ITG Ultimate Memorabilia 8th Edition

While I am catching up on posts, here is a little gem I picked up with some Christmas cash (a little late I know). Having picked up my first Kovy auto thanks to a trade with Casey from Drop The Gloves!, I was hoping to land a second one and here is what I ended up with.

For starters, the dealer wasn't a douche like some might be. If you notice, this card is numbered 17/30. Some dealers would call this a "1/1" or a "player number mojo hit" or some crap like that. This dealer just posted a nice respectable ad on ebay and for less than 10 bucks plus shipping, I have my second Kovy auto.

This like other ITG Ultimate cards came in its own ITG case which presents good and bad things. I like that design and the special serial numbering, but of course I don't like that once this baby picks up some scratches, you are more or less stuck with them in a "foggy" case. This card was shipped with a plastic sleeve over top of it which I have kept for storage-sake but I can see some people running into issues with scratched up cases on some pretty nice cards.

Do any of you have ITG Ultimate Memorabilia cards? Have you ever bought a pack or box of this stuff? At about 200 a pack, I haven't chanced it yet mainly because singles can be found for 10-20 bucks a piece which means you can buy the contents of a 200 dollar pack for about 30-60 bucks. That scares me a bit, but then again I am sometimes a coward with my cash....

First Over-time Hero of the Post-Season

I LOVE playoff hockey. Last night was proof to that as all three games were good ones. Maybe not good for the losing teams, maybe not good for the officials, but good for casual fans who want a nice close game. Being a Devils fan, I got last night and tonight as days where I can enjoy games as a casual fan.

Sure I want LA to win thanks to Casey's pool, but last night allowed me to watch some spirited playoff action.

The hero of the night was a player who I enjoyed watching play in Junior for Halifax and a player who I have been trying to land a game-used card of for a while:

Jakub Voracek

Jakub scored the game winner last night which capped off a 3-0 come from behind win for the Flyers. While it wasn't the prettiest goal of the night, it certainly was the most important and was clearly the type of goal you often see in the playoffs when checking is more fierce and players go the extra mile for a win.

Two weeks ago I went to a local flea market and found one or two tables with cards and I bought a few. This card happened to be one of them and it set me back a total of 50 cents. The swatch on this card is neat because it almost feels like it was from his hockey socks. Do card companies do this? It certainly didn't feel like any other swatch I have ever pulled and I have over a 100 of them.

Voracek has played pretty well this season and last night was his first taste of post-season hockey. As much as I hate the Flyers, I do want Jakub to do well and that is the only silver-lining I find in the Flyers winning! Here is hoping tonight's games are just as entertaining.

11/12 Heroes and Prospects Box Break and Review

Last year, I busted a box of 10/11 H&P and I was very happy with the results. I had 5 hits and all of the cards were pretty decent. It is now one year later and the Gaunce auto could be a card that REALLY makes that box cool. After that box, I had every intention of buying one this year and when I landed one for 30 bucks below LCS prices I was elated.

Here are the results of the break!

Base cards
The look of the cards are nice! I think the design and layout certainly rivals anything UD and Panini put out in that price bracket and the fact that the cards get no Rookie respect is something that irks me but I imagine I am a part of the minority. Here is an example of the front, each card has a nice gloss to them which you can't see on the scan.
Back side

The backs are simple enough with a good balance of stats, vitals and information.

Subsets

Like last season, the set features a few subsets and the increased set size from 150-200 allows ITG to include many more stars as part of the Grad subset and a few specialty cards like this Bourdon card.

The Hits:

Boone Jenner Game Used Number Black /6

Boone makes his second appearance in my ITG busting history. Last year I pulled his Subway Series game used card and this year I topped it with the nicest H&P card I ever pulled. This swatch is beautiful and the size allows for all three colours and a small piece of jersey to peak through the window.

Devan Dubyk Moving Up Silver Version /50
A really cool swatch! It is a two colour seam and it is BUSTING out of the card. Another example of what ITG gives collectors, best bang for their buck!

Subway Series Trio /70
This didn't scan as well as I hoped, but this card represents my bonus hit. I ended up with three game-used cards which is nice, but the fact a Devils prospect is on the card is just that much cooler! Swatches aren't the best, but Wedgewood's is white which is nice as my other Wedgewood swatch is red.

Auto Hits

Blake Kessel
Phil has a brother? Turns out he does and his career thus far has been pretty strong, but taking it to the NHL level will be a challenge and time will tell if he will experience the same success Phil has.

