Another White Whale Captured - A Piece of Pelle

Pelle Lindbergh was a special player and one who I always had a fascination with. I would wonder, what could he have done had he not made a poor choice one night? He had some much promise and ever since him, the Flyers seem to have been cursed when it comes to goaltenders. I moved around a lot especially in my early adult years especially at University. One thing I always had with me was this little display:

This is a little to big to fit on my scanner so I took a photo with my phone. These are all the cards the were released in North America from his playing days. He should have been in the 84/85 OPC set in my opinion but was only mentioned on the back of one card. I completed this little PC back when I was 13 years old and all 4 cards have pretty much been in that case ever since. It's a little scratched up now and I suspect some day I will need to upgrade it at some point but for now it still is within reach in my hockey card closet and I display it regularly. 

Now I know that I probably will never have a Pelle Lindbergh auto because they are just well beyond my budget and what I would be willing to pay for a single autograph but instead I was able to land this card which is equally awesome to me.  

2015 Leaf/ITG In The Game Used 2 Vintage Memorabilia Lindbergh/Parent /30

It's hard to see the pieces but the Pelle piece is a piece of nylon that looks nice and crusty. It's probably off a glove or blocker I am guessing and the Bernie piece is a nice chunk of leather which I would guess is off his pads or glove. This card is numbered to just 30 and looks magnificent in person.

Here is the back side and as you can see ITG is now a Leaf product but unlike some of their pieces I believe this one was very well done. While Pelle is not going to ever make the Hall of Fame, I felt my collection really needed one more piece of Pelle just to make this PC complete and I believe this card really does it for me. There are lots of memorabilia pieces out there now and I may find another one or two before my collecting days are over but any additions will be merely by happenstance and not anything I am going to actively track down. It's nice to sometimes close out a PC and I believe I am pretty much there with this one! A nice finish if you ask me. Does anyone out there have a PC they have been able to "finish"?

13-14 National Treasures Adam Henrique Treasured Steel /5

Speaking of skates....I have a bit more of Mr. Henrique's skates and here it is!

13-14 National Treasures Adam Henrique Treasured Steel /5

This card is both thick and HEAVY. I am in awe of this card and every time I look at it I smile. The design on the front is very simplistic and while the absence of colours can hurt some designs, I believe it works really really well here. Just black, silver and white is essentially all you see here (with the exception of his face). I wonder if they ever considered a black and white photo?

My lone complaint is the blade is actually upside down and I would have preferred the curved part that touched the ice to be down. There is a plastic cover over the card for those wondering so you can't touch the steel directly.

 

Here is the back side of the card. Again a very simplistic and clean design. The red really pops out in the Devils emblem and the story on the back is a cool one. For those interested in a little extra reading, here is a blog post by Panini America which talks about this particular insert set. Thanks for stopping by, no more Henrique skate pieces next time, I promise!

Sometimes you need to pick up a second copy of a card you already have...

Ok, maybe you don't need to, but have you ever done so? In the world of autographs, serial numbers and memorabilia swatches sometimes no two cards are alike and in this case that is definitely true which is why I went and picked up a second copy of this card:

13-14 Panini Prime Adam Henrique Prime Skates /25

So I guess of the print run of 25 I own 8%! My first one I picked up a few years ago when the product was first released and it featured just a black piece of his skate with no markings or writing. Then I saw this one a little while back and what a beauty. I love seeing the lace holes, my only complaint is the missing metal but what the hey, it's still very cool. Both cards are neat in their own way and together work very well in my collection if you ask me!

Thanks for stopping by and hope your NHL team is off the the start you were hoping for!

A Pair of Killer Blueliner Autos

Growing up in the 90's provided me a chance to see the game of hockey change drastically. In the early 90's a point a game player was my mental cutoff between an offensive star and an average player. During the 92-93 season, 69 players scored 75 points or more that season giving nearly all of them a point a game average. Eric Lindros had 75 point in 61 games that year and Gary Roberts had 79 points in 58 games. Even Kelly Kisio who wasn't known as a superstar had 78 points in 78 games. By the end of the 90's, the 98-99 season would only see 15 players score 75 points or more and the scoring would never be much higher than that going forward. Even this season with the final week getting underway, we have 8 players who have 75 points and the potential for a couple more but that's about it.

