#UDRAK Upper Deck Random Act of Kindness

Surprises come in all shapes and sizes and more importantly types. Good surprises are always preferred over bad ones and I don't think I am alone in this thought. Sure there are some that don't like surprises at all but the world is full of all types of people and I am one that loves a good surprise once in a while. Just before Christmas, Upper Deck sent me a good surprise. It was a completely unexpected and entirely enjoyed. I came home from work one day and sitting on my deck was this box. It looked cold and in need of a good home so I brought it in and took this photo.

I truly felt fortunate receiving this wonderful act of kindness.

Inside was all this cool stuff! I loved the Young Guns shirt and a load of Devils and two boxes of Upper Deck Series 1 which I hadn't had a chance to break any yet. Here is a close up of some of the great things that were in my UDRAK package. 

16-17 UD Series 1 SP2 William Nylander 

A pretty awesome prospect who finished this year with a solid 22 goals and 61 points. A Calder winning performance in some years.

16-17 Upper Deck Midnight Adam Henrique and Damon Severson /25

Upper Deck sent me the whole team set and I have decided to showcase my two PC players I received from the set.

16-17 Upper Deck Victory Black Miles Wood

Once upon a time Victory Black were some of the scarcest cards on the market with a print run of 5. Lots has changed since 05-06 but they are still a pretty cool card to get via NHCD or a Card Expo. I was fortunate enough to get a Miles Wood and a Pavel Zacha.

16-17 Upper Deck Victory Pavel Zacha

Pavel learned a great deal in his first season. During times he showed some great flashes and I'm excited to see how the Devils and Pavel grow and improve next season. This card is a beauty, definitely one of the better Victory designs in the past decade.

12-13 Fleer Skybox Autographics Patrik Elias

You may remember this card from a previous post which featured my tribute to Patrik Elias. It was Upper Deck that sent me this card and given the legacy he had as a Devil it was a very nice inclusion.

2015-16 SP Game Used Patrik Elias

More Elias!!! There were a number of other Elias beauties including this card and the next one.

2015-16 Upper Deck Top Draft Pick Jaromir Jagr

What a great looking retro card. Love the 90-91 design and seeing a young Jagr sporting a deer in the headlights look and puffy mullet are key components to this card's awesomeness. While his time was brief with the Devils, it was nice to see him continue to be so successful.

14-15 Upper Deck Premier Jaromir Jagr /249

Another Jagr, this time from his days with my beloved Devils. I have said this before but I am a fan of the Upper Deck Premier product line. Perhaps even more so than The Cup.

14-15 Upper Deck 25th Anniversary David Clarkson Auto Young Gun /25

The collector I am from 5 years ago would have felt this was the best card he has ever been given. In those past 5 years, David left NJ, went to Toronto, and unceremoniously was shipped to Columbus. Chances are he will never play again. During that time I had lots of chance for reflection and healing from a move that stung me a great deal but meant even more to Clarkson as a person. I would say I am a fan once again but only of his time in NJ and that will be how I choose to remember him. This card definitely exhibits those days well and I love the photo of him during training camp which adds to the cards authentic feel. Thanks for a gem Upper Deck!

2016 Team Canada Wayne Gretzky Program of Excellence Rainbow

The Great One in his 1987 Team Canada uniform? Yes please! This series was like my personal 1972 since I was not in existence for the Summit Series.

15-16 Fleer Showcase Hot Prospects Trio O'Neill/Blandisi/Hrabarenka

A nice little trio here. I believe if we can keep Blandisi after the expansion draft, he will be a solid producer for the Devils organization. So much potential and hopefully his diving days are done.

15-16 SP Game Used Sergei Kalinin RC /51

Shame we lost Kalinin during this past season. He's a solid defensive forward who would be great for any bottom 6. Best of luck and hope to see you back in the NHL soon!

15-16 Upper Deck Ice World Junior Championship Robby Fabbri /1299

A nice little Team Canada addition here. Robby is a pretty solid forward and one reason why the Blues will continue to be a playoff team.

Upper Deck was so kind to also send along some boxes to break open. I am going to share some of the highlights that I discovered in the boxes. I was fortunate enough to complete a base set from the two boxes which is an awesome start!

