Hockey History As Told By Cardboard - Henrik Sedin

No matter how nasty a playoff series gets, regardless of how hard teams go at each other or how much players despise their opponents, when it's over, good sportsmanship always wins out. 

The traditional handshake at the end of a series is a move unique to the NHL.  There were no hard feelings between Henrik Sedin and Joe Pavelski when the Canucks finished off the Sharks in Game 5 of the 2011 Western Conference Finals on May 24, 2011. Or at least, there were no hard feelings expressed at the moment. What goes down after the losing team leaves the ice is a whole different ball game that the cameras don't always capture.  

Regardless, this is just another example of why hockey is the greatest sport on the planet. 

Hockey History As Told By Cardboard - Derek Roy

On May 8, 2009, Derek Roy, then Buffalo Sabres center, scored two goals for Team Canada on their way to a 3-1 victory over Sweden at the 2009 World Championships.  

Many thought that despite the level of talent on the roster at the time, the team as a whole was underperforming and it showed. Many previous games were lackluster at best and it took a private, team-only meeting to light the fire under the players to give one of their best performances of the tournament.  By beating Sweden, the Canadians set up their destined rematch for the Gold Medal with Team Russia.  

Although Team Canada once again, fell to the Russians in the Gold Medal Game, Roy finished the tournament with four goals and four assists in nine games.

Hockey History As Told By Cardboard - Derian Hatcher

Five time 30+ point scorer, Derian Hatcher, scored is first ever career playoff goal in a 4-1 Dallas Stars victory over the San Jose Sharks on April 22, 1998. 

Derian has the distinction of being the first American-born team captain in the NHL to have their name engraved on the Stanley Cup.  His grit, skill, size, and toughness, were all qualities that made him on the game's great defensive forces.  

With their Game 1 victory in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, the Stars would then go on to not only beat the Sharks, but also the Edmonton Oilers in the next round. Once they got to the Conference Finals, the Detroit Red Wings were too much to handle and Dallas dropped the series 4 games to 2.

The following season brought better fortune for Derian and the Stars as they won the Cup against the Buffalo Sabres.

The Latest Puck Junk Podcast - State of the Hobby Address (sort of)

Puck Junk · Mighty Ducks: Game Changers & The State of Hockey Collecting | #87 | 3/31/2021

It came out a while back but I forgot to post it. This is the latest #PuckJunkPodcast with Sal & I chatting about all sorts of hockey hobby related issues. This is our first (at least I think), State of the Hockey Hobby address. With all the focus on sports cards lately, attention has been turned to the once forgotten "4th sport" of hockey. From the $1.2M Gretzky rookie, to the digital card explosion, and what I would deem only as EXTREME PROSPECTING, we cover many of the issues those of us in the hockey hobby community have been experiencing.

We also chat about the new Mighty Ducks series on Disney+, if you are into that sort of thing (and why wouldn't you be because you like hockey, right?).

Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox , Castro,

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Hockey History As Told By Cardboard - Ken Wregget

On March 28th 1992, Ken Wregget, who had only just joined the Pittsburgh Penguins a month earlier in February, posted his 100th career win.  In a 6-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, Wregget faced 31 shots, allowing goals from Brian Skrudland, Mathieu Schneider, and Sylvain Turgeon.  Penguins Rick Tocchet had 3 points including a goal and 2 assists.

Ken has said his two biggest hockey thrills were winning the Cup with the Penguins in 1992 and also beating the Penguins in the 1989 playoffs.

I Can't Believe It's Not Cardboard - Highlighting Other Personal Collectibles (Dany Heatley Bust)

There was a time back in 2011-2012 that I was trying to make up for lost time. I hadn't collected a lot in the early 2000s and my collection severely lacked in that time frame. While purchasing newer product that year, I would also try to track down some different items from the first 3-4 years of the century to add to my collection. One such trip down that path took me to the 2002-03 Upper Deck Classic Portraits set.  I did a write-up on this set and the box that opened quite a while ago.  You can check that out here if you are so inclined.  

While I'm not going to get into the particulars here, I will mention the significance of this set being that Upper Deck basically stopped production on this after a lackluster pre-order from hobby dealers.  This made boxes themselves fairly rare, for lack of a better word. While the set is made up of 100 base cards and 38 rookies, it's the subject of today's feature that garners all the attention. That's right. We are talking about the Upper Deck Mini-Bust Collection. 

With an extensive checklist that features 17 different players in home, away and alternate sweaters, these collectible marvels also featured autographed versions, real marble versions, and ones made of glass.  The mini-bust I was able to procure from my box back then was an autograph version of Dany Heatley (home jersey).  

For those not familiar, the busts are a waist-up representation of the player perched atop a small marble column, which in turn is resting on a display slab. Since mine is the autograph version, you can see that the front plate of the display has a sticker autograph of the Atlanta Thrasher's legend.  

The side of the marble column features the Upper Deck logo, which also appears to be a sticker or at least some type of decal.  The back goes into further detail of the player's jersey with number and name. 

On the bottom of the statue, there is an Upper Deck seal which explains..."You have received a bust personally autographed by Dany Heatley. This label was signed and sent to Upper Deck directly from Dany Heatley, then permanently affixed to the bust. This certificate expressly warrants the authenticity of the depicted athlete's signature."

You can see by mine, it's been loved a bit. Heatley's stick blade was snapped at some point. I don't remember if I did that or if it came that way, probably the later.  Also, the permanent label on the front is kind of peeling up on the corner. You'll also notice some scratching to the back of the jersey and a few spots of chipped paint. But, with all that said, it's a piece that I have out on display and show proudly along with my other collectibles.

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