What has not changed however for the past couple decades is the importance of having a defenseman who can make a difference at both ends of the ice and that is what today's post is all about. One of the best defenseman of all-time in Al MacInnis and one of the best in today's game with Victor Hedman.

2013-14 Titanium Game Worn Gear Auto Al MacInnis /50

Al MacInnis will always be remembered in my head as a Calgary Flame but I am more than willing to accept him as a St. Louis Blue too since he spent 10 seasons there. Al scored 10 goals or more 19 times which is very impressive and it would have been 20 probably had there not been a lockout shortened season in 94-95. Al is without a doubt one of the biggest reasons the Flames won the Stanley Cup in 1989 and he was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after leading the NHL in postseason scoring with 31 points in just 22 games.

2013-14 Titanium Game Worn Gear Auto Victor Hedman /50

Victor Hedman and the Tampa Bay Lightning made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals last year and fell just short to the Chicago Blackhawks. Even with a healthy Tyler Johnson and co it's hard to say they would have had enough in the tank to take Chicago but it definitely would have been a closer series. During the postseason of 2015, Victor Hedman was a rock and he played some of the best hockey of his career. Statistically, he averaged nearly 24 minutes per game and finished 4th in assists with 13 during the Stanley Cup playoffs. He was also second in +/- with 11 just behind Conn Smythe winner Duncan Keith.

Al MacInnis had one of those careers that most people envy and any rookie starting in the NHL would love to live. Victor is just part way through his and how well it will end only time will tell. At the beginning this year it looked like Tampa could be a force to be reckoned with and for periods of time this season I would say it's true.However in the past couple days it looks like they will be making the attempt at a second straight Stanley Cup Finals without their marquee sniper Steven Stamkos who is out with a blood clot for a period of 1-3 months which could very well mean we have seen the last of him in a Lightning uniform. Thankfully for Lightning fans, Hedman is under contract for one more season before he too will hit the market as a UFA.

08-09 SPX Winning Combos Bobby Hull/Dale Hawerchuk Game Used

Do you ever find a killer card online and find yourself checking out the seller's other items just to see if there was something out there you didn't know you needed until you saw it? Well need is a pretty arbitrary word and I am sure I need more cards about as much as I need a hole in the head (my parent's words not mine) but truth is you never know sometimes until you look. This card was one that I discovered in such a fashion and was able to land it for a couple dollars as a combined purchase.


08-09 SPX Winning Combos Bobby Hull/Dale Hawerchuk Game Used

I think this card is a great idea. Two former Jets who are both members of the Hall of Fame. The best Jet from the WHA days meets the best Jet from the NHL days. If Bobby held on for a few more seasons he could have even played with Dale, how great would that have been? After scorching the WHA for 303 goals and 638 points in just 411 games, Bobby was not the same player he was after the WHA folded and decided to call it quits after one season in the NHL split between the Whalers and Jets.

Dale Hawerchuk is the NHL Jets all-time leader in Goals (379), Points (929), and Power Play Goals (122). He is second in Assists with (550), 3 behind Tomas Steen and second in Game Winning Goals with 29, 2 behind Doug Smail. Dale would eventually get traded and put up some great numbers in Buffalo before making stops in St. Louis and Philadelphia. 

So I am not sure if you are wondering this, but I will pretend you are...Is that actually a Bobby Hull Jets jersey?

Well, lets look at the back, specifically the guarantee. 

I have professed this on a few occasions, I am NOT an English major. In fact, I am not the best writer by a long shot, but I do believe I am reasonably literate and I am going to hope the person making the text on these cards understands the rules of the English language. Based on those assumptions, I am left with the idea that Dale's blue swatch is event worn (Jets Alumni game perhaps) but more importantly Hull's swatch is game worn! Now I could be wrong and they just listed the Game-Used first because its more exciting but I want to think the Hull is actually game worn. 

If you look at his swatch it is definitely an older style jersey piece and would work for the time period in question. My only concern is he played just 18 games for the Jets that season and I am not sure how many jerseys he had for that time period and Hawerchuk swatches are plentiful so why would they use an event used one? 

In the end I have the rules of the English language and appearances supporting Hull Game-Used and I have probability theory supporting Hull Event-Used. I may never know which is right but my heart wants to believe that swatch is Game-Worn so I will go with that for now but of course always welcome your opinions too!

