A TIP OF THE HAT TO 2010... BRING ON THE NEW YEAR!

2010 brought with it the first full calendar year that this blog has existed. I am very proud of that fact and want to take a quick moment to look back at this past year.

One of the goals I had with this blog was to keep it active. Not to let it dwell in obscurity. I managed to write just over 200 entries this past year and am very happy with that number. I didn't overdo it and I didn't let it sit too often. Sure , work and holidays sometimes took precedent - as it should, but the enjoyment that I got out of sharing my hobby with the readers of my blog is something that I really found fun.

I now have 32 'followers'. That to me is pretty cool. While I am not hung up on that number, I'm curious to see how much this blog expands over the next year.

I have over 13,500 views to this site (and I'm sure a bunch are mine) but it's neat to see that there are a bunch of people who pop by frequently and I just want to say thank you. I hope you are enjoying the blog as much as I am writing it.

Now on to the collection itself. My Trevor Linden collection definitely took on some key cards this past year. Highlighted with the 'Trevor Linden Card Of The Year'. That one was a huge addition. That said, I still managed to add quite a few cards. Some that have been dodging my grasps for years and some that are brand new releases. What will the new year hold? I can say that there will be a number of fantastic Linden cards coming my way. Some are already in the mail. Tune in!

My goalie masks collection was a little stagnant for most of the year. I have made a couple trades of late that have really helped knock some cards off the list. I look forward to sharing more of my mask cards as I think they are some cool looking pieces of cardboard.

My 1 vs. 100 project is really progressing nicely. It's not a hindrance nor a challenge. I find what I find when the opportunity presents itself. With that, I am ready to knock the wantlist to hopefully less than 10 by this time next year.

My 'One Sheet, One Set' project is growing - rapidly. With my finally scrounging through all my boxed up base cards, I've got a ton of sheets to create. I have had the opportunity to land some large trade with guys who I'm sure are asking 'Why do want all these base cards?'. I've also landed some dirt cheap jersey cards which really add a cool dynamic to the project. Again, I am looking forward to sharing more of this project which I am really excited about.

With all that, I have also picked up some neat oddball stuff, some cool cards to be used as traders and I have even managed to pick up some very cool pieces for others. Seeing some really rare stuff hit my hands before it finds its final owner and be cherished in their collection really makes me feel good. My big goal is to better itemize what I have that is tradeable/sellable. I need to build the funds back up and see a few dollar signs in those cards.

Lastly, I'm going to set a couple goals for 2011. First, all the goals from 2010 will carry forward - not because I didn't do them, but because I want to carry on with them. Things like keeping the hobby fun, staying focused with my collecting goals and not letting this blog take a higher priority than it should be.

New goals, not many really. The big one is that I'd like to write more magazine articles. The hobby mag I have written for in the past is putting the call out to more submissions and I'd like to try my hand at it on a more consistent basis. I'd like to learn more about the process of creating hockey cards and hope to interview photographers, designers and producers of these products.

I'd also like to go to one of the big expo shows in Toronto. While it might not be this year, I'd like to eventually scratch that off my list of 'things to do'.

A heartfelt thanks again to everyone who has stumbled across this simple little blog and I wish you all the very best in the new year.

Take care!
Brett

OPINION: ENDING EBAY AUCTIONS EARLY

Well, tonight I found myself knee deep in a dilemma that I have found myself in a few times in the past. Here's the scenario...

You see a card on ebay. A card that is rare and one you consider to be a 'must have'. You see the starting bid sitting at .99 cents and there is no reserve on the auction.

You place a bid on the card. More of a reminder bid, a small hit on the price (I tend to wait until late in the auction to fully play my hand). I come back to the computer later that day, or maybe the next day only to find that the card listing has been pulled from ebay and all bids have been wiped from the board.

The seller decided to sell the card to someone who offered him a price to end the auction early.

It's stung - quite a lot in the past. To the point where I started asking sellers of rare items "are you planning on letting the auction run its course or are you accepting offers to end the auction early?" It was more of a buffer move rather than an attempt to swipe the card out from everyone's noses.

