Parade of 53-54 Parkhurst Day 1 - Bill Dineen

It's been a few years since I have last updated my progress on the 53-54 Parkhurst set. I have added a few more since that time and thought I would share them all in a parade of Parkhurst cards. When I last took count I believe I was at 24 based on my previous post and I will have that number over 30 by the end of it all so please enjoy the next few posts!

53-54 Parkhurst Bill Dineen UER RC

I know what you're thinking, it says Al Arbour on here and you are correct. The Hall of Fame head coach has an error of a RC. It seems Parkhurst put a picture on Bill Dineen on his card instead of Al and his very distinctive glasses. Al's pic does appear in the set but it's on card number 38 instead and it's on Bill Dineen's card. Based on the Beckett and collectors in general despite this card stating everything about Al Arbour, it's considered to be Bill Dineen's rookie.

Here is the back side of the card which again talks about Al and his abilities with the puck. Bill started off in the NHL before eventually becoming an AHL star. Bill managed to hit double digits in goals 3 out of his 5 NHL seasons as a player. Bill Dineen was also a coach like Al and was also a successful coach like Al. Bill won two Avco Cups (WHA) and coached for a small period of time in the AHL and NHL. Bill did have a couple sons who would go on to play in the NHL most notably Kevin Dineen who also like Al and his father Bill would spend time coaching in the AHL and NHL. Kevin currently is an assistant coach with the Blackhawks and Bill sadly passed away about two years ago. Bill was inducted into the WHA Hall of Fame in 2010 and will forever be the face of this "Alger Arbour" card.

Happy Trails Patrik!

They say you don't know what you have until you lose it. Long story short we as people can often be guilty of taking things you have for granted and I certainly have been a repeat offender in that department. However, this post isn't really about me, it's about Patrik Elias. It's hard to find a player who has silently put together such an amazing career playing for a defense first team but still putting up All-World Numbers. Many might be skeptical but don't worry, I will share some supporting figures.

First off, his raw numbers are pretty decent:
1240 Games 408 Goals 617 Assists 1025 Points and another 125 Playoff Points all are franchise highs for the Devils with the exception of games played. Patrik played in 4 All-Star games, made the All-Rookie Team and one First All-Star Team and he won 2 Stanley Cups.

If you look at all those raw numbers I think ANYONE would induct him into the Hall of Pretty Good. However, there are many players out of the Hall of Fame with better numbers and stats. So here is where we consider the fact that Patrik Elias did play a majority of his career in the dead puck era and those numbers are much more amazing than they appear. If you take a visit to Hockey Reference you will find many of the facts I am about to point out.

408 Goals actually adjusts to 464 Goals when you consider overall scoring. That total puts him in the same group as Bure (463) Bossy (461) and Hawerchuk (435) and to be honest, Patrik wasn't known as a goal scorer.

617 Assists adjusts to 680 Assists. That change has him in line with stars like Guy Lafleur (681) and Peter Stastny (637).

1025 Points adjusts to 1144 Points. This is the most telling stat in my opinion when you combine his goals and assists you get a true sense of his place and standing. This total is 57th best All-Time and has him around players like Crosby, Gartner, Perreault and Henri Richard.

In addition to putting up offensive numbers he was really valuable to the club in all situations and would kill penalties and back check with the best of them. When you consider the player as a whole I believe he will make it to the Hall of Fame. Probably not on the first ballot but I do honestly believe he has a shot. Now time for the cards!