11-12 Prime Seams Incredible Chris Pronger /10

Here is another card I picked up in a trade about a year ago. In that time, Pronger has found himself inducted into the Hall of Fame which makes this card a fun one to own as it represents 1/3 of my HOF collection of him. I also own his rookie so I am just an autograph short of crossing him off my list. 

Pronger is a player who was on my radar pretty much since 1990 since he grew up a few hours west of Thunder Bay in a town I spent lots of time in called Dryden. At his prime there were few defenseman who were as good as him in the league and in 2000 some would say he was the best as he captured that Hart Trophy that season.

11-12 Prime Seams Incredible Chris Pronger /10

A pretty cool card which is only missing an autograph in my opinion. Very happy to land this one in my collection and it represents my only Pronger game used card at the moment.

12-13 The Cup Signature Patches Adam Henrique /99

When it comes to patch autos and patch auto rookies The Cup typically is where you will spend the most money and get the respective player's highest regarded piece of cardboard. Of course this isn't always true but very often it is. Having Adam Henrique as a focus of my collecting means there are plenty of options for patch autos and thankfully that also means the prices are pretty reasonable when the supply is high and the demand is on the lower end.

12-13 The Cup Signature Patches Adam Henrique /99

A nice and clean looking card with a solid and legible signature with number. A sweet looking patch with some red jersey showing and a good design with a subtle but great use of foil. I loved all those things about this card and for some the numbering 01/99 would be a perk but for me I'm pretty indifferent. Landing this card about a year ago for 10 bucks with shipping was a nice perk!! While it's not a rookie, it is a great looking card and one I enjoy pulling out and putting on display from time to time.

Huge Pile of 13-14 UD Game Used including many HOF'ers

I have mentioned in many posts previous how great my LCS is for finding random deals and the owner's dislike of game used cards. They have always tended to be in my favour and this batch I have to show off today are a result of his dislike and eagerness to unload game used cards on the cheap. 13-14 Upper Deck was bought in mass quantities by people in Nova Scotia in the hopes of landing one of their very own...Nathan Mackinnon. As a result lots of boxes were opened and at a rate of 2 per box game used cards found their way into the 3 for $5 bin. Thankfully Upper Deck included many Hall of Fame players and future Hall of Fame player in that release and here are some that I pulled and others than I bought from the 3 for $5 bin.


 Nick Lidstrom

 

Personally I wouldn't call him the best defenseman of my generation because there were so many who I felt were every bit as good, if not better. But there is no arguing with 7 Norris Trophies and 12 All-Star appearances. 

Dale Hawerchuk

 

 We all know I love this guy so I won't go on and on about him. I think his 81 goals in 72 games during his final year of junior to go with 183 points is just amazing.

Ron Francis

Ron is second all-time in assists with 1249. Can't remember who's first but this total is pretty impressive.

Ray Bourque

No player has taken more shots in the NHL than Ray Bourque. He is first with 6206 career shots.

Borje Salming

Only 3 players have been on the ice for more power play goals against than Borje (621). They are Chris Chelios (708), Ray Bourque (687), Mark Messier (683). Not bad company for a relatively unwanted stat.

Doug Wilson

Doug is a 7-time all-star who also won the Norris in 1982. He would score 39 goals and 85 points that season which are both very impressive.

Peter Forsberg

Peter's 1.25 points per game average leaves fans wondering what could have been for his career if not for feet and ankle injuries forcing him to miss time an a relatively early retirement.

Jaromir Jagr

Jagr continues his assault on the record books. 4th all-time in goals and points and rising!

Dino Ciccarelli

Dino was just solid all-around. However, best known for scoring and he finished up with 232 career power play goals which is good for 9th all-time.

Jari Kurri

Jari scored an impressive 39 short handed goals in his career which is good enough for 6th all-time. The leader in that department however scored nearly double that and I think played on the same line as him (Gretzky).

Paul Coffey

Another former Gretzky teammate. Paul is a 3-time Norris Trophy winner who nearly scored 50 goals in a season (48) which is a total I don't believe will ever be touched again.

Joe Mullen

Joe Mullen is a 3-time Cup winner and former leading American born scorer.

Guy Carbonneau

I've heard people argue that he belongs in the Hall of Fame. He is a 3-time Selke and Cup winner, both are pretty impressive.