Well, the situation came up again tonight. A card appeared and I knew without a doubt that offers would be made on it. So I simply asked "are you letting the auction run its course? will you be taking offers?" The response - "Sure, fire away."

What to do? If I do nothing, I'm sure someone else will make an offer and I will be out of luck obtaining the card. If I make an offer, I will 'stooping to the level' that others have done to me in the past.

This has happened to me a couple times before. In both instances, I have been the first bidder (and one time the first viewer of the auction). My feeling is that, if nobody has yet bid on the item, then there is less of a chance of 'swiping it' out of someone's hands. If there is a bid on it, I won't even ask.

Back to tonight's item. So I'm the first bidder and the auction has been up only for a matter of minutes. I've been told by the seller that he is accepting offers and to 'fire away'. So, I do just that.

Within minutes, a deal is done. Unfortunately, in the meantime, two other people have put 'feeler' bids on the card. Now I feel bad. Actually, I feel more torn than bad.

What is the right move in this instance? Do you hope that nobody makes an offer and let the auction run its course? Do you refrain from making an offer and accept the fact that you might not even have a shot at it? Do you make an offer and go through the door that the seller has cracked open?

This subject always comes to the forefront of my mind when I see a rare card come up for bids. I'm still not sure what the best card to play is.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the matter.

TTM - Another Twilight Success

First off, I hope everyone had/is having a happy holiday season and I would like to wish everyone all the best in the upcoming year.

It has been a busy last week or so for me. Work finally finished and the body said 1, 2, 10 - you're out! I ended up being sick for a couple days which I kind of expected. The adrenaline just took me to the finish line. The nice thing is - the time off has really got me re-energized. Christmas came and went in a flash. By the time I got all the presents purchased this year, I barely had time to wrap them just to see my niece and nephew crack them open. It was a great time. Even though they are getting a little older in age, it is still a magical time when I am around them. Boxing day shopping brought in a couple things, but nothing major.

Ebay on the other hand has been my friend as of late. Trevor Linden is again in another Panini release. This time the 'Limited' brand gets the treatment. In total, he has 13 cards in this release - with 3 1/1's. Ouch. I've already snagged 7 of the cards. A nice show and tell to come in the next few weeks.

Anyways, onto the subject of this post. A while back, my niece and I made some Twilight custom cards to send TTM. Up until last week, my niece had only received one response (which is better than none). That all changed when she went to the mailbox just before Christmas. An early Christmas present if you will.

Ashley Greene
TTM autograph

My niece was pretty excited to get this one. Ashley was her first 'favorite character' in the Twilight series and still remains a fav.

The silver pen really gives off a cool reflection. If only she could have hit the mark. For some reason, they do not want to sign over their name. Oh well, still a great looking card.

We still have a few cards out there and are keeping our fingers crossed that we will get more mail in the near future.

ASHLEY GREENE – Actress (Twilight)
Date Sent: May 19, 2010
Items Sent: 2 custom cards
Address Sent To: Ashley Greene
McKeon-Myones Management
3500 Olive Avenue, Suite 770
Burbank, CA 91505-5527
Date Received: December 22, 2010
SUCCESS/FAILURE: Success
Notes: signed one of two cards

WHO AM I? - Round Two Revealed

Well, I'd say it was a little tougher to land all three autographs this time around.

The clue though did help out the one person to correctly name all of them.

Congratulations Casey! You correctly named all three 'big men'.

Tyler Myers (6'7")

Zdeno Chara (6'9")

Boris Valabik (6'7")
This is the one that stumped most people.

Thanks again for your comment and guesses.

WHO AM I? - Time For A Clue

Well, I've only received 3 responses so far to this round of 'Who Am I?'. That tells me that either it's a tough one.....or everyone has signed off for the holiday season.

So here's a clue...

Each one's the big man on campus.

Good luck.

WHO AM I? - Round Two Anyone?

