When is a Henrique Auto not a Henrique Auto

The answer is right here:

12-13 SP Game Used Adam Henrique Auto  Alex Pietrangelo Auto

This card is one that definitely proves that sticker autos are a bad idea. I showed this one to Upper Deck and a fellow collector of Henriques. Thankfully the fellow collector was able to shed some light on it. Apparently they all came out this way and while the production was pretty limited but with all coming out of the factory this way it isn't like it is a one of a kind. Upper Deck has offered to have replace it of course which is great but the question is what would I get in return? If others have done this does it make this card more rare? I am faced with a tough choice and to complicate things more, I do like Alex Pietrangelo and I don't have any other autos of his.

What do you think I should do?

12/13 SP Game Used Stanley Cup Finals Materials - Adam Henrique Net Skirt Auto

About a year ago I landed this card in honour of my team losing in the Stanley Cup finals. While I landed it just to have a piece of the finals, I really didn't care who was on it. My plan was just to have a piece of the finals because a Gretzky one or a Fayne one was all from the same net. However, there are also much more rare Net Skirt cards which have autos and those are much more player specific if you ask me. After all, their auto is on the card and that personalizes it much more than a pic. I found this one at random a while back and bought it for a song and a dance.

Pretty sharp card if you ask me with a shot from the Stanley Cup Finals which just adds to the coolness. The auto is his typical one but includes his number 14 which is something Adam doesn't always do. One negative however, is the skirt wasn't prepped properly so the auto is a little faded but in the end it doesn't matter that much to me and the fading is likely why it was a steal. But the key thing I wanted was another piece of a Stanley Cup finals net and I have that with a PC auto on it so that is all amazing if you ask me!

Brett Connolly's Team Canada Fight Strap /15

Most game used collectors out there will tell you plain white is the lowest of the low when it comes to game used. White jersey and white patches often sell for the cheapest and are far inferior to their multicoloured siblings. What about fight straps? They are white, make up the least on the jersey with the exception of tags...in or out on them?

12/13 SP Game Used Team Canada Fabrics Brett Connolly Fight Strap /15

I paid so little for this one I just had to have it. But, if it were a big name star, would it be desirable? Would you rather a Gretzky Strap, Gretzky Swatch or Gretzky Patch?

Either way, more fun for my PC.

This is my trade of the year: Part 2 of 3

When the Devils acquired Schneider at the draft I was shocked and unsure how I felt about it. Within a few minutes I felt good about it especially when you frame it as Horvat for Schneider. True the Devils could have drafted someone else and time will tell if there were any huge prospects to come later in the first round but fact is we didn't draft anyone and we got a pretty solid goalie.

12-13 SP Game Used Inked Sweaters - Cory Schneider

I was having trouble debating if I should buy a Schneider already on the market or wait for him to be in a Devils uniform and Matt fixed that problem for me by trading this card to me. Game used, autographed not a bad combo, just wish it was a rookie card. I do have one of his rookies (OPC) and some day I might add more.

So far he has looked pretty solid which is exciting but also sad as it reminds me Marty's days with the Devils are nearly through!

12-13 Sp Game Used Pack Hit

Way back in the spring/early summer I bought a box of 12-13 Artifacts and a pack of 12-13 Sp Game Used. I have been meaning to share the contents of the pack but it just kept being put on the back burner so I am just going to share the hit and put that puppy to rest. 

The pack was a success in my opinion. With pack prices approaching 30 dollars, they aren't cheap and the guarantee of a hit isn't always a comfort which is why I have avoided this product in the past. I don't mind paying the money if I know what I am getting is awesome, but 30 dollars for an event used card of Bob Bourne isn't exactly awesome. So given this was bought with a pile of trade in stuff I thought I would take a chance.

