Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
This week’s column is much more upbeat than week’s past. I’ll highlight one of hockey’s best stories unfolding in Toronto, as well as our first big trade before the deadline.
My other takes involve two top prospects and my favorite goalie mask I’ve ever seen.
Happy Monday!
“At least we’re the good guys. And the good guys always win in the end. Or we learn a lesson about ourselves. Either way, it’s a ‘W’.”
– Evan, to Sofi, in Episode 3 of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers.
Things go from better to worse, but then slightly better again, for the Don’t Bothers in the third episode of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. Evan and his teammates work as a team, but not on the ice; Continue reading “Review: The Mighty Ducks Game Changers, Season 1, Episode 3”
Thirty years ago was the “Hockey Card Explosion,” when hockey cards skyrocketed in popularity as several new companies entered the market. In this multipart podcast series, Sal Barry and Tim Parish will take a look back at a different set from the 1990-91 season. First up, it is the 1990-91 Bowman Hockey set, which was quite possibly the worst set released that year — from its dark and uninspired photos, to the questionable player selection, to the “fancy stats” on the back that no one asked for. It’s one hour of hockey nostalgia goodness!
Show Notes, Links and Images:
Write us a review at Apple Podcasts (link)
1990-91 Bowman Hockey Checklist (Trading Card DB)
1990-91 Bowman Hockey Wrapper & Factory Set Box Pics (Trading Card DB)
1990-91 Bowman Hockey Error Cards (Puck Junk)
Every 1990-91 Hockey Card Set Ranked (Puck Junk)
1990-91 Bowman Hockey card images:
1990-91 Bowman #143 – Wayne Gretzky
1990-91 Bowman #143 – Wayne Gretzky (back)
1990-91 Bowman #143 – Wayne Gretzky “Tiffany” Version
1990-91 Bowman #143 – Wayne Gretzky “Tiffany” Version (back)
1990-91 Bowman #7 – Ed Belfour (Rookie Card)
1990-91 Bowman #204 – Mario Lemieux
1990-91 Bowman #24 – Brett Hull
1990-91 Bowman #50 – Patrick Roy
1990-91 Bowman #1 – Jeremy Roenick (Rookie Card)
1990-91 Bowman #259 – Chris Govedaris (Rookie Card)
1990-91 Bowman #181 – Clark Donatelli (Rookie Card)
Donatelli captained the 1992 U.S. Olympic Ice Hockey Team
1990-91 Bowman #6 – Denis Savard
This card uses a photo that is from the 1988-89 season
1990-91 Bowman #55 – Jim Sandlak
This card uses a photo from the latter half of the 1988-89 season, as evidenced by the “BABE” patch the Canucks wore to honor
Cecil “Babe” Dye.
1990-91 Bowman #32 – Rejean Lemelin
Lemelin looks like Mr. Wilson from “Dennis the Menace,” doesn’t he?
1990-91 Bowman #197 – Petr Klima
He looks like a scaled-down version of Andre the Giant
1990-91 Bowman #168 – Tony McKegney
He looks like he is trying to skate off of his own card!
1990-91 Bowman #46 – Petr Svoboda Error (pictures Chris Chelios)
1990-91 Bowman #215 – Brian Leetch Error (missing “L” in last name)
1990-91 Bowman Hat Tricks Inserts #2 – Mario Lemieux
1990-91 Bowman Hat Tricks Inserts #2 – Mario Lemieux (back)
1990-91 Bowman Hat Tricks Inserts #5 – Steve Yzerman
1990-91 Bowman Hockey Wrapper
Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast opening and closing music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.
Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox , Castro,
Overcast, TuneIn and SoundCloud.
Love hockey? Join the new Puck Junk Facebook Group and subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube.
Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■
Most hockey books chronicle the tales of elite players who were great at an early age, usually playing against older kids before going on to renowned hockey programs en route to an NHL career. “Thin Ice: A Hockey Journey from Unknown to Elite — and the Gift of a Lifetime” is not that book. Instead, “Thin Ice, ” by Ryan Minkoff, is for the rest of the players; those who work hard, get passed over again and again, yet have the drive to keep going, no matter the odds against them.
Happy Monday all! It’s a very big week because my birthday is tomorrow. If anyone wants to tell me how much they love me and my writing, Tuesday would be the perfect day. Just shoot me a DM on Twitter. I also accept gifts.
In all seriousness, while I’m very excited to be turning 26, you all want to read about hockey. This week, my takes include COVID running rampant in the NHL, some historic moments for one team, and two of my favorite videos and soundbites of the last few weeks.