Well, we had some good response to my first attempt at this - so let's try it again.

Here's the drill (it's pretty simple)...figure out who the three signatures belong to. And remember - there's a theme.

No hints this time. Good luck.








I'll post the comments and the answers in a few days.

RAISE THE CUP - Card Show Pickups

I stumbled on a card show when I was headed to the library with my niece today. It was a nice surprise and I was able to pick up a few items for some of my projects.

I can add three cards to my 'Raise The Cup' project, and a pair of them are really nice vintage Habs.

The first one though is an addition to the 'Tales of the Cup' subset I've shown in the past.

2008/09 Upper Deck Series II
Tales Of The Cup #TC-3 Doug Weight

The back of the card really gave me a chuckle...

"When the Hurricanes center won the Cup for the first time in 2006, he filled the chalice with gallons of ice cream, chocolate sauce, marshmallows, chocolate chips and candy bits at his home in St. Louis, upon which his three young children happily dug in."

I can only imagine the photos that came of that.

A pair of ol'time Habs make the project from a nice Centennial set.

2008/09 Upper Deck
Montreal Canadiens Centennial Set
Coupe Stanley Cup #197 Yvon Cournoyer

These are some nice looking cards and this photo is from the 1977/78 season - the Habs' 21st Cup.

I really like the black & white photo and to get a close up shot capturing this moment...well that pretty much wraps it up in a nutshell as to what I enjoy about this project.

Great stuff.

2008/09 Upper Deck
Montreal Canadiens Centennial Set
Coupe Stanley Cup #193 Jean Beliveau

Well, I didn't think things could get any better - but they did. This card features one of the greatest players of all-time and is considered one of the classiest to ever lace up the skates.

This photo of Jean is from the 1970/71 Cup victory and was number 17 for the Canadiens.

To see Gentleman Jean raise the Cup over his head (as opposed to drag it along the ice on a table - which was common at the time) really makes the expression on his face mean so much more.

Fantastic cards.

Current Collection - 25 cards

CONTEST PLUG - Drop The Gloves

Alright. One of my fellow bloggers is putting up some sweet prizes (based on the teaser pics he's posted so far) up for grabs in a very simple contest to enter.

The details can be found here.

If you can count to 30.....then you're good to go.

There's only one more day to enter so get over there now.

LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - 2005/06 SPGU STATSCRIPTIONS

Rarely do I go to a card store or a card show with the intention of finding a card on my Trevor Linden wantlist - especially if the card was released 5 years ago.

This past week though found me staring at a card that has eluded me for years. And to make things even more exciting, the card was pulled fresh from a pack right in front of me.

2005/06 SP Game Used
STATScriptions #ST-TL /25

I've seen only a couple other copies of this card over the past 5 years, so the moment I saw the card, I was on it - ready to make a deal for the card.

It didn't take long for me to secure the card and I am thrilled to cross it off my list.

What did I have to trade to get the card?


Just the top card!

A Crosby/Iginla dual jersey card to some might seem like a lot for a Trevor Linden card, but a Linden /25 that has been a thorn in my side for so long - it was a no-brainer.

Add to that, if the card were to have hit the open market (ebay), it would have gone for a pretty penny.

A great addition to the Linden collection, just in time for Christmas.

Now why is the card numbered to 25? It might be too small of writing to read, but the card states that 'Linden scored 25 points during the Canucks' run to the Stanley Cup Finals in '93-94'.

Now that's a good excuse to add this video...his second goal of game 7 being the 25th point. Sadly, it wasn't enough, but no doubt - he's a clutch player.

1 vs. 100 - The Cup Rookie

It was 'Trader's Night' at the local card shop and I wanted to make it down there as it would be the last one of the year (and it's been a super busy time at work and a trip to the LCS can be very therapeutic).

It was a very good decision to do so.

In addition to winning two rounds of pack wars (one Upper Deck Series I and one O-Pee-Chee), finding a few cards for various projects and showing off my newest Trevor Linden centerpiece, I managed to land a card for the Linden PC that has eluded me for 5+ years (and I watched it being pack pulled!).

