10-11 Upper Deck The Cup - Dustin Tokarski Patch Auto Rookie

Hard to believe someone with Dustin's skill and resume is still toiling in the minor leagues. Lets look at what he has done so far. First off, he won the 2008 Memorial Cup including a 53 save performance in the Memorial Cup finals to win the game 4-1 over Kitchener. During that tournament he was name top goalie and tournament MVP. Then in 2009, he backstopped the Canadian World Junior team to their last gold medal. During that tournament he stopped 39 of 40 shots in the gold medal game once again showing he is a money goalie. 

Then in the 2011-12 Season while playing in the AHL, Dustin leads the Norfolk Admirals all the way to the Calder Cup finals where they are victorious in 4 straight games over the Marlies. That season he won 32 games in the regular season with 5 shutouts and then in the post season put up another 12 wins in 14 games including another 3 shutouts. 

Dustin Tokarski is a poor man's Carey Price and the only reason why I don't think he has had a fair chance in the NHL is his size. When tall goalies are all the rage, Dustin is a mere 5' 11" and despite getting results he is still waiting for a fair chance at being an NHL 'tender. I sincerely hope with the awesome start he is off to this season, Montreal tries trading him to a club which could use someone like Dustin either on the bench or as a 1b goalie because I know he will be successful!

10-11 UD The Cup Dustin Tokarski Rookie /249

As far as Tampa patches goes, this one is a little dull but still I like it and this card is all great to me. This card is only my second Tokarski rookie and second Tokarski auto. I haven't been pursuing him too aggressively because I had already had one rookie auto and because his prices were a little high due to him being a goalie and a member of Montreal's system.

I have actually had my eye on a The Cup rookie for quite some time and with Ebay having a large number posted for sale I decided to throw a couple Best offers out there and after some reasonable haggling, one seller and I came to a superb agreement on this on a little while back and it will be appreciated in my collection for many years to come.

12-13 Artifacts Box Break - UD made me nearly the perfect box!

I can honestly say when it comes to boxes, I love opening them. It really doesn't matter what the product is, or if there are hits or not. However, a rare thing happened to me a little while ago and that was I think I found the "perfect" box just for me. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and nothing is truly perfect, but this box that I opened I think was one of the best I could ever realistically hope for and though not everyone would think the box is amazing, I certainly did and do. I want to warn you that there are no hits here that will have collectors bidding 100's of dollars on or anything like that. Instead, it is a box when the sum of the parts are added, I feel like I had a huge success. So here we go...

This is a bit of a review at the same time so here is what the 12-13 Artifacts base cards look like:

The front

I am a huge fan of these cards. I love the ice surface background, the silver foil and the crisp player action shots. Definitely a set I want to complete, even if it means buying the whole base, non-sp set.

The back side

Love the design on the back too. The horizontal layout, a second photo, partial stats and a little write-up. Upper Deck, this is what Artifacts should look like, well done. 

Now time for the hits...

Hit 1: Jordan Eberle Gold Parallel /25

What a start. A low number parallel hit of one of my favourite players in the NHL and  is players I collect. 

Hit 2: Team Canada Dustin Tokarski /999

I love that UD included Team Canada players and once again I landed another PC guy! Tokarski numbered to /999 isn't overly exciting to some, but I love this kid and hopefully he will get to the NHL a little faster now that he is in Montreal. I would never buy this card, but getting it in a pack is fun and I will of course be keeping it.

Hit 3: Chay Genoway Rookie /999

I think this hit belongs to someone else. This is the only hit in the box that doesn't belong, but then again it is a rookie and I LOVE rookies so at the very least I have a card I don't mind keeping. Truth is, there won't be many more cards made of this guy between now and his retirement so maybe I should enjoy his moment in the sun......maybe.

Hit 4: Frozen Artifacts Claude Giroux

Many many years ago, I saw Claude play hockey several times. He was actually in NOVICE and ATOM  and I was the timekeeper for the games he would play in our town. I know this because I do remember him and back then he was a pretty solid player so I thought he might go somewhere.

Hit 5: Johnny Bower /999

Cool insert idea focusing entirely on goalies. There is certainly a lot of fans of goalies and goalie subsets. I am not one of them, but Mr. Bower is a class act and he gave me more than I bargained for with my TTM request so getting this card was loads of fun.

Hit 6: Tyson Barrie Rookie /999

Here is my second guaranteed rookie and I am very pleased with this one. Tyson was a former Team Canada World Junior and is a pretty solid prospect with the Avalanche. People might think I am crazy, I would take this over a Chris Kreider any day :)

Hit 7: Autographed Rookie Redemption IV /99

The hit of the box (and a case hit) in terms of value and potential. I like extended rookie cards and I love autographed extended rookie cards. I really can't wait to find out which guy I am going to get. It will be numbered to 99 which is awesome and I am going to find out who it is before I redeem as it might be more advantageous to move the card rather than keep it.

