Hi everyone, and welcome back! It’s June 6, which means today is the 53rd anniversary of the NHL’s very first expansion draft, the one that officially gave birth to the Seals, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota North Stars, and Los Angeles Kings. Today is the day Bill Hicke, Charlie Hodge, Gary Smith, Bobby Baun and several others became original members of the NHL Seals. Of course, things didn’t turn out so well for those guys in Year One as the club finished a disappointing 15-42-17, and a country mile out of the playoffs, but no one doubted their toughness and character strength.

To celebrate the grit and determination of hockey players from that long-ago era, I present you with a great piece from the Oakland Tribune’s Ed Levitt all about the grind that a season of pro hockey can be on a human body. The 1970-71 Seals, in particular, suffered a rash of injuries that pretty-much ensured they weren’t going to be participating in any meaningful games come April. Just about everyone who was counted on to lead the team went down with lengthy, nagging injuries, and you can read all about the Seals’ medical issues in the articles section.

Of course, one cannot write about hockey heartache and disappointment without focusing attention on one-time first-round draft bust Alexandre Daigle. We’ve got a horrible new entry to the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame that exemplifies all that was wrong with hockey cards in the mid-1990s. Awful colour schemes, random words everywhere, busy patterns and logos thrown about willy-nilly, and let’s not forget the completely nonsensical player photo! This thing has it all!

That’s about it for this week. Come back again next time and don’t forget to vote for your preferred pick for induction into the Seals Hall of Fame for 2020!

Until next time, stay gold!