2014-15 Upper Deck Trilogy Green Level 2 Leon Draisaitl Auto Rookie /99

Ok, the parallels and this title are a little bit much I know. But, it is partially that reason why many of these Trilogy rookies have found their way into my home because they are affordable. Leon might be the best kept secret because ever since McDavid went down, he has come up and put up some pretty impressive numbers. As of today, Leon is 4th in the NHL when it comes to points per game and if he plays the full season at this pace he will have 29 goals, 59 assists and 88 points which is pretty impressive for the second year player.

I have had a chance to watch him play a few games this season and I am very impressed with all aspects of the game and his size was one thing that really stood out to me and how well he plays with the puck. His play definitely gives Edmonton some options about moving some of their other star players (particularly a forward), to hopefully add a quality defenseman to help out the back end. 


2014-15 Upper Deck Trilogy Green Level 2 Leon Draisaitl Auto Rookie /99

Like the rest of the Trilogy rookies, this is on a foil board with a sticker auto. The green isn't the nicest of colours but the /99 definitely makes it much more tolerable. I just wish the more rare the card the better the colour choices. His auto isn't very exciting but I do appreciate seeing his number with the signature. Pleased to add this to my collection and I hope Leon keeps developing into the superstar I think he could become.

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.

11-12 The Cup Enshrinements Adam Henrique Auto /50

Think about your favourite team. Do they have a face of the franchise? When I try and think about the other 29 teams in the league and their current roster, quite often an image of a player pops in my head and for that player I have a hard time picturing them anywhere else because they embody that team to me. Right now Anze Kopitar is working on a new contract, but there is a chance that he may sign somewhere else and for me personally I can't see that at all. True, it is very likely something that could happen but given how long he's been there and what he as done, I have trouble seeing it. Same with the Sedins, they are Vancouver to me. Look at the Ducks, could you see Getzlaf playing for any other NHL club? I don't think I can come up with one for EVERY team because there are a few like Toronto who are in a state of flux but even then, JVR is likely a player they will hang on to regardless and he is who comes to mind for me with the Leafs.

For the Devils, we have been pretty fortunate. We have had Mr. Devil (Ken Danyeko), perhaps not the best player but certainly was consistent and has three Cups. Martin Brodeur until the unthinkable happened and he left for a few games. Right now, I would say that person is Adam Henrique. The goal's he's already scored for us, and how everything the he does seems to align with our franchise and it's past and future directions. Not a bad guy to have if you ask me. Is he our best player and will he be? No, but he has all the other intangibles that you do want and they are the reason why I consider him the face of our franchise.


11-12 The Cup Enshrinements Adam Henrique Auto /50

Here is that face in foil form! Please excuse the debris that always seems to follow foil scans around. This card is a nice one in person and was designed rather well if you ask me. Nice black and white foil with a trim of red on the bottom.

Scott Weiland....Thank You.

Being a blog primarily about hockey and hobby means that this post is a little out of place but since it is my blog and I have written about other stuff in the past this post isn't completely unheard of. The other day I was floored when I heard that Scott Weiland passed away. I know it isn't supposed to be a huge surprise given the lifestyle he had and the numerous poor choices but when you consider how much drugs other people have done and survived you had to figure Scott wasn't as bad as they were. But fact of the matter is we are all different and we all owe a death and I guess it was Scott's time.

I have been a fan of his since the early 90's and have followed his career closely and have enjoyed nearly his entire catalogue of music. I even enjoyed his Christmas album called The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year where I believe he truly demonstrated what an amazing performer he was. It is with great sadness as a fan that I will no longer be hearing any new material but I figured I would throw a simple post out there about one of my favourite performers and a song that I seem to never tire of hearing.

14-15 ITG The Vault Larry Robinson Auto & Jersey 1/1 (Or when a 1/1 is manufactured)

Ok, the hobby does some strange things in order to make a dollar and some times I think it has gone a little too far. I am curious to know your thoughts on this one. ITG had a release in the past year called The Vault where a bunch of cards were bought back, labelled and redistributed with the idea that they were rare and unique (1/1). So here is one example of such card that I picked up this past summer. 

14-15 ITG The Vault Larry Robinson Auto Jersey 1/1

This card was originally from one of the Superlative releases and features a nice on the card auto and a small piece of a Montreal Canadiens sweater. If you look at the upper right you will see the card was defaced with a ruby foil job and the numbering of 1/1. There are 49 other cards out there just like this one but they don't have the ruby foiling. So the question is, does my Larry Robinson card deserve to be more expensive and highly regarded than the other 49 non-ruby foiled copies?

I personally am not sure if it is any more special than it's other brothers but thankfully I was able to purchase this for probably cheaper than the other 49 sold for so I might be inclined to think the foil job actually decreased the value of this card. While I personally don't consider this card a 1/1, I do consider it a nice auto game used card of a Hall of Famer who once coached the Devils to a couple cups and am proud to have it in my collection.  

