An Improved 11-12 Upper Deck The Cup Adam Henrique Auto Patch Rookie /249

Couple years ago I picked up an Adam Henrique The Cup Rookie which was pretty great. Great in the sense that it was a must have for a PC and I believe most collectors who have a big interest in a specific play will try and land one. A little while after I posted the card I noticed something sad.... finger nail indentations into the top of the card. They were small, but just enough to make me feel disappointed. It's not the first time and in fact I have noticed it several times over the years. I don't know if it is the player who damages it or if its the pack opener but either way the card is now far from mint. Fast forward a couple years and I was able to find a new copy which has no indentations and a slightly better swatch too! Win win!

My old copy is still in my collection and actually I have it displayed in my classroom where it looks fantastic and my new copy is at home in my collection where I enjoy it regularly.

11-12 Upper Deck The Cup Adam Henrique Auto Patch Rookie /249

 Front side is standard issue. Nice on card auto and a two colour patch this time instead of just one white piece.

This time around here is the back side.

This season has been a forgettable one for the Devils. After a great start we have been inconsistent since December and as a club we clearly have a ways to go before we will taste the post season again. I'm hopeful for a good draft pick in a believed to be weak draft class and perhaps we can see some continued growth from the prospects we do have so veterans like Adam Henrique can be rewarded for these lean years.

How about your own collection? Do you have any cards the require an upgrade or have you upgraded some in the past? Thanks for stopping by.

14-15 SPx Emerald Rookies Damon Severson Patch Auto /10

More Damon Severson folks, I appologize but he's rapidly become my main PC it seems and this one is another fun one I couldn't help but share!

14-15 SPx Emerald Rookies Damon Severson Patch Auto /10

When it comes to autographs, I must say I sure do like the ones with inscriptions on it. It's fun to see a player's printing/handwriting beyond their name. Having a thousand Wayne Gretzky autos would be cool but having one with a note, quip or expression would be even that much cooler and in when comes to Damon Severson I am pretty lucky to have a few of his autos and now I have one with a "Go Devils" attached to it. The nice thing is he had to take a little more time signing this and I get a chance to see some additional penmanship. The rainbow gold foil is pretty cool on the card and the green normally wouldn't be the most appealing but given the Devils colour history it's a nice thing that works for this card in my opinion. It's got a decent patch and it's numbered to 10 which are all fun bonuses to go with my "Go Devils".

What are your thoughts? Do you like additional remarks on your cards? Thanks for stopping by and I will share something next time that isn't Devils related!

My New Year's Resolution

About a decade ago I made a resolution to stop making resolutions. I was pretty good at avoiding them, perfect in fact until now. This year I have decided to make a resolution involving my blog. In past years I was pretty good at making regular posts and I felt a drive to do so. The past two years have been pretty lean in the posts department and it's not because of a lack of drive. This past year was better than two years ago and I am pledging to increase my activity still. I have a goal of 120 posts and I am even hoping to exceed that but I wanted my goal to be also achievable given the business of life and parenthood.

Speaking of turning things around, the Columbus Blue Jackets have been a team on a mission and they seem to show no signs of stopping. The team itself really isn't much different than last year, but the players themselves have seemed to just step up their game. Bobrovsky has played very well this year and has been  healthy and when you combine that with young players like Wennberg, Saad, Atkinson and Jones have all made huge developmental leaps in their game. Inject a rejuvenated Sam Gagner who is on pace to have the best season in his career after being left for dead by a majority of the NHL and rookie phenom Zach Werenski you have a team that is currently tops in the NHL. What is extra scaring is former 30 goal men like Boone Jenner and Scott Hartnell aren't even hitting their strides yet.

  
14-15 Fleer Showcase Hot Prospects Alexander Wennberg /175

Here is a good card to start the year on if you ask me. This card looks great in person with the silver patch. A few other colours are present too and the gold foil is a nice addition to the card. Some of these rookies are numbered to /375 and others /175. There are other Red Hot Variations of these too which I will share one I have in my collection at a later date. If you are looking for an affordable patch auto rookie on the secondary market that is very visually appealing, I do recommend these cards. While I tend to go after Trilogy Auto Rookies from this particular year, these are definitely cool cards too.

Alex Wennberg is currently second in team scoring with 34 points in 36 games which is 6 points shy of his career high of 40 which he set last season in 69 games. Alex is a playmaker first and foremost and I think he will be a great number one pivot for the Blue Jackets for many years to come given he is only 21 years old.