Overall, it was a great night of hockey cards in general.

One of the great pickups was a card for my 1 vs. 100 project. The Cup makes an appearance and I've had my eye on this subset for a while.

2008-09 The Cup
Gold Rookie Auto Patch
#90 Tom Sestito /43

This card is thick! A monster of cardboard. And while the player is a virtual unknown, the patch is a boring (barely) 2 color swatch and the autograph really adds nothing to the card, all of that works to my advantage. The only thing I really cared about was the 13/43 serial number.

I made a trade for that card (plus a few others) and gave up less than I thought I would have to.

Another unique card to add to the growing project. I hope I can land a few more over the next couple months now that work is letting up a bit.

68 out of 100 (68%)

CARDBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY - Evgeni Nabokov

Now I must apologize for to all the Nabokov fans. I had this card ready to go for this post a few days ago. Little did I know it would be the reason he would be released from his KHL team. Sorry about that.

It seems fitting that this card would be the featured card in this installment of Cardboard Photography. Nabokov.....Upper Deck..... and good photography. Nice.

2006/07 Upper Deck Series II
#415 Evgeni Nabokov

Upper Deck has garnered the reputation of great photography (and simple looking card designs) recently. This card really reflects a great 'capturing of the moment'.

The framing is solid, but it is the action within the card that puts this over the top.

What to look at first....the puck or the ice shavings? This card is one of the nicer ones to show an actual puck being saved. Normally, you get a glimpse of the moments before, the moment after or just a goalie in his ready position. Rarely do you see an actual save captured on cardboard.

The ice shavings just give the card a feeling of frenzy in the crease. Nabokov looks to be in tight quarters to begin with, but add to that the frantic action (or implied action) and the card shifts from a one or two dimensional photo to a multi-dimensional one.

The simple card design really makes you focus on the photo. I can only imagine how much the card would suffer if it had been an intense and overblown design.

A great looking card of a goalie who we might see back in the NHL sooner than later.

WHO AM I? - Answers Revealed

Well, I received guesses from 5 people (thanks for the attempts) and 2 of you identified all three signatures. Way to go Jess and Puckhound!

It was a goalie themed set of sigs (as shown by the background photo in the first autograph...some old school goalie pads).

Gilles Gratton

Antti Niemi

Ryan Miller

Thanks everyone for taking part and I will post some more autos for you to scour over in the near future.

CARD SHOW PICKUP - Temporary Holder

What a great card show today. I went down to secure a card for a fellow hobbyist and ended up spending a chunk of change on dollar jersey cards.

That's right....jersey cards for a buck. It wasn't too long ago that I mentioned how much I liked them. And boy did I find a bundle of them. My only regret is that I wasn't there right at 10:00 when it started. I slept in and didn't make it until 11:30. I can only imagine how much cash I would have spent if I had that much more selection to go through.

Anyways, back to that card I secured.

I'm a player collector and appreciate other player collectors. I do my best to keep a lookout for cards that might fit nicely into a player collection.

I know of a Sean Burke collector and have always enjoyed and appreciated his 'show & tell' posts and his passion for his player collection. So, when I happened to come across this card...

2009/10 In The Game
Between The Pipes Pad Save
Sean Burke #PS-05 Gold 1/1

...I was immediately interested.

I e-mailed him and let him know I found it and asked what his price range would be. He let me know and today I finalized the deal.

It will be on its way to him as soon as he reimburses me the money.

I just couldn't pass up a chance to show off a 1/1 card in my collection....only if it's temporary.

BOX BREAK: 2009/10 Ovation Tin

I'm a sucker for a deal. When I see something priced for a lot less than it should be, I tend to lean in and take a look. Sometimes I even jump.

Tonight I was doing some Christmas shopping for my niece and nephew at Walmart. While strolling up and down the toy aisles, I came across the hockey card section. They had a sale.

