A mystery solved and major thanks!

SO about a month ago I received a package in the mail that I wasn't expecting. I hadn't bought anything and the package itself was of an unusual size. Of course my next thought is someone has been very thoughtful and sent me a package but when I look at the return address, it doesn't jump out at me as one of the usual "offenders".

Inside there were a number of items including a business card of a company I didn't recognize but upon further research they were affiliated with a company I bought stuff from before so I figured maybe they did some data mining and they were fishing for sales. In the end, I decided this mystery wasn't solved and I was going to put up a post asking for the sender to identify themselves so I could properly thank them.

Well time passes and one day out of the blue I get an email from my friend and fellow blogger Sal from PuckJunk.com and he asks me if I received the stickers in the mail. Immediately I thought, no I didn't get anything from you yet, am I to expect something and then I remember the mystery pack and ask him if he had anything to do with that. Sure enough Sal did which makes WAY more sense because the first thing I have listed is one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received especially given my history of cheering for the New Jersey and how I selected them as my team (a story for another day).


Complete Team of New Jersey Devils players for a Rod Control Hockey Game

The 8 year old version of me would be in tears if I could have had this gift as a child. Sadly it came many years too late but that doesn't diminish it's awesomeness. The game is long gone but these stickers could potentially find themselves on a game before I die or at the very least an enjoyed part of my collection. I love the goaltender the most, it almost looks like Chico Resch. There was even a sticker for the puck which I can't remember if my set had one or not. I did have the deluxe version which had it's own legs and a clock/scoreboard at centre ice where you'd drop the puck through a hole in the top for faceoffs. 

Super Sticker '96 Martin Brodeur

No idea what set this is from or exactly how it was to be used. From what I can tell on the back there were instructions like it attached to some popout or something. The image of Marty and his signature are both die cut and could be removed which is pretty cool. The size of the sticker isn't much different than your traditional Panini sticker for those that are curious.


88-89 Panini Sticker Pack

The last item in the package was a pack of 88-89 Panini Stickers. I haven't opened the pack as of yet and am learning towards not opening it and just enjoyed it as is. The coolness of an unopened pack for me outweighs the potential success of hitting a rookie like Hull or Shanahan etc. I like seeing the shots of Mario at such a young age with so much of his HOF career ahead of him.

Well there you have it, I had a mystery and now it's solved. In hindsight I should have known Sal had something to do with it and to be honest I wasn't surprised when the connection was made that it was him but at the same time I am humbled that he would take some knowledge and go through all the trouble he did to make this happen. Thank you very very much, I don't ever imagine getting a surprise package beating the sentimental value contained in this one. Thank you :)

Thanks for stopping by, another nice package coming up in my next post!

Has it been 35 Seasons Already?

Back during the 1991-92 season, Upper Deck released a few 8.5 x 11 cards including this one below which is for Devils fans and commemorates their 10th anniversary in the NHL. I can't remember all the other cards released but as you can see from this one, fans at the Blackhawks vs Devils game on December 21st 1991 would have received one of these cards. I'm not sure what happened to any extras or if there were other ways to get this card but giveaways like these are always cool in my opinion. I looked the game up on Hockey Reference and it looks like they battled to a 1-1 draw.  

That was of course 25 years ago which would make this their 35th anniversary and I curious to see if the Devils do anything to celebrate that this season or if the rebuild means we will just continue business as usual and maybe have something worth celebrating in 5 years.

1991-92 Upper Deck Devils vs Blackhawks Commemorative All-Star Sheet /24000

What I like about this sheet is you get a bunch of cards pictured that weren't apart of the 91-92 Upper Deck Set. What I also love is they are in *All-Star uniforms and players like Walt Poddubny and John MacLean are getting a little love. This card was a must have for me and when I found it on eBay I threw a bid at it and was the only bidder winning it for 0.99 plus shipping! This card is now framed in my office since it is a blank back card anyway and will soon be hanging on the wall once I finish decorating my office.


