13-14 The Cup Scripted Swatches Nail Yakupov /35

Nail Yakupov had a decent start to his NHL career. He was a finalist for the Calder and the future seemed bright. However, in the past year or two many fans are beginning to think he is just another Alexandre Daigle and are considering him a bust. I am thinking perhaps the right situation hasn't presented itself and given he is only 23 years old I want to believe there is hope yet. As I write this, no Canada Day signings have happened yet but I believe someone will sign this kid. Heck, I'd love it if New Jersey took a shot and perhaps we'd be rewarded with a solid second line winger.

Fact of the matter is he needs to change a bit, get a little tougher on the puck but with the right coach and atmosphere this kid's career is salvageable and there are a few teams that could do it for him. In addition to the Devils, I believe clubs like Tampa, Florida, LA or Vegas could benefit from a one dimensional scorer. Time will tell where he signs but regardless, I still wish Nail all the best and hope these past few seasons will be nothing more than a slow start and he will blossom into a 30-30-60 player I know he's capable of being.

13-14 The Cup Scripted Swatches Nail Yakupov /35

About a year ago I put a low ball offer in on this particular card and won it! It's a great looking card with a huge patch and you can actually see three colours on it. The auto is solid and I am pleased to have his number 10 on it to go with some of my other auto rookies of his where he signed them 64.

Thanks for stopping by and no matter where you are or who you cheer for Happy Canada Day / Happy Free Agency Day.

13-14 The Cup Reid Boucher Auto Rookie /249

Reid Boucher was another Devil who seemed to be missed by the card companies when it came to auto rookies. He had a Young Gun and a few other rookies made but no auto rookie until The Cup came out this fall. 

Unlike Gelinas, Reid Boucher was a star in junior and even broke Stamkos' Sarnia Sting record for most goals in a season with 62 goals in just 68 games! I think a combination of him being a later bloomer and being a New Jersey Devil seems to have him low on the card maker's priority lists. Thankfully this card was produced for fans like myself!

13-14 The Cup Reid Boucher Auto Rookie /249

Neat auto here with Reid being over top Boucher and the 15 tacked onto the end. Right now Reid is spending lots of time in the AHL but I am willing to be now that PDB is gone he will see more ice time later in the season and hopefully be a regular next year! He has loads of offensive potential and I can't wait to see him hit his stride!

13-14 The Cup Eric Gelinas Auto Rookie /249

Every year the hockey season ends, summer begins and some point after that a new season of collecting begins and The Cup shows up fashionably late. For many collectors this is the highlight of the season as the super-premium set hits the market and nearly an equal number of collectors are annoyed that it is even called a product from the previous year. 

I am on the fence a little bit, I know this product is something I probably will never be able to afford to break and the cards are a little inflated in my opinion. However, the cards are usually very good quality and the late release allows for collectors to finally get an auto rookie of their favourite players. Despite many strange auto rookies you can land (Daniel Bang for example has a few), Eric Gelinas and Reid Boucher actually didn't have an auto rookie on the market until the release of The Cup! I am a pretty big fan of Boucher and Gelinas so I was very pleased that at least Upper Deck had done the right thing and snuck them into their set as part of the infamous auto rookie subset. Usually there are 10 or so rookies that didn't get to go to the showcase and therefore there are no event used swatches of these players so they end up with just an auto rookie. Such was the case for Eric Gelinas, so here enjoy!

13-14 The Cup Eric Gelinas Auto Rookie /249

Neat signature, on-card and numbered with his 22. You can kind of make out his name but definitely more scribble than scribe! This year's design is pretty decent and I am pleased this is apart of my collection and is now my favourite Gelinas rookie replacing this one at the top.

13-14 The Cup Brilliance Mike Bossy Auto

The last of my three HI cards is this one. Like what a lot of people are taking about these autographs is true, they look WAY better in person than they do on the scan. These cards are like a shadow box with a The Cup foil underneath an acetate cover which features a signature in blue ink.

The card is as thick as I have ever seen, exceeding the standard 180 pt The Cup cards.  If I were to take a guess I am going to say 240 pt thickness but I only know it isn't 360. The card is pretty impressive in all and I definitely think if you have a chance to buy a player you like, do it. The prices on these are super reasonable and apart from being a little cumbersome to store it isn't too crazy.

13-14 The Cup Brilliance Mike Bossy Auto

I bought a Bossy auto ages ago but it wasn't authenticated so this time around I at least guarantee myself a legit auto. I am a fan of Mike Bossy, maybe not his biggest by any stretch but I do respect what he did and his accomplishments are legendary. I own a couple of his rookie cards too so landing this definitely completes my HOF PC on Bossy.