16-17 Upper Deck Series 1 Steve Santini Young Guns Exclusive /100

Wow!! What a hit. While there were bigger names in the box, to get a Devils player is a fantastic outcome for me.

16-17 Upper Deck Signature Sensations Jori Lehtera

I was also lucky enough to hit a case hit on my second box! This is my second ever Signature Sensations I have ever pulled.

16-17 Upper Deck Series 1 Game Jersey Matt Duchene

I also hit a Matt Duchene jersey card. Nice sized swatch and I like the larger photo too. I'm hopeful this summer the Devils can land another scoring forward or two via trade. Eberle, Duchene or Landeskog would all be good outcomes.

16-17 Upper Deck Series 1 Young Gun Josh Morrissey

Other than my Exclusive, this is probably the most exciting Young Gun I hit. Josh had a very very impressive rookie season in Winnipeg and I believe he will be a fantastic defenseman for the Jets in future years.

16-17 Upper Deck Young Guns Canvas Connor Brown

I did also hit a Canvas Young Guns from Toronto. While it wasn't Mitch Marner, I did get both a base and canvas Young Gun of Connor Brown. Brown was a nice surprise for both myself and the Leafs this season. Brown hit 20 goals this year and added 16 assists. I am not sure what his ceiling is but I am guessing he hasn't hit it yet.

2016 Team Canada Nolan Patrick

Is this foreshadowing? I would be pretty pleased to see him in NJ.

2015-16 Upper Deck Series 1 Gretzky/McDavid SP1

A Gretzky/McDavid card? Oh my, thank you very much! Definitely one of my favourites from this amazing random act of kindness.

15-16 UD Ultimate Platinum Blue Relic Cory Schneider

The best for last? Depends on your taste of course but this is the most unique piece of the package!! Love the tag. 

Well there you have it, a sampling of my truly phenomenal UDRAK package. If you are reading this and are a sports fan, I hope you too are able to receive on someday as it's truly a cool experience and one that I don't imagine many companies do for their customers. What makes this package truly remarkable is I didn't even ask for it or sign up or enter any contests. It just showed up and the people at Upper Deck know my interests and just dropped a box of kindness on my lap. There were even other PC players in the package like Adam Henrique and Damon Severson which I didn't get a chance to share yet but will at a later date. One last time, thank you Upper Deck and thank you for stopping by. More posts to come very soon!

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!

14-15 Fleer Showcase Hot Prospects Red Glow Damon Severson /27

Continuing along with 14-15 Fleer Showcase, here is one more for my Damon Severson PC which is the complement of this card. I sometimes roll my eyes when companies pump out parallel after parallel and pretty much use up every gem type known to man with their naming. However, Fleer Showcase keeps the list pretty short and the different levels offer something unique as well. In the case of Damon Severson his Red Glow cards are with the fight strap off his jersey which is pretty cool and adds something extra to plain white relic! 

14-15 Fleer Showcase Hot Prospects Red Glow Damon Severson Auto Strap  /27

As you can see, my scanner had issues on what part of the card to focus on and it looks like the auto and the Fleer foil were the winners meanwhile lots of the other text lost. In person it's a pretty nice looking card and looks nice on display (you'll have to take my word for it). There is also a White Hot version /3 but I have not yet stumbled across it and I suspect it could never happen either. However, I will always keep my ears to the streets and maybe I will luck into it and complete my hat trick. 

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Friday to those reading this today!

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.

A 6 pack of Severson

Well, Albany won their first game of the second round against the Marlies which was a huge road win. While Damon didn't factor in on the score sheet, he does have 5 points in 5 AHL games this post season and I am looking forward to an epic series. 

Last summer while searching for my neighbour I found a lot deal on Damon Severson cards (all rookies). There were seven in all and here are six of them. The 7th needs its own post in my opinion so I will save it for another day!

14-15 UD Trilogy Damon Severson Level 1 Rookie /799

Here's the base of the base rookies. Even big names guys from this set can be had affordably for those who don't mind no auto'd rookies.

14-15 UD Trilogy Damon Severson Level 1  Blue Rookie /499

The blue parallel of the card above. Colour and numbering are the only differences, same photo is used between the two.