Justin Faulk

Future superstar defenseman? At the moment in time, he is on pace to score over 30 goals which has only been done twice since 1990. Kevin Hatcher ('93) and Mike Green ('08)
 
Patrick Sharp

Patrick has already won 3 Cups and could find himself on a team this season to win his 4th. He owns a very respectable 10 goals and 22 point in 30 games while taking on a leadership role in Dallas.

Robin Lehner

Ok, not all my jersey cards are amazing. What does the future have in store for Robin in Buffalo. The future will definitely reveal it soon enough and I am guessing good things.

Benedict Kovalchuk

Once upon a time I would have enjoyed this card. Now I just own it and nothing more....

Well there you have it! I pulled a couple of these but for the most part, they were purchased at the LCS in my 3 for $5 bin which is pretty awesome and always being topped up which means I have a few more to share in a future post! If any interest you, please let me know as I could be convinced to part with some.

14-15 Upper Deck Series 1 Group F Eric Lindros Game Jersey

Usually white swatches are lame and unexciting. Not this one though, this one is filthy!

14-15 Upper Deck Eric Lindros Game Jersey

This looks like a pretty solid puck mark that the Big E took to the big torso. Say what you want about jersey cards, I still enjoy them and when you can land them for a $1.50 like I did in the spring for this one, it's all fantastic. Not all my past pick ups are jaw droppers but I couldn't resist a bargain when I saw it so the Big E joined my big collection.

13-14 Artifacts Emerald Brett Connolly Team Canada /8

After a very long and much needed break to begin getting things taken care of I feel that I might be ready to come back and continue sharing my adventures and sharing in those of others. Thank you very much to all those who wrote me and have stayed in contact a variety of different ways including sending along PWEs (yes I am looking in your direction Jeff, thank you very very much).

I plan on easing myself back into this possibly with a post every few days but the truth is I probably will post whenever I feel like it and that will be possibly more frequent! I have loads of new additions and fun things to have shared that have happened to me in the collecting side of things over the past few months.

To kick things off, why not go with 2 of my three collecting loves. Brett Connolly and Team Canada. If only the Devils would make a play for this kid and offer Boston a young defenseman!

13-14 Artifacts Emerald Brett Connolly Team Canada /8

While the emerald foil has never been a love of mine, I think it isn't bad on this card. The patch piece is just fantastic. You may not see it that well but there is gold peaking out in the bottom right portion of the watch. Brett's auto features his number 8 from playing in junior and I am guessing UD used up all his 28 signature stickers on the UD Team Canada set.

This card was one I had been watching for quite a while and when the price creeped down to a reasonable number I threw them an even more reasonable BO and it was accepted! If only a couple others could do the same.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone who's kept checking out my blog and at least allowed the old hit count to grow slightly and those who may have discovered my blog in my absence. I hope to keep you all coming back and thank you for your patience!

Dave

08-09 SPx Winning Materials Hull and Hawerchuk

Normally I write something before the card, but not today. Check out that card. What are your thoughts? Anything surprising? Arguably two of the best players to ever wear the jersey (Selanne is in that discussion too). Swatches are small, but hey, these are two Hall of Famers here! Jersey swatches are different! Can you believe one is game used and the other is event used? Probably, UD loves doing that. But, it turns out the Hull is the game used and Hawerchuk is event used. As it stands, in my Hawerchuk collection, I now have 2 event used and 3 game used Hawerchuk swatches. But more importantly, I have my first game used Hull! Best part, you can't see this on the card but I paid 2 bucks! Never in a million years did I expect to get it but I did. Would you pay that price knowing one is essentially a fake? At the time I didn't know it was a fake but the swatch on the Hull looked very real to me and that is why I pulled the trigger. I know have Bobby Hull autos and a Bobby Hull game used. I do hope to get his rookie some day so I will hold off on the HOF post for now....but that will be a pretty tall order!

Complete Hall of Fame PC - Paul Coffey

Given this size and this scope of this PC. I want to try and formalize how I present it. This is my first attempt and I am hopeful that I get it right the first time and don't have to tinker with it too much. As some of you know, my plan is to get at least 2 out of 3 key cards in a HOF player's career. My plan is to try and own a rookie card, an autographed card and/or a game used card. In some cases a rookie card might be too far out of my reach so I will gladly settle for an auto and a game used. In other cases, an autograph might be nearly impossible so I will have to chase a game used and a rookie. 

