LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - Trophy Winner

Wrapped up my first week back at work and I'm more sure than ever - this year will be one of opportunity for me. I'm excited to be at a place that celebrates professional growth and quality collaboration. In just a few short months, I feel like I'm a contributor to the team dynamic and am quickly finding comfort and confidence in my role.

We've been learning a lot about AI generated text and imagery. It's a rapidly evolving world with regards to technology - and it is both mesmerizing and at times...intimidating.

I really enjoy the fact that I have this great card collecting hobby to pull me back into a room of familiarity. Yes, the sportscard world has certainly evolved too - especially over the past couple of years - but it still brings me to a level of calm and relaxation that I absolutely welcome.

A fairly quiet last couple weeks. I've got a COMC order on its way...so that's exciting. I'm looking forward to adding to some of my side projects that have been quiet for the past while. I've also been working on a set-build that has been one of the more fun chases of the past few years. More on that over the next month.

Today, it's a single card that has come in - and finally gets crossed of the master list.

2021-22 O-Pee-Chee

#P-4 Trophy Winners  

Manufactured Patch

This is a card that has stymied me on more than one occasion. Super-happy to get this one finally in.

I had first won this card via ebay auction last summer. To my dismay, it was the rare bird that got lost in the mail. Unfortunate, but I was able to recoup my money. Another attempt came a couple months later but I managed to lose the auction at the last second...I should've bid my maximum. Instead, I got cheeky and bid just above the going rate. Bad strategy.

Patience did pay off as this one came up at the right price, ended with no disruptions and was mailed out promptly - and with good protection (I like well placed painters tape). Was exciting to open up the bubble envelope.

This card is one of the few manufactured patch cards that Linden has. I love the fact that it celebrates his 1997 King Clancy Memorial trophy win (awarded to the player who best shows leadership on the ice and humanitarian contributions off the ice). I've always admired Trevor's work in the community and his selfless approach to charity and giving back. 

I've always said, I loved watching him play during his career, but I feel he will have a bigger impact after his retirement.

I'm one who likes the manufactured patch...when it is for good reason. A solid concept can be elevated with manufactured patches. These trophy cards are a perfect example. Recently, SP Game Used came out with some manufactured patch cards (and yes, there is one of Trev) and while it's a nice looking piece of cardboard, it doesn't resonate quite as much. What I'd love to see is a set of manufactured patches that celebrates some of the special patches teams have worn over the years. 

Imagine a card celebrating the life of the great Johnny Bower - by having a manufactured patch similar to the ones that the players wore on their jerseys.

Or when Detroit honoured their beloved owner, Mike Ilitch after he had passed away.

The Leafs also donned a very special crown-capped maple leaf with the name Borje on it to show respect to the great Borje Salming.

I think a small card set inserted into the flagship product featuring beautiful, embroidered, manufactured patches of memorial or special patches worn by players would be pretty sweet. Heck, it could span across multiple products - or even build year after year. The possibilities are plentiful. 

I, for one, enjoy cards that have meaning behind them - stories. All great cards have a story. That's why I really like the latest add to my Linden collection.

UM.....ZERO POSTS IN NOVEMBER (Almost)

Holy cow......blogging just hasn't been in the cards lately for me.

I was all excited to show off some of my Linden cards, Oscar Gamble cards, Raise The Cup cards and more.....but the cold from hell destroyed me in November (and work).

One day after my last blog post I ended up with a fever and the oh-so-fun shakes.  It drained me of all energy and it's taken pretty much the whole month to recover.  This one was a doozy.

It doesn't help that work has been busier than ever - in fact, it's the busiest November I've seen in the 7 years I've worked at this company.

But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.....or the train comin' right at me - one of the two.

I just wanted to say 'Hello' and that I will have some stuff to show off soon.  Promise.

In the meantime, I'm going to share a quick concept I came up with (since I don't want to scan cards tonight.

OK.....with November being Movember month and guys growing out their moustaches, I think that one of the card companies should capitalize on it.  But I think it should be done a little more uniquely than just some photos and a simple design.

Hockey cards have mildly embraced the sketch card concept that has exploded in the non-sport world.  There are some great artists out there doing tremendous work.

