Back Checking Ryan Johansen

Numbers have kind of been my thing my whole life. When ever I see them, I am always analyzing them and in fact I remember using Lotus 123 to calculate the Devils stats including g.a.a by using the daily box scores in my local newspaper (in days before the internet). Numbers and sports stats have always been fun for me and I could never get enough. 

When I got landed my Park and Robinson, I was also able to get a screaming deal on a Ryan Johansen Certified Rookie. When the card arrived, I loved the look of the front, the scribble signature with sticker technology and the game worn player worn swatch on the front. As much as I like to kid a bit, I really and sincerely do love the Certified rookies and this was no exception.

I then made my way to the back where I found something jump out at me....

92 points in 10-11 is a pretty solid output for 63 games, but apparently in 71 other WHL games, Ryan has 25 goals, 44 assists for 100 points. Hmmm.....something wrong here wouldn't you say? Well according to hockeydb, he did play 71 games the previous season, and did have 25 goals and 44 assists. But, we should all know that 25 + 44 doesn't equal 100, just like 65 + 98 wouldn't equal 192. In today's age of internet, spreadsheets and computers it is hard to think an addition error would still exist on hockey cards. True problems with the write up could happen or messing up a birth date but addition? I figured this type of stuff would be automated and imported in to a matrix on the backs of these cards. I guess I am wrong and adding is something that is still done by hand....and poorly at that.

Have you noticed any errors like this? I know the Beckett doesn't have it listed as an UER, have they stopped listing the new errors all together?

11-12 ITG Canada Vs The World - Larry Robinson

Here is another ITG Canada Vs The World auto to join my Darren Helm and Brad Park ones. Like Park, Robinson was a HOF defenseman who played well in both ends of the ice, but unlike Park, won a load of Stanley Cups. As of right now, Larry aka "Big Bird" has his name on the Cup 9 times and nearly a tenth this past June. Larry was at the end of his playing career when I started watching hockey, but I do remember him playing and I remember him on cardboard too, most notably this one:

I honestly don't know why I always think of this card when I think of Larry, maybe it is because I was still young and impressionable and this card features a pretty cool photo of Larry battling it out with Adam Oates. The cool thing is these two guys would be coaches on the same team last season for the Devils before both landing coaching gigs elsewhere in the off-season.

11-12 ITG Canada Vs The World - Larry Robinson Auto

Here is the focus of the post, a nice beautiful signature of one of the best defensemen of all-time and I think he is an excellent coach as well. Larry was very classy as a player and as a coach and really hard to find anyone say a bad word about him. He represented Canada on numerous occasions including three Canada Cups. I was able to land this card along with Park and one other in a pretty awesome self-made three card lot deal.

Now all I need is his rookie.....might be a while for that one since I don't have one yet :)

11-12 Canada Vs The World - Brad Park Auto

No Super Bowl talk here, three straight finals (Devils, Tigers, 9ners), three straight times my teams have lost. I am beginning to feel like the bridesmaid that just can't find someone to love me for me in this superficial world....

Anyway, I left my last post on a hanger because here it is: 

11-12 ITG Canada Vs The World Brad Park Auto

I am becoming a big fan of these cards especially because of their reasonable cost on the secondary market. I am not going into Brad's life details because I already did that in the last post, just a cool card and a nice auto.

70-71 OPC Brad Park Rookie

Why my collection is missing are cards pretty much from the 60's to mid 70's. I have some in that range, a few big names like Dryden, Lafleur and Barber but not much else. I am always trying to find cool card and important cards I don't have, but budgets are budgets and it is a marathon not a sprint! 

Here is one that I have been wanting for a while. The topps version of this card had popped up as trade bait once and when I couldn't pull the trigger on the trade I went hunting. Many graded versions of this card exist and are often well above the BV and ungraded ones tended to go for much more reasonable prices (of course). Well I think this one was a steal. Though it isn't in mint condition by any stretch, it is clean and crease free with a little loving on the corners and aging of the white.

The front shows a bright-eyed kid with a future. I think I might have combed my hair like that when I was 10 years old.....but I will never provide photo evidence.