With many of the modern players (1980 to present, I will do everything I can to try and go 3 of 3). 

While I have a number of these "done" I am planning on starting from scratch and sharing them in a common format.

What is complete: In the case of Paul Coffey I was able to go 3 for 3.

Card 1: 1981-82 OPC Rookie

This is a card I had for a while, mailed it away to be signed TTM and never saw it again. I was able to buy another to replace it and I just tried to get one in the same condition as the last. Some day I hope to get the set and then maybe get a copy in better shape but for now this is more than fine for me!

Card 2: 2012-13 Artifacts Paul Coffey Auto Black /5

Currently this is my first and only Paul Coffey auto. I do plan on getting his 97-98 BAP one someday since I am working on that set but this is definitely a nice card to have as part of his PC. I am a little sad Upper Deck put a sticker meant for an Oilers card (#7) instead of a Penguins card (#77) but I guess the sticker monkey wasn't too concerned. 

Card 3: 13-14 Upper Deck Game Jersey Paul Coffey

Here is a nice solitary jersey swatch in plain white. It could have been from his Pittsburgh days, at least that is what I am pretending. Just a cool shot of him playing from the 91-92 season which was a Cup winning season if memory serves me right.

Card 4: Bonus! 10-11 ITG Decades 80's For Your Country Silver /30

The only card I actually pack pulled! This one is an Oilers swatch and an old one at that. Love the colour contrast with the other swatches on this one plus the low print run and the multiple HOF'ers. Safe to say this one card will be pulling more than double duty!

Paul's Career:

Paul had a fantastic NHL and International career which made him a shoo-in for the HOF. He has a number of NHL records and I like to think he was my era's Bobby Orr. He didn't change the game for defenseman because Bobby and others already did that but he did dominate his position and that was evident by his career totals, 3 Norris trophies and his many untouchable records for a defenseman. I like to think his 48 goals, 28 game point streak and 8 points in one game are probably records that will stand for a very long time or never be broken. 

Paul appeared in 7 Cup finals and won 4 times all with Edmonton. Paul also represented Canada a number of times as well and won 3 Canada Cups and was on the Silver medal winning World Cup team in 1996. 

Paul was inducted into the HOF in 2004 which I believe was his first ballot. Today Paul is coaching junior hockey in Ontario and running a car dealership. His cards are all relatively low priced and autos usually can be had for under 20 dollars. Game used cards due to the large number out there can be had for well under 10 dollars and his rookie card today books for 50 dollars with high graded ones often receiving a hefty premium. 

My thoughts:

I believe Paul is definitely one of the best offensive defenseman that I have ever seen play and when he was with the Oilers he did a lot of work for the forward and in many ways I like to think as dominant as Gretzky was, Paul did have an impact on the forward's offensive production thanks to his amazing skating and puck moving skills. Same could be true for the converse, Paul also benefitted from an amazing set of forwards. 

Career Regular Season Numbers:

Gm 1409 Goals 396 Assists 1135 Points 1531 Plus/Minus+294


Final Fact:

Currently Paul Coffey sits 5th in all-time playoff scoring with 196 points. The next nearest active player chasing him is Marian Hossa who is nearly 70 points behind.

12-13 ITG Superlative III Glenn Hall Jersey Auto /30

Well this is probably my last post for the year, but don't worry a new one should be a few days away! I do want to end the year on a great note so here is a nice card I added to my collection this year. 

12-13 ITG Superlative III Glenn Hall Jersey Auto /30

This isn't my first card from the set. I added a really nice Tretiak one a year or two ago which made getting this one much easier knowing it would be a quality product. This card gets two points in my HOF project because it features a game used swatch from his Blues days and a very nice on-card auto.  In case you aren't too familiar with Mr Hall, he is without a doubt one of the NHL greats and his consecutive games streak for a goalie will never be broken. Here is a great little bio on him that I would just be ripping off if I tried it myself.