I think there should be sketch cards of players sporting their 'stache inserted into a product like UD Series I (which came out at the start of November).  I think it would create some cool "long shot" pulls and the resulting sketch cards would be (I think) pretty desirable to chase.

You could even find a way to incorporate a way to generate funds for charity.

Well......what do you think?  Am I still "sick in the head" or have I finally come to my senses?

CONCEPTS - Vintage Wrappers

There's just something about vintage design.  The simplicity.  The colors.  The "off-centered"-ness of layers.  I love it.

Things that house that vintage feel in this hobby that I've really taken notice of in the past include goalie masks, card designs and now.....wrappers.

Recently it was reported that Topps has decided to celebrate the vintage-ness of their baseball wrappers by making limited edition prints available to the public.  Every single Topps baseball wrapper from 1952 through 1989 will get the art treatment.

Tell me this doesn't look just absolutely stunning.  In the immortal words of J.J. Walker.......DY-NO-MITE!!!!!

Now if you want to collect all 38 prints, it'll cost ya'.

The 10"x14" (numbered to 99) cost $29.99 each.  You can also buy decade sets, measuring 5"x7" (numbered to 49 copies) cost $49.99.

I am so struggling with what to do.

And at the same time, I pray they don't do the same with hockey.  (ok...yes I do).

In fact.....the last time I went to the Toronto Expo, I saw some gorgeous looking vintage wrapper art.  Right up my alley.

These pieces come from The Hockey Nut and look really nice in person.  Vivid colors, cool designs and reeking of vintage.

Currently there are about 10 different wrapper designs available.  Measuring 16"x20" and presented as a canvas wrap, they bite the wallet at $99.00 plus shipping.

Now these don't have the OPC logo in full so I'm guessing that there's some sort of grey area with regards to copyright.  Whereas the Topps baseball ones are made and sold by the company itself.

And then there are those who go for the real deal all the way.

Lovely.....simply lovely.

I never appreciated wrappers back when I was a kid.  Maybe other than the smell of the addictive bubblegum and the card locker redemption....but that's it.  But I would have loved to have kept some of the oldies for posterity.

It's amazing to see what some of the old offerings go for online.  Which might be part of the reason why I enjoy them so much.  If they were a dime a dozen, I don't know if I would be as captured by them.

At the end of the day, this throw-away piece of sports card collecting is now anything but.  And with the production of new vintage offerings, I don't see the trend slowing down anytime soon.


So, do you have any wrappers in your collection?  What are your favorites?  What do you think of old becoming new once again?  Do these new prints turn your crank at all?  Why/why not?

MY COLLECTION - Replenishing The Trade Box

With all of the trading I have been doing of late, I'm finding that my trade box is getting a little lighter.  While I do feel like I've got a good chunk of cards to haul around with me to trade nights and such, I also feel like the quality of cards has slid a bit.

So today's trip to the local card show had a little bit of a mission behind it.  Replenish the trade box.  And what good timing.....last show of the season (for this location).  So a few sales were on the table.  In fact, the topic came up a couple times.....I'll get into that in a bit.

But first, some of my pickups.

One of the great concepts that has been developed over the past few years has been that of the Social Signatures variety.  I love the look of my Linden SS from Panini Classics last year.  Great design.  The one small miss is of course the lack of the social signature.

In fact, that's been the big drawback with all of Panini's attempts at this set.  You get a handful of players jumping on board with the idea only to have it ruined by some who decide to only slap their auto on the card.

This year Panini decided to give it the ol' college try again.  They announced that a (minimum) 70-card offering would be inserted into multiple products put out by Panini this season.  For the record, I like the cross-product set builds.  The Private Signings idea was hugely successful in my opinion.

Panini decided to do a show of the roster of signers.  I've got to say....I was impressed.  That was until I saw a tiny group of non-compliers.  So I'd like to say "Thanks!" to Anze Kopitar, Carey Price, Jaromir Jagr, John Tavares.  Thanks for ruining it.  I count only 6 cards out of the 70 - SIX....with guys who didn't read the instructions.

Dang.

And with Panini not doing hockey after this year, it might be a while before we see this concept fully realize its potential.

