A Holiday Gift from The Hockey Card Geek

While I was expecting something in the mail from Shane (and was blown away by its contents), my next holiday surprise came completely unexpectedly from Duff at The Hockey Card Geek. Duff had sent along a very nice Christmas card and a cool hockey card attached inside of it. 

09-10 Ultimate Cody Franson Ultimate Rookies /299

What a cool treat. Auto rookies are my favourite card and to get one from a star NHL defenseman is an extra special treat. Thank you very much Duff, and I assure you payback is coming and I am hoping you are as happy as I am.

A Christmas Gift from Shoebox Legends

After one of my many Brett Connolly posts (who btw has had three consecutive games with three points (4 goals and 5 assists)), Shane from Shoebox Legends wrote me about something he stole on the internet. He said he had a Panini Prime Signatures Brett Connolly auto that he landed for 99 cents plus shipping and since I am a big Connolly fan, he offered it to me for my PC. However, the last time he sent me something, poor Shane discovered that the USPS can be a cruel when you ship to Canada so he decided this time round he would add a "few" travel companions so he would get more value from the crazy shipping costs. Little did I know what was in store for me. Enjoy, I sure did!

11-12 Panini Prime Brett Connolly /99

 This baby is a nice on-card rookie year auto. Love the effects that Panini did with their photos on these cards. Just about as cool as it gets in modern cards.

The next batch Shane gave me are some nice retro on-card autos he got from another collector and thought I would like them. He was right, and Shane, I am pretty confident these are indeed legit so many thanks for the nice autos.

86-87 Topps Bobby Carpenter

 Here is a nice auto from a former 50 goal scorer and former New Jersey Devil. He won one cup as a player with the Devils and 2 cups as an assistant coach. Nothing but good memories of Bobby. His daughter is representing Team USA at the Sochi Olympics in hockey.

80-81 Topps Terry O'Reilly

 This auto is neat because it looks like Terry started with a dead black pen and then switched to a nearly dead blue ball-point pen. What is cool about this card is the fact that no one scratched the puck! Terry was a fierce competitor and this is my first auto from him!

86-87 Topps Rick Middleton

 Here is another auto I didn't have in my collection and oh boy am I glad I do. I have a Rick OPC rookie, Rick game used card and now the auto. It is a shame he isn't in the HOF as that would be a hat-trick of memorabilia for my new PC. Rick had 448 career goals and 998 career points, if not for a career ending injury, I would like to think he would have reached 500 and 1000 and maybe got he call to the Hall.

84-85 Topps Guy Lafleur

 Classic player, classic card and classic auto. Just plain awesome.

86-87 Topps Doug Bodger

 Another player I didn't have an auto for, Doug Bodger. Doug was a very steady and solid defenseman at the NHL level and played in over 1000 games. 49 of those games were with the Devils in 97-98 when he was picked up mid-season in a trade for John MacLean. His offensive numbers were never as good as they were in junior, but he still managed to 528 career points which is nearly 0.5 points per game.

Shane also sent along some cards from his current hockey passion, the Panini Classics auto set. You should check out some of his posts, the set looks great and he has made some amazing progress to this point.

12-13 Panini Classics Auto Bernie Nicholls

I honestly don't know how much of an impact Gretzky had on Bernie's career. I am a fan of Bernie and before Wayne stepped into his life he was a 2 time 40 goal guy and hit 100 points three seasons before "the trade". What is truly amazing, both for Bernie and Wayne is in just 1.5 seasons, or 126 games, Bernie Nicholls TORE up the NHL. In just 126 games, he had 97 goals and 225 points. That is nearly 1.79 points per game and if he could have done that over a period of 4-5 seasons, that could have cemented him as a surefire HOF'er. However, he was dealt in a blockbuster deal for Tony Granato and Tomas Sandstrom. Bernie still had an amazing career which included some time with the Devils. 1209 career points in 1127 games including a 70 goal, 150 point season is something that many kids dream of and Bernie made it look easy.

I have wanted this card for a while and even bid on a couple, thanks to Shane I don't need to search any more for a Nicholls auto (which as an aside, is much more scribble than scribe).


 12-13 Panini Classics Auto Dave Babych

 Cool auto from a very underrated 80's defenseman.

12-13 Panini Classics Auto Jean Pronovost

The on-card autos in the set are nice, but the photos are what make these cards look amazing and Jean Pronovost is a great example. Classy auto, awesome photo. Look at the ancient lumber, nasty helmet and wicked retro Pens jersey. This auto was also missing from my collection and any former 50 goal scorer is a welcome addition. Jean began his career as an NHL thanks to the Pens purchasing him from the Boston Bruins. Jean joined the Penguins in what was just their second NHL season and would stick around for a decade with the club. During that time he would score 20+ goals 9 out of the 10 seasons including 40 three times and 50 once. 

