Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
For what was another slow week in hockey, I have a solid variety of takes. We can thank St. Louis Blues’ GM Doug Armstrong for staying busy. I’ll share my thoughts on his variety of moves and an update from the NHL regarding the Coronavirus pandemic. I’ll also take a look into a surprise retirement and a contract termination.
Stay safe everyone!
Collector Daniel Gilchrist has collected everything and anything related to Nikolai Khabibulin for 25 years. He owns several game-used goalie sticks, a game-used jersey and game-used goalie pads once worn by “The Bulin Wall.” He also has dozens of autographs and thousands of cards of Khabibulin, who is — if you haven’t guessed it by now — Gilchrist’s favorite player.
Gilchrist set out on one of his biggest collecting goals in 2016 when he decided to track down all 24 Nikolai Khabibulin logo patch cards from the 2013-14 Upper Deck Edmonton Oilers Collection trading card set. Although the pieces of Oilers logo aren’t from a game-worn jersey, they are still a sight to be seen when assembled. Gilchrist recently talked with Puck Junk about what challenges there were in his quest to collect all 24 logo patch cards of his favorite player.
Sal Barry: How long have you been a hockey card collector?
Daniel Gilchrist: Since I was 14. My family moved from Winnipeg to Edmonton in 1988, a few days after Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Kings. My cousins sent me a care package when we moved, and it had a bunch of hockey cards in it, including a Brett Hull rookie card. That’s how I got started.
SB: How did Nikolai Khabibulin become your favorite player?
DC: It’s actually a pretty funny story. Continue reading “The Quest for Khabibulin”
I hope you’re all healthy and safe during this quarantine season. It was a busy week for me as I celebrated my 25th birthday last Monday. To stay busy, I’ve been exclusively watching full movie series in my spare time. I’ve watched all five films in the Jason Bourne series. I’ve also watched all three Star Wars trilogies. Yes, all three TRILOGIES, and Solo, which was surprisingly much better than I expected it to be.
In hockey news, it was a sad week. Over the weekend, we lost Edmonton Oilers player Colby Cave, who was 25-years-old. Obviously, nothing else comes close to the importance of the loss of Cave. However, discussions have taken place on how to move forward with the season after quarantine ends. More on that below.
Lastly, Happy Easter and happy Passover to all my monotheistic homies. Here’s a song I recommend you turn up to if you’re celebrating either, or just want to jam.
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: The NHL Brainstorms Ways to Continue the Season”
Although it was a quiet week in the NHL, most of my takes this week are not COVID-19 related. We could all use some positive news. On that note, today is my 25th birthday, so please include your birthday wishes in the comments. Stay safe everyone!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Player Polls & Trick Shots”
We’re entering another week of quarantine. I hope everyone is staying inside and is assisting in preventing the spread of the Coronavirus. Sadly, a few new NHL players tested positive for COVID-19 last week. However, there was a bit of good news that I’m happy to talk about. The virus hasn’t stopped me from giving you all the hot takes you deserve.
We’re still in quarantine. The state of Illinois has issued a state-wide “shelter-in-place” warning, so I’ll be hanging out in my studio apartment for the next month. However, I still cooked up a batch of NHL-related takes for everyone. There are some things COVID-19 can’t stop!
This might have been a slow week in the NHL, but it was the craziest in our lives. The Coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the country and has forced the U.S. government to declare a national state of emergency. I’ll do my best to wrap my brain around what that means for the hockey world. Even without any games being played, I’ll still be cooking up some hot takes for everyone.
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: COVID-19 Forces NHL to Pause Play”
It was a quiet week in hockey outside of what could have been the game of the year between the Rangers and Capitals. I’ll highlight that game and the major milestones that came from it. The league also announced some news that could impact the future of emergency goalies. Happy reading.
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: The Arrival of Mika Zibanejad”
The trade deadline ended last week but I missed some things in the aftermath. I’ll give my opinion on a few notable trades that also yielded extensions. There were a few other major stories around the NHL that I found worth mentioning. Happy Monday!
The whole sports world has been abuzz about David Ayres, the 42-year old emergency backup goaltender who manned the pipes when both Carolina Hurricanes goaltenders went down with injuries in a February 22 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ayers, who works for the Toronto Marlies AHL team as a facilities manager and Zamboni driver, was on hand for the Maple Leafs should either team need an emergency goalie. He played in nearly half of that game and stopped eight out of 10 shots that he faced, recording the win in the Hurricanes’ 6-3 victory. He is the first EBUG to be credited with a win in an NHL contest.
Of course, whenever an EBUG makes an appearance, the question is if he will be featured on a hockey card. And the answer is yes — Ayres will be featured on two hockey cards this year. One you can purchase between now and the morning of Friday, March 6, as a part of Upper Deck’s “Game Dated Moments” set. The other Ayres card will come out in May, but will be much tougher to get.
So, if you’d like to own a David Ayres rookie card right now, but don’t understand how Upper Deck E-Pack works, never bought hockey cards online before, or haven’t bought trading cards since they came packaged with gum, then read on.