11-12 The Cup Keith Kinkaid Auto Patch Rookie /249

Countless pundits in the hockey world begin this season by saying the Devils will finish dead last. When I would read these articles I would just shake my head and think that their predictions were a little harsh and off the mark. For those of you that follow the game closely might even remember that on Jan 1st the Devils were actually in a playoff spot nearly 1/2 way through the season. Then our depth was exposed when Mike Cammalleri was injured and missed the rest of the season and Cory Schneider also went down with injury in March and missed 11 games. This isn't a team that I think would be projected to be at the bottom of the Eastern Conference the following season after trading for Taylor Hall.

Fast forward to 13 games into this season and the Devils are a respectable 7-3-3. True there are many more games to be played but we have managed to get that record thus far and really haven't shown signs of slowing down. The Devils have relied on a combination of timely scoring and great goaltending in particular from BOTH goalies. To do well this season we will need our young players to continue to develop and guys like Hall, Henrique, Severson, Zajac and Palmieri to continue to produce offensively. Last night was a great character win over the Buffalo Sabres which had the Devils winning 2-1 in OT after being down 1-0 early. Keith Kinkaid played very well stopping 25/26 shots on the road where the Devils have struggled a bit this season. On the year Kinkaid is a very respectable 2-0-1 with a 1.65 g.a.a and a .944 save percentage. He will be expected this year more than ever to get us wins if we are hoping to make the post season. In honour of his great start to the season, here is a little Kinkaid gem I picked up. 

11-12 The Cup Keith Kinkaid Auto Patch Rookie /249

As with all The Cup rookies, you get a nice on card autograph and in most cases you also get a patch from a player worn jersey and this one has the Devils three colours. As you can see, the photo has Keith sporting his Union College helmet and the number 30 which of course was his College number and in honour of his idol Martin Brodeur. Keith wears #1 for the Devils which was one worn by another great former Devils goalie....J-F Damphousse....just kidding (ok he actually did) but I am referring to Sean Burke!

Thanks for stopping by and putting up with a little Devils rant!

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.

So here is what I bought with my Brendan Gallagher Loot - Part 1

So I did very well on the sale of my 12-13 Artifacts Brendan Gallagher Auto Rookie /99. I wanted to make sure that when I bought cards with that money I was going to accumulate a batch of cards that exceeded my interest in the card that I sold. If I could do that, then in my opinion I feel like I went ahead on the transaction. So, here are the cards I landed and yes I feel in the end, I am further ahead.

11-12 The Cup Adam Henrique Auto Rookie / 249

The was a beast off the want list. While the patch is insanely dull, the auto is large and crisp and it is the pinnacle of Henrique rookies as far as most collectors go. It is worthless because of the patch? Not in my eyes, but many collectors shied away from this auction as it sold for well less than half the price another Henrique did at the same time with a nicer swatch. Really happy to gain this card and there was plenty of money left over to land some more gems, stay tuned!

11-12 The Cup Brett Connolly Rookie /249

If you  have a PC of a modern player, what is their most desirable rookie card? Many collectors wouldn't hesitate with their answer and it likely would be their "The Cup" rookie. As far as book value goes, these rookie usually carry a pretty hefty price tag and are sought after by fans of the set and of the players.

Since I consider my Brett Connolly and Adam Henrique PC's to be reasonably serious I felt it would be important to try and cross The Cup of their lists. My Brett Connolly The Cup rookie isn't my favourite but I do like it a fair bit. When compared to my Dominion Gold card, the swatches aren't even close in comparison. The Cup version does have a nice subtle two colour swatch and isn't much smaller than the Dominion one. But the print run is nearly 10 times larger and this card actually cost me 5 dollars more than the Dominion Gold card. Those factors do take away from the card a little bit but still in the end it is a great card for my PC and I do like it lots, it just isn't my personal favourite. 

11-12 The Cup Brett Connolly Rookie /249

As you can see, this is numbered 52/249 and features a cool two colour swatch (blue and white). The auto is nicer on this card because he includes his Tampa number 14 with a signature that looks a little less rushed than the Dominion one. In fact, you can see some elements of his old autograph from junior which I will get into when I finish all my Brett pick ups.

Here is the back side of the card which I do like the improvements that UD has made of the years to their The Cup back designs. This has a few important stats and your lengthy authentication note that you have come to expect from UD.

The book value on this card is 80 bucks which is tied with his Crown Royale rookie as being the most "valuable" base rookies you can get of Brett Connolly. I don't include his Titanium rookie because it is limited to just 14 copies and doesn't have a book value. In fact, I haven't come across any online in the last year or so but I suspect I could have easily missed it.

So there you have it, my third favourite Brett Connolly rookie which trails only my Rookie Anthology Patch Rookie /15 and my Dominion Gold Rookie /25

A Double Box Break of 11-12 Rookie Anthology - Another Bride From My Wife

Ok so I am so very close to completing the set, what better way to attempt to finish it than buying 2 more boxes! Thanks to doing a task my wife didn't want to do, I landed myself two more boxes of my favourite 11-12 product. Here we go, nothing but hits and no frills at that.

Box Toppers

Topper 1

 Emelin is haunting me and this is my second one. I received the other as a NPN win from Panini. This one is up for trade.

Topper 2

Love this one, jersey/stick combo. I am keeping this one.

Rookies

Each pack has a rookie,  I am just pointing out my more notable ones and I am starting with Marcus. Marcus is a former Canadian World Junior so this one is a fun hit.

 Another former WJ, Leland won gold with Canada in 2007. Currently he is one of a few goalies looking to steal the vacant starting job in Calgary.

 Most rookies were Pinnacle ones and Gustav is the best of the bunch!

Game-Used/Player Worn Hits

Each box claims to have a couple of these and mine was no exception. I was lucky enough to hit another Pinnacle Starting 6. This one features a good selection of rookies from the 11/12 season. Henrique makes this one a keeper!

 What an odd combination. Despite it having Nicky Palms on it, I can live without this card for sure.

 Ryan Ellis!!! I hope we see him again!

 I didn't know Philly and Detroit were rivals.

Rookie Treasures

 Each box has one of these unless you are lucky.  Talbot......Rangers....Yuck.

 Teemu! I promised he would be back, another disappointing Oiler hit.

Case Hits

 I was fortunate enough to have two large hits as well. Here is proof Montreal is haunting me for sure! Dual patch/auto rookie parallel of Raphael Diaz aka Number 61. This one is numbered 14/15 and can be yours if you want to trade for it.

My favourite hit of the box.....Ryan Ellis Ice Breaker Rookie auto. These are one per case and I landed a PC guy. I really can't ask for much more (except maybe RNH).

There you go, sorry no big write-ups that I typically do but two boxes that I am pretty happy with but more than willing to trade more away. I did also finish my set which is an added bonus!