Puck Junk is 2 years old…

Puck Junk is two years old.

Yes, the terrible twos.

I should be more happy about this, but I’m not.

I’m a web designer. I make websites.

Sites come and go.

Some of the best websites I’ve done have since gone to website heaven.

My previous “passion project”, which was based on “The Matrix” movies, lasted six years until I got tired of it and took it offline.

Too many hobbies, not enough time to create websites for all of them (though I try).

Conventional logic should dictate that in order for a website to succeed, new content should be added every day. Well, I guess the reason why I’m a bit disappointed is that I don’t update this site every day or every other day.

Instead, I tend to be streaky. I go through some weeks where–BAM!–I update the site five days a week. And then there are other times where I can’t even find the time to update in two weeks. My last post was my tribute to Patrick Swayze…and that was 20 days ago!

For those who are still reading and not bored yet, here are some numbers–who doesn’t love stats?

In Puck Junk’s first season, I’ve updated the site 142 times–67 in-depth articles and 75 “off the cuff” blog posts.

During Puck Junk’s second season, I’ve updated only 85 times–25 full articles and 60 shorter blog posts.

In total, I’ve updated 227 times out of 730 days. Even if I omit Saturdays and Sundays, that would be 227/522, or approximately 43% of the time.

So, that’s adds up to a little less than every other day.

Lately, I’ve been swamped with school work. Grad school has been kicking my butt. I’m doing okay in my “Writing for Magazines” class, but I’m falling behind in my “New Media and Culture” class. One is a lot of writing, the other is a lot of reading. Both are time-consuming, leaving me little time for this site or my autograph blog.

Hopefully, this week I’ll be able to squeeze a little time out to write here and there. I’ve got a Card of the Week to post that’s been a thousand years in the making. I’ve got an interesting Chicago Blackhawks collectible to show off too. Finally, I conducted a hockey card-related “experiment” to see what would happen. I plan on getting these three little gems up on this site this week.

R.I.P. Patrick Swayze

Another actor from the film “Youngblood” has passed away. Patrick Swayze died yesterday after battling pancreatic cancer for the past 20 months. He was 57 years of age. Voted People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive in 1991, Swayze is best known for films “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost.” But hockey aficionados will always remember him as Derek Sutton, team captain of the Hamilton Mustangs in “Youngblood.”

Swayze’s character of Sutton was cool. He got the ladies, he could score goals and he could fight. He explained to Dean Youngblood that he’d be happy to play for the “Tallahassee Warthogs,” and also uttered my favorite line in the film: “Thank God there is a sport for middle-sized white boys.”

Swayze is the second person from that film to pass away this year. Back in May, former NHL player Peter Zezel died. Zezel played a non-speaking character named Rossini (he’s the guy who gets sent out to replace Dean at the end of the film, only to skate back to the bench). Although Zezel played mostly for teams that rivaled the Blackhawks, I was a fan of his because of his role in the film.

As a tribute to Swayze–and a belated one to Zezel–here are some custom hockey cards I made (seen at the top, and below). “Youngblood” was a film I enjoyed many times over during my teenage years. Thanks for the happy memories, guys.










FYI, I was up until 3 am making custom hockey cards. I must be nuts. Then again, for what it’s worth I really liked “Youngblood”…

1963-64 Parkhurst #24 – Ralph Backstrom

Ten! Yes, now I have 10 out of 99 cards from the 1963-64 Parkhurst hockey set. That’s 10% of the set–a milestone, you could say.

As you can see, this card has two wicked creases. I purchased it in the same lot as the Jean-Guy Talbot and Gilles Tremblay cards.

The eBay listing did not mention creases, and the photo was too small to see any defects. The dealer offered to refund me $5 (one-third of the total purchase price for the three cards, excluding shipping). But I decided to hang onto it. I can always upgrade later.

Completed my Champ’s base set

I just acquired the last five base cards needed to complete my 2008-09 Champ’s Hockey base set. I also picked up four Champ’s Rookies–including Drew Doughty and Justin Pogge. I now have 76 of 100 Champ’s Rookies.

Most sane, normal hockey collectors would stop either once they have the Champ’s base set or the base set and 100 rookies. But I am not a normal collector. For some foolhardy reason, I am also trying to collect all of the Mini Rookies and all of the Natural History Collection cards. I must really like this set, eh? Anyway, here is what I need to have a complete “master set” of Champ’s:

– 24 Champ’s Rookies cards

– 79 Mini Rookies cards

– 169 Natural History Collection cards

Yep, those last two will take a while. Anyone who has any extra Champ’s cards, please see my Want List. Maybe we can work out a trade.

