The Return of Our Let’s Read (Hockey) Videos…

Last summer we started producing a series of videos on YouTube called Let’s Read segments.  The idea came from a friend of ours, Chris Alaimo (@CGQuarterly) who has two YouTube channels at Classic Gaming Quarterly and CGQ+ respectively.  Most of his videos are about video gaming and childhood memories related to it.  One of the ways he’d recall those memories was by doing guided readings through various old video game magazines.  As an avid gamer and a person interested in history I look forward to every new video as he puts forth a ton of effort and exacting accuracy in each one.  So I thought, why not do some Let’s Read videos of hockey-related magazines.

Last year, my partner in crime Theresa Ferries published two videos on our YouTube channel MNSOTA24.  We started by checking out an issue of the Hockey News and an issue of the Sporting News hockey yearbook from 2003-04.  Admittedly the videos didn’t get a lot of views, but that’s ok.  Almost all great things start small, so as we stand in the midst of the NHL offseason we decided to bring them back.

We got some help this year from a friend ours, Aaron (@AngryFinn) of the longest running underground Wild podcast 3 in the Box, borrowed to us some old hockey magazines he had.  An NHL Goal Magazine from 1990 and a Minnesota North Stars game program from 1991.  Both issues were tremendous time capsules of hockey history in Minnesota as well as advertising too.

Just in case you missed them from last summer, here is our first Let’s Read Episode #1 as voiced by Theresa Ferries!

This time I decided to step in and provide the voice for the Let’s Read episodes but I’m not sure my voice is as nice to listen to as is Theresa’s though.  Here is a sneak preview of these latest episodes here are some of the topics covered in each episode in no particular order.

Let’s Read: Episode #3:  NHL Goal Magazine – January 4th, 1990 ~ Minnesota North Stars vs. New York Rangers

~ Mike Milbury Interview

~ NHL & Hockey Related Advertising

~ Thomas Steen & Steve Smith & Theo Fleury Features

~ NHL Center Ice Collection

~ Hockey Video Games

~ Trivia challenge (you’ll have to watch it to put in your guess to win some old school NHL stickers)

~ Minnesota North Stars roster musings

~ Minnesota North Stars and Minnesota Wild connections

Let’s Read: Episode #4, January 17th, 1991 – Minnesota North Stars vs. Washington Capitals Game Program by Minnesota Hockey Magazine

~ Norm Green assesses the progress of the Minnesota North Stars, talks about attendance issues – I discuss Green’s claims, and the lack of success of the ‘Stars Stakes’ promotion.

~ North Stars General Manager Bobby Clarke interview

~ St. Cloud State Editorial

~ Global Hockey League proposed

~ An epic hockey poem reading

~ Minnesota Golden Gophers hockey article

~ Duluth East’s Mike Randolph feature

~ An open letter to hockey parents about their behavior

By the way, for anyone checking out my Let’s Read videos (especially those voiced by myself, Episode 3 & 4) on YouTube, if you want an easy and effective drinking game, take a shot anytime I say the word ‘basically’ and that’s all you need to have a great time!

This commercial kind of fits with what Norm Green was trying to sell in the Let’s Read: Episode 4 video after he took sole ownership of the club.  It also gives you some hints as to their attendance issues as well.  It should be noted that after that 1990-91 season the team got rid of the classic ‘N’ logo and replaced it with the generic ‘Stars’ logo.  It was the beginning of the end of the team’s run in Minnesota.

It should be noted that after that 1990-91 season the team got rid of the classic ‘N’ logo and replaced it with the generic ‘Stars’ logo.  It was the beginning of the end of the team’s run in Minnesota.

Just to add a little conclusion to what you saw in Norm Green’s commercial, he ultimately soured on keeping the team in Minnesota and moved it to Dallas in 1993.  Here is a video which sort of covers those last moments before the end by playing a few different news reports from KSTP and KARE news crews at the time.

Do you enjoy these videos, is there some hockey publication you wish to share and want us to do a Let’s Read of?  Contact us on Twitter at @CreaseAndAssist or in the comment section below!