1964-65 Topps Tall Boys #42 - Floyd Smith

The last of my tall boys (for now) is number 42 in the set and number 6 in my collection, Floyd Smith. Floyd played in parts of 13 NHL seasons in a total of 616 regular season games. He scored over 20 goals twice and over 40 points three times which is very respectable for the time period.


1964-65 Topps Tall Boys #42 - Floyd Smith

As far as my tall boys go, this one is one of the better conditioned ones. Crease free with just a little wear and tear on the card.

I don't know if I like the card or feel bad for poor old Floyd. Floyd was a very good player in the AHL and would be a decent NHL player but apparently he is best noted for who he married? The cartoon is a little tragic if you ask me but still a fun sign of the times.

1964-65 Topps Tall Boys #6 - Terry Sawchuk

Let's get back aboard the Tall Boy Train! Since my last post about my fourth one I have added a 6th so here is number 5 and I will share number 6 in my next post. I find this card very interesting for a number of reasons. First of all, it has been loved numerous times probably by numerous people. I suspect this card could have been handled more than a 1970's pay phone. With that being said, it only adds to the character. What I like more about this card is it happens to be an UER but there might be more than meets the eye here too and I am curious to get YOUR take on it.

So when you look this card up in the "bible" it lists the card as an uncorrected error because on the back of the card his name is spelled incorrectly. The correct spelling is on the front of the card "Sawchuk" and on the back they have included a second c spelling it "Sawchuck". How much saw can a saw chuck chuck anyway? Lame? Yeah probably...

But what interests me even more is the front of the card where Terry appears to be wearing a jersey with a number 25 on it. I was perplexed by the situation and did a little research because I always knew Terry to wear 1 or 30. Well it turns out according to Hockey Reference Terry wore other numbers including 29 for the Red Wings in 1968-69 and 24 during the 1964-65 season with the Leafs. I have no idea why he wore 24, Johnny Bower had his number 1 and Terry would switch to 30 the following season so the 24 remains a bit of a mystery to me. However, Terry isn't even wearing 24 in this photo which only adds to my intrigue. So I did a little more digging and it turns out someone else was in the 25 jersey during that season and it was a player named Pete Stemkowski. Pete played about half that season 36 games or so and had 20 points during his "rookie" season that year. So did they put someone's head on someone else's body? No. It turns out Pete was left out of the Tall Boy set and his rookie doesn't appear until the following year. So my best guess is this photo was taken at the start of the season (hence Terry's very tanned neck) and he probably hadn't settled on a jersey and just grabbed the first free one on the pile.

What is also interesting is the following season Topps used the exact same photo and just cropped it so you can't really see the number on the jersey. Enough of my ramblings, on to the cardboard!


1964-65 Topps Tall Boys #6 - Terry Sawchuk

Creases? Sure, but the colour is still sharp and the card has some gloss still!

Not sure why someone wrote 43 on the back of this card but it must have meant something.


Well there you have it, my 5th card from this set. It almost seems like I could actually complete this thing? Well maybe, someday.

14-15 Upper Deck Trilogy Aaron Ekblad Level 2 Auto Rookie /399

It is a little less than a week away from this year's entry draft and being a Devils fan has gotten exciting for the first time in a couple months ( I wasn't too excited about a coaching change) but we get a chance to draft a piece of our future. Who will it be? Time will of course tell, Ray may have some surprises up his sleeve like the time we landed Cory Schneider or maybe he will just draft the best available player at the time.

Last year the best player in the draft and arguably the best rookie this past season was Aaron Ekblad. In my opinion he was a lock for the first overall pick much like this season's lock will be Connor McDavid. However, how big of an impact would this boy in a man's body actually bring to an NHL club. Well nearly from the beginning it was significant and by the end of the season he was arguably one of the best defenseman in the Eastern Conference. He still has lots to learn but the Panthers have gotten much more exciting thanks to an impressive collection of young forwards, Bobby-Lu in goal and a vastly improved blue line. 

14-15 Upper Deck Trilogy Aaron Ekblad Level 2 Auto Rookie /399

It appears that Trilogy is my love child this season as all the big rookies are in the set and the prices on the secondary market are very very reasonable. I was able to score this card for less than the cost of a pack of Trilogy. I have been a fan of Aaron Ekblad since he was granted exceptional status in the OHL. Internationally Aaron was a rock for the gold medal winning team this past spring at the World Championships and while I think his international resume could grow in the future it might be his only World Championship in the near future because I suspect the Panthers will be a playoff team before long. However, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey (age restrictions don't appear to play in his favour if the projections are correct) and 2018 Olympic Games will definitely feature this talent on Team Canada's blue line.