Sven Bartschi
Sven is going to be a superstar and getting this card was another hit that turned a normal box into a great box. Sven's name is spelled a variety of different ways which might be why his auto is just an S. B. This Calgary draft pick already has 5 NHL games under his belt with 3 goals to his resume. I think he will be a full-timer next season and a reason why Iginla might be playing somewhere else in the near future.

I also pulled two inserts, one was a Cory Locke Calder Champions card and the other was a Zack Fitzgerald Tough Customers card.

This box was a blast and the set looks nice. I am about 60 cards short of a complete set, and I think I might try and pick up another box or two in the summer. I am also going to try and collect the 200 He Shoots points so if ANYONE out there wants to sell them or trade them please contact me and I will try and make it worth your while.

Most of my hits are also up for trade with the exception of Sven!

If you find yourself with an extra 100 bucks, grab a box, you won't be disappointed.

A dream card....damaged.

When it comes to active players, the closest one I have to a serious PC is David Clarkson. From the moment he put a Devils jersey on, I loved this guy. As far as playing style goes, I played the game the exact same way (only with less talent) and his heart is one of the biggest on the team. This season was the breakout season I have been talking about on here for a while and with 30 goals, he will be expected to contribute this post-season.

I have quite a few of his rookies and that includes one copy of his 07/08 The Cup rookie /199.

As you can see, there is some chipping on the bottom left but at the very top and very bottom there is also some damage. The card looks like someone with very long nails tried to pick it up off the table or something and made some nasty indentations.

What makes this tough is, the seller never mentioned it and the scan of the card for the auction featured this and 5 other cards in a very poor scan. So I was faced with a tough decision. Do I send it back knowing the only other one on eBay is listed for 125 bucks? Or do I suck it up and hold on to it hoping someday I will come across of the other 26 copies in better condition.

Well I decided to go with option B, but of course in the meanwhile it does suck to have what could have been an amazing card somewhat tainted. However, I have gotten over it somewhat and am appreciating the card more than when I first saw it. After all, it could have been a 1/1 that was damaged!

Have you ever been in a similar situation?

The Future is looking bright!

Each year, ITG impresses me more and more. There was an insert card out there in the new Heroes and Prospects that just spoke to me!

Here are three prospects in the Devils organization that have me believing that we can keep up the success after Marty retires.

I found this gem a little while back on eBay. I paid a little more than I probably normally would for a game-used card but still brought it home for a respectable 10 bucks.

This is the silver version of the insert, so they are numbered to 50.

After getting this card, I was inspired to buy a box of 11/12 Heroes and Prospects. The results were pretty good and I will share those in a post soon!

A little love to the Canucks Fans and some other Vintage

After that Messier post, I thought I would send some love the Canucks way with a post about one of their favourite players. I was in my LCS and I was skimming through the 4 for a dollar bin and I saw a card I had never seen before. In fact, I had to double check on the back because I really wasn't sure if it was true. A Harold Snepsts Rookie! What surprised me at first was the lack of a moustache! I figured this card had to be old because that man's 'stache is so bushy you figure he was born with it.

But sure enough on the back there was only one year of hockey listed and I figured it had to be his rookie. For 25 cents it was worth the risk plus the card looked in pretty good shape. Corners are a tiny bit worn but that was it.

After bringing it home, I was given confirmation that it was his rookie and it books for 20 bucks! However, I also discovered a small surface crease by his head/shoulder in the bright light at home too. I was a little sad at the crease, but the card looks really cool and I got it for 2 bits!





These next two cards I bought recently in an auction on eBay. They were a lot deal which I won for less than 4 bucks.

The first card in the lot is a 76/77 OPC Bryan Trottier rookie. It does have some fuzzy corners and a mark on the right side of the card by his stick. There are no creases or other damage so I was really happy to get this card for what I paid. This was another card on my wish list and in this condition I probably see no reason to upgrade. I might actually try and get the rest of the set since I have to most expensive card already.

The other card in the lot purchase was Bryan Trottier's 77/78 OPC card. This card is in better shape than the rookie with a slight off-centre cut and a small mark on the upper right corner. Other than that it is a great looking card too. Like Harold, I have a hard time imagining Bryan without a moustache and clearly that is because he grew one in his second season.