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and thank you for stopping by, I love this hobby and interacting with fellow bloggers and collectors and I hope to do even more of that this year! Happy 2017.

5 Years and 23.35 Million Buys You This!

Kyle Palmieri's autograph and the 30 goals and 57 points he put up last season. Of all our free agents, he was the one I wanted us to sign the most and we proved we really wanted him and I'm pleased he signed today. We had a chance to qualify him and force him to stay restricted but we didn't, showing him that he can choose to stay. Then we gave him oodles of time to decide and we even offered arbitration but in the end all sides are happy and we have his services for the next 5 plus years.

10-11 The Cup Rainbow Gold Kyle Palmieri Patch Auto Rookie /51

When we traded for Kyle last season, I picked up a couple cards of his in the hopes that he would have a great season and I could land a card or two before any increase in demand occurred. While I am not sure if the demand is any greater, I am pleased to have been able to stretch my 15 dollars I had budgeted to land the Rainbow version of his The Cup rookie. One of the reasons I landed it for so cheap is the plain white swatch, but the print run more than makes up for it in this collector's eyes. If Kyle is able to duplicate his results from last season for the next few years I would say Devils fans are in for a special treat in the win column. Thanks for agreeing to a great contract Ray and Kyle and lets see what else Ray has planned for this off season.

Hey Cougars, Brett Connolly is a fan!

We season 1 in Boston is over and my boy Brett is an RFA for the final time and Boston needs to decide if they liked what they saw or if they would like to move his rights/risk losing him. The good from the season was at times he played well on the top line and put up points in bunches including a 3 assist night against the Jets in February. The bad was a stretch to close the season out which had him off the top line scoring only 1 point in his final 10 games prior to ending the season injured.

I of course will be watching this off season closely and hopefully he will get a chance to play some solid top 6 minutes and have an opportunity to showcase his potential. Of course NJ is undergoing a retooling and while we need young forwards with scoring potential I am not sure if Brett is on Ray's Radar but one can only hope. In the meantime, here is a hat-trick of similar Brett Connolly SPx Rookies.

2011-12 SPx Brett Connolly Autographed Rookie /499

 

The first one in the three pack is the base Brett Connolly auto rookie which features a blue swatch and a sticker auto numbered with his junior number (8). I am a fan of the design of this and love how it almost looks like its a carbon fibre background. I am also a fan of the print run and think anything above /499 really shouldn't be numbered.

2011-12 SPx Patch Spectrum Brett Connolly Autographed Rookie /25

 

If you haven't seen these in person, add it to your to-do list. I love the spectrum foil on these cards. In addition each of the 25 cards features some inscription and in the case of Brett Connolly he went with "Go Cougars". How awesome is that, an inscription that could potentially have a double meaning! Of course he probably isn't referring to the urban dictionary version of a cougar but it still makes me chuckle looking at the card nonetheless. What is also sweet is the four colour patch they squeezed into the window of the card. Well done Upper Deck, well done! 

2011-12 SPx Patch Spectrum Brett Connolly Autographed Rookie /25

No you aren't seeing doubles here, but similar card yes! This time the patch is a three colour version and Brett is all about being on top of the "Go Cougars" instead of behind the idea. Ok, please excuse the high school humour but I just couldn't resist the lame joke. I did go after the second one because the inscription was written differently and the price was too good to be true. This is the only copy I have seen of this card where he wrote the inscription below his signature which made this a must have. I also like how the inscription versions have his NHL number and the base has his junior number.

Well there you have it a hat-trick of BC and a little HS humour. I promise a more serious post next time but in the meantime thanks for stopping by and putting up with me :)

Savour These Seversons!

Well it was a great ride while it lasted but sadly the Albany Devils couldn't find some game 7 magic and steal one away from the Marlies. I still find much solace in the fact that the future in bright in the Devils organization and with another high first round pick I can see us continuing to grow as an organization. Here are a couple more Seversons!

14-15 SP Authentic Future Watch Auto Patch /100

Plain white patch, I know, not the most appealing of the patches but still a solid card in my opinion with a really nice holofoil touch.

14-15 Upper Deck Premier Damon Severson Auto Patch Rookie /299

Without a doubt my favourite 14-15 release. This is one of two copies I have of this card. This is the lesser of the two but still has a hint of two colours and features a mixture of swatch, acetate, foil and paper. Stay tuned for the second one I have of these, its a beauty and I will go in more detail on my interest in this particular set.

