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 Select Nail Yakupov Auto Rookie /399

Well get'em while they are cheap! I had some money left over in my paypal account after getting a good deal on my Mackinnon and I was able to find an amazing deal on a Yakupov from the same set as well. This pairs up really nicely with the Mackinnon.

13-14 Select Nail Yakupov Auto Rookie /399

Again these don't scan worth a darn but they are sure nice in person. I love them a great deal more than Young Guns and they can be had for about the same price! Nail really should have been a finalist last season for the Calder but I think being first overall expectations were a little higher which is why he didn't get any love. This season he has had some sophomore blues but he has 4 points in his last 5 games and is even a plus 2 during that stretch. Many are quick to give up on this kid but he is very talented, 20 years old and plenty of hockey ahead of him. I suspect he will be a slow developer but in about 3 years he will be among the top 10 in scoring perennially. 

Buy low people and hang on to them. 

A Yak-tacular parcel from Matt P.

I finally crawled out from the rock I have been stuck under called life! Been far too long since my last post especially since I have been hanging on to a beauty parcel from fellow blogger Matt P at Cardboard Conundrum. Matt and I have made several trades over the years and a couple weeks ago he gave me the heads up that a parcel was coming my way. Well not knowing what to expect especially since we didn't make a formal trade, I was absolutely floored by what he sent.

The package was actually a pretty big box and inside was a retail tin of Titanium. The first thing that met my eyes was Nail!

13-14 Titanium Nail Yakupov Oversize Rookie

This is a 5x7 rookie of Yakupov who I have been trying to scoop up some cards of while I can still afford to collect him. This was a nice addition to my collection, thanks Matt.

13-14 Black Diamond Jersey Nail Yakupov

More Yakupov! Here is my first player worn card for Nail. Nice to see the blue and orange swatches together. This card is just plain cool and a welcome addition to my collection. 

13-14 Upper Deck Damien Brunner Young Gun

Here is another card that is a great addition to my collection. I have been wanting to land a Brunner to my collection and when my boxes yielded nothing I was on the look out but hadn't been able to land one yet. Instead, Matt sends one my way and saves me all the trouble. Not only does he send one, but he sends a second!

13-14 Artifacts Ruby Damien Brunner Rookie /299

Check it out, a Brunner in a Red Wings uniform. Damien is with the Devils this and next season so having a couple rookies is a must in my opinion. Awesome stuff Matt, thanks!

11-12 Limited Mattias Tedenby /299

The final card in the awesome package was a Mattias Tedenby card. This is actually my first Limited base card and I am happy to give poor Teddy some love. This kid has been sent up and down like a paddle ball for the last few years and even suffered a gruesome accident last season in the AHL. I do wish Teddy the best and if he can learn to play both ends of the ice and play stronger on the puck he does have a future with the Devils.

Well there you have it, an absolutely awesome package from Matt P. Matt, many thanks once again, this was totally fun and unexpected your package is going on its way today or tomorrow so I hope you enjoy it too! 

Card Converting My 1 for 2 New

A while back I busted a couple of boxes of 13-14 UD Series 1. I am currently riding a pretty bad streak of box busting that has gone on for a few months now which of course is one reason why I haven't been posting my breaks. The other reason is time, my posts have been pretty infrequent because life is demanding these days. One box I busted of 13-14 UD Series 1 was even missing cards, let alone giving me garbage ones. Two packs in the box were three cards light with no cool patch-like inserts to explain the lack of base. So I contacted Upper Deck, filled out the correct paper work etc and a month or so later they sent two replacement packs.

First pack had a pretty rare (1:428 packs) game-used hit of fellow Thunder Bay-ite Patrick Sharp. The second pack had an even more rare (1:720 packs) Lord Stanley's Heroes Teemu Selanne. Having had success selling my Nick Lidstrom Heroes from the same set I decided to sell Teemu.   

Cool card, but I just don't find they are worth as much to me as they are to other collectors. I was able to use all the funds from this sale (just short on the shipping part) but I was able to buy the following pair!

13-14 Artifacts Nail Yakupov Rookie /999

I had no luck with my box, but I was able to not only get one Yakupov rookie which is numbered to /999.


13-14 Artifacts Nail Yakupov Ruby Rookie /299

I was able to get a second numbered to /299. The seller had both together in the same auction and I was able to land it for a very agreeable price.

So while my UD Boxes were both busts, I was able to convert a nice gesture by Upper Deck into two Yakupov rookies which I would love to have hit in my boxes and 2 of them for that matter. Both are much more limited than the Young Gun version and for now both will remain in my collection. I could be tempted to trade one if the right offer came along but I will certainly keep the Ruby one for good.

Nail Yakupov - TTM

Awesome return from a future superstar in the NHL. I mailed the card out and had it back in less than a month. That is a pretty fast turnaround if you ask me. He included some original artwork with his autograph! Check it out at Dirty Dangle.com!

This is one of the most fun returns I have had....ever! Glad to have it in my collection and thank you Nail! I hope you always find time for your fans!