Rookie Cards of the 2012 Hockey Hall of Fame Inductees

The latest selections to the Hockey Hall of Fame have been made. Not without the usual public disagreement, four great players have been inducted for 2012. Mats Sundin, Pavel Bure, Joe Sakic and Adam Oates have all entered the Hall. Sakic was a no-brainer. Oates should have been inducted much sooner. Sundin and Bure certainly deserve to be there. However, still missing from the Hall of Fame are Rogie Vachon, Pat Burns and Fred Shero, among other snubs.

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Rookie Cards of the 2012 Hockey Hall of Fame Inductees

Rookie Cards of the 1970′s 1st Overall Draft Picks

The 1970′s were the first full decade with the NHL Amateur Draft in existence. The first overall pick is pretty much guaranteed to become a success in the National Hockey League. All ten during the 1970′s went on to NHL careers of varying lengths with varying amounts of success. All ten came from the Canadian Hockey League with seven being drafted from Ontario teams, two from the West and one from Quebec. Two players each came from the London Knights and Ottawa 67′s of the OHA.

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Rookie Cards of the 1970′s 1st Overall Draft Picks

The Derek Sanderson Collection

Derek Sanderson – the superstar that was supposed to be, that really wasn’t, but still is. On the lines of an Eddie Shack, Sanderson’s name remains in the minds of hockey fans because of the personality more than the playing results. We’re in a time right now when a player will have a dozen or more hockey cards in a year, at times. In the mainstream hockey card world of Topps and O-Pee-Chee, Derek is featured on just eleven cards from his playing days.

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The Derek Sanderson Collection

Maid of the Mist, Niagara Falls

A short series of photos taken from the deck of the Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The boat goes past the American Falls to nearly the base of Horseshoe Falls, where you truly feel the power of this mighty cataract.

The Captains of the 1967-68 NHL Expansion Teams

1967-68 marked the first NHL season for six new franchises. Previously, the league consisted of six teams but found itself to be double the size after the 1966-67 season. The ‘Next Six’ or ‘New Six’ were a rag-tag bunch of rookies, over-the-hill NHL veterans and career minor leaguers in that first year. All six of the new teams were placed in the West Division while all the Original Six were put in the newly formed East Division. To guage the strength of the expansion teams, not even the West Division first place Philadelphia Flyers would have finished any higher than sixth place in the East.

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The Captains of the 1967-68 NHL Expansion Teams

Six Degrees of Brian Kilrea

“Six Degrees of Separation” refers to the theory that everyone on earth can be connected with six or less steps. This means that through friends and friends of friends, etc, any two people on Earth can be connected. In the entertainment world, a popular game to play is “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” which states that anyone in Hollywood can be connected to the Footloose actor in six or less steps.

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Six Degrees of Brian Kilrea

1970-71 O-Pee-Chee – All About Bobby Orr

At no time during his playing career was Bobby Orr celebrated so much on cardboard as he was in 1970-71. The 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee set featured Orr on six different cards. It was well-deserved with Bobby taking the Norris, Conn Smythe, Art Ross and Hart Trophies as well as being named a First Team All-Star defenseman.

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1970-71 O-Pee-Chee – All About Bobby Orr

Ottawa 67′s Grad Julian Talbot Will Return to Eisbaren Berlin for 2012-13 DEL Season

Julian Talbot will return to Eisbaren Berlin (Berlin Polar Bears) for the 2012-13 season after winning the DEL Championship with the club in 2011-12. It was his first year in Europe after five years and over 350 games in the ECHL and AHL.

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Ottawa 67′s Grad Julian Talbot Will Return to Eisbaren Berlin for 2012-13 DEL Season

1961-62 Topps – The Birth of the Hockey Team Card

For the 1961-62 hockey card season, Topps came up with the bright idea to put a team picture on the front of a card. The team card was born. In 1961-62, Topps produced the player cards for the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers and Parkhurst was responsible for the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. Card numbers 20, 42 and 63 were dedicated to the Topps teams.

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1961-62 Topps – The Birth of the Hockey Team Card

Los Angeles Kings O-Pee-Chee Team Cards From the 1970′s

The Los Angeles Kings are gunning for their first Stanley Cup championship since joining the National Hockey League for the 1967-68 season. The only other time they have been to the finals was a loss to the Montreal Canadiens in 1992-93. Back in the 1970′s, O-Pee-Chee often included team checklist cards with a team picture on the front and player checklist on the back. What follows are the seven Los Angeles Kings team checklist cards produced by O-Pee-Chee during the team’s first full decade.

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Los Angeles Kings O-Pee-Chee Team Cards From the 1970′s