Happy birthday to me!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: COVID Hits Multiple NHL Teams”
NOTE: This review contains minor spoilers and about Episodes 1 and 2.
Duster – [duhs-ter] noun: a player who does not get a lot of playing time and collects dust sitting on the bench.
“Dusters,” the second episode of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, is a fitting description of the underdogs recruited to play on the new team — called The Don’t Bothers, as a dig to what Coach T. told 12-year-old Evan Morrow in the first episode. (“It’s like at this stage, if you can’t be great at hockey, don’t bother.”)
On any other team, each of the kids on the Don’t Bothers would be a duster, mainly sitting on the bench and only getting a few token shifts if the team is up by a lot of goals. But here, each one is a vital piece. Continue reading “Review: The Mighty Ducks Game Changers, Season 1, Episode 2”
In the latest Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers series that debuted on Disney+ last week, as well as their thoughts on The Mighty Ducks films from the 1990s. They also take a long, in-depth look at the current state of the hockey card collecting hobby — including the new breed of hockey card collectors that have sprouted up in the past six months. Plus, the Matthew Tkachuk NFT, referee Tim Peel getting fired and the new NHL Draft Lottery rules. It’s 1 hour and 47 minutes of hockey goodness!
Show Notes and Links:
Review of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers Episode 1 (Puck Junk)
Review of The Mighty Ducks movie (Puck Junk)
Review of D2: The Mighty Ducks movie (Puck Junk)
Review of D3: The Mighty Ducks movie (Puck Junk)
Sal’s article about The Mighty Ducks for The Hockey News (THN)
NHL announces schedule changes for 19 games (NBC Pro Hockey Talk)
Canada lessens quarantine to 7 days for NHL players (ESPN)
Referee Tim Peel banned for hot-mic call (ESPN)
Ron Asselstine hits charging fan at Boston Gardens (YouTube)
Puck deflects off of Tim Peel and into the net (YouTube)
NHL Draft Lottery changes announced for 2021 (NHL)
‘Cardiac event’ killed Blues legend Bob Plager (NBC Pro Hockey Talk)
Topps Now NHL Sticker Archive (Topps)
Matthew Tkachuk first NHL player to release NFT (NBC Pro Hockey Talk)
1979-80 OPC Wayne Gretzky OPC PSA 9 for auction (Leland’s)
2020-21 Upper Deck Hockey Series 2 Checklist (Cardboard Connection)
Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast opening and closing music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.
ESPN “National Hockey Night” Theme Song by ESPN.
Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox , Castro,
Overcast, TuneIn and SoundCloud.
Love hockey? Join the new Puck Junk Facebook Group and subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube.
Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■
This was a fun week to write about. We had a strange scenario where a referee was caught with a hot mic and was banned from officiating games forever. But this week was full of positives. The hockey community saw huge progress in regard to race in the sport. That was my favorite thing to write about this week.
I’ll also highlight one of my favorite goals of the season as well as one of the coolest uniform designs I’ve seen.
Happy Monday and happy spring!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Ref Caught on Hot Mic Gets Fired”
Youth hockey has changed a lot over the past 25 years — and much of it not for the better. While equipment, training and nutrition have all improved, gone are the carefree days of playing a sport with friends and having fun. It’s all so serious now. Much of youth sports today, particularly hockey, are fixated on getting kids to the next level, without really enjoying the level that they are at. The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, a new series on Disney+, is a sports drama about a youth hockey team of cast-offs, told that they weren’t good enough, that just want to play the game they love.
NOTE: This review does not contain any spoilers but it does mention some plot points that have already been disclosed in the trailer and press release.
Continue reading “Review: The Mighty Ducks Game Changers, Season 1, Episode 1”
I have an unpopular opinion to share: D3: The Mighty Ducks (1996) is better than D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994). No, D3 is not as good as the first Mighty Ducks movie from 1992, and yes, it does recycle a lot of the same elements from its two predecessors. But instead of trying to raise the stakes by putting the Ducks in an even bigger tournament, D3 shifts the focus to perhaps the greatest challenge in everyone’s life: growing up.
Think about it for a moment.
Everyone has a favorite time from their childhood. But then we all reach a point where we realize that the world around us is changing, we are getting older, and that things will never be the same, no matter how hard we wish otherwise.
We all struggle with that change to some extent, and everyone deals with that change differently.
D3: The Mighty Ducks isn’t so much a sports film as it is a coming-of-age film. It is about learning to let go of the things that we found comfort in during our youth and taking on the unknown.