14-15 Upper Deck Series 1 Group F Eric Lindros Game Jersey

Usually white swatches are lame and unexciting. Not this one though, this one is filthy!

14-15 Upper Deck Eric Lindros Game Jersey

This looks like a pretty solid puck mark that the Big E took to the big torso. Say what you want about jersey cards, I still enjoy them and when you can land them for a $1.50 like I did in the spring for this one, it's all fantastic. Not all my past pick ups are jaw droppers but I couldn't resist a bargain when I saw it so the Big E joined my big collection.

11-12 Upper Deck The Cup Brett Connolly Rookie Gear Booklet /25

There are some cards you just don't appreciate until they are in your hands and I believe this one falls in that category. I really haven't been looking for this card at all but when searching for Brett Connolly patches I noticed a dealer selling several BC The Cup Rookies and inserts and there were two of these booklets for sale. Sadly they ALL ended within a second of one another so I had to make my choice and go hard for it. In the end, I am pleased with the outcome and landed a whale!


11-12 Upper Deck The Cup Brett Connolly Rookie Gear Booklet /25

Here is the outside of the booklet. 25/25 and all the promises of swatches inside....

Here is the inside!!

I want to go on the record by saying I am not a huge fan of booklet cards and am almost angry each time I have to shell out 10 bucks for a one touch to hold the card but this is one massive exception. The left side is neat with a huge signature which is a good thing for Brett because his auto is pretty simplistic (even more so since he started in the NHL) and it's size brings out more details. The right side is pure gold. Patches, jerseys and straps are already in my collection but, seeing all three together is pretty cool and the patch features a few breaks and even some silver. But the best part and the reason why I went for this one instead of the other booklet is the laundry tag. I believe it speaks for itself and it is telling me Mr. Connolly is either a size 50 or 52. Like himself, this jersey was made in Canada. Just awesome.

So the big question is do I chase all his rookies now that I have come this far....perhaps I should. But I will just need to figure out what is exactly out there before I tackle that type of mission but in the meantime, my collection grows still!

14-15 Upper Deck The Cup Damon Severson Auto Patch Rookie /249

With the Devils performing far beyond most's expectations to this point in the season, we have lots to be thankful for. While our struggles of recent years have been blamed on Lou, the truth is Lou did leave behind many wonderful working parts and our defense is definitely something Lou should be proud of and with the right coach they are firing on all cylinders. Damon Severson is one young defenseman I hope to see more and more of as the years go by and I have added to my Severson collection and I would say he joins Brett Connolly, Adam Henrique and Ryan Ellis as a member of my PC.

As far as rookies go, they never get any more desirable than The Cup. A nice swatch with three colours and a centralized autograph. The truth is this isn't my favourite Severson card in my collection but it is definitely among the top 5. I look forward in the coming weeks to share all my Seversons as well as many other additions and successes.

"We Have a Trade to Announce".....

Whenever I make a trade I wish I could hire Bettman to make an announcement for me:



I have agree to trade a box of 15-16 UD Series 1 which could possibly contain one of the hottest rookie cards since 05-06 in exchange for what I consider the best card from the 1990's, the Holy Grail if you will.....

Very excited to make this trade with Walt T. I decided to post the trade here so everyone can witness/moderate our trade. Walt isn't apart of any forums etc so rather than go through that painful process we will make our trade public here so he gets piece of mind and so do I. He has agreed to ship first and once it arrives I will post its arrival here and then ship his box to him and both of us will use tracking. Anyway, pleased to be back blogging and very pleased to share this awesome trade in my opinion and I hope he hits a McDavid.

13-14 Artifacts Emerald Brett Connolly Team Canada /8

After a very long and much needed break to begin getting things taken care of I feel that I might be ready to come back and continue sharing my adventures and sharing in those of others. Thank you very much to all those who wrote me and have stayed in contact a variety of different ways including sending along PWEs (yes I am looking in your direction Jeff, thank you very very much).

I plan on easing myself back into this possibly with a post every few days but the truth is I probably will post whenever I feel like it and that will be possibly more frequent! I have loads of new additions and fun things to have shared that have happened to me in the collecting side of things over the past few months.

To kick things off, why not go with 2 of my three collecting loves. Brett Connolly and Team Canada. If only the Devils would make a play for this kid and offer Boston a young defenseman!

13-14 Artifacts Emerald Brett Connolly Team Canada /8

While the emerald foil has never been a love of mine, I think it isn't bad on this card. The patch piece is just fantastic. You may not see it that well but there is gold peaking out in the bottom right portion of the watch. Brett's auto features his number 8 from playing in junior and I am guessing UD used up all his 28 signature stickers on the UD Team Canada set.

This card was one I had been watching for quite a while and when the price creeped down to a reasonable number I threw them an even more reasonable BO and it was accepted! If only a couple others could do the same.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone who's kept checking out my blog and at least allowed the old hit count to grow slightly and those who may have discovered my blog in my absence. I hope to keep you all coming back and thank you for your patience!

Dave