14-15 SP Authentic 94-95 Retro Premier Prospects Damon Severson

This is the non-die cut, non-autograph version. Despite that, still a nice card in person!

14-15 Artifacts Damon Severson Rookie /699

Here is a redeemed Severson Artifacts Rookie. It arrived already redeemed. I enjoy not having to wait for redemptions.

14-15 SP Authentic Future Watch Damon Severson Auto RC /999

I never got terribly excited over Future Watch rookies and my guess is because I missed the time when they first came out and they are in a price point that usually means I can't afford a box or don't feel the risk is worth the reward. Never the less, I love me my auto rookies and this is a good one to add.

14-15 UD Black Damon Severson Rookie /199

For a card without gimmicks, this one is pretty nice. A little thicker than your standard issue card and a pretty fantastic print run of just /199. This card wasn't my reason for buying the lot, but I assure you it added to my enjoyment of the lot purchase.

So a cool six pack for you all to look at, there was one more in the lot deal that I will share in a future post as well as a number of other Seversons! In the meantime, go Devils and thanks for reading!

A New PC Damon Severson Let's Start With a Pair of Upper Deck Premier

For a good length of time the Devils had one of the best defense corps in the NHL. I think in some cases it was so good that it overshadowed the amazing play of Martin Brodeur and perhaps cost him a Vezina or two. However, that blue-line was not built over night and only a handful of years ago the Devils were faced with a pretty weak blue that was dubbed the No-Name Defense. Truth is, they played well but it was a combination of great goaltending and a good system.  Since 2011 the Devils have been re-tooling and our defense has improved greatly and I believe with a little offensive help up front we could be back in the playoffs next season.

One big key to our defensive success will ride on the shoulders of Damon Severson. He broke into the NHL on an amazing pace last year until a broken ankle set him back a bit. This season the confidence slowly came back and he finished the year pretty strong. Now, he is in the AHL since the Devils missed out on the post-season helping the Utica Devils in their quest for the Calder Cup. Through 2 games thus far he has 3 points and they are in action yet again tonight.


14-15 Upper Deck Premier Rookies Damon Severson /249

14-15 Upper Deck Premier Rookies Silver Spectrum Damon Severson /125

Here are a pair of Upper Deck Premier insert cards. The differences are pretty obvious and while I like the design of the base Premier Rookie insert, the Silver Spectrum parallel has a nice look to it in person and the swatch is a nice addition. I picked up a lot deal on Severson last summer and a few other singles here and there that I will share as part of my new PC.

I am a big fan of this kid and feel from what I have seen is he's a poor man's Aaron Ekblad and I believe both him and Adam Larsson would be great cornerstones to the Devils rebuild on the blueline. Time will tell what his potential truly is but in the meantime I am enjoying collecting him so please keep an eye out for future posts!

Previous Severson Cards:

The Cup

Fleer Showcase

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.

14-15 Fleer Showcase Hot Prospects Damon Severson Auto Rookie Patch /375

The Devils have been a team in transition. Since our last playoff appearance (2012 Stanley Cup Finals) we have been slowly turning over the roster and the position most affected has been on defense. We used to be known as the no-name defense but in a couple of years we will have one of the best blue-lines in the NHL. Don't believe me? That's fine, I will let the team do the talking but I figure in about 2-3 seasons it will be our strong point once again.

One of the best surprises of the season has been the play of Damon Severson. Prior to his broken ankle he was playing every bit as much as Aaron Ekblad and even was having as much as an impact as the 2014 first overall pick. However, the ankle injury forced him out and when he came back he had some rust and didn't quite match his early season performance. Well a summer of rest and training will hopefully rejuvenate his game and he will only continue to progress. 



14-15 Fleer Showcase Hot Prospects Damon Severson Auto Rookie Patch /375

I am a pretty big fan of these despite their low book value. A good two colour patch to go with a sticker auto and a print run of 375.

For people who don't follow the Devils, Severson finished this year playing 51 games (5 goals, 12 assists, 17 points) which was good enough for 4th among rookie defenseman and really he could have been 3rd if he played a few more games. Damon also was 2nd among rookies for average ice time per game with 21:57 (2 seconds behind first). So to say he was pulled from the pan and put in the fire is an understatement, but he handled himself well and I look forward to seeing what he is capable next season!