Hockey Road Trip Across the Carolinas

Hello, hockey nerds! Today, I’m hopefully going to wow all of you, and maybe inspire some of you to go on a Hockey Road Trip. Over the summer, Tom Dundon, The Most Interesting Man in Hockey, reached an agreement with the Greenville (South Carolina) Swamp Rabbits to become the ECHL affiliates of the (North) Carolina Hurricanes. This made a lot of sense as they are only little more than an hour’s drive from Charlotte where the Calder Cup Champion AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers play. Almost as soon as this was announced, my friends and I waited with bated breath for the schedules of all three teams to be published and looked for a time to visit on a Lost Hockey Weekend Roadtrip. That perfect weekend ended up being January 17 to 19, 2020.

My wife, my best friend and I planned this weekend because all three teams were playing at home on consecutive days; the Canes played on Friday, the Bog Bunnies on Saturday, and the Checkers on Sunday afternoon, which was all too perfect because with a three hour drive back, it meant that we only had spent one night out of town and without having to take a day off of work!

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Blake’s Takes: Players Needing Attention

This was a weird week in the NHL. The most notable story was an odd scandal involving the league’s least-valuable team. That doesn’t mean there aren’t takes to be made. I’ll check in on players around the league that are flying under the radar that deserve your attention.

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Puck Junk Podcast: 1985-86 Topps & O-Pee-Chee Hockey Cards

Episode #45: February 7, 2020

In this episode of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish take a long look back at the 1985-86 Topps and O-Pee-Chee Hockey Card sets. They also talk about some new releases, including 2019-20 Upper Deck Allure. This podcast weighs in at 90 minutes, so get ready for an extra-large helping of hockey goodness!

Show Notes and Links:
2019-20 Upper Deck Allure Hockey Checklist (Beckett)
Mike Mondano making “Modano Face” (image)
That rare Zdeno Chara Day with the Cup card (image)
Some images from the 1985-86 O-Pee-Chee set:

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast intro and ending 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.

Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

Blake’s Takes: The Battle of Alberta Strikes Again

Last week was really all about the Battle of Alberta. The Flames and Oilers faced off twice and neither game was a disappointment. This week’s column is better suited to be a review of a boxing match than a hockey column. I’ll dive into all the punches thrown and gloves dropped up in Western Canada as well as share my thoughts on one of my new favorite hockey-related beverages. Happy Monday!

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Blake’s Takes: Looking Past the All-Star Break

Seeing that all eyes were on the All-Star Game last week, there wasn’t much other news in the world of hockey. So I wanted to focus my column this week on a few players that deserve your attention. I’ll also make my case for why the league needs to change their All-Star Game format to something much more interesting. Happy reading!

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Puck Junk Podcast: January 27, 2020

2020 NHL All-Star Game Recap, plus a retrospective of Champ’s hockey cards.

In this week’s episode of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish give their recap of the 2020 NHL All-Star Weekend, from the Skills Competition and Elite Women’s 3-on-3 Game on Friday, to the All-Star Game on Saturday. Plus, a retrospective of Champ’s hockey cards. This podcast weighs in at 1 hour and 37 minutes, so go get yourself a sandwich before you hit that play button, and thanks for listening!

Show Notes and Links:
McDonald’s commercial with Wayne Gretzky and Mats Sundin (YouTube)
And as long as we’re on the topic, here’s the McDonalds commercial with Michael Jordan and Larry Bird (YouTube)
That CCM commercial with Alex Ovechkin’s head in a locker (YouTube)
The entire 2020 NHL All-Star Game (NHL via YouTube)
Don’t have time for that? Here are just the highlights (NHL via YouTube)
Upper Deck Game Dated Moment cards for Week 16 (Upper Deck)
For more images of Champ’s Hockey cards, check out these box breaks:
2008-09 Champ’s Hockey Box Break #1 (Puck Junk)
2008-09 Champ’s Hockey Box Break #2 (Puck Junk)
2009-10 Champ’s Hockey Box Break #1 (Puck Junk)
2009-10 Champ’s Hockey Box Break #2 (Puck Junk)
2015-16 Champ’s Hockey Box Break (Puck Junk)

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast intro and ending 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.

Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

Book Review – Chris Chelios: Made in America

Chris Chelios is the greatest American-born defenseman to play in the NHL. He may be the greatest American to ever play hockey at any position. Chelios spent 26 seasons in the NHL, breaking in with the Montreal Canadians at age 22 in 1984, winning numerous accolades along the way, and finally retiring at age 48 in 2010.

Also, Chris Chelios is my favorite hockey player of all-time. So, I am not sure why it took me this long to review “Chris Chelios: Made in America,” penned by Chelios and former USA Today hockey writer Kevin Allen in 2014. Nor can I guarantee that this will be a totally unbiased review of his book.

Regardless of how you feel about Chelios — hockey fans either loved him or hated him for his physical, almost reckless style of play — his book is an enjoyable memoir of his storied career.

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Puck Junk Podcast: January 22, 2020

The Upcoming 2020 NHL All-Star Game, plus Patrick Kane and Gerard Gallant

In this week’s episode of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about the upcoming 2020 NHL All-Star Game — including the 3-on-3 women’s game that will take place during the Skills Competition. Plus, Gerard Gallant’s firing, Patrick Kane joining the 1000-point club, and more. This podcast is 1 hour and 5 minutes of pure hockey goodness!

Show Notes and Links:
Here is what the 2020 NHL All-Star Game jerseys look like (picture).
And here is a visual history of NHL All-Star Game jerseys (pictures).
Did you see Dougie Hamilton’s leg injury? Ouch! (video)

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast intro and ending 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.

Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

Blake’s Takes: Milestone Watch

Last week, we saw two of the game’s best players reach tremendous milestones. We also saw a milestone reached off the ice. And, as is tradition this season, another team in the hunt for the playoffs fired their coach. Read all about it below!

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Review: Panini Missing Sticker Service

If you ever collected a Panini sticker set than you’d probably understand the frustration of getting close to completing a set but falling a few stickers short. With an apparent ever- expanding checklist each season and introduction of more foil stickers created plenty of headaches for set builders.

The usual choices for set completion would include binge buying packs, which would prove to be a costly endeavor and leave you with plenty of extras, trying to find a trading partner via websites such as laststicker.com or a similar site.

Maybe the easiest solution for completing a set was right at our fingertips at Panini’s Online Store.

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