Hey Cougars, Brett Connolly is a fan!

We season 1 in Boston is over and my boy Brett is an RFA for the final time and Boston needs to decide if they liked what they saw or if they would like to move his rights/risk losing him. The good from the season was at times he played well on the top line and put up points in bunches including a 3 assist night against the Jets in February. The bad was a stretch to close the season out which had him off the top line scoring only 1 point in his final 10 games prior to ending the season injured.

I of course will be watching this off season closely and hopefully he will get a chance to play some solid top 6 minutes and have an opportunity to showcase his potential. Of course NJ is undergoing a retooling and while we need young forwards with scoring potential I am not sure if Brett is on Ray's Radar but one can only hope. In the meantime, here is a hat-trick of similar Brett Connolly SPx Rookies.

2011-12 SPx Brett Connolly Autographed Rookie /499

 

The first one in the three pack is the base Brett Connolly auto rookie which features a blue swatch and a sticker auto numbered with his junior number (8). I am a fan of the design of this and love how it almost looks like its a carbon fibre background. I am also a fan of the print run and think anything above /499 really shouldn't be numbered.

2011-12 SPx Patch Spectrum Brett Connolly Autographed Rookie /25

 

If you haven't seen these in person, add it to your to-do list. I love the spectrum foil on these cards. In addition each of the 25 cards features some inscription and in the case of Brett Connolly he went with "Go Cougars". How awesome is that, an inscription that could potentially have a double meaning! Of course he probably isn't referring to the urban dictionary version of a cougar but it still makes me chuckle looking at the card nonetheless. What is also sweet is the four colour patch they squeezed into the window of the card. Well done Upper Deck, well done! 

2011-12 SPx Patch Spectrum Brett Connolly Autographed Rookie /25

No you aren't seeing doubles here, but similar card yes! This time the patch is a three colour version and Brett is all about being on top of the "Go Cougars" instead of behind the idea. Ok, please excuse the high school humour but I just couldn't resist the lame joke. I did go after the second one because the inscription was written differently and the price was too good to be true. This is the only copy I have seen of this card where he wrote the inscription below his signature which made this a must have. I also like how the inscription versions have his NHL number and the base has his junior number.

Well there you have it a hat-trick of BC and a little HS humour. I promise a more serious post next time but in the meantime thanks for stopping by and putting up with me :)

Help a friend and get a hometown auto....

This past summer I helped a friend out who was looking to boost the caliber of his card collection. The task was simple, he gave me money and a list and told me to use my card shopping skills to fill the list. I am pleased to say I came right on budget and was able to stretch his dollars well and land some pretty impressive cardboard for his money. As a thank you which is ludicrous because the task itself was so much fun ( I was born to be a hobby personal shopper) he gave he something from his collection which has more significance to me than to him.


11-12 SPX Winning Materials Jordan Staal Auto /15

As you may have read before Jordan and I were born in the same town and potentially even in the same hospital. While this isn't my first of him I do like this one the most of all mine so far. Nice low print run with a pair of swatches and an auto.

This past year has been a mixed bag for Jordan. While his production has been up 19 goals and 45 points are the most he's put up since leaving Pittsburgh, he recently saw his older brother Eric get traded which I am sure is tough. I hope this isn't a fluke and we get to see more great seasons from Jordan in the future. I want to thank my neighbour again for this great card and believe it or not, there was an even bigger surprise I received from him at Christmas time but that's for another day!