Hi everyone! It’s been an exciting few days at Steve’s house! I received a package today that really made my day. A visitor to this site sent me a copy of my book asking me to autograph it for his father-in-law’s Christmas present. I won’t give any information away to avoid spoiling the surprise, but the father-in-law in question is a former member of the California Golden Seals. That was a fun surprise for me, but even better was the fact that this was the first actual copy of my book to fall into my hands. It was a pretty exciting moment, to say the least, to finally see a finished version of my book after so many years of cobbling it together. Other people have begun writing me to let me know they have received their gratis copies either as a thank you for writing blurbs for the back cover or for agreeing to interview me and/or review the book for their website or publication.
There’s also a special new edition of the Hockey News featuring the 50 greatest players from each NHL franchise. The Seals also get a bit of coverage in the back pages of the magazine, but since the Seals and Barons only played 11 seasons, only the 10 greatest players in franchise history are listed:
1-Gilles Meloche
2-Carol Vadnais
3-Ted Hampson
4-Dennis Maruk
5-Bob Stewart
6-Al MacAdam
7-Bert Marshall
8-Joey Johnston
9-Gary Smith
10-Bill Hicke
What do you guys think? Who would you put in the Seals’ all-time Top 10 list?
If you’re looking for new material this week, we’ve got you covered, as usual. New to the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame is a spectacularly awful piece of cardboard featuring Calgary Flames legend Jarome Iginla.
In the articles section, we have a new newspaper clipping about the time Gilles Meloche was forced to miss several weeks of action after Reggie Leach accidentally skated over his exposed hand during practice. For a guy who had already played two non-playoff seasons in Oakland, he was pleasantly optimistic about the Seals’ chances of making the playoffs.
Until next time, stay gold!