News

For a second year in a row, Upper Deck hockey cards will be given out at card shops and retail chains across Canada to celebrate National Hockey Card Day, or NHCD as the cool kids like to call it.

NHCD will happen on Saturday, January 30, 2010. Those who visit a Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, London Drugs, Rexall, Jean Coutu, Pharma Plus or a local participating card shop will receive a free, 5-card pack featuring all-new hockey cards.

And while only one pack will be given out per customer, there’s no rule against visiting as many of these shops as possible. There are 15 cards in the set, so you’ll need to get at least 3 packs to try to complete a set…or 6 packs if you want to hook your buddy Sal up with a set.

Here is the 15-card checklist:

5 “2009-10 Rookies” cards:
– John Tavares (New York Islanders)
– Matt Duchesne (Colorado Avalanche)
– Jaime Benn (Dallas Stars)
– Evander Kane (Atlanta Thrashers)
– Logan Couture (San Jose Sharks)

5 “Pride of Canada” cards:
– Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
– Vincent Lecavalier (Tampa Bay Lightning)
– Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils)
– Mike Richards (Philadelphia Flyers)
– Rick Nash (Columbus Blue Jackets)

5 “Heroes” cards:
– Jarome Iginla (Calgary Flames)
– Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks)
– Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks)
– Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers)
– Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings)

The “Rookies” and “Pride of Canada” cards look great. The full color photo, placed atop a sepia-toned background, really make the player “pop”. The bold red or blue bars punch up the design while also playing off of the red, white and blue “National Hockey Card Day” logo.

But the sepia-toned “Heroes” cards are a bit lacking. The “National Hockey Card Day” logo should have been sepia-toned too. But it isn’t, so it sticks out like a sore thumb. A shame, since the “Rookies” and “Pride of Canada” cards have such carefully-considered designs.

Then again, the cards are FREE, so who am I to complain about the design?

However, I would like to complain that these are only given out in Canada. How about us fans in the U.S.? Don’t forget that 24 of the 30 teams are here south of the border, and that the Winter Classic will be held in Boston this season.

Anyway, be sure to check out the National Hockey Card Day website. Eventually, they will post a list of participating retailers who will be giving out these free cards.

Those of you who live in or near Chicago, and need a break from arguing with your family on Christmas Day might want to sneak over to the telly and check out “Blackhawks TV.” Continue reading “Blackhawks TV show to premier on X-Mas Day”

McFarlane Toys has just released photos of NHL Series 23, due out in January 2010. This series will feature some brand-new sculpts, as well as some re-paints. Also, it will be the first time McFarlane Toys inflicts introduces their different “Collector Level” variations on unsuspecting eager hockey fans.

Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
This figure is a repaint of Martin Brodeur 2, released in NHL Series 9 (December 2004), but of course with a different head. Given his team’s Stanley Cup victory last spring, a figure of Fleury makes sense. Too bad it is not an action pose, though.

Alexander Ovechkin 4, Washington Capitals
About two weeks back, I mentioned how tired I was of Alexander Ovechkin having a figure in seemingly every other SportsPick assortment. Well, I take that back. This toy looks fantastic. Ovechkin celebrates a goal; stick raised, mouth open and teeth missing. Oh, and he’s rockin’ the playoff beard too.

Gordie Howe, Hartford Whalers
EPIC FAIL! What should have been my favorite figure in the series is in fact looking like it will be my least favorite. I don’t mind that the figure is a straight-up repaint of the Gordie Howe figure from Legends Series 6 (December 2007). But I wish the head sculpt was different. This Howe figure looks more like Reggie Dunlop from Slap Shot…

…than Mr. Hockey at the end of his career:

If the figure looked more like Gordie here, then it would have been a winner.

Luke Schenn, Toronto Maple Leafs
Not much to say here. Good pose, glad they used the blue home uniform. Next up…

Bobby Orr 3, Boston Bruins
Bobby! According to their website, this “Bobby Orr action figure is based on his legendary 1970 season.” But big-time figure geeks will recognize this as another repaint-with-a-new head. This figure was originally Jean Beliveau way back from NHL Legends Series 2 (April 2005). Orr was 6-0, and Beliveau 6-3. Close enough in height to use one figure as another.

Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Ducks
Another decent action pose. But what’s really got me excited is…

Teemu Selanne, Winnipeg Jets
Yay! A player in a uniform from a defunct NHL team! And I’m not being sarcastic, either. Who wouldn’t want this figure? Unfortunately for old-time hockey fans and those still holding a candle for the Jets, this figure will be one of the hardest to get in this series. Which brings me to our next topic.

