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Post Cereal hockey cards
Hunter with his cereal of choice.
About this time last year, I was pleased to report that the Post Cereal Corporation was unveiling a series of junior hockey cards on its cereal boxes. I have discovered that Post is at it again. My grandson, Hunter, is most pleased with the results.
I caught up with Hunter after his game last Saturday at one of the rinks at the Quinte Sports Centre. He is now eight years old and plays for the Belleville Junior Bulls in the Novice Division. His mother has no trouble getting him to the rink for his practices and his games.
One of the first books we shared with him was a story about Maurice “The Rocket” Richard. Hunter can tell you several facts about Richard and the Canadiens. He also enjoyed the classic Canadian hockey story called The Sweater. His grandmother has shared her passion for the Habs with Hunter. He will tell you in no uncertain terms that Montreal is his favourite team, but only if he thinks she is listening.
He has always been a Sidney Crosby fan, and lists Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Patrick Roy as his favourite players.
There are six different cereal boxes in the Post collection. In the photograph, Hunter is holding the Aaron Ekblad box, taken when he was wearing his Barrie Colts sweater. Ekblad now plays for the Florida Panthers in the National Hockey League. Sam Bennett plays for the Kingston Frontenacs, and is featured on box # 3.
Nikolaj Ehlers, ofthe Halifax Mooseheads, Nicolas Petan of the Portland Winter Hawks, Jake Virtanen of the Calgary Hitmen and Jeremy Roy ofthe Sherbrooke Phoenix are also displayed on the front of boxes.
There are four cards on the back of each box, making a set of 24 cards in the series. The company also has a contest associated with the CHL, with a trip for four to the Memorial Cup as the prize.
Today, Hockey Canada released the names of 29 players who have been invited to the selection camp for the Canadian junior team that will play in the World Junior Championships this year. Players in that group featured on the cereal boxes include: Hayden Fleury, Joe Hicketts, Michael Dal Colle, Connor McDavid and Brayden Point. Virtanen and Petan are also in the hunt for one of the 22 final roster spots.
Remi Elie, a forward with the Belleville Bulls, has also been chosen to attend the Selection Camp in Toronto.
The NHL has a roster freeze deadline on December 19. The folks at Hockey Canada need to convince teams like the Florida Panthers to release good junior age players for the tournament before the freeze takes place. I am fairly certain the Panthers will not release Ekblad. He has 12 points, including three goals, in his first 22 games. He turns 19 in February, and yet he plays with poise, shift after shift.
By the time the tournament begins, Hunter will have most of the names of the players memorized. He did tell me he has difficulty with the French names. He attends Quinte Mohawk School, and studies Mohawk rather than French.
Before he headed home, Hunter added he could use another box of Sugar Crisp.
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