Puck Junk Podcast: 2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Cards

Episode #70: October 15, 2020

It’s been a month, but we’re back! In the latest Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish discuss some of the offseason moves by NHL teams. They also talk about the upcoming Virtual Expo 2.0 and new hockey card releases. Then the guys take a long, detailed look at the 2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey card set by Upper Deck. 

Show Notes, Links and Images:
The Virtual Expo 2.0 (Show Site)
President’s Choice Trading Cards Game Used (President’s Choice Website)
2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey checklist (Cardboard Connection)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee card images:

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #398 – Patrick Marleau
…forever immortalized as a Penguins player

Card backs have up to 10 seasons of stats.

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #330 – Mika Zibanejad

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #33 – Connor McDavid

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #289 – Sidney Crosby

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #521 – Gage Quinney (Marquee Rookies)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #550 – Wayne Gretzky (Marquee Legends)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #584 – Leon Draisaitl (League Leaders)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #188 – Nathan Beaulieu (Blue Border Parallel) 

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #12 – Travis Zajac (Red Parallel, because WHY NOT?)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #18 – Duncan Keith (Retro Parallel)

Retro Parallel card backs look a lot like early 1980s O-Pee-Chee card backs.

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #213 – Phil Kessel (Retro Black Border Parallel)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee – Premier “Tall Boys” Inserts #P-12 – Brent Burns.
Tall Boys or Small Boys? You decide. 

O-Pee-Chee Premier card backs are printed in full color.

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee – Playing Cards 3♥ – Pekka Rinne

Playing Card Backs are black with gold ink.

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey – sealed box

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey – sealed pack

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey packs are somewhat difficult to open. 

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, 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. ■

Blake’s Takes: Offseason Moves

Last week was a busy one in the NHL. In one week we saw the start of free agency and the NHL Draft take place. I could rattle off 20 takes this week. I’ll stick to my usual five, but I’ll include some of this week’s news in future columns because there is so much to talk about.

This week, I’ll focus on the bigger transactions around the league as well as a major points jersey announcement . Happy Tuesday!

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Offseason Moves”

The 11 Biggest Hockey Stories of 2019-20

By Sal Barry, Tim Parish, Blake Isaacs, Jim Howard & Kyle Scully

Before we turn our attention to the upcoming hockey season, we wanted to take a look back at the 2019-20 NHL season. And what a crazy season it was! A global pandemic halted the league for the first time in over 100 years. Players spoke up and spoke out against racial injustice in the United States. A Zamboni driver became a goaltending hero.  And that’s just the start of it. 

The past season was the longest NHL season, too, starting on October 2, 2019 and ending almost a full year later on September 28, 2020. The team at Puck Junk rounded up what they thought were the biggest stories of the 2019-20 season. Like the fictional band Spinal Tap, we couldn’t settle on just 10 — we turned it up to 11. So, here are the 11 biggest stories of the 2019-20 NHL season. 

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Blake’s Takes: Tampa Bay Wins the Stanley Cup

After the NHL season was paused in March, no one was sure if we would see the Stanley Cup lifted. Well, the circumstances surrounding the Stanley Cup Final may have been odd and unexpected, but, the Stanley Cup was awarded to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In this week’s column, I’ll explore how the Lightning’s legacy has changed with their Stanley Cup win.

The rest of the league was busy last week, too! I’ll share my takes on a few notable signings and trades. Happy Tuesday!

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Re-Imagining the 1995 NHL Entry Draft

With the 2020 NHL Entry Draft finally taking place this week, it is time for my annual retro fantasy redraft. This time, we’re traveling back 25 years to 1995 — the year that the New Jersey Devils won their first Stanley Cup and “The Macarena” ruled the airwaves.

The 1995 NHL Entry Draft was the second draft in a row where the top two players selected were defensemen. In fact, the top three picks in 1995 were d-men. Meanwhile, a future 600-goal scorer was taken 11th overall, while a future Vezina Trophy winner wouldn’t be selected until the 5th round!

Knowing what we know today, what would the first round of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft look like? Who would go first overall? Fifth overall? Twenty-fifth-overall? Let’s find out! 

“And with the first-overall pick, the Ottawa Senators select…”

Continue reading “Re-Imagining the 1995 NHL Entry Draft”

Blake’s Takes: Lightning One Win Away

After everything that’s happened since the league paused for COVID-19 back in March, the Stanley Cup will be lifted this week. Tampa Bay won three straight games, but couldn’t close it out against Dallas in Game 5. They’ll face off again in Game 6 tonight with Tampa up 3-2 in the series.

The Stanley Cup Finals has provided its share of storylines, from the return of Steven Stamkos, the dominance of Joe Pavelski, and bad luck of Tyler Seguin.

Outside of the Stanley Cup, the other 30 teams have been busy handing out extensions and making trades.

You can find five of my favorite storylines below.

Also, here’s the best song I heard last week!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Lightning One Win Away”

Blake’s Takes: Dallas Takes 1-0 Lead in Stanley Cup Final

Saturday marked the first day of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars. Tampa was without their captain Steven Stamkos, and it looks like they could use him. I’ll share my thoughts on Dallas’ big win in Game 1.

Outside of the bubble, the other 29 teams were busy making moves and on the personnel and marketing side. I’ll spit out some hot takes on everything that happened around the league, including a horrific logo change.

Happy Monday!

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Puck Junk Podcast: 2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game Hockey

Episode #69: September 15, 2020

In this episode of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about the 2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game Hockey card set, which has an impressive lineup of Hall of Famers and hometown heroes. They also talk about the latest hockey collectibles from Upper Deck and Topps. This episode is 90 minutes of pure hockey goodness.

Show Notes, Links and Images:
Topps Now Hockey Stickers archive with print run info (Topps)
Upper Deck Game Dated Moments for Week 49 (Upper Deck Blog)
Fake “New Kids on the Ice” hockey card (Puck Junk)
Wayne Gretzky Fake Indianapolis Racers hockey card (Puck Junk)
2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game Checklist (Trading Card DB)

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game card images: 

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #1 – Gordie Howe…er, I mean Mr. Hockey 

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #1 – Mr. Hockey (back) 

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #87 – Rick Kehoe

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #87 – Rick Kehoe (back)

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #72 – Mike Bossy

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #81 – Mario Lemieux

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #19 – Tony Esposito

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #64 – Chico Resch

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #59 – Michel Goulet

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #26 – Ulf Nilsson

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #88 – Gump Worsley 

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #20 – Guy Lapointe
Allegedly, Lapointe will not autograph this card.

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #34 – Wendel Cark

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #70 – Rick Middleton

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game Sealed Hobby Box

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, 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. ■

Blake’s Takes: Cup Finals Almost Set

After everything the NHL has been through since March, we’re a maximum of six games away from the Stanley Cup Finals. Both series are going into Game 5 with one team up 3-1. I’ll highlight each series as well as a few other notable storylines around the NHL.

P.S. I need the Stanley Cup Finals to start ASAP to take my mind off another soul-crushing Detroit Lions loss.

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Cup Finals Almost Set”

Blake’s Takes: Game Sevens Galore

2020 finally showed us mercy and gave us three game sevens in one round of playoff hockey. We deserved it. In all seriousness, last week was an awesome week for the NHL, as three out of four playoff series went to a game seven. I’ll share my thoughts on each of those series as well as a few notable stories that impacted the hockey world.

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Game Sevens Galore”