Peter Puck is ahockey puck-shapedcartoon character. The puck, whose animated adventures appeared on bothNBC's Hockey Game of the Week andCBC'sHockey Night in Canada during the 1970s, explainedice hockey rules,equipment and the sport'shistory to the home viewing audience. The voice of Peter Puck was provided byRonnie Schell. The animation was produced byHanna-Barbera[1] studios. Nine episodes, each approximately three minutes long, were broadcast between periods ofNHL hockey games.
The brainchild of NBC executive andNew York Rangers season ticket holder Donald Carswell, who conceived the idea and scripted first drafts of the initial episodes, Peter Puck was developed for the television network in partnership with Hanna-Barbera. Designed to help introduce and popularize ice hockey among non-fans (especially children), Peter Puck became an instant and enduring hit with existing hockey fans. When the network stopped carrying NHL games in 1975, NBC sold Peter's rights back to Hanna-Barbera, which later sold them toBrian McFarlane, a member of the network's NHL broadcast team (and the son ofLeslie McFarlane, also known as first of many to assume the pen name "Franklin W. Dixon" and pen theHardy Boys books). McFarlane subsequently wrote three children's books using the character:Peter Puck: Love That Hockey Game (1975),Peter Puck and the Stolen Stanley Cup (1980), andPeter Puck's Greatest Moments in Hockey (1980).[2]
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Peter Puck made a comeback during the2007 NHL Playoffs, as retailers began selling a line ofretro apparel with the Peter Puck logo. That same year, Peace Arch Entertainment released the entire series toDVD.
Since December 2007, the original Peter Puck has been shown during the first intermission ofToronto Maple Leafs games broadcast onLeafs TV. The clips are seen in their original form, with outdated rules and references omitted.
For the 2009–10 NHL season, Peter Puck returned to the CBC.
In August 2023, it was announced a new animated series is in production. The series will feature Peter Puck's sister Penny Puck.[3]