Tretiak Pads and Stick

Vladislav Tretiak has been a hero of mine ever since I read his book Tretiak The Legend. While I never had the chance to see him play live and his playing days were long over before I started watching hockey, I still to this day wonder how well he would have fared in the NHL during his prime. During his career he is the most successful international goaltender of all-time with 3 Olympic Gold Medals, 10 World Championship Gold Medals and 1 Canada Cup.  With that being said, there is no denying he had a great team in front of him for all of those wins and even many of their losses but fact of the matter is there is no doubt in my mind he is truly an amazing athlete and a hockey genius who has impacted the lives of many players including another favourite Ed Belfour.

My collection never reflected my passion for Tretiak and in the past couple years I have been fortunate to acquire a few more relics to my collection. Here are two that I haven't shared as of yet and are among my collection favourites!


08-09 ITG Between the Pads Super Sized Pads Vladislav Tretiak V-1of1

This amazing piece was released as part of the Final Vault and is perhaps one of the finest relic cards I have ever seen or owned. Having had a chance to touch his goal pads and feel the leather and history is truly fun in itself but to own it is even better. While I feel confident to say this likely isn't from his '72 Series Goalie Pads, there is at least a strong chance the pads were worn during a championship run which in itself is just fantastic.


14-15 Leaf Stickwork Game Used Goalie Paddle Vladislav Tretiak /40

My second piece I am sharing is a piece of his goal stick which does include some portion of the brand name. Tretiak used primarily two types of goal sticks during his career they were Montreal and Koho both of which were brown sticks with black writing so I don't really have any way of guessing which one of the two this might have come from but I at least can be sure the stick type was correct for the card.

That's all for today's post, I now have a PC of 4 Tretiak cards plus a few from the '72 Summit Series set that was released in the early 90's. I hope to someday maybe try and track down some of his rare and obscure cards but for now these are amazing enough for this collector. Thanks for stopping by!

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!

11-12 Crown Royale Ryan Ellis Rookie Silhouettes Auto /99

The second one I grabbed with my money from the aforementioned sale was another Crown Royale auto rookie of a defenseman but this time it's one of my PC guys, Ryan Ellis. 


11-12 Crown Royale Ryan Ellis Rookie Silhouettes Auto /99

 

Here is another example of Crown Royale's Rookie Silhouettes and I think it's a beauty. What had happened was I wanted to use the money to help my PC of Ryan Ellis and when I saw this card I wondered if the seller had any other cool cards and the Gudbranson was an addition to my order. In the end I was super pleased with both cards and the Ellis is by far the centerpiece of the order. 

For those who are wondering, Ryan Ellis has made some excellent strides this past season hitting career highs in goals (10), assists, (22) and points (32). It is this consistency that in some ways made Seth Jones expendable and helped bring in some much needed scoring up front and Nashville looks to be a serious contender this post-season!

#UDRAK - Upper Deck Random Act of Kindness

Ok...round 2....FIGHT! Seriously let's try this again but rather than share what I did last time let's just get to the facts. I was lucky enough to receive a package from Upper Deck as a Random Act of Kindness (#UDRAK) after my BFAM Tom had nominated me and I was selected. 

The package was AMAZING and came during a day that wasn't going so good for me and really made my day and month for that matter! Here is what was inside:

New Additions for my Adam Henrique PC

11-12 SP Authentic Rookie HoloFX. This card is very cool in person and was missing from my PC. Doesn't scan the best but trust me when I say it looks very very cool.

14-15 Upper Deck Game Jersey. Another one that was missing from my PC and as with all Game Jersey cards is very welcomed in my home.

14-15 Artifacts Tundra Tandems. The future of the Devils on a single card, I say "Nice"!

11-12 SP Authentic Future Watch. This on card auto rookie is my favourite of the bunch and happened to be needed for my PC so once again thank you Upper Deck for selecting 4 well needed cards!

In addition to the Henrique Cards I also received two more surprise cards and two boxes of Upper Deck Dinosaurs!!! Here are the results of those two boxes.

Patch Cards

Is this the Connor McDavid of the Dino World? This dino was very similar to the Ankylosaurus except it didn't have a clubbed tail and its spike were far more pronounced.

This card sparked a question: "Who is the best NHLer from Utah?" Turns out there have been only 4 to come from that state and the best by far is Steve Konowalchuk.


3-D Cards

As I mentioned in my box review of Upper Deck Dinosaurs the 3-D cards are among my favourites of the product and I was able to pull this Arrhinoceratops as one of my 8.

Here is a 3-D card of a dinosaur most probably know about, the good old Iguanodon.

Here is my second triceratops, I was able to pull one in my first box too.

Here is another example of a dinosaur I have never heard of before pulling this 3-D Mussaurus.

Giraffatitan as I am sure you could guess was tall! This particular dinosaur could grow to as much as 74 feet in length (22.5 meters).

Ahh the Dilophosaurus! This was a pretty cool dinosaur in the original Jurassic Park movie and could be best remembered for spitting on Newman. I originally embedded the clip like I have had so many others and given it didn't turn out well I am going to skip it this time and leave it up to you to find!

What is considered the largest land animal that has ever lived, the Argentinosaurus has been estimated to be 130 ft long and 150 000 lbs.  That carnivore looks frightened to say the least.

Artist Signature

I was able to land my second Benito Gallego auto and this time it is on his drawing of a Quetzalcoatlus which is pretty sweet!

Predators of the Sea

In three boxes I have opened in total, I pulled one of these and they are without a doubt a great looking card. They have a shadowbox feel to them and they are a well made card which both my oldest and I were really happy to have found.

1/1 Sketch Cards

My first was a Kronosaurus and like my last box I feel I really lucked out with an awesome sketch card. This is also my second sketch by this artist (Eric Van Elslande) which speaks to his talent as far as my eyes go.

Here is the backside of the card.

My second one is a Quetzalcoatlus which made an appearance earlier in this post as an artist signatures card. This sketch is different than the previous two both in terms of artist and style as this one feels slightly different in comparison to the previous two. However I still very much like this one as well and plan on keeping all three instead of trading them.

On the back side we see a signature but at this moment I haven't been able to determine which artist made this sketch but I will keep at it until I figure it out! Check back for an update/edit on this one.

That was it for my two boxes but that wasn't all in the package from Upper Deck...Upper Deck had one last huge surprise for me and I have indeed saved the BEST for LAST!!

08-09 Upper Deck Champs Fossils and Artifacts Woolly Mammoth Femur x 2

Yeah!!! That's a fossil in a card and I was so very very fortunately to receive two of them! The boys and I were in awe of this piece of history. The next part is you can actually see the texture from inside the bone where the marrow would have been.

Here is the second one, each piece as unique as a finger print.

The best part is the back which explains to you about the Woolly Mammoth and where the fossil was recovered which just adds to the coolness of these cards. It's almost (but better) than getting a jersey card and knowing exactly when it was worn. I bought many packs of 08-09 Champs just hoping to land a redemption of a fossil card and even bid on a number of them on eBay as well with no success. I think when you consider all that with the sheer coolness of these cards speaks to how much they mean to me and is a huge cherry on top of an amazing treat.

So that was my UDRAK package and I can't thank both Upper Deck and Tom enough for the kindness they have shown me in terms of nominating me and then blowing me away with the awesome contents of that package. I hope you enjoyed this post at least a tiny fraction as much as I loved receiving it. Thank you Upper Deck and Chris Carlin for the kindness you have shown me, and I hope to pay it forward in the coming months and years. 

11-12 Upper Deck The Cup Brett Connolly Rookie Gear Booklet /25

There are some cards you just don't appreciate until they are in your hands and I believe this one falls in that category. I really haven't been looking for this card at all but when searching for Brett Connolly patches I noticed a dealer selling several BC The Cup Rookies and inserts and there were two of these booklets for sale. Sadly they ALL ended within a second of one another so I had to make my choice and go hard for it. In the end, I am pleased with the outcome and landed a whale!


11-12 Upper Deck The Cup Brett Connolly Rookie Gear Booklet /25

Here is the outside of the booklet. 25/25 and all the promises of swatches inside....

Here is the inside!!

I want to go on the record by saying I am not a huge fan of booklet cards and am almost angry each time I have to shell out 10 bucks for a one touch to hold the card but this is one massive exception. The left side is neat with a huge signature which is a good thing for Brett because his auto is pretty simplistic (even more so since he started in the NHL) and it's size brings out more details. The right side is pure gold. Patches, jerseys and straps are already in my collection but, seeing all three together is pretty cool and the patch features a few breaks and even some silver. But the best part and the reason why I went for this one instead of the other booklet is the laundry tag. I believe it speaks for itself and it is telling me Mr. Connolly is either a size 50 or 52. Like himself, this jersey was made in Canada. Just awesome.

So the big question is do I chase all his rookies now that I have come this far....perhaps I should. But I will just need to figure out what is exactly out there before I tackle that type of mission but in the meantime, my collection grows still!

11-12 Dominion Mammoth - Adam Henrique (Player Worn) /50

There are some cards out there that are part of my PC but I really don't care if I ever land them. This card is a prime example. While Panini did some pretty bad things (Pinnacle anyone?), Dominion was one of my favourite products. But with that being said, the Mammoth inserts were pretty much ho-hum in my opinion and for really only one reason. There is no blue in the Devils jerseys....ever! I suspect I am now a proud owner of a Panini jersey swatch! I have seen a few photos and patches from that said jersey and it really is the only thing that makes sense here. So the question is, do I really want to own a piece of a jersey that is about as fake as they get? The answer is pretty much no.

With that being said, I made a twitter trade a while back which featured a load of cards and this one was in there so I am guessing I care about it more than a Henrique base card but that is primarily because it at least has a low print run and is a rookie year card.


11-12 Dominion Mammoth - Adam Henrique (Player Worn) /50

What I do like about the card is the photo, NHLPA symbol and the large swatch size. I really just dislike the swatch. If that was a nice Devils jersey, this card would have been a winner for me. Instead, it is another for the pile and one I will probably not display on a regular basis.

Fin Finds - 13-14 UD Series 1 Marc Staal Game Used Patch /15

My LCS seems to have little respect for GU cards with many living in the 3 for 5 bin or are labelled with unbelievably awesome prices. That is the case with this card.

Marc and I are from the same part of the world with both of us having been born on the Fort William side of Thunder Bay.

13-14 UD Series 1 Marc Staal Game Used Patch /15

Being a collector who has busted countless packs of UD's base set I can attest these patch cards are nearly impossible to pull. Since getting back into the hobby in 2007, I probably have busted over a case or two of this stuff and while the is a small number to some, that is still a pretty significant number of boxes. In that time, I have pulled loads of game used cards, countless Young Guns and even more inserts. I however have only managed to pull 1 patch card and 1 autograph card. The patch card was a pretty epic experience and it is a card that probably has diminished a fair bit in value due to saturation but is still a card I cherish a fair bit. The autograph was of Ryan Potulny and I certainly don't hold it in the same light!

Landing a fellow Thunder Bay boy in patch form with a really low print run is a nice deal if you ask me, what sweetens it is the fact it cost a fin! Yep 5 bucks for a card that if I spent 4 bucks on a pack and pulled I would have danced a jig. Hmm, am I finished with packs for good now?

2011/12 Dominion Adam Henrique Patch Auto Rookie /99 - Another captured whale

It seems sometimes when I get a bit of steam going on this blog, something comes up and derails it. Sadly its been a while since my last post so I decided to get it back on track with a big landing! Adam Henrique is my number 2 PC these days and I am starting to try and treat it and him like my 1B PC. What would be better than to land what I believe to be his nicest rookie! 

2011/12 Dominion Adam Henrique Patch Auto Rookie /99

 

With all due respect to The Cup, I am a bigger fan on the design Panini used this particular season and just for comparison sakes, here is my The Cup version of Adam:

 

 Now, everyone has their own preference and opinion, but I like the larger swatch and design the Dominion card better than The Cup and the numbering to /99 gives it a more premium feel (on the inside). With the being said, I do like that the back of The Cup does have stats but the write ups on the Dominion set aren't too shabby either. I believe the fronts carry enough to make up for The Cup having the better back. 

So being limited to 99 means landing this card was a little tougher but time and patience always pays off and I was able to get it with limited damage to my collection which is always fantastic!

12/13 SP Game Used Stanley Cup Finals Materials - Adam Henrique Net Skirt Auto

About a year ago I landed this card in honour of my team losing in the Stanley Cup finals. While I landed it just to have a piece of the finals, I really didn't care who was on it. My plan was just to have a piece of the finals because a Gretzky one or a Fayne one was all from the same net. However, there are also much more rare Net Skirt cards which have autos and those are much more player specific if you ask me. After all, their auto is on the card and that personalizes it much more than a pic. I found this one at random a while back and bought it for a song and a dance.

Pretty sharp card if you ask me with a shot from the Stanley Cup Finals which just adds to the coolness. The auto is his typical one but includes his number 14 which is something Adam doesn't always do. One negative however, is the skirt wasn't prepped properly so the auto is a little faded but in the end it doesn't matter that much to me and the fading is likely why it was a steal. But the key thing I wanted was another piece of a Stanley Cup finals net and I have that with a PC auto on it so that is all amazing if you ask me!

Brett Connolly's Team Canada Fight Strap /15

Most game used collectors out there will tell you plain white is the lowest of the low when it comes to game used. White jersey and white patches often sell for the cheapest and are far inferior to their multicoloured siblings. What about fight straps? They are white, make up the least on the jersey with the exception of tags...in or out on them?

12/13 SP Game Used Team Canada Fabrics Brett Connolly Fight Strap /15

I paid so little for this one I just had to have it. But, if it were a big name star, would it be desirable? Would you rather a Gretzky Strap, Gretzky Swatch or Gretzky Patch?

Either way, more fun for my PC.

13/14 Upper Deck Team Canada Brett Connolly Auto

When Upper Deck released their Team Canada set this season I was pretty excited. Sadly, I haven't done much more than purchase a pack or two. I guess I am torn on value. Is it worth buying a box or two? Or should I just buy a complete base set for under 10 dollars and a couple hits and still be better off? True I miss out on a chance to get a big hit. But then again, I am likely not going to hit it big anyway. Tough call, in the meantime...Here's Brett! 

13/14 Upper Deck Team Canada Signatures Brett Connolly

 Check out this picture! Upper Deck did use this one before as part of his Artifacts Team Canada card. Don't believe me, check it out.

Now wouldn't this card and my Team Canada one above look much nicer with the auto from yesterday's post? I think so! Why doesn't Upper Deck manage to plan their stickers better? They are paying players directly or indirectly to sign, you think they would make a request to try and match them up with the right picture. It is minor details like this I would concentrate on if I owned my own card company.

Here is the back side of the card. Again, wish we had some stats back here. Maybe a blurb about his performance for Team Canada in the U17 or U18 tournament. Or talk about his two medal winning performances at the WJHC in 2011 and 2012. Instead, more Richard P McWilliam.

11/12 Artifacts Brett Connolly Auto Rookie Redemption /99

The Connolly Craziness continues. I used some Paypal sales money a while back and landed this beauty. This card is a case hit and I was fortunate enough last year to land a case hit in Brendan Gallagher but when I saw what they were selling for, I unloaded my fast and got more than the value of the box for mine. Lucky for me because Brett has been brought along slowly, many collectors are bailing on him as a prospect and I was able to land the 5th best prospect according to Upper Deck in 11/12 for a little more than the cost of a pack of 11/12 Artifacts! Crazy I know!  

11/12 Artifacts Brett Connolly Auto Rookie Redemption /99 

In person this is a superb looking card. There is dimpling and foil all over this card it is superb. The big reason for my interest is actually the autograph. I have one from junior and NHL with the number 8. I have some with his number 14 and now I finally have one with 28. He wore 8 in junior but some of his NHL cards have them because he signed stickers at the beginning of the season before he was assigned 14. He also signed some stickers while he was in the AHL were he wears the number 28. He also wore 28 at the WJHC which makes this sticker choice odd for this card...more in my next post.

Here is the back of the card showing he was number V in a set of XVI (16). The prospects were ranked by Upper Deck based on desirability (my guess) and that is why Mr. Connolly is number V on the card and number II in my heart. Adam Larsson is the only Devil from the set for some reason, even though Adam Henrique had the better season.

There you have it, my super collection is a little more super. More in the next post!

More thanks to Sebastian from Hell's Valuable Collectibles

For the regular readers you may remember this trade I posted a little while back between myself and Sebastian from Hell's Valuable Collectibles. Well, he sent me a message after he received my goods and told me more might be on their way. Well sure enough not long after a second package arrived with more surprises.

13-14 OPC Adam Henrique

 I don't have this and I am sure glad I do now. The design is pretty nice and based off this card I might have to try and track down the set some day.

13-14 Score Adam Henrique

 This card is another I didn't have in my collection. It does feature an amazing moment in Devils history when Adam Henrique scored the OT winner to knock off the Rangers and send the Devils to the 2012 Cup Finals.

11-12 Victory

Surprisingly enough, didn't have this one either. A trifecta of cool is topped off by this Victory Rookie. Now Sebastian didn't stop there, there was a fourth card which was the Score rookie base of Adam Henrique. I did already have one in my set, but it was nice to have a second that I can display when I want and not take it out of the binder its in.

So thanks again Sebastian for the excellent trade and I will keep an eye out for stuff you may be interested in, in the future!

11-12 The Cup Brett Connolly Gold /25

Ok, I think its official! I must have more Brett Connolly cards than his own mother. I was never much of an obsessive PC collector but in the last two years I have done a pretty good job of circling the market on BC cards and Henrique (since Clarkson departed for Toronto and forgot his game in NJ). 

This recent addition is one that doesn't have any auto or game used involved with it. Instead it is a lowly gold parallel of the monster set The Cup. Despite its short comings, it is actually a really nice looking card with a shiny rainbow-gold foil that really catches your eye. The low print run does add to my personal appeal but in all I really like the design and photo on the front. 

11-12 The Cup Brett Connolly Gold /25

Brett might be wearing Silver in this photo, but I assure you its ALL Gold!

Here is the back side. I really like the back, lots of the things I do look for in a hockey card are all here. Strangely I was expecting the UD hologram on the back to be gold as well (which they use in high end stuff) but for some reason it is silver. Were they worried about clashing? Even the "core" of the card is gold/yellow instead of the usual white which seems really neat and weird all at once. But I somehow can't shake the fact I think I have seen this back before...oh wait:

I had seen something similar. 

Well there you have it, an I finished yet? Buying yes. Trading? Well if something fun comes along I will probably trade more than book value for it because I dig this guy. But in the meantime, I guess my super collection just got more super. 

Who's your daddy? Henrique is pwning many NHL goalies at the moment.

 With nine goals his last 6 games, Adam Henrique has been on fire. See photo below for what that might look like.

11-12 Score Hot Rookies Auto Adam Henrique

With 9 goals and 2 assists since the Olympic break, Adam Henrique has been playing the best hockey of his NHL career. 11 points in 6 games has helped the Devils stay competitive at a time when the team hasn't been playing the best defensive hockey. I got these two cards in a trade with Sebastian from Hell's Valuable Collectibles. During one of his posts he made mention of the card below and the card above. I decided that I would try and make an offer he couldn't refuse for the card above and he was kind enough to accept and send along BOTH cards. A great deal for all involved I assure you.

13-14 Upper Deck Series 1 Game Jersey - Adam Henrique

While my collection is loaded with Henrique autos and memorabilia. I actually didn't have of his stuff that was actually "game worn". Too much player or event worn but nothing legit so Sebastian helped me out there by sending along this card too. He also included a 13-14 Score Henrique base card which I didn't have as well so many thanks go out to Sebastian and I look forward to our next trade as well. 

*Late note, no sooner do I hit publish and I get a message that Adam Henrique was this week's third star. Last week he was second star so this young man appears to have shaken off last year's sophomore slump and turned around a slow start this season.

10-11 ITG Heroes and Prospects Number Black Brett Connolly /6

I have loads of Brett Connolly NHL stuff and very little from his junior days. Given he was a solid prospect during his time in the WHL, ITG has a few things out there from his time with the Prince George Cougars. A while back I was bidding on two, lost the one and landed one. This is a pretty cool one if you ask me and another good addition to my BC PC.

10-11 ITG Heroes and Prospects Number Black Brett Connolly /6

 Great swatch from the back of his jersey back when he wore number 8. You can see a little white of the jersey and then three solid colours which are Red, White and Black. Not sure why the red in the card came out a little salmon like but still a nice swatch nonetheless.

Here's the back, again my pet peeve is with a low print run of six, why not number them? If not by factory, then by hand? Still, as long as ITG keeps their website going I can prove it is numbered out of 6 but if the internet ever shuts down when the Machines decide to rise up then I am screwed with a nice looking card.

Good news for me is Brett is set to be an RFA after this season so hopefully if TB isn't going to use him for good then they will trade him somewhere so he can get a legit shot or at the very least get signed to an offer sheet elsewhere and choose his own destination.