A number of blaster boxes were between 10 and 50% off. I noticed tins of Upper Deck Ovation were on for $10 and thought I'd give one a shot.

They had a bunch of 2008/09, but there was one tin hidden underneath that was from 2009/10. That one would be mine.

2009/10 Upper Deck Ovation
Series 1 of 3
50 card tin

I looked at this tin as 10 5-card packs. So essentially, a buck a pack. Not bad. But what really sold me was the info on the front sticker - Find Rare Signed Versions! OK......I will!


The base cards look really nice. I like the design and the player cutout and borders are embossed and glossy. They just look really nice.

By the way, the cards came in one big 50 bunch. No packs. The positive...no doubles.


The photo selection is pretty good. Old uniforms, third jerseys, and some crisp photography really help.

There was some good player selection in my bunch as well. While the Crosby's and Ovechkin's are always welcome, it was nice to see some rookies in there as well (even if I didn't land any of the big names).


The front of the tin had a window indicating the Ovation Spotlight card you would be receiving. Mike Green...works for me. I like the idea of having an insert card made available and while knowing ahead of time is a bit of a double-edge sword, I look at it as a bonus to the tin.

Not as much of a bonus as the next card...


BOOM! That's right. I hit an auto. And the hometown 'hero' at that. Now I don't know how rare these cards are or how tough they are to pull, but to land an Iginla auto in a $10 tin is a pretty darn good deal to me.

What can I say....I'm a sucker for 'em.

WHO AM I? - Trying Something New

Alright. After spending far too much time trying to find some nice looking autographs for my 'Scribbles & Scribes' segment, I have decided to try something different.

'Who Am I' will consist of three autographs all connected somehow. It could be a very simple theme or something very specific and complex. Regardless, the task is to name the three owners of the autographs.

I have tried to picks graphs that get progressively harder. That said, all three might be a piece of cake....all three might be impossible.

Nevertheless, it's a much easier post to put together - and more fun for us all.

So, here's the first installment. I will give you one clue. If you look closely at the first signature, it will give you a hint to the other two.

Post your guess and I will reveal the answers in a few days.







Good luck!

STASHED IN THE CLOSET - Islanders Sportrophys

A couple of cool Islanders pieces were found in the closet recently. I got these from an ebay purchase along with a bunch of other oddball stuff.


This Glenn 'Chico' Resch Hockey Heroes 'Autographed' Stand-Up/Stick-Up Sportrophy figure is pretty cool if I do say so myself. It measures about 8 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches and is made of a nice thick sturdy cardboard.

Licensed by the NHL and NHLPA and released in 1975, these figures have a perforated outline and can be removed and placed in the base (upper left) or can be stuck to you wall (the adhesive on the back is still there....but doubtful it would work very well.

The old school fibreglass mask sucked me right in and put the lot of oddball stuff over the top in the 'want it' pile.

When I received the box, I was happy to find a second figure.


Bryan Trottier....no slouch.

Now I haven't been able to get much info on these items. I know that there are 5 (I think) Islander stand-ups, 5 Philadelphia Flyers 'World Champion' stand-ups and I've also seen a Bobby Orr one.

I'm surprised how cheap you can find these for. Just a few bucks on ebay and these can be yours apparently.

These ones are staying in the collection for a little while still. Part of me wants to set them up to see what they are like.

1 vs. 100 - Dionne Makes Another Appearance

It's been a bit of a drought lately for my 1 vs. 100 project. Truth be told, I haven't really pursued any cards aggressively. I'm sure if I really wanted to, I could have landed a few.

But let's not dwell on the negative. I prefer to turn the frown upside-down and will do so with a fantastic looking card.

2006/07 Ultimate Collection
Ultimate Achievements
#UA-MD Marcel Dionne /53

First, let me just say that this card would not scan well for the life of me. And it's too bad because this card looks really nice. The background in the photo is a nice brownish-velvet color with some cool textured look to it.

