Peter Puck Returns on His 50th Anniversary to Promote Safe, Fun Hockey

In 1973, a cartoon puck teaching the ins-and-outs of hockey became an instant hit. Fifty years later, Peter Puck is gearing up for a comeback.

Cartoon characters are forever captured in time. 

Bart Simpson will always be 10 years old. And as he celebrates his 50th anniversary during the 2023-24 hockey season, Peter Puck is as vibrant and energetic as ever. 

With his sister Penny by his side, Peter remains dedicated to teaching kids the ins and outs of hockey.

"It's a huge multi-generational brand that educates kids, youth, adults, coaches —everybody — with their values," said Paul Cohen, who is shepherding Peter's return to the public eye. "Good sportsmanship, safe and fun hockey, diversity and inclusivity, brain and body health and, most importantly, hockey is for everyone and abuse-free hockey." 

A goalie who was a two-time ECAC champion with St. Lawrence University in the 1980s, Cohen's pro career lasted 11 seasons. His career highlight came when he was with the Springfield Indians during the 1991-92 season and became just the second goaltender ever to score in the AHL.

When Cohen hung up his pads, he spent time in the corporate world. In 2019, he began offering customized hockey-centric ceiling fans and wall art as an official NHL licensee.

Earlier this year, Cohen's group also acquired the licensing rights to Peter and Penny Puck from longtime NHL broadcaster Brian McFarlane and his wife Joan. They have been Peter's caretakers through their company Sports Family Ltd. from almost the first day he appeared on the scene.

McFarlane is also a St. Lawrence grad. Now in his 90s, he was connected to Cohen via a mutual acquaintance from the school's hockey program.

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Half a century ago, Peter Puck debuted during a period of NHL expansion — commissioned by U.S. broadcast rightsholder NBC from their production partners at the famed Hanna-Barbera animation studio that was churning out popular cartoons of the day like The Flintstones, The Jetsons and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?

In 1973, a year after the Atlanta Flames and New York Islanders debuted, Peter made his debut between periods of a Sunday afternoon NHL broadcast on NBC between the Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs. 

His role was to help new fans of the game learn more about the ins and outs of a very unique sport that had only a small toehold in the U.S. at the time. He was an instant hit, and his fame soon spread north of the border when his segments were picked up by CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. 

Supporting him all along the way — McFarlane, who was working for both NBC and CBC at the time. During Peter's heyday, McFarlane helped segment writers with the technical details of the game for their scripts. And after NBC stopped carrying NHL hockey in the mid-1970s, McFarlane and his wife acquired the rights to all existing Peter Puck content, with the right to create additional materials.

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Inducted into the media wing of the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995 and named to the Order of Canada in 2020, McFarlane's passion for hockey extended to writing books. All told, he has authored close to 100. 

His Peter Puck titles began appearing in the mid-'70s and included volumes like Peter Puck and the Runaway Zamboni Machine, Peter Puck and the Stolen Stanley Cup and Peter Puck: Love That Hockey Game! 

If those titles sound like they belong on the shelf next to the Hardy Boys mysteries, there's a good reason for that. McFarlane's father, Leslie, was a journalist and author who wrote 21 of the first Hardy Boys novels during the depression, under the pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon.

Penny Puck first appeared alongside Peter in 1978. And just as we're seeing women's hockey claim more of the sport's spotlight in 2023, Penny will also feature prominently in Peter's new adventures. 

"We're going to be engaging with mascots and fan events," Cohen said. "We're creating a Peter and Penny fan club. And we're in the process of working on 28 public service announcements of 15 and 30 seconds."

An avid fan of McFarlane's Peter Puck books when he was young, Cohen is arguably most enthused about having co-authored two new original stories alongside author and hockey coach Lee Elias. 

In the two Gearing Up With Peter & Penny stories, the pair will help provide beginners with a safer and less overwhelming early hockey experience by offering information and advice about hockey and goalie gear. 

They'll teach the name of each piece of equipment, why it's important and how to wear it properly, bringing their mission to educate into the Modern Era.

"It was so very lucky that Brian wrote the Peter and Penny Puck books so that I could read them as a kid," Cohen said. "To be able to write these two books ranks right up there with the birth of my daughter and scoring a goal."

And while Peter and Penny are ageless, fashions change. For their 50th anniversary, their look has been updated on a line of merchandise.

"The transformation is unbelievable, as you can imagine, just with today's graphic ability," Cohen said. "But the one thing is that Peter and Penny never grow old."

Neither do the values they teach.