Collector Level
Apparently, the occasional chase figure was not enough. In addition to normal chase figures (say, a player in his road uniform instead of his home uniform), there are even harder-to-get chase figures, known as “Collector Level”. The levels are Bronze, Silver, Gold, Premier, All Star and MVP. Here are the reported quantities of each “Collector Level” figure in NHL Series 23. Note that this information was reported by an online retailer, but has not been confirmed by McFarlane Toys:

Bronze – 1000-2000 – Bobby Orr in white jersey

Silver – 500-1000 – Marc-Andre Fleury – Gloves and stick at his feet, base painted to look like red carpeting.

Gold – 250-500 – Gordie Howe in Green Jersey – I am not sure how this will vary from the “normal” Gordie Howe in green jersey that is part of the regular assortment.

Premier – 100-250 – Alexander Ovechkin 4 in All Star Uniform.

All Star – 50-100 – Teemu Selanne in Jets uniform.

MVP – 1-50 – Gordie Howe in white jersey with Authentic Autograph

The “Classic Chase” figures will be of Schenn or Ovechkin in road (white) jerseys instead of the normal home jersey versions.

Personally, I don’t care one way or another about a figure having a signed base like the “MVP level” Gordie Howe figure mentioned above. But making a major paint variation like the Jets Selanne figure super-limited will aggravate a lot of fans. Most of the time, variants are cherry-picked before they even hit the shelves at your local Toys R Us. Why go through all the trouble to entice us, when all 50 to 100–or however many end up getting produced–are whisked away by toy store managers or stock room boys before you or I have a chance to get one? You know that you are not going to just walk into a Wal-mart and find a Gordie Howe with signed base figure just sitting on the shelf, waiting for you.

Perhaps this is a ploy to sell more cases of toys to consumers via online retailers. Again, according to the McFarlane website, “Every SportsPicks assortment case is guaranteed to receive a special Collector Level or Classic Chase figure.”

In other words, buy a sealed case and you will either get a Classic Chase (boo) or a “Collector Level” (yay) figure.

Knowing that I won’t get a Selanne figure puts me in a poor state of mind before bedtime…

UPDATE: Where are my manners? I was so irate about the predicted rarity of the Selanne-as-a-Jet figure that I forgot to link to McFarlane Toys article about NHL Series 23. Photos are courtesy of McFarlane Toys.

Earlier this week, I was interviewed by a gent named Patrick Hoffman, who is a blogger for the hockey site Kukla’s Korner. Today, they have posted the interview–you can check it out here.

In the Game’s annual Heroes & Prospects set will be released on January 27, 2010–which is also my 35th birthday.

Looking at the base card checklist, it appears that this season’s set will be heavy on the prospects and light on the heroes. Only 4 Heroes and 15 AHL Grads appear in the 150-card set. The other 131 cards are of Prospects.

What grabbed my attention was the inclusion of a Hero by the name of Larry Kwong. I had no idea who this gentlemen is, but after a little research leaned that he was the first Chinese-Canadian to play in the NHL, when he appeared in one minute of one game for the New York Rangers during the 1947-48 season.

As much as I would like to buy a box of cards by In the Game, their high price point–due to the inclusion of memorabilia and autograph cards–precludes me from doing so, I might still try to pick up a complete base set.

The Chicago Blackhawks have signed three of their top players to contract extensions today. Forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have signed 5-year deals, while defenseman Duncan Keith has signed a 13-year pact.

Toews and Kane’s deals are worth $31.5 million ($6.3 big ones per year), while Keith’s deal was for $72 million ($5.54 mil per year).

Full stories about this can be found on NHL.com and the Blackhawks’ website.

This is exciting news for Blackhawks fans like myself, who would hate to see the team’s great young players end up signing elsewhere. Brian Campbell and Marian Hossa might be the best-paid players on the team, but Kane, Toews and Keith are the core.

This calls for another LOLTaves:

Here’s a quick rundown of NHL SportsPicks Series 23 and 24 by McFarlane Toys.