It's from the same set that I found a Tomas Vokoun from a while back. It's an odd numbering system. The card is numbered out of a significant event in the player's career. In this case, Marcel scored 53 goals and won the Art Ross Trophy in 1979/80.

Back to how good the card looks. The hard signed autograph is stellar. One of the nicest autos I have in my collection - and I mean my entire hockey card collection. I think I'm biased because I have witnessed the flowing signature in person when he signed a personalized photo for me last spring.

I'm also a sucker for the old school Kings jersey. One of the nicest jerseys of all-time. Purple and gold....who'd have thunk.

What I also like about this card is that it puts me one step closer to completing my project. Two-thirds of the way there!


67 out of 100 (67%)

ONE SHEET, ONE SET - 2005/06 MVP Materials

The local card show last month didn't bring any Linden cards, didn't bring any goalie mask stuff. It didn't even bring in any base cards for my One Sheet, One Set project.

What it did bring in were a few cheap jersey cards to fill in some holes for some memorabilia editions of the project.

Jersey cards for a dollar (or less) are still a mind boggle for me. Sure the players might not be big names (or names at all) but they serve the purpose for my project. In fact, I prefer it. To be able to snag a card with a chunk of a jersey from an NHLer for less than a buck...sign me up. I'll buy them all day.

So here's one of the sets that got finished off.

2005/06 Upper Deck MVP
MVP Materials

These cards were a longshot pull (compared to jersey cards found these days in packs). At one jersey card every 24 packs and the fact that MVP is not a heavily busted product, you'd think these would hold more value.

The player selection is what kills the value with an emphatic squash.

It's a 42 card set and is straight forward with its upside....what you see is what you get.


To me, the front of the card looks really good. The overall design makes it very eye-catching and it sticks out in a crowd. These are good things in this instance.

One of the first things I noticed was the matte finish on the card front except for the player. The player cutout has a gloss to it. It's a subtle effect, but very cool. I really like it.

I ended up seeing a lot of non-white jerseys in my cards. I don't know if that is the norm, but it's a heck of a lot nicer than a bunch of white swatches.

Believe it or not, I like the 'wood panel' look on the sides. I don't know why. It just works. The drop shadow to the center of the card really gives it depth. The shape of the jersey cutout works really well with the rest of the design. I don't know what you call these things '{' and '}' but again...nice.

The middle of the card is broken into thirds with the jersey in the middle third surrounded by a gray textured line pattern with a grayscale logo in the middle of it. A black strip with the word 'jersey' finishes it off. The black strip could have been better thought out, but it's not too bad. I think the logo might have been better off on the player side of the card a little more.

The top and bottom thirds feature a gradient texture featuring the team color. It looks really good when it's a bold color like red or blue, but doesn't work when it's black or gray (or whatever color that's supposed to be). The MVP logo is boldly placed in the top third and the team logo follows suit in the bottom third. Simple and effective.

The player cutout is a bit of a miss for me. The full body shot is not as appealing to me as a half body shot would have been. Some of the players are so far off to the left of the card because of the pose that it makes the card seem off center. And some of the photo selections are just poor. Tom Poti is the best example of this.

To finish off the front, the player name is on the left (not a great font style choice) and 'MVP Materials Memorabilia' is on the right (a bit better selection). A puck in the bottom right with the position (not bad at all) and we're done.


The back of the card follows a lot of the style and design of the front.

The wood panel, the '{', the font style of the player and product name, the MVP logo and yes, the same player photo.

The photo bothers me the most. Here's where a half body shot would have eliminated the need to awkwardly place the cutout into the small window available (and there could have been more area to place the photo to begin with). The desaturating of the pic places it more in the background - still doesn't work for me.

It's a very dark background for a card that has a lot of punch on the front. Not too much color. It's really too bad. I think that Upper Deck could have made the back of the card a lot more exciting.