Before Stastny and Selanne beat the NHL rookie point records, the most points by an NHL rookie was held by Bryan Trottier. He had an amazing 95 points in his rookie year which was 23 more than the previous record held by Gilbert Perreault. Trottier would break 100 points 6 times in his career and finish with 1425 points in his career. He would also win 6 Stanley Cups and a Canada Cup and his 1425 career points are currently good enough for 15th in NHL history. Not too bad shabby if you ask me!

eBay Auto Lot - 3 Sens plus 1

As I have posted a few times, I love Certified eBay lot purchases! Am I addicted to them? My wife would certainly suggest that I need help, but at these prices, I can't help myself. This latest lot was won for less than a price of a pack of UD Victory and including shipping I paid less than a pack of Panini Pinnacle. What did I get for my money?

Here they are:

Erik Condra rookie auto from the 11/12 Certified Set. These rookies aren't numbered, but their design is just as attractive as last season and the on-card autos are always a great touch. The foil board makes the card just that much more attractive. Condra has had a great season so far and probably exceeded some expectations much the Sens have! Condra has 8 goals and 24 points this season and could be a great role player for the Sens this post-season.

The other 11/12 Certified card is a Patrick Wiercioch auto rookie. Much like the previous card, it is an auto on foil board. Patrick was a second round pick of the Sens in 2008 and is currently honing his skills in the AHL. I suspect he has #4 or 5 d-man potential in the NHL, so don't expect a Karlsson-like season from this kid!

The Sens last season surprise rookie was Bobby Butler. This year he has been in a bit of a sophomore slump with his production through 56 games this year being below his 36 game totals last season. I think Bobby can turn it around next year and don't be too surprised if he ends up a 20-20-40 kind of player. I have been trying to get his auto for a little while so it was nice to find his in this lot!

One of these things is not like the other!

Like the Butler card before, this one is from the 10/11 Certified set, but unlike the previous three cards, Cliche isn't a Sen and his auto is a sticker. The 10/11 Certified set had 11 cards that were numbered to /799 at the end of the set and this is one of them. Cliche was a former second round pick of the Rangers in 2005 and is currently a Manchester Monarch. I remember watching him play against the Mooseheads during the playoffs in 2007. He was a pretty decent player in junior who just hasn't been able to crack a pretty strong LA Kings line-up.

I said it before, and I will say it again. I love Certified autos!

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?

Card of the Week - Travis Zajac

Tuesday night, the Devils stole a win from the Blackhawks and Marty Brodeur was the main reason and the first star of the game. However, the Devils would not have won in the shootout if not for Travis Zajac. Zajac is back for the second time from an extremely serious Achilles injury/surgery.


In the two games since coming back, Travis has 1 assist and the shootout winner. He has played well and looked like he is on the way to returning to his old self. If the Devils are to be serious contenders this post-season, we are going to need our top three lines producing and Zajac will likely figure in at the first or second line centre.

11/12 Certified Mirror Blue Travis Zajac Auto

Front Side Similar look to last year's release, these cards are modern looking and clean. Sure they have the silly sticker auto, but in the end that isn't much different than 85% of autos out there.

The Back Side

You can say what you want about Panini's crazy parallels etc., but what I do like is their autos are very similar to the base cards and in cases when I am not going after the set, it is nice to have a card the mirrors the base set. These autos are limited to 99 copies and I landed auto number 56.

I bought this because I wanted a more cent Zajac auto, so this actually is my second one. My first one was his SPx Rookie from 06/07. There are slight differences between my two autos but he has been pretty consistent over the years.

How I received the auto: eBay purchase

Beckett Value: (Not sure, I don't have the most recent issue, but I would speculate in the 3-8 range)

05-06 UD Ice Rookie Lot

About a month or two ago an auction was up online for a Zach Parise Ice rookie and a Duncan Keith Ice rookie. I ended up in a little bit of a debate with myself on this one. I own both of their Young Guns, and in the case of both of them I do have another one or two other low end rookies. So, the debate was, "Do I need these cards, or do I just want them?".

I am sure some of us have been in this situation before, so my debate ended with, if I can land them both for under 10 bucks with shipping....then sure I need them.

I threw my bottom line bid in, and luck should have it, I won.

So here are the prizes:

Zach Parise #/999

What I like about this card is he is wearing his number 9 jersey. Many of his rookies feature photos from the preseason with him wearing 51. The card is numbered which is also cool and is valued a little low compared to some of the other cards in that set!

Duncan Keith #/2999
2999 rookies isn't exactly a limited production run when you consider this is supposed to be an upper-end card, but certainly the price was right and I am a pretty big fan of Duncan Keith.

However, with that being said, I certainly don't need this card and probably if I was contacted by a big Keith fan I could be convinced to trade it. Parise on the other hand could also become trade bait depending on the Devils success resigning him. Either way, I felt I did quite well on these pick up and Ice Rookies always look nice in one's collection.