NHL Series 23 – January 2010
Marc-Ander Fleury (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Alexander Ovechkin 4 (Washington Capitals)
Gordie Howe (Hartford Whalers)
Teemu Selanne 2 (Anaheim Ducks)
Bobby Orr 3 (Boston Bruins)
Luke Schenn (Toronto Maple Leafs)

NHL Series 24 – April 2010
Robyn Regehr (Calgary Flames)
Michael Cammalleri (Montreal Canadiens)
Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks)
Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins)
John Tavares (New York Islanders)
Jonas Gustavsson (Toronto Maple Leafs)

NHL Series 23 seems to be a pretty typical assortment. I’m already tired of Ovechkin figures and Maple Leafs figures. A figure of Gordie Howe with the Hartford Whalers should be interesting, though a figure of him as a Houston Aeros would really rock.

Now, NHL Series 24 has my attention. McFarlane Toys is making figures of popular rookies John Tavares and Jonas Gustavsson while they are still rookies. Mike Cammaleri is currently second in scoring for Montreal, and Tim Thomas has more than established himself as a top-tier player.

But what really excites me is that there will be a figure of Blackahwks team captain Jonathan Toews. While there have been recent figures of retired ‘Hawks (Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull and Bobby Orr), this is the first figure of a current ‘Hawk since Nikolai Khabibulin was released in NHL Series Series 12 (May 2006).

Which leads me to ask, why no Blackhawks figures for so long? They have been among the hottest teams in hockey in the past two years. Patrick Kane won the Calder Trophy in 2008, but still has yet to be immortalized as a figure. Current stars Marian Hossa and Christobal Huet both appeared as SportsPicks in 2007; why not repaint them as Chicago players?

Either way, I’ll be looking to get a few of these. I’ve really slowed down on the SportsPicks as of late. I really need to get my hands on this one.

Marian Hossa will make his debut as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks tonight, as the ‘Hawks take on the Sharks at 9:30 pm CST.

The Blackhawks are 15-5-2 so far this year, and have won their past 7 games. If you think the ‘Hawks are tough…well, now they got Hossa. Western Conference teams, be afraid. Be very afraid.

Yesterday was Halloween, and today is the 50th anniversary of when Jacques Plante first wore a goalie mask in a game–November 1, 1959.

What is ironic about these two days being back-to-back is that the classic, “Jason-style” goalie mask will forever be associated with Halloween (the holiday, not the movie).

“Really, are we all that different…?”
The fiberglass goalie masks worn by guys like Plante, Tony Esposito and Gerry Cheevers was phased out during the 1980s, and pretty much gone by 1990. Sam St. Laurent was the final guy in the NHL to wear the fiberglass “face” mask, last appearing for the Red Wings in 14 games during the 1989-90 season.

Yet, the very same classic goalie mask still “means” hockey–even though it was last used in the NHL 20 years ago. Most goalies started to change over to helmets during the early-to-mid 1980s, after Bernie Parent sustained a career-ending eye-injury in 1979.

Though no longer used in hockey, the classic goalie mask continues to be a symbol of Halloween. Worn by Jason Vorhees in the “Friday the 13th” series of movies, the plain white goalie mask remains a staple for people who don’t want to put a lot of thought into dressing up once a year–never mind the fact that those films, like the mask itself, have not been relevant since the 1980s.

Get some black clothes, a $5 toy mask and a machete (prop or otherwise) and you’ve got the lazy man’s Halloween costume. 97 out of 100 people will get it (the other 3 will think you’re a zombie Pelle Lindbergh).

Fitting to both Halloween and the anniversary of the goalie mask, the Chicago Blackhawks gave out a Halloween-inspired mask to fans who attended their game on October 30. I think Wayne and Garth would approve.

No, not that Wayne and Garth.

“Game on!”

By the way, here’s a cool article about one of the last goalies to go without a mask.

The Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL) have signed Chris Chelios today. He will make his debut with the team on Friday. The full story can be seen on the Chicago Wolves’ website.

As many of you know, Chelios is my favorite player. Way back when he was with the Montreal Canadiens, I enjoyed his rough-and-tumble style of play. When he became a Chicago Blackhawks player in 1990, he also became my favorite player. He was our top defenseman on the team, but also contributed a lot of offense. In fact, he led the team in scoring during the 1995-96 season.

Virtually all of the players I grew up watching have retired–but not Chelios. He kept soldiering on over all these years. My joke all along has been that I will still be a kid until Chelios retires. And it looks like Chelios will stave off retirement a little while longer.

Above is Chris Chelios’ rookie card, from the 1984-85 season. Below is a custom card I made of Chelios–based on the ’84-85 design–but wearing a Chicago Wolves uniform (well, practice jersey anyway).