Earlier this year, we told you about "NHL Hockey Guys," which is an officially licensed collection of mini-players from The New Toy that features the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings. What, no Whalers?
These were, in effect, hockey "army men": a big box of toys in different poses the young fans can create adventures with and hope that younger siblings don't turn them into chew toys (good luck). They're officially available now, so here's a first look:
First thought: They could have gone with a little more detail on the jerseys, no? The Blackhawks and Habs look the same; and by that we mean they look like fans dressed in spandex harassing someone in the penalty box.
So how do these things actually play? Here's a kid-tested demo:
The snap-together boards are actually a cool idea. But without the turnbuckle booster pack, we simply won't be able to effectively recreate the Pacioretty hit ...
The sets retail for $28.99, and they seem like a cool gift for a young hockey fan. (Hell, anything that the NHL peddles to young fans that doesn't involve Sap Bombs is a good thing.) If we had a gripe, it'd be to have more variation in the poses, like old school army men did. (You know, the machine gun guy and the rocket launcher guy.) But including a player in a fighting stance isn't really keen for the 3-year-old fan, in theory.