With the release of 13/14 Titanium, the quest started for these cards.  Here's what I picked up today.

Andrew Shaw was a nice find.  I think any player from Chicago would be on the radar these days.

Nice hard-signed signature with the twitter handle just below.  Slow down though Andrew.....I can barely make out your penmanship.

Jake Gardiner.  Not a big name, but playing for a big team (hobby-wise...let me add that).

Jake and Andrew must have gone to the same writing class.  Gardiner just a little bit better.

George Parros.  OK....not really the cream of the crop in terms of player pickups, but still a nice looking card from a sweet set.

George's fists may have hindered his signing ability.  Sloppy.

Sheldon Souray.  Now I'm scraping.  Is he still playing?  Did he retire?  He's so off the radar for me (ever since picking him in my pool a couple years ago....for shame).

Another guy who might have been rushing his order.  After all, there's extra letters and numbers that need to be added.

Maybe Anze had it right.  A solid signature......no social.  Why ruin a good thing eh?

Wrong.  Way to blow it Anze!

Part of the reason why I picked up these five cards is that they were in the cheap boxes.  These days (if I'm not finding Lindens or Masks at the shows) I'm scrounging the loonie and toonie boxes for deals.  My wallet only allows for so much.

And at $7 for the five cards......I'll do that.  The Kopitar might recoup that alone (or at very least make for good tradebait).

Now a quick aside.


At today's show I overheard (and was partially involved) in some talk about people gravitating towards the cheap boxes.  People questioning why they even set up at the show - or for that matter, why they rip wax to begin with.  If all people want are cheap cards why bother.

I interjected with my two cents.

I'm not a huge box (or case) buster so I'm not investing into the hobby that way.  But I think the root of hockey card collecting is very simple...

If you are doing something that you don't like - DON'T DO IT.

Nobody is forcing anyone to open boxes.  Nobody is forcing anyone to put certain cards on their table.  People will gravitate to what interests them.

Would I like to open more?  Yup.  But my focus is set on Linden cards.  Often I have to choose between opening stuff or buying singles.  I choose singles (most of the time).

Would it be great to get top dollar on cards at your show?  Yup.  And I'd love to buy more singles.  But if they aren't named Linden then I've got to be a lot more selective.  That's part of the reason why the discount boxes appeal to me.

And who's not a sucker for a good deal?  Really.  If you don't like people scrounging in your cheap boxes....don't put them out on your table.

I heard the comment that the $10 bin turned into the $5 bin, the $5 into $2 and the $2 into $1.....and watch the people flock.  Duh?  People pin in on a sale.  And if you've got your cards priced to go....they'll go.

Unfortunately, a lot of people won't pull the trigger on a good deal unless it's a stupidly good deal (myself included).  Would I have bought these five Social Signature cards if they were double the price?  Probably not.  I might have picked up one...or two.  I bought these cards for the purpose of putting them into my trade box.  So there has to be a bit of room there to move on my end.

Ultimately, the mindset of setting up at a show needs to be "Here I am, here's what I have, here's what it's priced for.  I'm ok with all of it and if I don't sell a single thing....I need to either accept that - or change what I'm doing".

I don't dictate what you price your cards for.....but I do decide if I'm buying from you or not.  And when my wallet is on a leash, there's got to be something that catches my eye for me to chase it.

Sorry for the mini rant (I don't feel like I ranted, but it felt long).  I just don't like people setting up at a show and then complaining the whole show about why things suck.

This is a hobby......have fun.

CONCEPTS - Beards

Some of you might be asking "Beards? As a concept?"

That's right.

When it seemed all the avenues of concepts have been exhausted, Upper Deck comes out with a sneaky little parallel set that can be either intriguing, frustrating or flat out boring.

I choose the first one.

2011/12 O-Pee-Chee
#1 Scott Hartnell
Playoff Beard version

O-Pee-Chee released a 50-card parallel set that celebrates the decades-old tradition of playoff beards. Each card depicts the player proudly wearing their sign of playoff success (you never really see guys wearing full beards in game one or two of the first round....unless they're cheating).

The card looks exactly the same as the regular version say for a couple tweaks.