Thanks for checking in, sorry it's a quicky but sometimes that's all we have time for on either end anyway.

11-12 Dominion Adam Larsson Auto Patch Rookie /99

One question I get asked all the time, why are you a Devils fan? While I have a fun story about that, my answer should be because the hockey cards are cheaper! One thing I truly believe is if Adam Larsson was on the roster of the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Montreal Canadiens his cards would probably sell for more than twice the value they do as a Devil and fan base is a huge factor in that. However, exposure is one too. What I have had the privilege to see him do on a nightly basis has me a believer in why he was such a highly touted pick.

NHL defensemen are very similar to wine in my opinion (this coming from a guy that doesn't touch the stuff). Some are fantastic right from the start but as their careers progress, there is little to no improvement in their game and in some cases there may even be a regression. Others seem to just get better year after year. Look at Victor Hedman or Scott Niedermayer. Both highly touted picks and both had a little mud slung in their direction early in their career but both get better year after year and by the end of it Hedman is getting some votes for the Norris and Scott is a HOFer.

I am not sure what the ceiling is on this kid but with the Devils looking to improve and rebuild, Larsson will hopefully be a fixture of the defense corps for many seasons to come and potentially take over Andy Greene as the go to man on the back end.

11-12 Dominion Adam Larsson Auto Patch Rookie /99

When it comes to Dominion, the 2011-12 design is by far my favourite and I love that the print run on these are just /99 copies. The swatch I was able to get here was pretty sweet too (3 colour) and is part of the Devils emblem on the front of the jersey.

 

For how much I like the front, I am a little disappointed with the back side. I am not against the obscure facts and in fact welcome them but zero stats or vital info is a big negative to me. Plus is it just me or did you always find seeing a plain old Panini emblem instead of a hologram or foil somewhat underwhelming?

Well despite the lack luster backside, the front more than makes up for it and this card is a nice addition to my collection for a price that I felt I could pay any day and all day (less than the price of a blaster).

13-14 Panini Contenders Rookie Ticket Mikhail Grigorenko Patch Auto /100

Mikhail Grigorenko former 1 round draft pick, former junior hockey superstar and NHL bust. The first two are very correct but the last can be left to interpretation. I am still cheering for him to make something of himself and when he was trade to Colorado I felt, finally, he will have some supporting players and a clean slate. Sadly his time in Colorado hasn't gone as well as I hoped and I think it is only a matter of time before Mikhail bolts for the KHL where mediocre players become stars. During his last 12 games, Grigorenko has manage to score 1 goal and 0 assists which isn't what you would expect from a offensive star. Grigorenko is still very young and there is lots of time to turn it around but with new players flooding into the league each year I am not sure how many more chances this kid will get.

13-14 Panini Contenders Rookie Ticket Mikhail Grigorenko Patch Auto /100

A pretty solid rookie insert card with a small piece of yellow patch peeking out. His auto which is messy but very consistent is signed with a gold marker and works well with the black background.

Earlier in the season Mikhail did have a stretch of 6 games where he put up 7 points which tends to suggest it's feast or famine with this kid but perhaps the second half of the season will  prove to be more productive and we will see an improvement before the year is over. I, for one, am still hopeful.

11-12 Upper Deck The Cup Brett Connolly Rookie Gear Booklet /25

There are some cards you just don't appreciate until they are in your hands and I believe this one falls in that category. I really haven't been looking for this card at all but when searching for Brett Connolly patches I noticed a dealer selling several BC The Cup Rookies and inserts and there were two of these booklets for sale. Sadly they ALL ended within a second of one another so I had to make my choice and go hard for it. In the end, I am pleased with the outcome and landed a whale!


11-12 Upper Deck The Cup Brett Connolly Rookie Gear Booklet /25

Here is the outside of the booklet. 25/25 and all the promises of swatches inside....

Here is the inside!!

I want to go on the record by saying I am not a huge fan of booklet cards and am almost angry each time I have to shell out 10 bucks for a one touch to hold the card but this is one massive exception. The left side is neat with a huge signature which is a good thing for Brett because his auto is pretty simplistic (even more so since he started in the NHL) and it's size brings out more details. The right side is pure gold. Patches, jerseys and straps are already in my collection but, seeing all three together is pretty cool and the patch features a few breaks and even some silver. But the best part and the reason why I went for this one instead of the other booklet is the laundry tag. I believe it speaks for itself and it is telling me Mr. Connolly is either a size 50 or 52. Like himself, this jersey was made in Canada. Just awesome.