Hit 8: Tundra Tandems Jordan Staal and Eric Staal

Ahhh the Staal boys. We were all born in the same city and as a result I do like the two of them a great deal. I am still in need of an Eric Staal auto to go with my Jordan and Marc.

Hit 9: Anze Kopitar Game Jersey Parallel /125

Yet another player I really like. Numbered to /125 it isn't exceptionally rare, but I love the purple and black swatches and I really like the design of these cards.

Hit 10: Chicago Blackhawks Rookie Redemption

For those of you that don't know me, the Blackhawks have always been my "second" team. If the Devils are out or it is a Western Conference matchup, the Hawks are my team. It began with Belfour and ever since I just have always liked the team. Currently, Toews and Kane are the two guys I like the most and I will share more on that in another post, but this redemption again it tailor made for me as I certainly don't mind getting this card either. One thing worth noting though, we are through the midpoint of the season and there have been no new Hawks to enter the NHL who don't already have a rookie card so this card could end up being a wild-card. So with that being said, I am also waiting to redeem this one as well since it might be advantageous to move it as well.

So there you go, my box broken. I loved every moment of the break and all the hits were very welcomed. There wasn't any card in this break that really is going to make me rich, but at the same time I could very easily keep every card and be extremely happy with the overall break. I hope to buy another box or two of this stuff, but I have a feeling that will need to wait until the summer when I may convince my wife it would be a good birthday gift! Well thanks for reading, I also have an awesome pack break coming in the next few posts too.

Ebay Auto Lot Purchase - Panini Certified

Received an eBay purchase of mine yesterday and I felt it was a total steal. I like the Panini Certified product, however at 12 bucks a pack, I find it a little rich for my blood. But, I won this lot for $7.00 including shipping (almost half the price of one pack). So in the end, each card cost less than two bucks a piece and they are all rookies #/1299 how could I go wrong....

Noreau wasn't the reason why I bought this lot.

However, he was a pretty solid offensive defenseman both in junior and in the AHL. His past two AHL seasons have him scoring 28 goals and 104 points in 152 games. Could have Tobias Enstrom potential in my opinion.

Nick Johnson, again not the reason why I bought this lot.

I seem to be getting Nick here and there. I pulled him from a pack of SPx as well so maybe I should be jumping on the Johnson bandwagon! He is a power forward with some potential, though I am not sure if Pens fans are thinking he has second line potential or not. I don't see him riding shotgun to Crosby.

Jamie McBain is one reason why I bought this lot

McBain is one of the best prospects in the Hurricanes system and this past season had a great rookie year scoring 30 points in 76 games which was good enough for 5th among rookie defenseman. I think he could be every bit as good as Keith Yandle.

Dustin Tokarski the main reason why I bought the lot.

Reasons why? Read yesterday's post. I love this guy and playing for a Tampa team that will be strong for years to come can't hurt Dustin's chances at winning a few games.

I would have a hard time scoring four TTMs for the price I paid for these 4 including shipping. So as I mentioned before, if you want affordable autographs, eBay lots purchases are often a good way to go(especially from companies like Panini, ITG and Pinnacle).

Prospects with potential - Dustin Tokarski

Dustin Tokarski is one player who has been on my radar for a couple of years. Most Canadians will remember his amazing 39 save performance to win the 2009 WJHC. Western Canadians would have seen Dustin burn up the WHL with some great performances between the pipes for the Spokane Chiefs. As a member of the Chiefs, Tokarski won the 2008 Memorial Cup and was both tournament MVP and top goaltender of the tournament.

So what has he done lately? These past two seasons he has been the number goaltender of the Norfolk Admirals which lost in the first round this past season to the Penguins. Tokarski put in a solid performance during the first round with 2 wins, 2.19 gaa and a shutout. A lack of offensive support was one of the reasons for Norfolk's quick exit.

His future could be interesting. He is apart of a young and growing franchise which is really at a goaltending crossroads. Dwayne Roloson was the goalie of choice down the homestretch and during the playoffs but, will be have another season in the tank? Either way, Tampa is going to need to either give Tokarski his shot as a backup or as a starter next season. Based the fact Tampa currently has NONE of their starters signed to a contract, and Stamkos is an RFA, Tokarski may be the most financially smart choice as a backup of starter.

Either way, I am excited and I think he is a prospect that has much potential. From the hobby perspective, now is the best time to get his cards. Many of his autographed rookies are going for about 5 bucks including shipping on eBay and his Young Guns and Artifacts rookies aren't expensive either. Could be a cheap gamble that will pay off when he wins his first cup in the next 3 years!

I landed a Tokarski auto along with a couple others in an auction on Ebay a little while ago. The cards showed up today and I will share them tomorrow.