TORONTO – LeafsTV has emptied the digital duffel bag and rediscovered a hockey gem: Peter Puck.
After a 28-year hiatus, the beloved 1970s hockey puck icon will return to television starting December 20 as part of Leafs TV’s Maple Leafs game broadcasts.
The scrappy animated character whose arms and legs magically worked without actually being attached to its puck body, was first introduced to audiences in the 1970’s when NBC officials created it to use during their Game of the Week hockey broadcasts to help teach Americans about hockey.
It quickly became recognized as a popular intermission personality featured on televised NHL games. The Peter Puck features also aired on CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada in the late 1970s.
“Peter Puck is a part of hockey’s cultural heritage,” said Chris Hebb, senior vice-president of broadcast and content for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, in a release. “Now the thousands of hockey fans who grew up watching Peter Puck can relive cherished childhood memories of the past, and also introduce their own children to this beloved character.”
Leafs TV will broadcast 11 segments of the original footage as follows:
* Thursday, December 20 – Leafs at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
* Thursday, December 27 – Leafs at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
* Thursday, January 3 – Leafs at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
* Wednesday, January 9 – Leafs at Anaheim, 10 p.m.
* Thursday, January 10 – Leafs at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
* Thursday, January 17 – Leafs at Boston, 7 p.m.
* Sunday, January 20 – Leafs at New Jersey, 5 p.m.
* Thursday, January 24 – Leafs at Washington, 7 p.m.
* Thursday, January 31 – Leafs at Carolina, 7 p.m.
* Thursday, February 14 – Leafs vs. New York Islanders, 7:30 p.m.
* Thursday, February 21 – Leafs vs. Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