97-98 Upper Deck Ice Patrik Elias Rookie

97-98 Donruss Priority Patrik Elias Rookie

97-98 Upper Deck Star Rookie Patrik Elias Rookie

97-98 SP Authentic Future Watch Patrik Elias Rookie

97-98 Pinnacle Be A Player Patrik Elias Rookie

97-98 Pinnacle Be A Player Patrik Elias Auto Rookie

00-01 Be A Player Signature Series Gold Patrik Elias Auto

12-13 Fleer Skybox Autographics Patrik Elias

06-07 Be A Player Signature Duals Elias and Rafalski

These are a few Elias cards from my collection including some of my favourite rookies and all my autographs of Elias. I do have a few game used cards as well but nothing that I felt would have added to this post so I decided to leave them out. While Elias was never a PC of mine per-say, I have collect a few cards of him over the years and I will continue to enjoy what I have and maybe add a few more in the future as I continue to appreciate all he has done for the franchise. Happy Trails Patrik and thank you very much for all you've done and I wish you health and happiness in your retirement. 

A Pair of Blackhawks Sweet Shot Rookies

Surprise surprise, here I am with more Sweet Shot rookies. What can I say, I am a sucker for these cards and I believe they both are worth sharing so here they are!


07-08 UD Sweet Shot Patrick Kane Rookie Jersey RC /599

First up is the 2015-16 Art Ross Trophy Winner Patrick Kane. This card is numbered to 463/599 and has three swatches including a two colour swatch. 

What I like most about the backside of this card is you get a small "did ya know" in the upper right hand side.


07-08 UD Sweet Shot Jonathan Toews Rookie Jersey RC /599

While I do like Patrick Kane, I am an even bigger fan of Jonathan Toews. I would totally add him as a PC if I could afford to but sadly his stuff is a little rich for my blood so I have to pick and choose what to add from him. Love this card though with all three Hawks colours appearing on the front.

Here is what the card looks like from the back side of things. You have to love that Team Canada saw so much potential in Toews that they put him on the roster before he even played in an NHL game given the number of NHLers who could have played in his spot.

Thanks for stopping by hopefully you aren't getting too tired of the Blackhawks cards of late, I promise something different next time!

08-09 OPC Premier Cory Schneider Auto Rookie /299

As we all know, life goes on. Still its tough to see a fixture of an organization leave and in the past couple years the Devils have had two mainstays step aside for the next generation with both Marty and Lou moving on to some degree. The amazing thing, is I just need to say their first name and chances are you know who I am talking about. Well the future is now, or so they say and lets start collecting in that direction



08-09 OPC Premier Cory Schneider Auto Rookie /299

Cory is not new to the organization and I have added a couple of his cards to my collection over the years. I had two autographs to this point, one numbered to 99 and another to 25. But as far as rookie went, I only had one lowly rookie and it was from 08-09 OPC which I pulled from a pack. So I wanted to rectify the situation a while back and I was able to do so by acquiring the above card. 

Nice on card auto with actual game-used event used swatches. What a shame they say game on the front and event on the back. I'm sure many have already gripped about this so I will move on to the nice on card auto and decently low print run of 299. I've said this before and I'll say it again for value, it's hard to beat OPC Premier and Sweet Shot when their Young Gun counterparts are far more plentiful and far less cool in my opinion. 

1981-82 OPC Jari Kurri Rookie

Back in the early spring I wrote a very short post about one of my favourite cards. I do want to point out that I have lots of favourites and they really are in no particular order. In fact that list could be as high as 40 or 50.  Not more than a week or so after that post my LCS had this card in via a large collection and it was priced to sell.

81-82 OPC Jari Kurri Rookie

This card is in great shape and well centered as far as OPC goes. Clean cut and that upper right corner is likely odd looking because of the penny-sleeve / top-loader combination. The corner actually looks near perfect in person. The surface is also in awesome shape with a nice gloss and no creases.

The back scanned a little oddly, I assure you the white isn't that white it is mostly due to the photo software. I should really use Photoshop it is just sometimes I don't have time to correctly enhance them. You can see a little loss of blue on the back which is pretty typical, but in all a pretty solid Nrmt-mt card in my non-professional opinion.

While this card books for more than 6 times the Topps version, I do like them nearly equally. I do have a slight preference towards to the OPC and I am not sure if it is because I have bought into the OPC snobbery that goes around or being Canadian I feel my cards need some French on them. Either way, glad to have the pair now and who knows maybe someday the full set.

Loot thanks to my Raphael Diaz - Three HOF Rookies and a HOF Auto

This post is going to be focused on some AMAZING cards that I landed thanks to the sale of my Raphael Diaz and my Clarkson Spectrum card. I actually didn't need the full value of those two cards to buy all these but the left over money will be put towards some new season wax when I find a product I want to dive into.

So, here is what I was able to score:

80-81 OPC Ray Bourque Rookie

 One of my regrets as a collector was trading away my Ray Bourque rookie as a kid. I traded it along with a Roy OPC rookie for the complete 87-88 OPC set. At the time it was a fair trade according to BV, but as we all know the late 80's sets plunged in value and can be had for less that half what they used to cost. Luckily the same can be said for some ungraded rookies too so that is what happened here. I landed an amazing Bourque rookie which I think is nicer than my old one. The card is off-center and the bottom is slightly rough cut but that is all. The top is an optical illusion from the screwdown holder. I love this card and I landed it for a great price.

80-81 OPC Mike Gartner Rookie

 I didn't have one of these growing up, but I did pick one up as part of my Topps set. However, like the Bourque a great deal was waiting for me online and I snatched it up for less than the price of a pack of Artifacts. The bottom right corner has a tiny bit of wear but that is the only blemish on this great card.

94-95 BAP Martin Brodeur Auto

 My only Brodeur auto to this point was a TTM request success. I do regret not sending his rookie, however I will have to settle for his Rookie Auto! This is the first auto that Brodeur has issued via a licensed agreement so I am calling this an Auto rookie. Ok, that is a serious stretch, but this is my first certified Brodeur auto and I grew up always wanting this card. Ugly as hell with cool gold sharpie. These were the days when sticker technology was years away from being used.

89 UD Randy Johnson Rookie

What a baseball card? What is this doing here. Oh wait, I have always wanted one of these and I was able to pull the trigger finally after no success finding someone who would trade me one. I put out a request a few years stating that I would trade for one but since I didn't mention I would have trade at about 3x's its BV I guess no one felt it was worth their time. Anyway, it is graded which I really don't care about either way and it is all mine. My favourite pitcher of all time will certainly be appreciated and I do like the look of the 89 UD set. Maybe I will try and get the whole thing some day.

So there you go, a four pack of HOF'ers and I know Brodeur and Johnson aren't there yet, it is safe to say they will be!

5 Card 09-10 OPC Premier Auto Rookie Lot /299

Here is a lot of 5 09-10 OPC Premier rookies I was able to steal online. In all they set me back less than a blaster including shipping. 

Personally, I think the 09-10 OPC Premier rookies are some of the nicest products Upper Deck has put out in the last decade but the product did have a high pack price (approaching 200 with tax) and the resale on these was always lower than I thought it should be. Rookies are swatched up and numbered to 299 and in most cases feature a nice gold auto. I did however see silver autos on occasion which I don't think are intentionally short printed or anything like that. It is worth pointing out I have seen Leino autos with gold marker so it isn't like his are all silver either. 

I also want to point out when I first saw the 11-12 Panini Prime Rookies I immediately thought of this particular release.

09-10 OPC Premier Ville Leino Rookie /299

The least significant of my 5 rookies is Ville. I am not sure what his signature actually is; but it sort of reminds me of a nice cursive "y". Ville cashed in on an amazing post-season with the Flyers and really hasn't done much since. If he is hoping to remain in the NHL he better step up his game soon.

09-10 OPC Premier Viktor Stalberg Rookie /299

 Unlike some Leafs prospects, he hasn't exactly burned up the NHL after leaving the Buds which is good for Toronto and bad for Viktor. However, he did post 22 goals in his last full NHL season and he just got his first Cup ring which is pretty stellar. Is he a 20 goal guy? This season should show us if that is true or not.