My pack had a few base cards and a super thick card in the center which turned out to be a REDEMPTION....arrrrgh! But upon reading the redemption I was relieved to see it would be something pretty cool and here it is:

12-13 SP Game Used Draft Day Marks Casey Cizikas /35

While I am not an Isles fan or Cizikas super collector, I do like getting a rookie year auto card of an everyday NHL'er who did play for Team Canada at the WJHC. Casey really impressed me last year by playing some solid NHL minutes and putting up 15 points in 45 games. During the playoffs he stepped it up even more scoring 2 goals and 2 assists in his 6 games series against the Pens. I was very pleased to land this card and I think I will be holding on to this one for a long time.

Three 12-13 SP Game Used Auto Rookies

Here is a lot that is a few months old but better late than never. As many of you know I can't get enough of autographed rookies and SP Game Used had a nice parallel set to the base which featured all autographs. Surprisingly the auto versions of the rookies are far more plentiful than their unautographed base counterparts. Each rookie is numbered to their jersey number and the autographed parallels were unnumbered.

12-13 SP Game-Used Auto Tyson Barrie 

By far the best of the three so far. Tyson was a Team Canada World Junior which is why I had interest in his card and I did hit him as well in my 12-13 Artifacts box. Tyson had 42 points last season when you combine the AHL and NHL in 70 games which is pretty solid for a defenseman. Given the weak defensive corps in Colorado I would suggest he will be getting lots of ice time this season.

12-13 SP Game-Used Auto Cody Goloubef

Got beef? Cody is another Team Canada World Junior and unlike Tyson isn't as offensively talented. Still he is a pretty decent kid with some potential at being a solid defenseman, but I expect a regular NHL'er and not an all-star. Still nice to add another Team Canada player to my collection.

12-13 SP Game-Used Auto Maxime Sauve

Maxime is now a Blackhawk and he speaks French well because he was born in France and grew up in Quebec. I think he auto isn't very special, but he did wear the number 74 which is pretty neat. He could be a bachelor and I suspect he might also like Pepsi. To be honest, I only grabbed this because it made my lot extra cheap and it is actually for trade if anyone wants it.

A Piece of Hockey History

 When the Devils made the Stanley Cup Finals I had envisions of Stanley Cup Commemorative sets and all sorts of cool collectible stuff commemorate an awesome season. Instead, we ran out of gas and LA schooled us in the finals and all the spoils went to the Kings.

Being in the Finals is fun, but losing certainly sucks and I was left with the task of deciding if I still wanted to collect playoff stuff in the 12-13 hockey card sets. I decided in the end to not spend any money on chasing the road to the cup stuff or day with the cup or any playoff inserts for that matter. That is with one exception:

12-13 SP Game Used Stanley Cup Final Materials Net Cord /25

When I saw that SP Game Used would include pieces of Stanley Cup Finals Netting I was intrigued at how rare they would be and the cost. When I saw them pop online they were selling for a price I could live with (especially if you didn't care which player) so I went for a "common" and landed a Mark Fayne version.

As you can see on the back the net cord was from the LA Kings Home games which were 3, 4 and 6. I had a hard time justifying paying serious cash for a star player that would have just included the same cord used in a common player. I do like that the Devils won one of the games this cord was used in and even though we didn't win the Cup it was a Finals appearance and I have a piece of the action. What are your thoughts on these types of cards? 

I do have one small complaint and that is they are SUPER thick. I am not sure exactly how thick but I can't squeeze mine into a 180pt holder. I think I may need a 240 for it, but at this time there isn't any at my LCS so I have it in a 10 card acrylic case for the meantime. 

Another Great Trade with Cardboard Conundrum

You have to love a trade that is complete with a total of 3 emails! That is what happened with this most recent trade between Matt and I. He wanted a Crosby game used that I wasn't too attached too and I noticed he had two PC guys of mine so I had no problems at all with a nice two for one trade in my favour. Thanks again for an awesome trade Matt.

12-13 SP Game Used Team Canada Fabrics - Brett Connolly

 LOVE LOVE LOVE this insert idea. I am totally chasing all my PC guys that played for Team Canada.

11-12 Panini Contenders NHL Ink Cody Eakin

Another great card, this time a rookie year auto of Cody Eakin which features a nice and large on card auto. I did chase a legit auto rookie of his as well which I will share at a later date.

Sometimes the best trades are the biggest but rather the simpliest.