11-12 Titanium Rookie Reserve Brett Connolly Patch Auto /15

Well today is Canada Day or Free Agent Day in the NHL world. I have always loved that these two days have generally coincided on the same day in recent years. My birthday is around this time and apart from a 2 years ago, I have generally had very good luck on birthday boxes and last year was no exception. I picked up a couple boxes and did well on them including a box of 11-12 Titanium. I pulled some star jersey cards of guys like Giroux and Weber but the best part of the box was this hit:

11-12 Titanium Rookie Reserve Brett Connolly Patch Auto /15

Perhaps my best Connolly hit I have ever pulled. The piece on the left is white jersey with some white and blue patch and the right piece is all silver and sparkles rather nicely in the sunlight! This was my first Rookie Reserve card from the set which has auto jersey /100, auto patch /15 and auto "patch" /10. I have since picked up the Brett Connolly /100 and /10 and believe it or not, the /15 card is by far the nicest. My /10 which claims to be a patch is really just a seam swatch and the /100 are just jersey swatches with an auto. All three are great together and I will be sure to post them up all together eventually.

Boston decided not to qualify Brett Connolly with an extension which means one of two things. One is they feel they can resign him without giving him a raise. The other is they are willing to let him walk as a UFA which means that the Devils or any other team can sign him. I do hope he give him a shot since we are lacking in experienced wingers and I think he'd be great to help the new rookies transition over and be very productive in our lineup. Not likely to happen, but a collector and fan can dream. Wherever he signs, I do wish Brett the best of luck and I will keep cheering him on.

Don't Be Saad, Marcus is here but all good things must end.

The series of Blackhawk posts are about to end with their future. What Chicago has accomplished the last 9 years or has been remarkable. They were a club in the NHL basement, they won a Cup, got in trouble with the cap, blew up their team, and then rebuilt themselves into a power house once again. Not only do they look pretty good now, but with a collection of solid prospects they Hawks look good going forward. Here are two such prospects:  

11-12 Upper Deck Brandon Saad Rookie

 Brandon was off to a slow start this season but recently has picked it up scoring 12 points in the past 11 games and is seeing a little more ice time as a result.

11-12 Upper Deck Marcus Kruger Rookie

 Unlike the wing position, the centre position is a little more jam-packed so Marcus isn't getting the same ice time as Brandon mostly because they are pretty deep at the centre position with Toews, Bolland and Shaw all getting their fair share of ice. Still, he is making pretty good use of his time and in another season or two should be a pretty solid second-line centre.

11-12 Titanium New Wave Autos Brandon Saad (Exchange)

Here is an auto of Brandon Saad to go with my three Kruger autos. This is a rookie year signature of Brandon which isn't the same as an auto rookie, but sometimes that is just good enough!

So there you have it, a few Hawks related posts in honour of my favourite original 6 team. I will be back to posting about everything else in my collection with little rhyme or reason to the order! Thanks for checking in.

eBay Freebies, thanks to eBucks

With a few purchases on eBay I was able to earn a couple eBucks so here is what I did with mine:

11-12 Canada VS The World Tony Granato Auto

Yep, another C VS TW. I have always had crazy respect for both Tony and Cammy as they are very classy and talented hockey players. Tony had four 30+ goal seasons in his first 5 years before cooling off and retiring from hockey. He has since been a very successful coach in the NHL and is currently an assistant coach with the Penguins where he has been for the last 4 seasons.

11-12 Titanium Game Worn Gear Malone/Connolly

I wish it was Stamkos paired with Connolly, but then again I doubt I would have been able to land it for "free' if it was. I have a couple Connolly autos not, but nothing that is "player worn" so this goes into the PC as an example of such thing.

There you have it two fun cards that set me back nothing! I do like eBucks and their program which certainly provides a little fun for your purchases.