So the big question is do I chase all his rookies now that I have come this far....perhaps I should. But I will just need to figure out what is exactly out there before I tackle that type of mission but in the meantime, my collection grows still!

14-15 Upper Deck The Cup Damon Severson Auto Patch Rookie /249

With the Devils performing far beyond most's expectations to this point in the season, we have lots to be thankful for. While our struggles of recent years have been blamed on Lou, the truth is Lou did leave behind many wonderful working parts and our defense is definitely something Lou should be proud of and with the right coach they are firing on all cylinders. Damon Severson is one young defenseman I hope to see more and more of as the years go by and I have added to my Severson collection and I would say he joins Brett Connolly, Adam Henrique and Ryan Ellis as a member of my PC.

As far as rookies go, they never get any more desirable than The Cup. A nice swatch with three colours and a centralized autograph. The truth is this isn't my favourite Severson card in my collection but it is definitely among the top 5. I look forward in the coming weeks to share all my Seversons as well as many other additions and successes.

My other awesome Twitter trade over the summer

While my last trade post mentioned someone who wrote me up about trading, this post is about a trade I initiated myself. During the dog days of summer I had a chance to really be active on twitter which has pretty much ground to a halt now that school is back in session. However, during that time I saw a retweet by Upper Deck which involved a collector named Jeff who likes to break ultra high-end cards. He is chasing the Rookie Bookmark set from the 11/12 The Cup set so he bought some boxes and shared the results. In his break he hit a Devils rookie I had been trying to find on the cheap and I decided to contact him if he would be willing to trade it. 

He was more than willing and we were able to come up with a pretty good deal for both sides. Not long after he has hit more Devils cards and I was able to make a second trade with him as a result. Here are the cards I got from my two trades with Jeff.

 11/12 The Cup Adam Larsson Auto Patch Rookie /249

Sure it is a plain white patch but what do you expect from a Devils emblem! It features lots of white.


07/08 Upper Deck Sweet Shot Martin Brodeur Sweet Stiches /299

This was a throw in by Jeff to balance out our first trade. The card became much more significant when I traded a few of my Brodeur game-used away to Tom a few weeks after getting this card. I am now on the hunt for a Brodeur Auto Patch that I hope to land someday in the next year or so.

13/14 Panini Prime Prime Jon Merrill Prime Time Rookies /25

A little chipping on the card is a downer, but numbered to 25 and an on card auto are all awesome pluses! This isn't my first Merrill card and I doubt it will be my last either!


So a couple trades down already and maybe even more in the future with Jeff. Thanks for two great trades Jeff and I wish you the best of luck with your Rookie Bookmarks. 

More Brett Connolly Parallel Rookie Goodness - Its Fight Time!

It is amazing how a card company can do both amazing and careless things all on one card. Panini Prime was a premium product with a price point of 200 dollars a pack. Not exactly The Cup price range but certainly on its way there. 

A recent pick-up for the old PC shows the great and bad things about the product. Come and take a look with me.

11-12 Panini Prime - Brett Connolly Hologold Auto Patch Rookie /25

Here is the holo-gold version which is a neat treatment to a card, but it isn't quite as flashy as Upper Deck's The Cup gold treatment. There is also a holo-silver version which I picked up a while back too.

What I like about this card is with the base you get 4 jersey swatches, with the holo-silver there are two patches on mine and then this card has one 4 colour patch, 1 two colour seam and a piece of the fight-strap with velcro!. The last piece is just a swatch of white jersey with a ripple. In all they are 4 great pieces from different parts of the jersey. The patch and the fight strap are just amazing. But, if you look closer, the seam piece doesn't even take up the whole window. There is actually a gap of NOTHING, that is a downer. Another downer is the signature. It looks like the auto area wasn't prepped properly or there was an issue with the marker. Either way, for a premium product those are both cons about this card.  

Here is the back side of the card. Nothing special here from the other versions except the numbering is to 25 instead of 199, 50, 10 which are the regular, silver and black versions respectively.

So, have you ever bought a premium card and been saddened by the craftsmanship? In all the patches and numbering make up for the signature and seam piece but I would not have been happy if I paid 200 bucks for a box and this was my main hit. But since his is in my PC and I paid very little for the card, its shortcomings can be over looked.