Card of the Week - Jamie McGinn

Every season I look forward to the trade deadline and this year was no different. However, after it was all said and done, I was a little disappointed by the number of trades and the calibre of trades. In all fairness, I am sure the players themselves are relieved to some degree as many probably don't want to pack up and leave their families part way through the year.

Trade deadline certainly does have its advantages for players too. It offers players a chance to have a fresh start with a different organization which can be beneficial for players who were stuck deep in the depth chart or forced into a role or position that isn't their natural spot.

One player this year who has really benefited from the change of scenery is Jamie McGinn.

Jamie went from playing around 10-12 min a night in San Jose to playing 16-18 minutes a night with the Avs. This increased ice-time and chemistry with his new team has turned into 7 goals and 9 points in just 9 games. Of those 9 goals, two are game winners and one was a game tying goal with 2 seconds left again the Sabres which would end up becoming a shootout win for the Avs.

It will be neat to see if he can keep this pace up for the rest of the season!

08-09 Artifacts #276 Jamie McGinn Rookie

Of all the Artifacts rookies ever made, I think I like this year the most. Cool design to them and I like how they they mix the colour and sepia together.

Back side
The backs are pretty simple with a decent sized write up on the player along with their vitals. No real stats are listed but then again they are rookies and I guess to some degree their Junior/Minor league stats are sort of irrelevant. I was luck enough to pull a few of the rookies from 08/09, this one arrived as a redemption card. According to the Beckett, these cards should be numbered to /750, but as you can see mine is /999.

How I received the card: Redemption card pulled from a pack

Beckett Value: $3.00 - 8.00

08-09 UD Artifacts Review

So I was in my local card shop the other day and I decided to pick up a pack of 08-09 Artifacts hockey. Not the first pack I have ever picked up, I did score a pretty sweet 1 of 1 rookie from this set a few months back, but I thought I would take my chances on maybe getting a Stamkos or something cool. At 13 bucks a pack with taxes thrown in is a little costly, but they guarantee a "hit a pack" so lets dig in.





As you can see, each hobby pack contains 4 cards, and in my case a really large plug. Each card is nice, with a good layout, and the four corners have a bronze foil. They cards have a look of a premium set, and the backs of them have the usual stats as well as a small write-up. I am a little disappointed that the Price and Crosby both came out of the pack with nicks on the top, and in fact this isn't the first time I have seen that from an Artifacts pack. My "hit" was the Legends Ron Hextall card numbered 892/999. I am not sure if I would call this a "hit". I like Ron and he had a wonderful career and was a huge influence on my favourite goalie of all-time Martin Brodeur, but most of those legends cards really aren't anymore valuable than the base cards. Some might argue, my damaged Crosby was the actual hit. In all, they are nice cards, the set is small if you don't include the SP's but to try and do a complete set would be very pricey. Apart from some quality control issues, I really like the product, and they memorabilia cards are always pretty sweet with Artifacts.