Hockey Cards and Music - Tragically Hip - Fifty Mission Cap

One post I have been meaning to do since I started this blog was one about the song Fifty Mission Cap by the Tragically Hip. The song is about Bill Barilko and his final NHL game and following tragic demise. What I like about the song is not just it's a very interesting story, not just because it describes a card from my favourite set of all time but also because it references a hockey card I actually owned before I even heard the song. When the song came out and I listened to the lyrics I knew exactly what they were referring to and that just added to my enjoyment of all things related to Fifty Mission Cap. 


1951-52 Parkhurst #52 The Winning Goal

I wish I owned this card. Still on my want list and without a doubt one of the best hockey cards ever made and definitely one of the best from the 1951 set. Just sheer awesomeness. Because Bill went missing after this season, he wasn't actually included in the 1951-52 Parkhurst set because they just featured players from the 1951-52 season as opposed to players who played in the previous season so for some fans, this card is Bill Barilko's rookie.

As iconic I believe the previous card was, it was actually this next card from the 1991-92 Pro Set Series 1 set that The Tragically Hip reference. The photo is a zoomed out and larger than the Parkhurst one but still the same iconic scene.

Back side

Here is the back side of the card which was references in the song.


Fifty Mission Cap

Bill Barilko disappeared that summer
He was on a fishing trip
The last goal he ever scored
Won the Leafs the cup
They didn't win another till nineteen sixty two
The year he was discovered
I stole this from a hockey card
I keeped tucked up under

My fifty-mission cap
I worked it in
I worked it in to look like that
It's my fifty-mission cap
It's his fifty-mission cap
And I worked it in
I worked it in
And I worked it in to look like that
And I worked it in to look like that

Bill Barilko disappeared that summer (in nineteen fifty one)
He was on a fishing trip (in a plane)
The last goal he ever scored (in over time)
Won the Leafs the cup
They didn't win another till nineteen sixty two
The year he was discovered

In my fifty-mission cap
I worked it in
I worked it in to look like that
It's my fifty-mission cap
It's his fifty-mission cap
And I worked it in
I worked it in
And I worked it in to look like that
And I worked it in to look like that

It's my fifty-mission cap
It's my fifty-mission cap
It's my fifty-mission cap
It's my fifty-mission cap

11-12 Upper Deck Ryan Nugent Hopkins Young Gun

My BFAM Tom has been a fantastic friend completing a number of trades with me. One day he told me about the tin of 11-12 Upper Deck Series 1 he was given by a LCS and I wished him luck and even said I hope he pulls a RNH rookie. Sure enough, he did! What else did he pull? Brett Connolly. So being the nice guy I am I told him he did very well on his box and told him how awesome the cards actually were. I then proceeded to offer up an extra Brodeur auto I had and he was game for the deal!

Gotta love when both sides are happy on a trade and as much as I like Brodeur, I definitely wanted this card which has eluded me so far and felt I could spare an auto for the biggest Brodeur fan I know.


11-12 Upper Deck Ryan Nugent Hopkins Young Gun

I would have had that same look on my face had I pulled this card! The Oilers are hopefully going to turn the corner finally on their rebuild and RNH is one of their players I would say are a cornerstone for their future and this past year he proved it by leading the team in goals with Jordan Eberle (24) and finishing second in team scoring with 56 points.

The second best result I could hope for! And Namestnikov

So obviously the best I could hope for would feature the Devils in the Cup final against a scrub team and they would win in 4 straight. However, that wasn't even close to happening so my two adopted teams (Hawks of course) and the Lightning are in the finals. While Brett Connolly is no longer in Tampa, I still really enjoy watching them play and have kind of adopted them as one of my teams. I also banked my hockey pool heavily on TB and with a 24 point lead and the entire Triplet line on my roster it is safe to say I won that pool.

So who do I want to win the Cup? I honestly don't know. I have been cheering for the Hawks since the 1990 and I have followed the Lightning pretty closely over the past couple seasons and they have some very deserving players on the roster. I guess I will just sit back and enjoy what will probably be an amazing Cup final and be happy no matter who wins.

Speaking of winning, here is a little gem!


14-15 SPx Spectrum FX Red Rookie Auto /399 Vladislav Namestnikov

























It is almost unfair the amount of young talent the Lightning have in their system. While it is pretty easy to give all the credit to Steve Yzerman, the fact of the matter is the scouting staff has done an amazing job drafting early, drafting late and even finding undrafted talent (Tyler Johnson). When you have a 3rd overall pick (Drouin) sitting in the press box that just shows the world the amount of talent on your roster.  One player who doesn't always get much press is Namestnikov. He finished up his rookie season compiling 9 goals and 16 points in 43 games after putting up over a point a game in the AHL this year (35 points in 34 games). He currently is playing on the 4th line but is available to jump up on the higher lines if an injury were to occur. Namestnikov is only 22 years old and symbolizes the bright future Tampa will have going forward win or lose after the season.