*Worth pointing out, if you look closely at the photos, the colour of the players gloves gives you an idea which team they were actually playing for in the NHL during the time the photo was taken. Walt was with the Leafs for example or Stastny was with the Nords.

19 years ago

19 years ago today, people stopped laughing at me when I told them I was a Devils fan. I feel very fortunate to have been a fan during the bad years and the good years. 1988 was a pretty tough season after being one game from the Cup finals. However, Cup wins in 1995, 2000 and 2003 have been wonderful gifts and if the Devils never win another Cup again, I will always remember those wins. But with that being said, there is always something special about your first and for me, 1995 is the best! What some people don't realize is the Devils won the Cup in 1995 by only playing 20 games. That means they were 16-4 and since 1987 only one team has won the Cup in few games, 1988 Oilers. 

Molson/Panini Stanley Cup Banners

Before I begin this post, I want people to know I don't necessarily endorse the consuming of Molson products. True some of them are tasty and down right yummy, but others are pretty gross. I have not purchased any Molson products from my local liquor establishment, but rather picked up the following from my LCS.

Typically I don't fall for gimmicks like free cards in stuff and I almost never chase these cards, but my guys at the LCS were drooling all over these cards and I felt bad because they loved them so much and I really couldn't care less, so I bought them out of pity. Fact is they are always amazing guys for deals and really spending 5 bucks on three cards I really didn't care much about is no big deal in the grand scheme if it made them happy in the process.

However, I have grown to not mind these cards mainly because of what they represent. My three most favourite NHL seasons! The set as a whole is 92 cards featuring the champions from each season the NHL has produced the Stanley Cup Champion. So if a team has won it since 1918, there is a card for that year. Being a Devils fan, there are three that were of interest to me. Here they are:

1995 Stanley Cup Champions

This ranks as my favourite of the three. I was a teenager at the time and I had been cheering for the Devils for 8 years by this point. I had endured some bad times, and some painful times by this point. I remember the 88-89 season was tough and I even got teased for being a Devils fan. Then 1994 came along and we had a great run and fell oh so close to the Rangers. But after a short lockout, the Devils came on strong at the end of the season and were hot at the right time. We rolled over the Red Wings in the final to win our first Cup. I actually have the final game of that series on VHS where my man Billy Guerin had 3 points and Mike Peluso wept like a child on the bench. I LOVED that year.


2000 Stanley Cup Champions

After the 95 win and missing the playoffs in 96, the Devils put together a few weak playoff appearances before the 2000 season. However, the 2000 season will be best remembered for how strong the Devils were ALL season. We finished the season with a solid 103 points(which was lots prior to the three point games of today) and what some people don't realize is were finished second in the entire NHL in goals scored. In the following season, the Devils would lead the NHL in scoring which is often forgotten because of the huge emphasis the media was putting on their trap style approach to defense. I really enjoyed this Cup win because it was the second time and after the first I wasn't holding out much hope that I would have a chance to see one again so this came as a bit of a surprise.

2003 Stanley Cup Championship

This was the last time we won the Cup and by this point I had just got accepted to do a Bachelor of Education degree at Ottawa U, and I was working back home for the summer and I had every night dedicated to watching playoff hockey. I had just gotten rid of my girlfriend at the time and I must say life was simple. Work, golf, hockey and repeat. I think I will best remember this Cup for those reasons, and the 400 dollars (total) I won in two playoff pools. To celebrate the last I Cup even got cornrows in my hair with red, white and back beads. Do I regret anything, maybe the corn rows, but it was very awesome and definitely another highlight of my life.

So these cards even though I had no interest in them initially, they did bring back some fun season memories and were worth 5 bucks to me. For those curious, here is the back view of the corn rows, I will never show the front view online!

I kept them in my hair for about a week, and then I shaved my head. 1 full year of growing my hair and not cutting it, gone in 60 seconds.