S.I. Vault had a hockey day yesterday, and it was splendiferous

Posted by Justin Bourne under Hockey Pics, The Twitter World on Sep 21, 2012

One of the best Twitter feeds going these days is that of Sports Illustrated’s Andy Gray. His feed uses the handle “@SI_Vault,” and he has access to all the amazing pictures the magazine (and now website) has taken over the years. Truly a must follow.

Yesterday he led with this tweet, and I was PUMPED:

Oh god that’s a scary photo.

And predictably, he came through in a big way. The following tweets and pictures are what he shared yesterday, and obviously, property of Sports Illustrated. I just provide a little commentary.

Kay, yeah, I’d say that qualifies as an understatement. Still, the perception is thrown juuust a bit off by standing between Mike Comrie (listed at 5’10″ – definitely shorter than that) and Danny Briere (listed at 5’10″ – that’s not even trying to be honest).

Also worth noting: people have gotten better at photoshopping pictures.

Okay this…this I don’t get. Detroit fans are…octopi?

Man, how awesome did the players of yesteryear dress? I can’t imagine the process of going through your dresser and being like “Yup, it’s sharp button-up thin sweater time.” I just don’t attend many events that require such garb these days.

This tweet made me feel old, because that picture officially looks retro, and I remember that series vividly. I do not, however, remember Patrick Roy and Ed Helms kissing during the photo op.

Mats Sundin in a Quebec Nordiques jersey: awesome. Elbowing a dude in the face: double awesome. Do you remember how amazing that Nordiques roster was prior to moving to Denver and winning the Cup? Check it out. Just Wendel Clark, Adam Deadmarsh, Peter Forsberg, Owen Nolan, Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin…crazy.

Rico Suave, geez. Great flow. And next, the first of my two favourite pictures of the day:

I mean, Instagram can go cry itself to sleep somewhere. No filter can make a picture look that good. How freaking classic is that? And how rad it is that the (helmet-less) tender is out at the bottom of the circles cutting down the angle? I want one of each of those jerseys, authentic.

Even Avs fans have to see that pic and think “that was awesome.” I’m gonna say that might be the most intense playoff series I’ve ever seen. Just sheer hatred.

AHHHHHHHHHHHNEXT

Oh, Paulina, how adorable. How quickly they grow up (NSFW-ish. She tweeted this out a couple months back).

And now, for my other favourite pic of the day:

How amazing are these old-school shots? I feel like they played on glass, in the dark, with a minimum required amount of hair gel per player.

  Big, indeed.

Sad stuff. He won’t be forgotten by the hockey community.

Awesome. That character won’t be forgotten either.

Okay, Canadians (and northern US folk, I ‘spose): honestly, did you ever own that exact jacket? (Biggie: “Way back, when I had the red and black lumberjack, with the hat to match”). I probably owned the red and black three times (kids grow), and had it in other colours too. We camped a lot growing up – those were mandatory.

  Goalies: you should probably invent masks soon.

He snuck this one in (which I’m grateful for), so I thought I’d do the same. Hi Nina, I’m Justin.

This mullet is a party in the front, a full-on riot in the back.

Hall and Eberle will look back at this pic and laugh someday, not because of the girls, but because they look 10 years old, and are having themselves a little pre-game ham-sesh. “We’re such good buddies!”

Man. Old-school bathing suits were the best.

***

Got a particular hockey photo that you love? Share it in the comments if you do.

7 Comments

Related Posts

Previous post
Next Post

Comments (7)

  1. Sherry says:
    09.21.12 @ 2:53 PM EDT  
    Reply

    Really neat – thanks for sharing. It elicited some of the few positive feelings I’ve had about hockey lately.

    Love the LeClair pic – enjoyed watching him as part of the Pens a few (okay, more than a few) years back.

  2. Char says:
    09.21.12 @ 2:53 PM EDT  
    Reply

    Great Lucic pic. Here’s one of my favorites, because of the expression on his face:

    https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_q56qYWJWy6A/TbyMtlLu2ZI/AAAAAAAADoI/qRX-ys1NXAk/krejciloochgameone.JPG

    “Touch my liney, and I will kill you.”

  3. Rich says:
    09.21.12 @ 3:14 PM EDT  
    Reply

    The classic images are absolutely stunning. Wow.

  4. Mike says:
    09.21.12 @ 4:10 PM EDT  
    Reply

    Two things about the classic images, which are indeed stunning:

    Did they paint the floor white before laying in the ice in those days? That would certainly account for the darker tone of the ice?

    Also, in Jean Beliveau’s autobiography – which is a good read – he mentions that the arenas really changed when they brought in lighting for TV. Judging from these pics, it seems like it’s prior to that era, which is what makes them so moody.

    Finally, Hall/Eberle: anyone else think Hardy Boys? How wholesome are those guys?

    • Devils Win says:
      09.21.12 @ 4:25 PM EDT  
      Reply

      I don’t know if they painted before laying the ice out in the old days, but it almost looks like the lights are coming from the ends of the rink rather than the rafters…and that there’s a lot less of them.

      • Mike says:
        09.21.12 @ 4:41 PM EDT  
        Reply

        One question answered by Wikipedia:

        “In 1949, the league mandated that the ice surface be painted white to make the puck easier to see.”

  5. Christianne says:
    09.21.12 @ 7:27 PM EDT  
    Reply

    Harold Barkley was one of the first to use an electronic flash in hockey photography. He worked from the 40′s to the early 70′s. His book is beautiful.
    http://www.amazon.com/Hockeys-Original-Great-Players-Golden/dp/155365563X/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1348269786&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=hockey%27s+original+6

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *