Saturday, August 31, 2013

Minor PC Addition and some Preds

So with the sale of my damaged David Clarkson The Cup Gold I was able to buy the Henrique /99 from the previous post and this following lot. I had offered the selling half his asking price and he took it. I suspect because I was buying multiple lots from the guy he was very giving on his end. 


11-12 Ryan Ellis Certified Rookie /299
 Ryan Ellis is a bit of a minor PC for me. I loved this kid in Junior and even though he is trapped in Nashville I am still a fan and hope someday the Devils might be able to steal him away. He is an amazing offensive defenseman and I don't doubt he will be playing for Team Canada again someday too. Love the guy and the set, this card was a no-brainer.

11-12 UD Ice Ryan Ellis Rookie /1999
As I mentioned before, I dislike what UD did with the ICE brand pretty much putting no effort into the cards. But at the same time they do hold a nice "value" to them and getting an Ellis is an added bonus. My whole reason for the lot was the first card. Every other card in this lot was free so I don't mind getting this one for nothing.

11-12 Crown Royale Gabriel Bourque Rookie
 11 goals in 34 games last season does give me hope he will be an everyday NHL player, but I doubt he will put up many more than Phil Bourque's 22 goals in a season.

11-12 Panini Contenders Jeremy Smith Rookie /999
 Jeremy Smith is definitely facing an uphill battle with Nashville having Rinne already between the pipes. However, he has been a very good goalie at the AHL level and may someday find a new home as an UFA and get a legit NHL shot. Still waiting for his first NHL start in the meantime.

11-12 Crown Royale Roman Josi Auto Rookie
 This might be the diamond in the rough as far as the lot goes. Nashville seems to have no problem nabbing amazing defenseman and Josi is another example. Roman just signed a 7 year extension with the Preds and some are hailing it as a pretty great deal. He may never be a Norris candidate or a HOF'er but he will be a very solid top 4 defenseman on pretty much any club in the league.

11-12 Crown Royale - Jeremy Smith Rookie
We have seen Jeremy before, now it looks like I am becoming a super collector of his. (Not really, if you want one let me know I will gladly trade one away).

So two Ellis', a Roman Josi and a few others all for 8 dollars. I call that a successful purchase!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Some good news out of Devils land

In what I would call one of the strangest summers in Devils history, I finally received some news that I felt was post worthy as it plays a huge factor in my collection as well. As many of you know, I am a Devils fan during both good times and bad and seeing two of my favourite players take off (Clarkson and Kovy) has made the summer a little tougher. I have tried to turn this into a positive and I have had huge success online selling some of my Clarkson cards. To date, I move both my The Cup Rookies as well as my Game Used Spectrum which has allowed me some serious online spending. I am going to celebrate my sales and my team's recent signing in the next several posts. Here are some of the loot that I have landed thanks to my eBay sales!

I also want to point out that Adam Henrique will be a PC of mine as he will be a Devil for 6 more seasons and given he has scored more important goals than many players in Devils history this clutch kid is a no-brainer for me to collect seriously.


11/12 Rookie Anthology Rookie Treasures Adam Henrique /99
Here is my first huge landing in the Henrique world. This is without a doubt one of his finer and more valuable rookies and it is pretty cool that it is numbered 66/99. I love the two colour seam piece with a standard black swatch below. Too bad it isn't including his number 14 in the auto but I guess that is because he signed a huge sheet of stickers early in the NHL season.


11-12 Certified Adam Henrique Rookie /499
One of my favourite products released in 2011-12 was Panini Certified and their rookies are some of the nicest cards in my opinion. A great large swatch with foil board and an auto. I actually landed two of these cards but one of the sellers contacted me and basically said you won it for too cheap so I am selling it to a friend. A true shame because it was a pretty awesome black swatch which I thought would look awesome with the red one in my collection. At least one of my sellers was honest and sent me the one you see above. Adam's sophomore slump and wrist injury have brought many of his rookies down in value and made collecting him a bit more affordable so I am hoping to scoop up low and enjoy them as he gets back to his rookie year form.

So here is the first a few posts based on my eBay sales, stay tuned for some good vintage and another PC lot pickup. 

Sunday, August 25, 2013

09-10 SPX Winning Combos Modano and Ciccarelli - This is what Game Used should look like

When it comes to game used cards I have seen some pretty great ones and some pretty sad ones. However, on the surface some might classify this card as being pretty sad, but I see a gem!

09-10 SPX Winning Combos Modano and Ciccarelli
What do I love about this card? Lets start with the swatches. Sure plain white swatches could be a drag, but I like the white/cream combo big time. Dino was a North Star during the 80's and this swatch makes me believe that it was from a uniform during that time period. Meanwhile, Modano had only 2 games of overlap with Dino and that was as a call-up in the 88-89 playoffs which means I have no problem with his swatch being white as he was a more recent member of the team.

Now lets move on to the photography. Both feature excellent North Stars photos which just adds to the coolness of this because Mike only spent 4 seasons with the North Stars and is best remembered as a Dallas Star where they relocated to in 1993. So both of these photos are the players very early in their careers and both feature the slick North Stars away jerseys but have some white on them as well which again can help the owner of the card believe that the photo and swatch go together.

The last thing I like about this card is the player choices. Sure these two weren't exactly line-mates having only played 2 games together but when you think Minnesota North Stars, I have three players that come to my mind. Modano, Ciccarelli and Broten. So here are two of the more iconic North Stars together and both are HOF'ers, Mike having scored 541 career goals and Dino having scored 608 career goals.

So there you have it, a card that could easily find its way into a dollar bin somewhere has a fan out there who thinks that UD got it right this time and made a great piece of art. Unlike that frankencard that I have of Dino Ciccarelli where he is pictured in a North Stars uniform and there is an ugly red swatch on the card, in my opinion that is how game used cards shouldn't be made!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

12-13 BTP Glen Hanlon Auto

One of my favourite local dealers had a few things back on eBay a little while back that I ended up snagging for peanuts. Here is the first of a couple cards:


12-13 ITG BTP Decades 80's Glen Hanlon Auto 
I love the Decades theme and the Decades 90's is coming out soon and I need to decide if I am in or out. This is a pretty sweet auto and a nice card design overall. To ME personally, Glen will always be a Red Wing in my head because that is where my last memory of him was. However, he did play some significant time with the Canucks and Rangers as well. This photo looks like it is from his Rangers days where he posted one of his best NHL seasons going 28-14-4 in 1983-84. Glen was an amazing Junior hockey goalie who was a victim of some pretty bad timing playing for a few clubs during some tough years. Don't get me wrong, it isn't like he was the next Grant Fuhr, but I think with a better roll of the dice he showed the same potential as Bryan Hayward or Mike Vernon.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

08-09 SPX Patric Hornqvist Auto Rookie

I have had some success on eBay and sold a couple items and I have some purchases based on those sales to share very soon, really just need the time as they have already arrived. Here is another auto rookie pick up in the meantime:

08-09 SPX Patric Hornqvist Auto Rookie
Here is a gem I found that Nashville actually drafted with their last pick in the 2005 Entry Draft. I am not sure if Hornqvist is the best every player picked last overall in a draft but he must be close if he isn't! Only four players selected in the first round have more career goals than he does and Nashville has him locked up for another 5 years and I hope he continues to grown put up his customary 25+ goals a season.

I think I like him so much because he is a quiet player that just goes about his business and doesn't need to cause a scene. I also really like the fact the it goes to show anyone can be a superstar and it isn't just limited to first round picks!

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Serendipitous Birthday Gift

When it comes to collecting, I have had some good luck and I have had some bad luck. I don't think you can collect for as long as I have without experiencing both. But I have also had some jaw dropping moments that I cannot classify as being anything other than a serendipitous event. I love that word and it is pretty fun to say too. Basically I am talking about getting good fortune by total accident. The first of a couple cases I am going to share just happened in the last month for my birthday:

My wife who I have mentioned before got me back into collecting cards I think is slowly starting to regret her early support as she now refused to buy me cards for birthdays and Christmas. However, she will still occasionally bribe me with cards and she did splurge and spend 4 dollars on two PressTine repack boxes. A few bloggers have shown them before and basically mine was no different. A couple theme repacks and a pack of 10-11 OPC where in one box and the other had 08-09 Victory and a couple theme packs to go along with an empty 35-card hinged box. Anyway, usually these repacks are all the commons from whatever decade they claim to represent and the other packs are always filled with stars and their ultra rare early 90's cardboard. 

However, one man's trash is another man's treasure in today's case. Check out my jaw dropping pack!



The pack begins with a header warning you what excitement is about to come your way.

First off was a 81-82 Topps Barry Beck. Barry was a highly touted defenseman whom the Rockies felt was going to be so amazing and game changing that they selected him over lesser players like Doug Wilson, Mike Bossy, Rod Langway, John Tonelli, Greg Millen and Glen Hanlon just to name a few. True he would be an ok defenseman and he would yield a boatload of players in a trade with the Rangers....but Mike Bossy could have changed the Rockies franchise around!

1981-82 Topps Mike Rogers, Mike Rogers was a scoring machine. He proved that WHA'ers could make an impact in the NHL and he did it immediately scoring 44 goals and 105 points in his first NHL season. I really don't know why his career ended so abruptly, but maybe one of my older fellow bloggers could inform and educate me. I couldn't find much online and he played his last NHL game at a pretty young age of 32.

Wow an OPC card! 89-90 of course. Adam's career was about to blast off at this point. I wonder if he has any idea how amazing that trade to St. Louis was going to be. True he would have his highest output in Boston, but the Blues was where he became an all-star.

89-90 OPC Buffalo Sabres action card. Looks like Dave Andreychuk will be sitting two for tripping.

SO there you have it, my repack. Pretty amazing huh? Can you guess which card was the jaw dropping one?






Well it was this one. Honestly there is NOTHING special about this common other than I desperately needed it. Let me explain:

So online about two years ago I bought a "complete" 81-82 Topps Set and I even featured it here. Being a huge fan of the 81-82 design but light on funds that set was a perfect starting point. I have since added tonnes of the OPC rookies and I may just pull the trigger on the OPC set someday. So the night it arrived to sat in my living room and fired that set into pages. I would pause and read a few but the main reason was to get it in safe and sound and I can enjoy it at my leisure. However, just before I finished putting it all in I realized that I was missing Lanny MacDonald. I had two Merlin Malinowskis instead. So I contacted the seller that night and he appologized and said I could keep both Merlins and mailed me a Lanny. Then the set sat for a few weeks and then I opened it up again and noticed something horrible.

I noticed that I had TWO #33 Borje Salmings! That mention I was missing another card which turned out to be number 32, Mike Rogers. So for a very long time I was missing a card in one of my favourite sets. I was going to contact the seller again but I felt that might come across wrong and really it was my fault for missing it too.

Then Sal at puckjunk.com had a cool contest which was the One Card Challenge. I thought great, a contest and a chance to get my missing card. So when I saw this, I went to my "want page" rather than wait until I got home and check my binder and sure enough the card I was missing was number 33. So Sal who was running the contest actually said he had the card and sent it my way. All the time it took to arrive here I thought wow I am going to have my complete set finally. However, in case you got confused because I know I had, it turns out I already had 2 number 33's and now I had a third. The elusive number 32 was still missing from my collection. SO for the next year or so I kept pondering if I should just pay the 4 bucks it would be 99 cents plus crazy shipping to get the card I needed or just hope it will arrive someday.

Well thanks to my wife, a PressTine repack and two years of waiting, I have the missing card that has eluded me all this time. You have no idea how happy I was to get this and the funny thing was my wife when she gave me these two boxes from the dollar store, said " I know they aren't much or might not have anything good in them but I thought you might like to open something". Well Julia, you may not have had much hope in that little box but I got one of the coolest accidents ever in my collecting career. When you think about all the common cards from the 80's and select 4, who would think that I would get the only card I was missing from my 81-82 Topps set.

This serendipitous even certainly provided me much amusement on my birthday but it also has increased my love of a set that will always have a great story.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

08-09 UD Ultimate Jakub Voracek Auto

So not long after Jakub found himself in Philadelphia, I decided to try and write him for an autograph. Since Jakub is a former Moosehead player, I did cheer for him in junior and I really wanted him to succeed at the NHL level. His first couple seasons certainly showed he had much to learn at the NHL level but this past season was an amazing one which saw him score 22 goals and 46 points in 48 games. The 22 goals was a career high and I am very interested in seeing what he will do with a full NHL season this coming year.

After about a year and a half I have given up on my TTM request and I did find this little rookie year auto for about the same price I paid to send my TTM request.

08-09 UD Ultimate Ultimate Signatures Jakub Voracek

The card itself features a nice on-card auto with black sharpie. He signs his name and number on the card which all look very elegant if you ask me, but I doubt I can read much of it.

Despite my possible TTM rejection, I still wish Jakub the best and I hope someday he makes it across the turnpike into NJ and plays for the Devils. His skill and style certainly reflect a player who knows both ends of the ice and has a knack for scoring and setting up goals. For those who didn't know, Voracek was in a pretty serious car crash this past May in the Czech Republic but all reports say he was fine and will be all systems go to start the NHL season this fall.

Friday, August 2, 2013

5 Card 09-10 OPC Premier Auto Rookie Lot /299

Here is a lot of 5 09-10 OPC Premier rookies I was able to steal online. In all they set me back less than a blaster including shipping. 

Personally, I think the 09-10 OPC Premier rookies are some of the nicest products Upper Deck has put out in the last decade but the product did have a high pack price (approaching 200 with tax) and the resale on these was always lower than I thought it should be. Rookies are swatched up and numbered to 299 and in most cases feature a nice gold auto. I did however see silver autos on occasion which I don't think are intentionally short printed or anything like that. It is worth pointing out I have seen Leino autos with gold marker so it isn't like his are all silver either. 

I also want to point out when I first saw the 11-12 Panini Prime Rookies I immediately thought of this particular release.

09-10 OPC Premier Ville Leino Rookie /299
The least significant of my 5 rookies is Ville. I am not sure what his signature actually is; but it sort of reminds me of a nice cursive "y". Ville cashed in on an amazing post-season with the Flyers and really hasn't done much since. If he is hoping to remain in the NHL he better step up his game soon.


09-10 OPC Premier Viktor Stalberg Rookie /299
 Unlike some Leafs prospects, he hasn't exactly burned up the NHL after leaving the Buds which is good for Toronto and bad for Viktor. However, he did post 22 goals in his last full NHL season and he just got his first Cup ring which is pretty stellar. Is he a 20 goal guy? This season should show us if that is true or not.


09-10 OPC Premier Michal Neuvirth Rookie /299
What a nice signature! Name and number all present and very elegant looking. Michal unfortunately has been bit of a slide since his 10-11 NHL season where he was the number 1 guy in Washington. Hard to say if he will get back his job from Holtby, but a fresh start could jump start his career once again.

09-10 OPC Premier Tyler Myers Rookie /299
 This former Calder Trophy winner was also in my lot. This card was one major reason I bid on the lot. I had a little while back traded away my only decent Myers rookie and I felt my collection needed another one and since I didn't have his auto yet I wanted to kill two birds. A very nice card with a cool auto that links both names and number together. Tyler could be a long shot for Sochi but a great 2013-14 season could launch him into the starting 6.

09-10 OPC Premier Victor Hedman Rookie /299
The other reason for pursuing this lot was this card. A very nice two colour swatch to go along with a great on-card and number auto rookie. Victor has taken a little while to adjust to the North American game but this past year he really started to get into his own in my opinion. He nearly set career highs for goals and points despite playing only an abbreviated season. He could be a Norris contender in the next couple seasons and Tampa will definitely benefit from that.


5 cards that I am pretty happy to land for an amazing price. Some are available for trade, but I want to keep Myers and Hedman but the other three can be had, just let me know.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

08-09 OPC Premier Steve Mason Rookie

I have always like the look of the OPC Premier stuff Upper Deck has put out but just couldn't afford the price point to open a box/pack. Here is a single from 08/09 that has fallen a fair bit in price over the years but I expect a good bounce back season for this kid. 

After the trade to the Flyers he played very well going 4-2 with a 1.90 gaa and a sparkling .944 save percentage and this season he is working off a 1 year deal so I would really like to see him perform well and get himself a good long-term contract and show everyone his rookie year wasn't a fluke!

08-09 OPC Premier Steven Mason Rookie /299
Love the card, it is a nice 4 piece on card auto numbered to 299. That is pretty much what you get with OPC Premier rookies and they both book and sell for very affordable prices and I recommend that if you have a player you like try and track down their Premier rookie, you may be surprised at how cheap you can get it. I have a nice quartet of OPC Premiers to share next!


Selling stuff on eBay

Well I have decided to start selling a few things on eBay. Fact is there are a few things I don't need anymore for obvious reasons and there are a few exciting products and vintage I want to buy so I am trying to spend what I sell because my general spending has been pretty much halted.


For example, since David and I have parted ways, I am selling off most of my Clarkson stuff.