Back side is pretty cool, lots of info in a small space and a neat cartoon player with vitals in large print cover the left part.

Brad Park was a first ballot HOF'er and a 5-time NHL first team all-star. He was often compared to Bobby Orr which I am sure was a blessing and a curse in itself. Brad was named top defenseman and game 8 MVP in the '72 Summit series and even though he never won a Cup, his victory in '72 is every bit as important to many hockey fans.

In his career, Brad scored 213 goals and had 896 points in a solid 1113 game career. Even in his final season, he managed to get 43 points in 67 games for a pretty weak Red Wings team. Brad was even ranked by The Hockey News as the 13th greatest NHL defenseman of all-time and a player of that calibre is ALWAYS welcome in my collection! Now I just need his autograph.

76-77 OPC Checklist Upgrade

How often do you walk into a card shop and you see checklists in toploaders? If they are current/modern cards, that might be true of the young guns checklists as they tend to draw some interest from collectors, but in MY OWN experience this doesn't happen often.

To be honest, most checklists especially from the 80's and 90's aren't terribly valuable and they are often a part of a complete set but don't get lots of love. I am like the 50th blogger to probably talk about checklists since Sal had his online poll which determined that they are pretty much appreciated. In the  last year or so, I have come to the realization that they do make good art and are actually cool and fun! Some are also indeed valuable too!

Case one, 79-80 OPC #131

I have one of these and it is unmarked and in amazing condition. I have had it for an eternity and main reason for owning it is.....Wayne's name is on the card! It is the closest thing I have to a Gretzky rookie right now and I think it is pretty cool. I watch many auctions on eBay and I recently saw an unchecked one in VG condition sell for over 20 bucks with shipping!!

Case two, ANY Checklist prior to the mid 70's

If you own a checklist that is from the mid-70's to earlier and it is unchecked, you are sitting on cardboard GOLD! Many kids growning up used them for what they were intended for and that is checking what they have and don't have. So the actual amount of mint, unmolested cardboard checklists is much lower than any other card in the set due to the nature of the card. Some checklists like the ones from 71-72 or 66-67 can book for several hundred dollars.

So there are some value to some checklists, but what I find cool about the vintage checklists are the designs of some of them and how cool they look. Here is one of my personal faves and even though I don't own it yet, I can still appreciate it.

1966-67 Topps Checklist #66

Look at that beauty from both sides. Without a doubt, one of the most unique and cool looking checklists ever made! No room on the front for full names because of the design, Terry Sawchuk gets the T.Sawchuk treatment.

Meanwhile the backsize has plenty of room for Bobby Orr to have his full name and even the checklist is mentioned in a cool fashion. Just love the use of pucks on the front and back!

Now on to checklists I do own...

As most of you know, I have been working on the 76-77 OPC set and I am getting very close to the end. However, a few cards in the set aren't in great shape and that includes the three checklists. The checklists are in nice enough shape, they just happen to be marked either partially or completely. I was hoping to get some solid excellent shape checklists that were unchecked and I did even better than I hoped. My LCS had three, near-mint or better unchecked checklists for sale. I asked the boys to try and do better than the price listed on them which was full BV (and fair really) but they were more than willing to do a buy 2 get one free on those.

Check them out!

Centering on all are great, chipping is very minimal and the corners are all very very sharp. They are pretty much in line with many of the nicer quality cards in my set so I am very happy to have an upgrade in that department. With that being said, I have three old, marked checklists with your name on them Robert so if you need some for your set chance, you can have them free of charge my friend!

Luck of the Crosby?

There really hasn't been much money in my budget these days for packs, but I did get a blaster of Zenith a while back when a local hole-in-the-wall second hand store had blasters of Zenith for 14 bucks. I took a chance on one and it appears Sidney has taken a liking to me. This is the third game used Crosby I have pulled in the last year and personally, I don't mind!

The blaster also yielded a Rookie Roll Call Derek Stepan and a nobody rookie I don't even remember now!

With their first pick in the 2031 NHL Draft, the Devils select...

Here is a short and very sweet post. Earlier today, like 12:48 am, my wife gave birth to my second child and my second son. When we named our first son my wife liked the name Quinn and so did I. If he was a boy there was no doubt there. This latest addition, we had two names. Both were names she came up with and both were good names, but in the end Rhett was the winner. 