One thing I've noticed on the back of a lot of memorabilia cards these days is the omission of statistics. Instead, it's a 'Congratulations' message. I like to call it the legitimacy quote...."On the front of the card is an authentic piece of a INSERT TEAM NAME HERE jersey worn by INSERT PLAYER NAME HERE in an official NHL game." It's too bad you have to put this on the back of the card. It should be a given. But with the advent of 'photoshoot' jersey cards, 'warm up' jersey cards, 'alumni' jersey cards and so on it becomes a necessity.

The lack of any pertinent information on the back just turns this card into half a card. Does anyone look at the back of jersey cards anymore?

The text on this card is black - on a dark background. Further darkening the whole look. I'm at the point where I'm ready to turn the card back over at look at my fourth line player.

The one thing this card back has that I like is the smaller amount of space taken up by the logos at the bottom. Not too bad at all.

Overall, it's a half-and-half feeling. The front half is pretty nice, the back half needs a lot of work. The front half holds a little more weight since, well, that's the side you look at most. With the player selection being what it is, I'd suggest passing on building this set unless you can find them in the dollar bin (or less).

3 out of 5

SECRET SANTA - Two Pack Break

The onset of December means only one thing....

Work is ridiculously busy!!!

OK - two things....

The Christmas season is upon us and yesterday I received a bit of holiday cheer in my mailbox. A simple bubble envelope with no return address. The only clue is the stamp on the package - St. John's, Newfoundland.

I opened it and found 2 packs of cards inside. One pack of 2010/11 Score and one pack of 2010/11 Upper Deck Series I.

Now I know I didn't trade or buy these, so I chalked it up to a generous donation made by someone. Thank you Secret Santa! The gesture is very much appreciated.

So, I'm sure you're interested in what I got. So here goes.


Let's open the Score pack first. We've all seen these cards by now. Everyone it seems has cracked a pack or done a box break. Let's hope for something good.


Here's the first dose of base cards. Nothing to write home about. What was of interest to me was the back of one of the cards. Take a look.


Could we waste any more perfectly good white space on the back of a card? B-rutal! Definitely an oversight on the design front.


I really like the Semin card. Great depth...he looks like he's kicking dust in those Panthers' faces. The Brodeur....kind of a lame photo for such a historic record breaking moment.


It's the glossy card in the pack.....trust me.


This insert kind of confused me. It comes from the Playoff Heroes insert set, yet the photo comes from the Winter Classic game. As my niece would say - FAIL!


On to the Upper Deck Series I pack. I have enjoyed seeing the cards pulled so far from this product. The photography looks really good. An exciting pack break.


A nice start on the base cards. Nice photos indeed. I like the design this year too. The past few years UD has been a bit of a bust design-wise for me. This one has a simple feel that I like.


Dude! Are you serious! I guess it can get worse. That almost ruins all the good stuff on the front of the card.

Maybe I should draw a picture or something. How about write out my complaint and send the card back to quality control.

Yikes!


Oooohhhhhh. These cards, not so nice. I appreciate the attempt on some, but the end result just don't do it for me. The Streit card looks like it's almost out of focus (poor photo quality). Cogliano is just lost in the hallway. No contrast.


A bit of redemption here. Great looking action photo. The horizontal design works great for me. Nice.

Let's hope for a good finish.


Cool! One of the retro design cards. I've heard many people talk about the flimsy card stock these are printed on. Yup, it is. Don't like it. It's also a weird off-white color. Dull is the word.

And that goes for the player too. :(

Well, there you have it. My two pack Secret Santa break. In the end how can I complain. It didn't cost me a single thing for these cards and it was an extremely kind gesture from someone out there in the hobby world.

Over the past year, I have had a few of these instances and I appreciate and thank everyone who has made collecting cards for me more enjoyable. Your generosity is infectious and your efforts did not go unnoticed.

Oh, yeah, there was one more card in my package. It sums it all up....


Thanks again!

TO THE BIKE SPOKES!!! - Mike Foligno

The card boom of the early 90's brought about innovative designs, checklists, inserts and an overall boost in product.

A 'glass half full' person would say those are good things. A 'glass half empty', not so much.

