Puck Junk

The Yaroslavl Lokomotiv Tragedy

Screenshot from the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv website (translated), Sept. 7, 2011

Everyone has either read, heard and/or blogged about the tragic news by now: yesterday, an airplane carrying the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv hockey team crashed, killing 43 of the 45 passengers on board. The entire Yaroslavl hockey team–save one badly burned player–perished in the crash.

It seemed like this summer could not get any worse for the hockey community, given the accidental death of Derek Boogaard and the suicides of Rick Rypien and Wade Belak.

And then this happens. The darkest day in hockey.

Ten former NHL players were among those who passed away…

Pavol Demitra

Ruslan Salei

Karel Rachunek

Alexander Vasyunov

Karlis Skrastins

Josef Vasicek

Stefan Liv

(appeared as a Red Wings backup in 2006-07)

Igor Korolev

(assistant coach for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv)

Alexander Karpotsev

(assistant coach for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv)

Brad McCrimmon

(head coach of Yaroslavl Lokomotiv)

Of course we all feel for all the players, team personnel, airplane crew and their families.

Screenshot from team website, September 8, 2011

Say Hello to My Little Friends

I am now this much closer to finishing my 2009-10 Champ’s Hockey set:

48 Mini Veterans cards….

…24 Champ’s Mini Rookies…

…and another 3 Champ’s Mini Rookies, 12 Historical Figures and 6 Wonders of the World. Plus 2 Mini Rookies from the 2008-09 set.

That’s 93 mini cards from the 2009-10 set (and the 2 from the previous year).

I am only 126 mini cards away from finishing the 2009-10 Champ’s set.

I might actually finish this set before my 80th birthday.

If you have some Champ’s minis–from 2009-10 or 2008-09–that you would like to trade, take a look at my Want List.

Bures and the Beach

1991-92 Upper Deck cards #647 – Bloodlines: Valery and Pavel Bure

When the hockey card market suddenly got crowded in 1990, companies had to find a way to stand out from their competition. Parallels and inserts were not yet commonplace, so card makers resorted to an age-old tactic to make as many cards of the most popular players as possible: subsets. One subset in particular – Upper Deck’s “Bloodlines” from their 1991-92 release – features a memorable card of the Bure brothers “enjoying” a day at the beach. Continue reading “Bures and the Beach”

1963-64 Parkhurst #47 – Robert Dillabough

Time for a quick blog update before I teach class this morning. Here is another card that brings me one step closer to completing the Set of My Dreams.

I’m not quite sure why Robert (Bob) Dillabough was included in the 1963-64 Parkhurst Hockey set. He only played 1 playoff game for the Red Wings in ’62-63. The year this card came out, Dillabough only played 1 game for the Wings, again in the playoffs. So, he was not a regular on the team. Dillabough would go on to be an original member of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1967-68, and an original member of the WHA’s Cleveland Crusaders in 1972-73.

Parkhurst Percent Counter: 44% Complete

1963-64 Parkhurst #41 – Bruce MacGregor

Today is another long day in what is going to be a week of long days. I still have stacks of cool cards from the National to scan and show, but my time and energy is in short supply. So in the meantime, here’s another 1963-64 Parkie, this one of Bruce MacGregor.

Parkhurst Percent Counter: 43% Complete

2010-11 SP Authentic Box Break #1

When I attended The National Sports Collectors’ Convention earlier this month, I participated quite a bit in Upper Deck’s wrapper redemption program.

Buying 5 packs of 2010-11SP Authentic earned me one voucher for a redemption pack. In total, I bought 50 packs of SP Autentic (two 24-pack boxes plus 2 additional packs).

Here are the results from my first box: Continue reading “2010-11 SP Authentic Box Break #1”

1963-64 Parkhurst #46 – Marcel Pronovost

Today’s 1963-64 Parkhurst Hockey card is of Hall of Fame player Marcel Pronovost. I still got a few more of these Parkies to show off over the next few days, so stay tuned.

Parkhurst Percent Counter: 42% Complete

Whitewashed Capital

1975-76 Topps card #189 – Bill Clement

During the summer of 1975, the Philadelphia Flyers traded center Bill Clement to the Washington Capitals. This transaction was apparently important enough to prompt Topps’ art department to revise their photo of Clement for their 1975-76 set. Unfortunately, his trade wasn’t quite worthy enough to merit revision to the entire photograph. Only Clement’s jersey had been altered to reflect the trade. His torso screams “Capitals,” while his legs (and heart, probably) still say “Flyers.” Continue reading “Whitewashed Capital”

1963-64 Parkhurst #48 – Lawrence Jeffrey

A freelance web design project is keeping me busy this week, so here’s a quick update. This 1963-64 Parkhurst card of Lawrence Jeffrey brings my set to 41 cards. Like the card of Doug Barkley, this card is damn near perfect.

Parkhurst Percent Counter: 41% Complete

Decades 1980s: National Edition – Box Break #2

I enjoyed my first box of In The Game’s Decades 1980s enough that I decided to buy a second box a day later. I actually did a “pack wars” type break with Justin G. (Hopeful Chase) and Tim (DFG). Those guys each got a Mario Lemieux game-used card. And me? I did OK… Continue reading “Decades 1980s: National Edition – Box Break #2”