09-10 OPC Premier Michal Neuvirth Rookie /299

What a nice signature! Name and number all present and very elegant looking. Michal unfortunately has been bit of a slide since his 10-11 NHL season where he was the number 1 guy in Washington. Hard to say if he will get back his job from Holtby, but a fresh start could jump start his career once again.

09-10 OPC Premier Tyler Myers Rookie /299

 This former Calder Trophy winner was also in my lot. This card was one major reason I bid on the lot. I had a little while back traded away my only decent Myers rookie and I felt my collection needed another one and since I didn't have his auto yet I wanted to kill two birds. A very nice card with a cool auto that links both names and number together. Tyler could be a long shot for Sochi but a great 2013-14 season could launch him into the starting 6.

09-10 OPC Premier Victor Hedman Rookie /299

The other reason for pursuing this lot was this card. A very nice two colour swatch to go along with a great on-card and number auto rookie. Victor has taken a little while to adjust to the North American game but this past year he really started to get into his own in my opinion. He nearly set career highs for goals and points despite playing only an abbreviated season. He could be a Norris contender in the next couple seasons and Tampa will definitely benefit from that.


5 cards that I am pretty happy to land for an amazing price. Some are available for trade, but I want to keep Myers and Hedman but the other three can be had, just let me know.

08-09 OPC Premier Steve Mason Rookie

I have always like the look of the OPC Premier stuff Upper Deck has put out but just couldn't afford the price point to open a box/pack. Here is a single from 08/09 that has fallen a fair bit in price over the years but I expect a good bounce back season for this kid. 

After the trade to the Flyers he played very well going 4-2 with a 1.90 gaa and a sparkling .944 save percentage and this season he is working off a 1 year deal so I would really like to see him perform well and get himself a good long-term contract and show everyone his rookie year wasn't a fluke!

08-09 OPC Premier Steven Mason Rookie /299

Love the card, it is a nice 4 piece on card auto numbered to 299. That is pretty much what you get with OPC Premier rookies and they both book and sell for very affordable prices and I recommend that if you have a player you like try and track down their Premier rookie, you may be surprised at how cheap you can get it. I have a nice quartet of OPC Premiers to share next!

07-08 Sweet Shot Bryan Little Rookie Auto

Here is another Sweet Beginnings Auto, this time it is of former 30 goal scorer Bryan Little. Bryan was a junior hockey scoring machine! He broke 30 goals as an OHL rookie at the age of 16/17 and during his four seasons amassed 153 goals and 342 points with the Barrie Colts. Bryan also represented Canada at the WJHC so you know I am a fan. However, Thrasher Jets fans must be getting a little frustrated because after an awesome 31 goal sophomore season, he has struggle to hit that total again. Bryan is only 25 years old and I think he still has some good seasons ahead of him especially once the Jets build some depth in the forward position and get Bryan some support.

07-08 Sweet Shot Bryan Little Sweet Beginnings Auto /100 

Unlike the Carter, there is some colour variation with the swatches and like the Carter a nice signature with a blue sharpie that is ON-CARD which is a nice bonus in a product that was designed to be higher-end. Really really like these cards and someday I wouldn't mind having some of the big guys from this set (Toews, Kane, Backstrom etc) with the auto variation. I recently watched a Toews version of this card sell for over 150 dollars so I am not sure if it is in the budget anytime soon...

1964-65 Topps Jim Mikol Rookie - My First Tall Boy

Ignorance is sometimes just ignorance. I never thought much of the old 64-65 Topps, in fact I pretty much felt it was one of the most overrated sets of all-time. When Fleer Power Play hit the market in 93-94 I was only that much more irritated at their large size, hard to store and otherwise foolish look. In fairness though, I never had held an original tall boy in my hands and I guess I was basing my opinion on very little.

Well this past fall, I finally held my first tall boy and it was AFTER I won it in an auction. I didn't go out looking to buy this card, but when I won a different auction I started looking at what else the seller had and this gem was there with only moments left so I threw a bid in and stole it!

