I’ve lost count of how many times I listened to that CD. In fact, I drew inspiration from that album’s title when I decided to name my hockey card website “Puck Junk.”

And now you know.

TPOH is perhaps best known for their debut single, “I’m an Adult Now,” which was released in 1986 (as a self-produced single) then was re-recorded for “Love Junk” in 1988. Here’s their self-produced video for the 1986 version of the song. WARNING: contains 80’s hair!

If you’ve never listened to this album before — or it’s been a long time — you can hear it online on Groove Shark.

Anyway, thank you to everyone who has continued to read this blog throughout the past six years, despite my random bouts of inactivity here and there. I appreciate being a part of this small-but-passionate online hockey card-collecting community.

As always, I’ve got lots of cool stuff to share over the next few days. Stay tuned, and happy 2013-14 hockey season!

So successful are the Chicago Blackhawks that they will sell their fans everything and anything they can. All the games sell out, as does the annual summertime Fan Convention. Three years ago, the team started holding an annual Training Camp Festival, which includes a 5K run and dealers selling hockey memorabilia, and culminates in a scrimmage. The Fest, at $5 a ticket, sells out too. Blackhawks fans will pay to see the team practice!

This year’s scrimmage was pretty epic. The last time I went to a Training Camp Fest — in 2010 — the team had the players work on drills, then play three casual scrimmages, where players skated on more than one team throughout the day. But this year, the team went super-oldschool, and played what fans have called “The Red-White Game.”

(FYI, my first “Red-White Game” was way back in 1990. Read about it here.)

The players weren’t wearing practice jerseys; they were decked out in full Blackhawks uniforms, with one team wearing the red home jerseys and the other team wearing white road jerseys. Where else but in a video game can you see two full teams of Blackhawks going at it?

To those who didn’t make it to Monday night’s fest, here are some of the highlights you missed. Continue reading “What you missed at the 2013 Blackhawks Training Camp Festival”

It’s a great time to be a hockey fan in Chicago. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, which is as good as it gets. But fans will be rewarded with a special commemorative hockey card set from Upper Deck.

The special boxed set will contain 30 card — 25 player cards and five cards of season highlights. It will also include an oversized team photo card (pictured above). The set will be released on July 23 and cost around $20.

Personally, I am psyched about this. The Boston Bruins received a commemorative set in 2011 after winning the Stanley Cup. The Los Angeles Kings did not get a full commemorative set in 2012, although a six-card giveaway set was released.

This reminds me of the old Pro Set Superbowl sets, where the company would issue cards of both the winning and losing team, as well as a special card album. I hope that Ben Smith — who played in only one game, but it was in the Finals — gets a card, along with other bit players like Jamal Mayers and Daniel Carcillo. That’s very likely, as 25 player cards would pretty much cover everyone who appeared in the 2013 playoffs for the ‘Hawks. Now, if only they’d make cards of the coaches, too.

Steel City Collectibles is now accepting pre-orders for this set.

If you live in or near Chicago and are planning to attend the Blackhawks victory parade on Friday, please read this helpful article on The Hockey Noob. At least 2 million people are expected to attend, several streets will be closed and the weather will be in the low 80s — so this article will help you get the most out of tomorrow’s parade.

In other news, I’ll be back to updating this blog regularly again soon. Just finished up a two-day teaching seminar.

Also check out this impressive collection of autographs from the 2013 Blackhawks team.

Just a quick heads-up about a few magazine articles I have coming out this month. First up is One and Done, published in Beckett Hockey issue #250. (June 2013, on sale now). The three-page article discusses five hockey card sets from the 1990s — both awesome and awful — that lasted only one year, never to be seen again. And yes, that is a card of Mister Rogers in the picture above, because I freakin’ LOVED the 1991-92 Pro Set Platinum set, Celebrity Captains and all.

Also hitting newsstands this month is the July 2013 issue of The Hockey News. On page 42, you will find short “In the Cards” reviews of three 2012-13 hockey sets. Blink, and you might miss them.

Currently, I’m working on a few articles for Puck Junk (I know, right?), as well as the next two stories for The Hockey Noob. And look for new content each day this month on Sal’s Hockey Autographs.

This summer, I am going to learn how to play hockey.

I am going to blog about it too.

I’d like to introduce my third hockey blog, entitled The Hockey Noob, where I discuss what it is like to be an adult learning how to play hockey. I will also talk, from a beginner’s point of view, about equipment and training, and share advice I get from experts.

This blog is a part of the Chicago Now blog network, which is owned by The Chicago Tribune.

For those of you who thought about playing hockey, but did not know where to start — this is the blog for you.

Regardless of your past hockey experience, though, please check out  my first post on The Hockey Noob, and please leave a Facebook comment at the bottom.

And if you are feeling especially generous, please “Like” The Hockey Noob Facebook page.

The only thing certain in the NHL is change

Game Seven last month between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings marked the last time these teams will face each other in a Western Conference playoff series.

Next year, the NHL will realign its conference structure, doing away with six divisions in favor of four larger divisions. As a result, the Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets will move to the Eastern Conference. It will be the first time since 1980-81 that the Blackhawks and Red Wings will not be divisional rivals. Continue reading “Blackhawks & Red Wings: Rivals No More”

Just a quick note for those who still look at this site now and then. I haven’t abandoned this blog, but I’ve just been super busy the past two months, working on my second Masters Degree (I know, quite the boring academic).

Apologies for slacking off and generally being uninvolved in the card-collecting blogosphere.

But I’ll be back with some new quality content later this week--both here on Puck Junk and at Sal’s Hockey Autographs.

Plus, I’ll be launching an all-new project at the start of next week. Stay tuned.

Thank you for your patience.