The Moose is no longer loose. ITG Superlative Volume 3 Mark Messier Edmonton Auto

Being a Devils fan, I probably disliked Messier as much as anyone out there during the 90's. I even felt that often he was one of the most overrated NHL players of all-time. If I was building a team, I would gladly have taken Mike Gartner or Dino Ciccarelli over Messier but I am sure I am in the minority there. However, there is no denying his accomplishments during his HOF career:

2nd in all-time Regular season games (1756)

7th in all-time Regular season goals (657)

3rd in all-time Regular season assists (1193)

2nd in all-time Regular season points (1887)

and he did all this without ever leading the league in any one category during the regular season.

ITG Superlative Vol 3 Mark Messier Auto Silver Edmonton

Here is the front side of the card featuring a very nice and large on card auto. In addition, you see the Moose in an Edmonton uniform and wearing the C. I love the intensity on his face, the Winwell bucket and the chipped teeth. In all, for a Messier card I would say it is nearly perfect.

Here is the back side and you can see it is a Silver version limited to just 20 copies. What is worth noting is there is another version called A-MM which I can only assume is a Rangers auto, but then again I guess I don't care enough to really solve this riddle. What is rather peculiar to me is that if you look closely at the bottom you see something strange.

The copyright on this card is 2010, on a product that was released in 2012/13. I don't think this is an error, but rather it has been a few years since the last Superlative release and I suspect ITG was making cards for a while before they finally released the product so as a result there are a couple different copyright years that may appear on this product. I just checked my Tretiak from this set and the copyright on that card is 2011.

So there you have it, a Devils fan with a Messier auto. Truth be told it was picked up at an insanely cheap price thanks to some very patient waiting by me (almost 2 years to pull the trigger) but I am glad I did wait and this card is exactly what I would want from a Messier auto. What are some of the painful purchases you have had to make (cards you sorta need to finish a set but really didn't want to shell cash out for)?

Recent Pick Up - Mark Messier (Sorry Brett and Michael)

I have learned over the last few months that Vancouver fans are not fans of Messier which surprised me a little bit because Messier WAS a Canuck. Being a Devils fan, of course it is no surprise I am not a huge Messier fan because Messier was ALSO a Ranger (of Ragger as some Devils fans fall them). Messier was famous for calling the Game 7 victory in the '94 playoffs which sent them to the Stanley Cup final and it seems after that day he was heralded as one of the greatest leaders of all-time! I find this a little surprising because on that '94 team, Messier wasn't the only player wearing a letter in the dressing room. Leetch, Lowe, Graves and Larmer were all wearing A's on their jerseys and none of them were slouches in the leadership department. However, it seems that Messier ends up with all the credit.

Messier was also an Oiler and a pretty decent Oiler and that alone is why I felt the need to try and land a Messier rookie.

Ever since Mike joined Jon at my LCS things have been getting more card oriented and there have been some pretty decent cards that have made their way into my collection as a result.

One card that has been there for a few months was a Messier rookie. Messier only has one rookie and that is from the 80/81 OPC Set. As a result, Messier rookies are a little more valuable in terms of BV than Bourque rookies because of that fact.

I remember looking at the Messier rookie and thinking the price was a little high for my taste and I just put it back on the shelf. Time would go by and each time I would see it on the shelf. Finally I was curious and did some research into what they were selling for online. Messier rookies aren't exactly available by the dozens but even poor quality ones were selling for 30+ bucks so I thought more about the price tag on the card in the shop was fair.

So I go in one day with some cash in my pocket and an agenda to try and shave 20-30% off the asking price.

After a little humming and hawing, Mike was more than willing to sell it at a discounted price and in the end I believe we both felt the deal was good!

So here is my first and only Messier Rookie!

Front Side
The card is in "tough" shape but not rough shape. Some corner rounding is present, slightly diamond cut, definitely off-centered and there are two light creases. Other than that, this baby is MINT! Ok, maybe not, but I was really happy with the purchase price and the card is still pretty easy on the eyes.

The Back Side

One of the creases on the front does go to the back and seen below the comic. The back is a beautiful yellow and green colour and the card shows well from behind.

Even though I am not a huge Messier fan, I am happy to have this card. Are there any players out there you don't like but found yourself needing or wanting their rookie card?

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!