So just when you think Shane has given enough, he also surprised me with a thrown in set as well. Not just any set either, but the 88-89 OPC Mini set. I am not sure how he knew, but I actually was in the market for one of these sets. I had singles form both the 87-88 and 88-89 growing up but it wasn't until a traded for the 87-88 a few years back that I had a compete one. I was still missing the 88-89 and had ever intention of trying to buy or trade for one and Shane answers the call by surprising me with it. 

88-89 OPC Mini Set

Here is one example of a card from that set. Brett Hull Mini rookie. I remember these in the early 90's fetching nearly 20 bucks at LCS's when his main rookie was selling for over a hundred. Though the demand has diminished, my appreciation hasn't.

Thank you Shane for an amazing Christmas parcel, I hope you enjoy the one I sent your way as well as I have mine. I took a different and similar approach to what I sent you, but I am hoping that you are pleasantly surprised.

11-12 Prime Brett Connolly Rookie Silver /50

Here is my other Panini Prime Rookie pick up. This gem was picked up for less than a pack of Artifacts and it was worth every penny.

11-12 Prime Brett Connolly Rookie Silver /50

Unlike the Henrique, this one has a pretty sweet patch as opposed to a seam piece. This patch has silver trim with a black piece attached to the blue jersey. The other three pieces are just regular jersey pieces but still are all cool together and an on card auto makes this a winner. The silver holofoil shines nicely and like the Henrique this card is a great addition to my major PC.

Next couple posts are some holiday generosity I was fortunate to receive and a few box breaks.

11-12 Prime Adam Henrique Rookie Silver /50

Despite the reasonably low print run of 50 copies I have had a few chances to try and get myself a copy of this card. After a few denied best offers and too high BIN's, I found one copy that was up on eBay for auction! I love auctions because they allow you to name your price and if a card is worth more to you than anyone else you win. Also, sometimes they go unnoticed and you can steal one. I am not going to say I "stole" this one but I did land another card for my Henrique PC for much less than my limit.

11-12 Panini Prime Adam Henrique Silver Auto Rookie /50

The foil on this card is pretty nice, pops well with the rest of the card. On card auto is also a nice plus and two seam pieces and two standard pieces. All three Devils colours are accounted for and overall this card is perfect. The parallel versions of Prime Rookies interest me much more because of the holofoil and the swatches. The print run of the regular Henriques are /199 with most swatches being of single colour and the foil is gold. Really happy to land this one and my next post will be another from this set.

The third highest scoring professional hockey player of all-time

Blogging has given me a chance to share a passion with all sorts of people who like the same things I do. This is important because in my life outside of the internet ( I do have one of those, most people do) I don't really have anyone to share it with. Both my boys are too little, though Rhett my 11 month old seems to have a fascination for cards that are shiny, his current favourite are the 13-14 Select cards.

A several years back, a fellow blogger shared a neat post on Guyle Fielder. Growing up I used to spend countless hours memorizing hockey stats from magazines and almanacs. The problem with many of these publications is that they were always NHL stats and NHL focused. Great leagues like the WHL, AHL and WHA all went unnoticed by my young and eager mind. Then the internet grows in popularity and usefulness and all of a sudden a new world is opened to me and I realize there was someone who flew under my radar and carved themselves an amazing minor hockey career (1929 career regular season points). 

Rather than rip off someone else's hard work or reinvent the wheel, check out this great write up and his career stats. 

12-13 ITG Motown Madness Guyle Fielder Auto

Because Guyle only played in 9 career NHL regular season games and 6 post season games he only ever had one card created (57-58 Topps). The fact that ITG included him in their set is amazing because finally the Golden Guyle has a verified auto card on the market and I was able to swoop this up for less than 2 bucks plus shipping.

If Guyle was born a decade or two later and had a chance to play in the NHL during his prime, I think it might be interesting to guess at how well he might have done especially in today's game when small players get a fair shot.

Watch out for scammers!

Trying the mobile app thing again here. Saw this auction a few days ago, starting bid was set to 24.99 and until today, no action. However, 20 min to go, someone decided to make a move and bid! This card is more fake than....you can fill in the blank.

Since when did the Sidney Crosby phenomenal beginnings box set have memorabilia cards? Autos yes, 87 of them I think but no swatch ones.