64-65 Topps #36 Jim Mikol Rookie

This card is in amazing shape! No creases, solid centering and the corners are pretty decent.

I love the card backs. Good use of space and don't let the numbers fool you, those are Mikol's AHL numbers with the Cleveland Barons. He finished tied for second on his team behind AHL legend Fred Glover. Jim Mikol didn't have a HOF NHL career and actually only ever had one NHL card made during his playing career. Despite that fact, I still really like this card and I must say I have more of an appreciate of the Tall Boys now that I have one in my collection and even though I am still not a die-hard, I can appreciate them enough to say they aren't the most overrated set of all-time, but maybe just a tiny bit overrated.

10-11 Dominion - Stephen Gionta Rookie

For those of you who don't know the New Jersey Devils, "we" are likely the most family oriented club in the NHL. If you are talented enough to make the NHL and play for the Devils and you have a sibling that plays hockey, the Devils will find a spot in the system for your Brother. Darcy Zajac, Jordan Parise, Stephen Gionta and even Chris Lamoriello has the GM gig in the AHL. Once you retire from NJ, you are usually offered jobs in the system in one form or another as well.

With all that being said, I never expect much from a sibling of a former/current teammate, especially if they were never draft because we pretty much take anyone that is related. However, in the past 18 months or so, Stephen Gionta has been a very very pleasant surprise. 

Stephen Gionta or Gionta's Brother as some Devils fans call him, has done more than anyone can ever expect of an undrafted, undersized over-achiever. Last season Stephen played one regular season game, and scored a goal. Then he played on the much heralded 4th last during our cup run where he scored 3 goals and 4 assists in 24 playoff games and really scored timely goals while just playing an average of 9 minutes a game. This season, he has been an invaluable penalty killer and his ice time has jumped up to an average of 13 min a game and he has chipped in 10 points in 34 games which isn't too bad for a 4th liner either. 

10-11 Dominion - Stephen Gionta Rookie

I already had a Victory Black rookie, but no autograph, so I fixed that problem by going for the Dominion version of his rookie which has a nice on card auto numbered to 199.

Pair of Vanek Rookies, Malkin isn't the only getting double love.

Vanek is just one of those players I like a great deal but of course being in a small market doesn't get the same recognition around the league like someone with similar talent in a larger market. For example, if you compare him with other 2003 classmates you may be surprised to know he has more points than: Jeff Carter, Milan Michalek, Dustin Brown, Zach Parise, Mike Richards and Corey Perry! In fact, Eric Staal is the only player drafted in 2003 who has more goals than Thomas Vanek and even then it is a mere 18 goals with Vanek player 100 fewer games. 

Hard to believe with credentials like that his rookies are dirty cheap and his autos are similarly priced. I was very fortunate to get a couple TTM's from Thomas a while back, and I also found a few rookies to join my collection that didn't come close to breaking the bank. 

05-06 UD Powerplay Thomas Vanek Rookie

If you want a rookie from 05-06, you can sometimes expect to pay a lot considering the number of quality rookies making their appearances that year. However, UD Powerplay offers decent looking rookies for very low prices. Crosby's rookie can be had for 20-30 bucks from this set on eBay.

05-06 Upper Deck MVP Thomas Vanek Rookie

Here is another low-mid range rookie. With the hot start Vanek had this season, prices on his cards did jump a bit, but my LCS had this priced based on 2011 prices so I landed it very very cheap. I do like the facsimile auto on this card which some didn't have.

While these cards aren't terribly exciting, they are nice rookies that like Malkin, won't break the bank and are well within what many collectors can afford. Vanek's Young Gun Rookie is also very attractive in price and appearance and I since I don't remember if I have one or not, I might want to figure that out first before I try and track one down....

07-08 Black Diamond Patrick Kane Rookie

As I mentioned in my previous post, I do like the Blackhawks and when I can come across players I like I will try and snatch them up. Here is another Kaner for the collection. I actually had two rookies of his Upper Deck Young Gun (great story to this one, but for another day) and his Ovation Rookie which I have given up for dead as a TTM request. So being a rookie down and being a fan, I couldn't pass up this gem for low Beckett value price at my LCS this fall. 

