Friday, April 15, 2016

97-98 BAP Joe Thornton Auto "Rookie"

So with the playoff now underway and nearly all teams have played at least one game, my sentimental favourite to win the Cup is Joe Thornton. Don't get my wrong there are a few other teams I would like to see win the Stanley Cup over the Sharks (namely Chicago (my second team), Panthers (I enjoy their rise to success), Nashville (Ryan Ellis) ) but Joe has always been there in the NHL working hard and has done much of it with a level of class and professionalism (if you don't mind forgetting about Hertl's four goal game).

One project that has really hit the backburner is my attempt at all 250 cards in the 97-98 BAP autograph set. At the moment I am about half way there with a few of the big names missing and in the last year I was able to cross one off and with the Sharks winning last night I felt it was a good time to share this one.

97-98 BAP Joe Thornton Auto
I use the term "rookie" in quotes because while this card is from his rookie season, during the 90's it was very common for companies to try and poach rookies before they were rookies in the NHL. The most classic case is Eric Lindros but many others were poached by Upper Deck thanks to their license with Team Canada.

This is my second Thornton auto, my first is on coaster of his Junior B team thanks to an ex-girlfriend who was a high school buddy of Joe's. I like this card a great deal because it has his old number 6 on it and it helps me get one step closer to completely my set.

For those of you who's teams are no longer in contention, do you have any back up teams or sentimental favourites for this post-season?

6 comments:

  1. As a Bruins fan (scoff if you like), whose team for the second year in a row has missed the playoffs, I have no vested interest who wins now. The plus side is I get to enjoy some of the best hockey without the stress of rooting for "my" team to win. If I had to choose a team to root for, I'd pick the Islanders. Always liked Johnny Boychuk that plus the fact Tavares is a class act.

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    1. Hahaha, no scoffing, my boys didn't qualify either. If the Isles make it past the Panthers I will be all for JT winning the Cup!

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  2. With the B's out of it I'm rooting hard for the Panthers. Maybe it's the ex-Whalers fan in me but I like seeing a franchise that's been struggling for a while finally succeed. Also would be killer to see Jagr hoist the Cup once more!

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  3. Love Jumbo Joe! As a die-hard Sharks fan... I couldn't imagine where we'd be without him feeding everyone the puck. He made guys like Cheechoo and Setoguchi look like superstars. Hopefully he and Little Joe can finally help the Sharks get over the hump.

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    1. Best of luck Fuji! I hope they can knock off the Kings.

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