It was a great year for my collection, made new friends and lots more trades. I have a great trade story for you in the new year which was an international one and I look forward to sharing that story! It was a sad year too as Panini lost its NHL rights for one reason or another. While their time was short, they weren't afraid to take chances and some were amazing and other were flops. I hope Upper Deck uses this to help inform them in the future for their releases because even though they have exclusive rights, we as collectors decide if we want to buy the product or not! I am curious to see what is coming out in the new year, I still haven't seen a product that speaks to me yet but I am hopeful for 2015. ITG will always be there I hope and at the very least we can see products like Superlative out there putting a tiny bit of pressure on UD to hold high standards and not get lazy!

I wish everyone out there a fantastic 2015 and I hope to have a chance to meet many of you someday!

14-15 Upper Deck Team Canada Juniors John Quenneville Patch Auto /199

Well it is that time of year again and as much as I love Christmas, I nearly equally love the WJHC! Sadly one of our top prospects didn't get an invite to join the team, but that doesn't mean he won't get some love here!

John Quenneville, yes he is related to THAT guy and former Devil Joel Quenneville who is apparently a cousin!

14-15 Upper Deck Team Canada Juniors John Quenneville Patch Auto /199

Not entirely sure why this is a "patch" but I suspect maybe at the U18 tournament they used jerseys that were not patched but rather sublimated. I am really sure either way, but fact is he is a kid of the future and this was a nice add to my collection! The auto is stickered but UD did a great job there and the swatch is at least 2 coloured but I suspect there might be some better swatches on the market. I am curious to see what happens with John but early reports is he could be as good as Adam Henrique which as many of you know is a PC of mine and I would be very fine with those predictions!

13-14 National Treasure Jaromir Jagr Jumbo Booklet Prime /25

Please excuse me and my behaviour for the past couple of months. You see besides my hand issues which hopefully are going to be corrected via surgery in the next month or so (fingers crossed as I am just waiting for OR time), I also got a new to me computer and I just haven't had time to hook up the scanner. Well now that it is break time I did find the time to hook things up so please expect more and more posts!

I assure you I am not growing tired of this blog or have anything better going on in my life. The hobby is still a passion and a large one at that. I have added tonnes of cards recently via trades etc. so I have plenty to share!

Here is one I have added thanks to my interactions on Hobby Insider!

13-14 National Treasure Jaromir Jagr Jumbo Booklet Prime /25

Please feel free to judge this book by its cover! This is my first booklet card and while they are annoying to store (still waiting on a one touch holder to arrive at my LCS) it is beautiful on the outside. The foil shines and the back has some pretty good information. It is numbered to just 25 copies which is pretty great too!

What is on the inside is just amazing! Devils game used jersey with a puck mark on it. The jersey is HUGE and well positioned! The Jagr photo is also pretty nice and you can just imagine him in the moment of concentration and he is about to explode up the ice. The only thing this card is missing is a beautiful Jagr signature! Of course this isn't signed and likely would have been out of my reach had it been signed too. So while it is but a mere game used card, there are so many elements I love about it, to me it is about the best it can get!

Another HOF sub-toonie treasure.

My loot package needs to wait a bit longer since I have had no time to scan all the cards and I really want to do that post properly. At the same time, I don't want my blog to get stagnant  like it did in the summer. 

Who doesn't love Lucky Luc? Ok, there might be a few people but I am not one of them. I have his rookie and his auto and now his game used card. So another HOF Trifecta in the books. While it isn't my intention of doing that with every player I will try when the opportunity presents itself like this one. 

White swatch and high print run are keys to low prices. I will make a post in the future featuring the trio of cards together but in the meantime, here is the third piece.

2012/13 SPx Jake Allen Autographed Rookie Jerseys /175

Part of keeping the hobby always fresh and fun is player prospecting. I love it when you can trade for, or buy a rookie really early before their careers bloom and then you find yourself owning a significant piece of cardboard a few years later. 

Many hockey writers are projecting that Jake Allen is going to have a break out year this season. You can't help but think the Blues are believing the same thing because they let Ryan Miller go after trading a small portion of the farm to get him late last year. Clearly the Blues feel between Brian Elliot and Jake Allen they have all the goaltending they require. 

Jake is a pretty good goalie thus far into his career with the highlight to this point likely being his silver medal at the World Juniors or being named CHL goalie of the year in 2010.  

