Hockey players: the toughest athletes out there
NHL players have a reputation for playing through pain and being some of the toughest professional athletes. Whether or not it has been a...
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Blog
- Jul 14
- 9 min
Miracles Happen - But What Happens After? The NHL Story of the 1980 US Olympic Team.
It has been 44 years since the Miracle on Ice took place at the 1980 Winter Olympics. Even the most casual hockey can is well versed in...
- Jun 23
- 10 min
Irbe and Myllys walked so other could run - the beginning of European goalies.
The 1990s was the start of the era of the European goalie. Yes, there were European goalies who played in the NHL prior to the 1990s: the...
- May 19
- 9 min
What goes around comes around: free agency in the early 1990s
526 - Louie DeBrusk As part of the dismantling of the Oilers dynasty, Edmonton traded Mark Messier to the New York Rangers for DeBrusk,...
- Apr 22
- 8 min
The 'last dance' for the Edmonton Oilers, and Soviet hockey
The late 1980s represented the 'last dances' for two dynasties - the Edmonton Oilers and the Soviet Union. After winning four Stanley...
- Mar 27
- 7 min
Muller for Richer, a rare, mutually beneficial trade
As this journey through hockey history winds its way into the 'high series' of 1991-92 Upper Deck, we are beginning to encounter players...
- Mar 8
- 5 min
Team USA and the 1991 Canada Cup: a milestone moment
From the 1960s to the mid 1990s, the American men's national hockey team was considered an also ran on the international stage. Canada,...
- Feb 2
- 4 min
It Is Over! Canada Ends It's World Championship Drought.
Crowning the best hockey nation in the world was a difficult task throughout the 20th century. The banning of professional players for...
- Jan 2
- 8 min
From Wheels to Ice: NHL Players with Roller Hockey Roots
If you were alive in the 1990s, you will remember the phenomenon that was inline skating, aka Rollerblading. No one was immune to its...
- Dec 21, 2023
- 8 min
Sin Bin Legends: Top 5 NHL Players for Career Playoff Penalty Minutes
With the group of players featured in this blog post it was hard to come up with a unifying thread for the introduction piece. As a...
- Dec 2, 2023
- 8 min
Re-selecting the 1985 entry draft
It is a popular thing for hockey writers to do - take an Entry Draft from the past, and re-select the players based on years of...
- Nov 3, 2023
- 9 min
Players you didn't know were in the 1996 World Cup
The successor to Alan Eagleson's Canada Cup tournaments, the 1996 World Cup signaled a massive shift in international hockey. The United...
- Sep 18, 2023
- 10 min
The 1990s: when even 1st round picks weren't untouchable
In modern times, many teams have a franchise player that is 'untouchable', meaning they won't be traded for anything. Often these players...
- Aug 17, 2023
- 9 min
A history of 1990s college hockey in three minutes
In doing some research for this post, I learned that 1990s NCAA hockey was a pretty wild time. US college hockey was not huge deal it is...
- Jul 26, 2023
- 3 min
The Golden Brett
Card 464 - Brett Hull The son of the legendary Bobby Hull, right winger Brett was drafted 117th overall by Calgary in 1984. A goal scorer...
- Jun 29, 2023
- 9 min
Hard to follow sibling acts
Being a sibling can be hard, or so I am told as an only child. I’ve heard there are constant comparisons, both real and imagined, between...
- Jun 2, 2023
- 10 min
AHL Rookie of the Year tiers
The Red Garrett Memorial Trophy has been awarded annually to the best rookie in the AHL since the 1947-48 season when Bob Solinger won...
- May 17, 2023
- 9 min
The inexact science of drafting goalies
It is a well-established fact that drafting goalies is difficult. Trying to project how well an 18-year old will be able to handle the...
- Apr 23, 2023
- 10 min
Star Rookies and the 1989 draft
Editors note: As part of Series 1 for 1991-92 Upper Deck, 23 'Star Rookie' cards were released. The eponymous Young Guns set was released...
- Mar 31, 2023
- 8 min
The great Gretzky trade trees
Anyone who is even a casual fan of hockey knows pretty much all there is to know about Wayne Gretzky. So rather than rehash his career in...
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