What they can both agree upon is that this card is empty.

1992/93 Parkhurst
#415 Mike Foligno

No, this is not a 'horizontal' card. Yes, it's Mike Foligno photographed falling flat on his patootie.

Graceful indeed. Worthy of a hockey card even....according to Parkhurst.

Maybe because it was a high number series card there were just a limited number of Foligno photos. After all, he had only played for a season and a half in T.O. and missed a lot of the games.

You wouldn't want to capture hum doing his infamous leap after scoring a goal now would you? That's gotta be old hat - done many times before.

Right! :(

The only question is, did Foligno trip over his own stick and did he get 2 minutes for tripping?

To Parkhurst's feeble attempt at a card....

PPPPPFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!

TO THE BIKE SPOKES!!!!!!!


Now here's a treat for you...even a cameo from Pat Burns. RIP.

LINDEN CARD OF THE YEAR!!!

I have been collecting Trevor Linden cards now for about 12 years. I have built my collection to around 1000 different Trevor Linden cards and am very proud of the accomplishment.

There have been many cards (some of which I have featured on this blog) that I consider top cards in my collection. Patch cards, autographed cards, rare cards and even a couple 1/1's.

But none of the cards in my collection have acquired the moniker of 'Centerpiece'.

Until now.

This card is one that I have drooled over since I first saw the mock-up of it a few months ago. The buzz that the card created was unlike any I have ever seen for a Linden card.

I anticipated the release of the product earlier this month and was looking forward to seeing who would pull this gem of a card.

Seeing that it was not only pulled, but up for grabs made me seriously consider what kind of dollar sign I would associate with the card.

In the end, I decided to go for it. A once in a lifetime opportunity that I wouldn't let slip by.

So without further ado - I present to you the Trevor Linden Card Of The Year!

2010/11 In The Game
Ultimate Memorabilia 10th Edition
Ultimate Emblem 1/1

Yup. I did it! I ponied up the dough and landed what is without question the highlight of my Trevor Linden collection.

And for those who might have that ounce of doubt...here is the card in my grubby little hands.


Nice! My only beef (again) is that I can't physically touch the card. Not a problem though as I would prefer this card stay in as pristine condition as possible.

And for those who are wondering....buyer's remorse? Not an ounce of it. I am thrilled to get the card and although it cost me way more than I have ever paid for a Linden card - I am happy I did it.

A year from now - 10 years from now - 50 years from now I won't remember the amount I spent on it. Rather that it is now a part of my collection.

This one might be tough to top in 2011.

LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - ITG Ultimate Stick Work

In The Game Ultimate 10.

If ever there was a love/hate relationship this would be it.

I love the fact that Trevor Linden is being incorporated into ITG's sets. I hate that it's going to cost me an arm and a leg to chase them.

I love the designs despite the complete inability to use NHL logos. I hate that it's going to cost me an arm and a leg to chase them.

I love that one of the nicest (if not THE nicest) cards I've ever seen....creating huge discussion and hype amongst hobbyists has been created featuring the Linden name.

I hate that it's going to cost me an arm and a leg to chase them.

It was the first mailday featuring an ITG Ultimate Series 10 card of Trev's. And it did not disappoint.

2010/11 In The Game
Ultimate Memorabilia 10th Edition
Stick Work Silver /24

I've already seen a half dozen or so cards pop up from this set (a quarter of them) within the first 3 weeks of release. To me that says 2 things. There's been a lot of the product cracked and a lot of people feel that Linden stuff can fetch a pretty dime.

True and true.

Out of the Stick Work cards I've seen so far, this one is one of the nicest. The shapes, colors and the font used on the 'S' really make this a card that stands out.

The only downside to the card is that being an ITG Ultimate card, it is encased in a protective slab. Good to know that the card hasn't been tampered with. Bad that I can't touch the card without destroying the case.

I can live with that though.

As a side note....you will want to tune in over the next few days as I reveal the Linden Card Of The Year (and it is a mindblower)!