News

Wow, I must have had like ten other things on my mind if I just now realized that PuckJunk.com has reached its first anniversary.

I launched this site on October 5, 2007, although it had been an idea I wanted to do since late 2006. Once I decided to quit my 40-hour a week job as a web designer to concentrate on teaching and freelance, the abundance of free time allowed me to develop, launch and maintain this site.

But while my passion for all things hockey has not diminished, my free time has. While I was able to crank out 35 assorted articles from October to December 2007 (plus random blog posts), my output from January to September has been less than that–only 32 “real” articles as of this writing…though I do seem to be doing a lot of random blog posts about hockey stuff more so than last year.

A few things have gone down that have taken up a lot of my free time. I started dating this girl named Shellie in January, and things have worked out well–so well, that we are now living together. No complaints from her about my collecting habits, here, as she has hobbies of her own. Plus, I’m starting to get her “into” hockey.

Another thing that I have mentioned is that I started Graduate School. That is also eating up a good portion of my “free time”. As much as I love writing about old sets of cards, the idea of getting straight As in Grad School right now is a bit more appealing to me. Not only am I going back to college, but I am also writing for the school’s paper.

So, while I don’t always write on this site as much as I’d like to, it is always on my mind. Hopefully, with the hockey season now upon us, I’ll be able to get some new reviews up soon.

 

Seven years ago today, former NHL player Garnet “Ace” Bailey was aboard one of the hijacked planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. At the time, Bailey was a scout for the L.A. Kings.

I guess every American such as myself–and probably many Canadians, too–every year on September 11 think about what happened.

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Luc Bourdon died on Thursday when he crashed his motorcycle into a semi truck. The Hockey News article regarding this can bee seen here.

Coincidentally, I traded away two Luc Bourdon cards earlier in the week–a Young Guns, and a game used card.

Upon hearing the news of his death this morning (via The Hockey News email newsletter, I of course was both surprised and a bit sad. I never saw this guy play, but I’m always sad when stuff like this happens. I was bummed when Jon Kordic died in 1992, and when Gaetan Duchense died last year.

It’s even sadder when it is someone who never got a chance to realize their true potential.

A player’s death always has one negative, albeit short term, impact in the hobby. All of a sudden, a card that was selling for $1 becomes a $10 card. This has already begun on eBay–not even 24 hours after his death. I saw Bourdon’s OPC rookie card from last year, with an asking price of $20–that’s more than what Evgeny Malkin’s RC in that set is worth. Some of Bourdon’s autographed stuff is going for over $30 now. I’m sure most of it would have sold for only $5 two days before.

When a player plays well, we try and cash in. When a player makes it into the Hall of Fame, we also try to cash in. And, when a player passes away–sometimes tragically–some people try to cash in on that too. That is one trend in the hobby that I never enjoy.

Chicago Blackhawks head coach and Hall of Famer Denis Savard will be signing autographs this upcoming Saturday, March 1, at the Kmart Super Center in Tinley Park (16300 Harlem Ave.) at 3 pm.

Hopefully, I will be able to attend this signing. I have an old photo of Savard, from the 1989-90 season, that I would love to get signed. The picture is 11″ x 14″, so it is too big to mail to him. I also have some cards I can (hopefully) get signed too.

UPDATE: I went to the signing, and have posted about it here.

Things just keep getting better and better for Chicago Blackhawks fans this year.

It’s as if the team wants people to like them.

A few days ago, the team announced that it will hold the first annual Blackhawks Convention, July 18-20, 2008. The convention will feature autograph sessions and photo opportunities with former players such as Tony Esposito, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Denis Savard. New players such as Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will be there too. ‘Hawks broadcaster Eddie Olczyk will be the Honorary Chairman of the convention.

The full story can be read on the Blackhawks website here.

A classmate of mine from Second City (where I take improv lessons) gave me a three-pack of Semi-Pro trading cards.

And no, I don’t mean AHL or IHL trading cards from yesteryear.

These trading cards are based on the new Will Ferrell movie coming out on February 29. In the film, Ferrell plays the player/owner/coach of a minor-league basketball team that *could* become eligible to join the NBA if he can turn the team around.

Although Semi-Pro is a basketball movie–and this is a hockey site–these cards are just too cool not to show off:

Produced by Upper Deck, these cards resemble the old Topps basketball cards from the 1970s, as that is when the film takes place.