07-08 Black Diamond Quad Rookie Gems Patrick Kane

In true Black Diamond fashion, the card scans like hell and looks way better in person. Unlike some Black Diamond rookies I have seen in the past, it is in awesome condition with great corners and is easily Nrmt-Mt which is saying something since some of these cards seem to come out of the pack in sad shape.  I am not sure if this is a keep or trade card for the long-term since I already have a mid-range rookie.

Kane is off to a great season so far proving he deserves to be among the NHL elite this season with 38 points in 30 games which is good enough for 5th in league scoring. With the improved performance and looking finally looking like he did in 09-10, it sort of makes owning a couple rookies feel just that much better and since I really don't own many Black Diamond rookies, the card is doing double duty at the moment.

01-02 SPX Jody Shelly Rookie - Auto'd

Here is one tough rookie!  Shelley is one hell of a tough guy and this former Moosehead had 25 goals and 420 penalty minutes in his final junior season showing he could do it all if he had to. Currently he is with the Flyers but is on the IR with a bad hip, but even all injured up, I would never want to drop the gloves with this guy.

The 01-02 SPX Rookies came unautographed, but the previous owner must have tracked him down and got him to sign it. I suspect this auto is legit mainly because WHO WOULD SERIOUSLY forge a Jody Shelley auto. Combine that with the fact that he played junior hockey an hour from my house and where I bought this auto,  I think it is all good.

01-02 SPX Jody Shelley Rookie Home /1500

I saw this card sitting at the LCS with a super low price and knew it was worth the chance. I think that one of the best features is the fact that someone tried covering up the chips with a blue marker...see upper right for best example. This card is just downright tough like the man himself!

74-75 Topps Denis Potvin Rookie

Here is another case of a card I think should belong in a person's collection and I was missing. I have a few cards from 74-75, but they are all OPC ones and Mr. Potvin was not one of them. So when I saw this post ages ago, I figured there were deals to be had on this card and I was bound to find one. Like my Ryan Ellis, I lost more bids than I cared to count, but then again I had a budget I was trying to stick to; 5 bucks max. I could have landed some pretty crappy looking ones for less, but I wanted at least EX condition otherwise I couldn't stand to look at the card.

I even went as far as winning an auction, and when it arrived I was amazed to see a huge bulge on the surface of the card. Not on indentation from behind that popped to the front, but a thick bump on the surface of the card. The seller had listed this card as mint when I bid on it and when it arrived it was anything but. I complained and they refunded my money and I was out the cost to ship it back. So I stopped looking for a while.

Then a couple months later I started up again and I found this card here:

74-75 Topps Denis Potvin Rookie

Mint condition? No, but certainly EX or higher. Under 5 bucks? Yep, 4.99 with shipping and I was able to add another card I needed to it and it ended up being an even better deal bundled. I don't think I will chase the Topps version of this set, with many cool rookies being in the higher numbers of the OPC release. But until that day arrives, I have a very respectable Potvin rookie to enjoy until then.

Ryan Ellis Rookie Anthology Rookie Treasures

I swear I must have lost 15 auctions involving Ryan Ellis before I landed this one. There must be a few collectors out there who feel he is something special like I do. I really began to appreciate this kid during the '09 World Juniors when he was a member of the last gold medal Team Canada. He isn't the kind of defenseman who will block slapshots with his face and he isn't the kind of defenseman who will crush players with bone-jarring hits. He is the kind of defenseman who will score 4 points and lead his team to victory on the scoresheet. 

What I like most about this kid is he is a winner. Much like Eberle, he just finds ways to help his team win. So far in his young career he has won Gold in the World Juniors, the Ivan Hlinka, U17 and the U18 tournaments. Currently Ryan is playing for the Preds and has 4 points in 12 games so far, but it is only a matter of time before the points start rolling in at the NHL level.

