Elmer Lach, a former Montreal Canadien and an honored member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, died on Saturday at the age of 97. He was the oldest living former member of the Les Habitants at the time of his passing. Lach played in the NHL from 1940 to 1954, and was the center of the “Punch Line” with Maurice Richard and Toe Blake on his wings. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966, and had his jersey number, 16, retired by the Habs in 2009. Despite all these accolades, Lach remained humble and fan-friendly, and always signed autographs for anyone who wrote to him. Continue reading “Thank You, Elmer Lach”
Custom Cards: Kent Simpson
Kent Simpson got lost in the shuffle. He played 20 minutes of one game for the Chicago Blackhawks on December 14, 2013 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Had he done this a season or two prior, he would have had tons of rookie cards. But his 20 minutes of fame was halfway through the so-called “Double Rookie Class” year, where card companies could include any rookie from 2012-13 or 2013-14 in their sets for 2013-14. Thus, Simpson had a few high-end RCs in two year-end Panini products, while Upper Deck ignored him entirely. So I decided to fix that and create a few custom Kent Simpson rookie cards. Continue reading “Custom Cards: Kent Simpson”
Book Review: He Shoots, He Saves
I had high hopes when reading “He Shoots, He Saves: The Story of Hockey’s Collectible Treasures.” It isn’t every day that a book about hockey collectibles comes along. Plus, the book is written by Jon Waldman, who co-authored the excellent sports trading card book “Got ‘Em, Got ‘Em, Need ‘Em,” and is a regular writer for “Beckett Hockey Magazine.” Even better, Waldman got this book published without making it your typical price guide that slavishly informs us what every scrap of paper, ink or fabric is supposedly “worth.” That’s great, because while price guides may give values, they don’t tell the whole story.
Unfortunately, with heavy heart I must confess that “He Shoots, He Saves” did not meet my high hopes. Although well written, too much of the book talks about the teams and players, while very little actually talks about the collectibles. Continue reading “Book Review: He Shoots, He Saves”
Deja Vu Tuesday: Ryan Johansen
The photograph on Ryan Johansen’s 2014-15 Upper Deck trading card is bad. No, it isn’t quite as terrible as the infamous Bryan Pitton Score rookie card from a few years back. Nor is it the worst card of all time, though it is the worst card from this year’s UD Series One. Seeing the back of a player on the front of his own card is unremarkable. In fact, this photo is so unremarkable that apparently no one at Upper Deck noticed that they used the exact same photo on Johansen’s card from the previous season. Continue reading “Deja Vu Tuesday: Ryan Johansen”
Card ‘Toons: Swimming with Sharks
Steve Galvao is a good old Canadian kid who grew up loving hockey and collecting hockey cards. To see more of Steve’s work, visit his website, the Shoebox Collection. You can view his earlier blog posts here. Follow Steve on Twitter @galvaost. ■
When is a rookie card not a rookie card?
I’ve finally acquired one of the hardest-to-find cards for my 2010 Blackhawks RC project: a 2008-09 Be A Player Antti Niemi “Rookie Redemption” card. Even though it is a part of a set that predates Niemi’s rookie cards, this technically does not count as his rookie card. Confused? Intrigued? Then read on. Continue reading “When is a rookie card not a rookie card?”
Card ‘Toons: Trade Deadline Winner
Steve Galvao is a good old Canadian kid who grew up loving hockey and collecting hockey cards. To see more of Steve’s work, visit his website, the Shoebox Collection. You can view his earlier blog posts here. Follow Steve on Twitter @galvaost. ■
Pack Break x 6: Eraseez Collectible Hockey Eraser Game
Paper football is about to get a run for its money. Eraseez is a new line of collectible erasers by Bulls i Toy that double as a tabletop hockey game. Each pack retails for around $3 and contains two puck erasers, two sheets of stickers for the pucks and one hockey stick eraser.
The puck erasers are 1.5″ in diameter, and the stick eraser is about 2.5″ long. The logo sticker and NHL shield sticker are circular and meant to be affixed to the pucks to make them slippery.
Stick blade erasers come in at least three different colors: orange, red and blue.
The top of the stick blades have a hole in them so you can put in a pencil to make a hockey stick. All you need is a number two pencil (always bring a number two pencil!) and a smooth surface and you are ready to play.
The puck erasers — referred to as puzzle erasers on the packaging — can be broken into three pieces. I was told that this was “just for fun,” but I would argue that this allows you to either make the puck lighter for a game play variation (if you pull off one or both surfaces before affixing the stickers) or to use the smaller surface “parts” as erasers. Speaking of which…
…Eraseez actually work as erasers. Usually, “fun” erasers look cool but don’t work all that well, but Eraseez can be used to eliminate your mistakes. Well, mistakes made in pencil, anyway.
Bulls i Toys generously provided six packs of Eraseez. Let’s see what we got: Continue reading “Pack Break x 6: Eraseez Collectible Hockey Eraser Game”
Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano played hockey in his youth
NASCAR driver Joey Logano won the Daytona 500 yesterday. At 24 years of age, he became the second-youngest driver to win that race. But half a lifetime ago, Logano was at a crossroads. He excelled at racing, but also played hockey. Just as Jeff Skinner selected hockey over figure skating and Tom Glavine opted for baseball instead of hockey, a young Joey Logano also had to make a choice.
Continue reading “Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano played hockey in his youth”
Review: 2014-15 Rockford IceHogs
The Rockford IceHogs issued a team set of trading cards during the 2014-15 season. It was sponsored by the Rockford Register Star newspaper and features many Chicago Blackhawks prospects, such as Teuvo Teravainen and Scott Darling. The cards also have a unique design and tons of information on the back — as any good trading card should. Continue reading “Review: 2014-15 Rockford IceHogs”