Of course names always bring up other memories, and here are my two.

Believe it or not, Rhett Warrener was my first thought....

And the other "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!"

So there you have it, my family is bigger, more male and the Devils have a new fan as long as there are no lockouts and my latest Son doesn't decide to cheer for a different club (which he is more than welcome to, I don't brain-wash).

I am very proud of my wife and son, they did extremely well and it certainly puts the rest of life into perspective when you witness the miracle of life!

Scott Wedgewood 11-12 ITG BTP Auto

So the future between the pipes in NJ is not something I have spent much of the last two decades thinking about to be honest with you. Devils have been blessed with Marty and I have seen many back-ups come and go and really thinking about them as any more than a second goalie for practices would have been a waste of time. Not that any of those back-ups weren't capable goalies, it is just there was never much "pie" left over after Marty took his lion's share. 

However, all good things come to an end and the Devils have been stockpiling goalies through the draft the last few years and we now have a number of decent kids who can possibly embark on HOF careers once Marty is done with his turn between the pipes. 

Another sticker auto, but black sharpie and numbered are always nice pluses and the design is pretty decent as well.

07-08 Be A Player - David Clarkson Rookie /99

Been pretty busy lately to have many posts, but I still try to steal time away to do this when I can. Things are about to get a lot busier here as we are due to have our second arrival in about 2 weeks which will make things even that much more busier. 

Preparing for the next several months sequestered in our homes, my wife surprised me the other day by placing an order with our cable company to get the "sports pack". Included in the "low" 31.99 a month price is NHL Center Ice. True with another baby on the way, money will get a little tighter, but my wife felt we can make it work and it is a nice present from her to me for all the nice things I do :)

So last night was my first chance to sit down and enjoy some NHL action so of course I picked NJ-NYI and even though the game was a little rusty on both sides of the ice, my boys came through with the Win and David Clarkson had himself another GWG. To commemorate the wonderful first W of the season, here is a recent PC pick-up of my man Clarkie.

I actually tried landing this card on several occasions and the price was always WAY TOO HIGH. The card is numbered to /99, but with 99 copies out there I suspected I could land it for under 20 bucks and I was able to actually land this for well below that mark including shipping!

07-08 BAP David Clarkson Rookie /99

I really like this card and it is the last of the high-end rookies I needed for Clarkie. The card is actually 3-D with Clarkson being glossier than the rest of the card and raised about the surface. It is a much nicer looking card than I thought it would be and I am really happy to finally land it after 2.5 years of trying. Certainly goes to show patience pays off and with the NHL back, prices are bound to jump so spending on my end is likely going to dwindle for a while....

Imagine a team with these three on the backend?

Here is a card I came across the other day in my collection and I realized I forgot to post it up online. This little beauty was at my LCS begging to come home with me and as always I bundled it up and save a few more dollars off the already priced to move cost. What did I pay, I don't even remember! However, these are three guys I have LOTS of respect for and they knew how to act, how to lead and how to play the game.

09-10 OPC Premier Trios     Robinson-MacInnis-Bourque /50

I really liked the look of this card and the subjects on it are the finest D-men of my generation. Swatches are all different in colour too which is nice and they just look awesome on cardboard.

92-93 Bowman Mario Lemieux Conn Smythe Foil

Part of the same bundle was this card. I don't own any other 92-93 Bowman cards except this one. I honestly was a bit of a card snob back then and Bowman had a bit of a reputation from 90-92 if you know what I mean...But these cards came out hot and before I knew it prices were far higher than I would ever pay and I just never got myself a pack let alone a set. However, I am older, prices have cooled a bit and if the right price ever came along maybe I will snag one. I have since grown to appreciate the 90-91 Bowman set, maybe it won't be long before I have a 91-92 and a 92-93.

However, this card is pretty neat and simple, features Mario and he looks like he is about to announce his pending trip to Disney World and he is very thrilled....Actually it looks more like it has been several hours since his last smoke and he could use another. Either way, I figured the price was right and my collection could use at least one 92-93 Bowman card!