Huge Pile of 13-14 UD Game Used including many HOF'ers

I have mentioned in many posts previous how great my LCS is for finding random deals and the owner's dislike of game used cards. They have always tended to be in my favour and this batch I have to show off today are a result of his dislike and eagerness to unload game used cards on the cheap. 13-14 Upper Deck was bought in mass quantities by people in Nova Scotia in the hopes of landing one of their very own...Nathan Mackinnon. As a result lots of boxes were opened and at a rate of 2 per box game used cards found their way into the 3 for $5 bin. Thankfully Upper Deck included many Hall of Fame players and future Hall of Fame player in that release and here are some that I pulled and others than I bought from the 3 for $5 bin.


 Nick Lidstrom

 

Personally I wouldn't call him the best defenseman of my generation because there were so many who I felt were every bit as good, if not better. But there is no arguing with 7 Norris Trophies and 12 All-Star appearances. 

Dale Hawerchuk

 

 We all know I love this guy so I won't go on and on about him. I think his 81 goals in 72 games during his final year of junior to go with 183 points is just amazing.

Ron Francis

Ron is second all-time in assists with 1249. Can't remember who's first but this total is pretty impressive.

Ray Bourque

No player has taken more shots in the NHL than Ray Bourque. He is first with 6206 career shots.

Borje Salming

Only 3 players have been on the ice for more power play goals against than Borje (621). They are Chris Chelios (708), Ray Bourque (687), Mark Messier (683). Not bad company for a relatively unwanted stat.

Doug Wilson

Doug is a 7-time all-star who also won the Norris in 1982. He would score 39 goals and 85 points that season which are both very impressive.

Peter Forsberg

Peter's 1.25 points per game average leaves fans wondering what could have been for his career if not for feet and ankle injuries forcing him to miss time an a relatively early retirement.

Jaromir Jagr

Jagr continues his assault on the record books. 4th all-time in goals and points and rising!

Dino Ciccarelli

Dino was just solid all-around. However, best known for scoring and he finished up with 232 career power play goals which is good for 9th all-time.

Jari Kurri

Jari scored an impressive 39 short handed goals in his career which is good enough for 6th all-time. The leader in that department however scored nearly double that and I think played on the same line as him (Gretzky).

Paul Coffey

Another former Gretzky teammate. Paul is a 3-time Norris Trophy winner who nearly scored 50 goals in a season (48) which is a total I don't believe will ever be touched again.

Joe Mullen

Joe Mullen is a 3-time Cup winner and former leading American born scorer.

Guy Carbonneau

I've heard people argue that he belongs in the Hall of Fame. He is a 3-time Selke and Cup winner, both are pretty impressive.


Justin Faulk

Future superstar defenseman? At the moment in time, he is on pace to score over 30 goals which has only been done twice since 1990. Kevin Hatcher ('93) and Mike Green ('08)
 
Patrick Sharp

Patrick has already won 3 Cups and could find himself on a team this season to win his 4th. He owns a very respectable 10 goals and 22 point in 30 games while taking on a leadership role in Dallas.

Robin Lehner

Ok, not all my jersey cards are amazing. What does the future have in store for Robin in Buffalo. The future will definitely reveal it soon enough and I am guessing good things.

Benedict Kovalchuk

Once upon a time I would have enjoyed this card. Now I just own it and nothing more....

Well there you have it! I pulled a couple of these but for the most part, they were purchased at the LCS in my 3 for $5 bin which is pretty awesome and always being topped up which means I have a few more to share in a future post! If any interest you, please let me know as I could be convinced to part with some.

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.

81-82 Topps Jari Kurri Rookie

Just love this card, maybe my favourite in the Topps version.

What a start to an amazing career.


My shortest post ever I think.

08-09 SPx Box Break

Been a long while since I posted any breaks, so here is a box I just got in the mail compliments of Santa. I went with this box because of its value and that you were guaranteed two rookies in the box. Typically I don't buy SPx and not because I dislike the product, I find at 140 a box you don't get the same bang for your buck. This was roughly half that price so lets see how it ends up!

The Rookies

You should get two in the box which I did. One is auto'd and the other isn't. Here is the non-auto rookie:

Oscar Moller

Currently in Europe, I wasn't that excited at first. Swatches are nice and he is young and could find himself back in the NHL sometime in the future. In all, there are certainly worse that could have been here!

Auto Rookie

I was HOPING for Stamkos, but certainly wasn't expecting it. I am happy with this though, I don't have his auto and he is a former Canadian WJHC player so it suits the time of year. He is exiled in Florida at the moment and I hope he is able to find his game there or somewhere else. I believe in his potential and hope he gets there someday!

The Game Used Cards

Each box promises two of these and my first hit was AWESOME!

I have never pulled a Crosby game/photo used anything before so this was a pleasant sight! In addition, it is the most "valuable" Winning Materials card so it also makes this box a winner for me. Glad to add this to my collection even though the swatches are Vanilla!

The other game-used is supposed to be a Winning Combos card which is exactly what this is. I don't mind pulling this card, but I think someone else out there could enjoy it more than I would so I certainly would trade this to anyone interested.

SPXCITEMENT Cards

Each box usually has 4 of these bad boys and once again I didn't do too badly!

Mats Sundin! Not bad, he is available for trade...
Carey Price! Same as Mats, he is up for trade..
Moose Messier. I was never a huge fan of Mark, so anyone interested in a trade let me know...

Most Xcitement cards are numbered to 999, the spectrum ones like Kurri here, are numbered to 99. Not a bad finish to a pretty decent box. I am going to keep this one!

So it was fun ripping some packs as it has been a while. I hope to do some more rips in the New Year, I think my next box is likely going to be Heroes and Prospects but....You never know when a deal comes your way that you can't pass up!

For anyone interested, I also have two BCCG graded Crosby Phenomenal Beginnings cards that I also looking to trade. One is a 9 and the other a 10. I am not looking to get much for them (a Cool Devils rookie or auto would take one or both), so if you want a cheap trade let me know, I am done owning them!