Also included with the cards was a big pink stick of sugar free chewing gum. Yum!

McFarlane Toys recently announced the upcoming lineup of hockey figures that will comprise NHL Series 20:

– Daniel Briere (Philadelphia Flyers)

– Jarome Iginla 3 (Calgary Flames)

– Jonathan Cheechoo (San Jose Sharks)

– Nicklas Lindstrom 2 (Detroit Red Wings)

– Vesa Toskala (Toronto Maple Leafs)

– Daniel Sedin 2 (Vancouver Canucks)

You can read the full article on the McFarlane Toys website here.

OK, so this post is a few days late, but I would like to wish the ten or so people who visit this website a Happy New Year.

When my school where I teach at went on break in mid-December, I had lofty aspirations to update this site five times a week…at least for a few weeks. After all, how can I expect to develop a following if I update this site once a week or less?

But that goal was lofty indeed. Even though I was free of work-related responsibilities, I still had to contend with family, friends and the holidays.

So, Puck Junk has not been updated all that much over the past two week. But I did manage to go to three Blackhawks games in December. I don’t think I’ve been to three games in the past three years. Of course, my seats were far from the action, so I didn’t bother taking many photos. I did snap a few before one of the games…

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

On January 19, 2008, every fan attending the Phoenix Coyotes game will receive an exclusive SportsPick figure of Bobby Hull in his Winnipeg Jets jersey. The figure will be of the miniature variety, standing about 3 inches tall.

Both Todd McFarlane (the owner of McFarlane Toys) and Bobby Hull will be in attendance at that game, and will sign autographs during the first intermission. According to the article on Spawn.com, only the first 75 people or so will get an autograph.

This particular game will be special for Hull, as the Coyotes play the Chicago Blackhawks that night. Hull spent 15 years playing for the ‘Hawks, followed by seven years with the Winnipeg Jets. In 1996, the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix and became the Coyotes, but still honor former Jets players.

More photos of the figure can be seen here.

I am interested in acquiring one of these figures. If anyone would like to trade one, please Contact me.

Today, I got a letter in the mail from Upper Deck, which read as follows:

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for your continued interest in Upper Deck’s “No Purchase Necessary” program. Upper Deck is pleased to announce that as of January 1, 2008, Upper Deck will be going to an online method of submitting entries. Upper Deck will no longer be accepting mail-in entries after December 1, 2007. To submit your entries beginning on January 1, 2008, please log on to npn.upperdeck.com.

Sincerely,

The Upper Deck Company

The letter was signed by “T.R.L.”, which I think are the initials of their N.P.N. Manager. Either that, or they want me to watch MTV’s “Total Request Live”.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Upper Deck’s “No Purchase Necessary” Program, it was a chance for you to get an insert card without making a purchase. For a chance to “win” an insert card (such as a jersey card, a rookie card, an autographed card, etc.), you would actually have to write out by hand–no photocopies or other reproductions–your name, address, daytime phone number and evening phone number on an index card, and then send that in a hand-addressed envelope. They would only allow you to enter once per day, meaning that they’d discard one of your entries if they received two from you on the same day (or so they say).

When I first learned of the N.P.N. program in May of 2006, I would send an entry to Upper Deck every other day, in a vain attempt to win something. After 15 entries or so, I decided that it was a waste of stamps, and stopped. A month later, I got a 2005-06 Parkhurst autographed card. In the fall of 2006, I entered a few more times, just for the heck of it, but received nothing. A few weeks ago, I received an insert card from 2007-08 MVP. So, I guess they would keep all entries on file, and just pull from them every day or something.

Either way, it seemed like a waste of stamps and energy–who wants to *write out* their information for a *chance* to win? Ugh!

This new method sounds like it wouldn’t be much harder than sending an email or filling out an online form. I can deal with that. Of course, I don’t mind writing things out by hand–I send fan letters to hockey players, asking them to autograph a few cards, and I *always* handwrite those as they should be personal. Contest entries don’t need to be personal.

Overall, I think this is good news. While Upper Deck still holds an unhealthy and unfair monopoly on the hockey card industry, it is great to see them take great strides forward in customer service–first with their redemption programs, and now with their N.P.N. programs. Now I’ll have a chance to win some insert cards without wasting stamps.