Our scammer has a back scan too. No Richard guarantee on the back confirms my suspicions. Hard to believe someone with a 1000+ sales and 100% rating on eBay would sell this stuff but here is an example! BTW they do sell other cards too so clearly they are sellers in the hobby.

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 7 - Its an Evolution

So the final card I bought with my Gallagher loot was actually a bit of a gamble in my books. Upper Deck released a new concept to their lineup with the 11-12 Upper Deck The Cup release and that was video cards. Each is apparently limited to 99 copies and when you land your redemption, you have a code and you don't find out which card you have until it arrives (or so I read).  

However, the one I bought was already redeemed so I knew exactly what player I was getting but no idea what the card entailed. The card came with two cards, the first is a simple plain looking card:

Here is the front of the simple card.

Here is the back explaining how to charge the card etc. 

11-12 The Cup Rookie Evolution Ryan Ellis /99

Here is the front side of the card, and as you can see Ryan Ellis is the subject matter (a minor PC of mine). Book value on these cards are reasonably strong with this one booking for about $100 on the high side. I don't know what these cards cost to make but I am sure I bought mine for less than the manufacturing price.

Here is the back side, the holes are for the speaker, a few stats on the back and a hologram for authenticity. On one side there is a mini usb port for charging, but you can't change the video or upload anything to the device. I am actually a little disappointed with this because the video which is about a min or so clip, features Ryan talking about his accomplishments and role models but not much in the way of actual game play or cool tricks. Also missing is any autograph or additional memorabilia which is also a little sad. I wish they slapped an auto sticker or something on the card but I guess that is why these cards have been a little luke warm on the secondary market. Still, a neat card and a neat idea and I am glad to add it to my collection. 

Not a bad batch for a card that I pulled from a box with a bunch of trade-in cards. Stay posted for a few breaks and some more cool additions.

So here is what I bought with my Brendan Gallagher Loot - Part 6

So the posts on this topic are dwindling down and the last two are both fun ones. The 10-11 rookie year in my opinion is one of the best since 07-08. You have Hall, Eberle, Skinner, Seguin, and Subban just to name a few. With that many awesome rookies, I was missing a few key ones from my collection. I have done well nabbing some interesting ones over the years including an Eberle from the 10-11 Certified set which is one of my favourites. What I really like about this set is unlike MANY products which feature rookie memorabilia, these ones are actually GAME USED! Sure the autos are stickers but you need to remember this stuff came out really early in the season so to have game used stuff right off the bat is pretty awesome.

10-11 Panini Certified Jeff Skinner Auto Rookie Parallel Red /100

One of the players I have been missing from my collection was a mid-range Jeff Skinner rookie. I also didn't have any of his autographs yet so when I saw this beauty up for auction, I knew I had a fair bit of funds left to try and go after it. It turns out, I didn't have to go any where near my max! This rookie is numbered out of 100 and features a cool auto with his number 53. Funny thing is there have been a number of other players to have worn 53 in the NHL before including Khabibulin, Chara and Derek Morris.

After winning the Calder, Skinner had slumped a bit in years two and three but this year he is on a tear. Last night he scored his first career hat trick and is on pace to put up another 30 goal season despite missing 11 games already due to injury. What sometimes gets easily forgotten is Skinner is only 21 years old and he has an incredible future ahead of him as he keeps developing.

So here is what I bought with my Brendan Gallagher Loot - Part 5

Ryan Murphy was a player who has been on my radar since he tore up the OHL in the 10-11 season with the Kitchener Rangers. Ryan Murphy is an excellent offensive defenseman who was drafted 12th overall by the Canes in 2011. I am turning into a Murphy super collector since I already have a 1/1 and a couple rookies. 

13-14 Panini Prizm Ryan Murphy Rookie Auto

This is an autograph parallel of the Ryan Murphy rookie. I was really keen on this set when it was first released but was curious to what "value" it would be as far as secondary market goes. My hesitation was because box prices were about 100 bucks with 2 autos and 20 rookies. The 20 rookies is cool but many were duds and with 20 rookies and 2 autos I suspected secondary pricing to rival that of OPC and sure enough it did. Autos have some value but again aren't selling for as much as the box price dictates so I decided to buy one rack pack (will share later) and this auto online. The price was about 4 bucks with shipping and apart from my top loader scuffs, this card does look nice. I plan on buying a few more of these once the market is flooded with key rookie autos or when boxes hit the 60 dollar mark.

Two cards left to share with my loot, one is pretty interesting and the other is one I have wanted for a while.