One Game Wonder #1

1994-95 Score card #217 – Josef Cierny

1994-95 Score card #217 - Josef CiernyIn the 1990s, trading card companies tried very hard to be the first to feature a player – any player – in their sets. They lowered their standards to include practically anyone who came within 10 feet of an NHL sweater. Forget the cup of coffee – even a whiff of coffee would suffice. Josef Cierny was one such player, a one-game wonder who appeared on one NHL trading card. His game was for the Edmonton Oilers in the 1993-94 campaign; good enough for inclusion in Score’s 1994-95 set. Continue reading “One Game Wonder #1”

Review: 2008-09 Collector’s Choice

Victory-like set is un-victorious in making an impression

2008-09 Collector's Choice #23 - Carey PriceIn 2008, former super-pest Claude Lemieux came out of retirement. So did Collector’s Choice hockey cards. After a ten-year hiatus, Upper Deck has dusted off this brand of low-price cards. First produced in 1995, and lasting three seasons, Collector’s Choice was intended to be “kid-friendly” with its price – about a buck a pack – in a market that was rapidly become less affordable for younger collectors. But Lemieux’s comeback was short-lived – he retired after the Sharks were eliminated from the 2009 playoffs. Collector’s Choice’s comeback might be short-lived too. Continue reading “Review: 2008-09 Collector’s Choice”

2006-07 TriStar Hidden Treasures pack

I’ve seen these TriStar Hidden Treasures hockey cards floating around for a few years now, and have avoided them like the H1N1 Virus. Sure, they put an alluring (if you can call it that) photo of the 1951-52 Parkhurst Gordie Howe rookie card on the wrapper, along with several other small pics of desirable vintage hockey cards. But we all know that this pack will contain mostly Pro Set, Score and other worthless, overproduced hockey cards from the 1990s. Feeling thrifty, I purchased a pack–a whopping 99 cents–to see what I’d get:

2001-02 Upper Deck Victory #161 – Josef Stumpel
Wow, a card that isn’t from the 1990s. That was kind of surprising, given that I was expecting only cards from 1990 to 1995.

2001-02 Upper Deck Victory #189 – Patrice Brisebois
Two Victory cards in the same pack? What is this–a pack of Victory?

1996-97 Pinnacle Zenith #126 – Bryan Berard
Oooooh, shiny! Plus, it’s not a Victory card.

1994-95 Upper Deck #57 – Gilbert Dionne
The surprised look on Dionne’s face says it all.

1991-92 Score Canadian #346 – Dominik Hasek
Paydirt! I was expecting to get a lame card from the early 1990s, but instead I got one of the best. Hey–any card with a “Beckett Value” of $2.00 from the early 1990s is a darn good card. The TriStar wrapper claims that you get one star card per pack. Hasek is obviously the star in this pack, but it sure was nice that it just also happened to be his rookie card.

Overall, this pack gave me exactly what I expected–five undesirable hockey cards. Or, I guess you could say four undesirable hockey cards and the Hasek RC, which was a nice surprise. But I won’t be buying any more packs of these anytime soon. I’d recommend skipping this product altogether. But if you really want to pay a dollar for five useless cards…well, I got about 20,000 such cards that I’ll gladly sell to you.

1963-64 Parkhurst #21 – Gilles Tremblay

This is one cool card. Tremblay’s gaze is solemn. The horizontal lines add to the seriousness of the composition. All of that is slightly undermined by his mouth, which is trying very hard not to smile. It is as if he is trying to show that he is a proud member of Les Habitants, but at the same time cannot completely stifle his exuberance for being on the Canadiens.

Nah. I’m probably just reading way too much into that. Either way, this is the 8th card I’ve added to my Parkies set (91 to go).

Review: 1985-86 University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs team set

Starring a very young Brett Hull

1985-86 UMD Bulldogs #28 - Brett HullDuring the 1985-86 season, a company called Tim & Larry’s Sports Cards in Duluth, MN released a 36 card set of the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs hockey team. The WCHA Champions the prior year, the team had another reason for being a popular draw – their captain was Brett Hull, son of the legendary Bobby Hull. Brett was a top player in his two seasons with UMD, and is the main reason why this set – despite being 25 years old – is not too difficult to find. Continue reading “Review: 1985-86 University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs team set”