2012/13 SPx Jake Allen Autographed Rookie Jerseys /175

Here is his SPx rookie in all its glory. While he has already had some fan fare at the NHL level (All-Rookie Team), I think the best is yet to come so if you are into prospecting yourself, now might be the time to grab yourself one of his rookies because by the end of this season I wouldn't be surprised if they will cost you twice as much as they do now in money or trade!

The Future Is Now - Jon Merrill

When you have been a fan of a sports team for over 25 years you are bound to see ups and downs. When I became a Devils fans there was one season of hope followed by a few miserable seasons. In fact from 88-93 were all pretty rough. There was hope, but mostly rough. Then from 94-2004 it was pretty amazing. Three Cups and four appearances in the finals. The last 10 years have had their ups and downs but currently we are trying to re-tool on the fly and some ways I think we have made great progress and others we haven't. I feel we have one or two too many 35+ players on the team but our youth are amazing and players you would want to build a franchise around. For example, the troubled Jon Merrill.

Jon was considered a first round draft pick and had the talent to back that up. However, he also had some rough edges and personal baggage of which I don't know what they were. But Lou felt he was totally worth the gamble when his name was still on the board in the second round so the Devils grabbed him with their first pick in 2010 (38th overall). We didn't have our first round pick that year due to being part of the Kovalchuk trade but it is worth noting that the pick the Devils had turned out to be Kevin Hayes. 

So far, what we have seen in New Jersey has been nothing short of excellent. He has contributed a bit offensively (11 points in 52) games but what he has done without the puck has been superb. He definitely plays like a player with a couple of years of experience and I know he will become more rounded and I expect big things from him. For Devils fans, he could be the next Bruce Driver or Paul Martin (when he was good with the Devils).

 13-14 Rookie Anthology Jon Merrill Auto Rookie /249

I am slowly trying to get some more new Devils into my collection and this is my first of a couple Merrills. I got this online in the spring for a mere 3.00 plus shipping and I really like the design and was very pleased with that steal of a deal. In the end his cards aren't going to make anyone rich but I know he will have a strong fan base and hopefully help the Devils re-tool back to the glory days.

05-06 ITG Ultimate Memorabilia - Double Auto/Memorabilia - Steve Yzerman/Ted Lindsay /34

I am going to try and get caught up on some posts for my blog as well as some of the others ones I write on in the coming month. With that being said, I have a small week long vacation with the family coming up this weekend so I guess there will be a little gap before I really get going so here are a couple posts on cards I picked up in the last couple months.

First off is an auto I gave up in trade and worked on replacing. My old Stevie Y was from the 09-10 UD Ice Set which was a very nice on card glacial graph. However, I wanted to try and get another because the first one I had I really liked and I felt I might luck into a deal if I didn't mind stickers or ITG.

Well, I managed to spend less on this than I did the last. I also managed to get much for my money, check it out!

05-06 ITG Ultimate Memorabilia - Double Auto/Memorabilia - Steve Yzerman/Ted Lindsay /34

Two HOF'ers for the price of one. Included are game worn swatches from Terrible Ted and Stevie Wonder. I love the bulging piece of "Sweater" you get with Ted Lindsay and the dreaded white swatch from Steve Yzerman actually looks really nice on this card. I was able to land it for less than what I paid for my original and while it has two sticker autos, I really don't card because everything else about this card including scarcity is amazing.

Here is a close up of the card. I sometimes am tempted to crack it out if its coffin but I know that will ruin some value if I ever decide to try and flip it so for the meantime it will stay safe in its case. So with this card I now have a swatch, auto and rookie(s) of Steve Yzerman completing the trifecta of him and I have two of three for Ted Lindsay with the most important rookie missing still.  

13/14 Heroes and Prospects Christopher Gibson - Jersey Black

ITG really gets little to no respect. Sure they don't have a license, but they more than make up for it with great ideas, solid design and super generous swatches. You can fit like 6 UD swatches in this window or just 1 ITG. The seam is bulging out of the card. I bought this with my Brett Connolly Social Sig and the cost was 99 cents.

13/14 Heroes and Prospects Christopher Gibson - Jersey Black

While this card isn't very limited 160 copies, I am at least aware of the print run. UD and Panini print runs are always many times larger than that with their products in this price point.

I don't know if Chris Gibson will ever become an NHL goalie, but I do know for 99 cents I am able to have a great piece of his past and an interest in his future!