11-12 Rookie Anthology Ryan Ellis Rookie Treasures /499

A simple card with a similar recipe to UD's SPX rookies. Two photo used swatches with a sticker auto and a relatively low print run.

A Sidney Crosby Young Gun (of sorts)

This baby is a Sidney Crosby Young Gun.....just no where near as valuable or desirable and many wouldn't even consider this is a rookie card. I am not sure where I am on this one, I want to call it a rookie, but the "c" word is on it. 

Odds are just as likely to pull this over a standard Crosby Young Gun, but turns out Corey Perry ruins the card significantly for some unknown reason so this card books for about a 3 cents on the dollar when compared to the other one. Perry a former Hart and Richard winner, defaces this Crosby card. I don't know about you guys, but I have the feeling Checklists just get no love at all.

What are your thoughts on Young Gun Checklists? Valuable as Young Guns or some hybrid between a base card and a scrub Young Gun rookie.

11/12 Rookie Anthology Box Break - Hit by Hit 5

The last hit of the box was one I was expecting. Not necessarily Colin Greening, but I was expecting a Rookie Treasures. I am a fan of the cards, they look neat and they utilize both Relic and Sticker technology which are actually arranged in a eye pleasing format. I have since also picked up a few other Rookie Treasures, but that is for another day.

11/12 Rookie Anthology Rookie Treasures #122 Colin Greening /499

As far as the card goes, I like it a lot. As far as the player goes, there certainly are much worse rookies to be had in the 11/12 crop. Colin was a bit of a late bloomer and played his first full NHL season at the tender age of 25. He did put up some nice numbers 17 goals and 37 points and I think he could be a 20 goal, 50 point guy in the NHL. Given his age, he may only play 8-10 years but that too is a pretty decent number and no reason why he can't carve out a solid career. I already have one auto Greening rookie so landing a second wasn't as exciting as it might have been, but I think Panini did a pretty solid job with this set which was why I bought a second box and grabbed a few more Rookie Treasures cards.

Well that is it for hits, I have one more post to go where I will share my other rookie hits and then I will just do the second box in one post because it wasn't anywhere near as cool as this one was.

11/12 Rookie Anthology Box Break - Hit by Hit 4

The second last "hit" turned a pretty good box into an amazing box. Not necessarily a card that will make many jealous, but a card that I personally love and will hold onto no matter what. I ended up with this gem:

11/12 Pinnacle Starting Six Oilers /200

This card isn't officially numbered, but according to the Beckett magazine it is limited to 200 copies. Anyone who reads the occasional post on here knows I am a big Eberle fan, but not only did I get Eberle, I got The Nuge, and Teubert. I love every aspect of this card, I like that they crammed 6 swatches on here, I like that my six swatches are all unique in texture and colour and the best part I think I have all the different colours that appear on an Oilers jersey minus that patch. I love that I have Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins together and apart from being a Devils starting 6, I don't think this card could have been meant for anyone else but me. Truly a perfect hit for the right person! Still one more hit to go and the rest of the rookies, stay tuned!

Viktor Stalberg Future Watch Rookie

The same day a few months back when I acquired my first football card, I also landed a pretty nice deal on an 08-09 SP Authentic Viktor Stalberg Future Watch rookie. 

First looking at the card, I am really happy with the design. The card looks solid with a good spot for an autograph and a relatively unique modern look. These are numbered to 999 and as far as auto rookies go, they are rather plentiful, but like the Young Gun rookies hold a pretty good value.

Viktor proved to Toronto this past season that he was worth keeping as he nearly doubled his goal output with the Chicago Blackhawks with 22 goals and 43 points. Certainly a nice breakout season and at the age of 26 is likely hitting his stride and prime. I suspect he can easily match those numbers in the seasons coming, but it is hard to say if he can do even better. At three bucks, this card was a no-brainer for me and the auto itself is attractive and fun to own.