2011/12 O-Pee-Chee
#1 Scott Hartnell
Regular version

First (and most obvious) is the photo. But if you look closely, you'll see that some of the text is a different color. The regular version has gold lettering for the player name and the 'O-Pee-Chee' slashing through the card at the bottom of the photo. The 'Beard' version has this text in silver.

The backs of the cards are exactly the same. There's no serial numbering, no text indication - nothing.


Without a doubt, there are people out there building the set that have no clue about the variation. To many, it might not even matter.

I, on the other hand, would not be able to put a 'Beard' variation in the spot where a regular card should go.

It just doesn't work that way in my world.


So, how rare are the 'Beard' variations? They are 1:25 packs. Not super rare, but still a good hunt is required to build the full 50-card set at a reasonable price.


I kind of like this idea. These photos aren't just from 'any' game. They are from the most important games of the season. And there are a number of players who seem to transform into another character once that beard has fully formed.


So, once I discovered this unique concept, I thought to myself if there were other instances of 'facial hair' being a theme for a set.

Believe it or not, it has happened before.

1996/97 Leaf Limited
Stubble
#16 Joe Sakic /1500

How many of you remember these beauties?

This set was actually inspired by the playoff beard tradition, but was a bit more of a miss as a lot of the photos just don't reflect that sentiment.


This 20-card insert set did have some big names though. Yzerman, Lemieux, Gretzky and Roy just to name a few. And since they are numbered to 1500 (which at the time was a pretty rare card), they hold half decent value (Gretzky just recently went for about $30 on ebay).


All the card fronts show head shots of players 'sporting' stubble. I think some of these pics are of guys who are just too lazy to shave.

To make things even cheesier, the player name and 'Stubble' text have a fuzzy felt-like texture. It reminds me of books that I read when I was one.


'Stubble'? I think not. This is just a poor inclusion to the set. I don't think I've ever seen Alex grow any sort of beard, goatee, sideburns or moustache. Ever.


Now did someone say - MOUSTACHE?

Thinking about this concept, there was a clear lane to this obvious avenue that I'm sure will soon be gobbled up by a card company.

At least you can say you saw it here first.


I give you - "The Movember Set"

Again, for those living under a rock, November is the month where us guys refrain from shaving the ol' stache in support of men's health (specifically prostate cancer).

And a bunch of the NHLers have jumped on this ship big time.

You probably saw the Jonas Hiller Movember mask I showcased at the start of the month. But he wasn't the only goalie to get in on the excitement. Tim Thomas had a great looking Movember mask designed as well.

Both the Hiller mask and the Thomas will be raffled (or auctioned....I can't remember which) off with all the proceeds going to support the cause.


So why not do the same with hockey cards?

I think each team should designate one player to represent their team on a 'Movember' card. Only available in that team's city. Math concludes that this would mean a 30-card set.

I think the initial purchase of the card be set at like $20 bucks with only a limited number of them available (say 1000).

If every card sold in every city and all the money from the cards went to fight prostate cancer, that would be $600,000.

Some people might only want cards from their favorite team or city, some might want to build the set. There are player collectors as well.

And of course, the money would go to a very worthwhile cause.

And think of the fun photos you could come up with.


Cal Clutterbuck might just lead the charge. His 'Clutterstache' as he calls it is so popular, it has its own Twitter account. Hilarious.

Even better.......his stache was interviewed by NHL.com. Outstanding!


There are guys that just should never be seen in public with a moustache. I think this group of players play for the Habs.

In addition to this nasty caterpillar on Cole's lip, do some hunting for Carey Price's contribution. Yikes!


This tandem just made me laugh. Goofy face on Moulson and goofy staches on both. Love it!


But my favourite might just be Jagr's attempt. It actually suits him. This coming from a guy who had the worst mullet in league history.

Hey, now maybe that should be a card set. No...no, no ,no. Ignore that thought.


Of course, no blog post on facial hair would be complete without a card from this guy.


Got Heeeem!

Enough said.

CONCEPTS - Nicknames

While scouring the tables at the local card show this past weekend, I was talking with one of the dealers about a recently released card. That discussion has motivated me to finally write up this post.

Through the decades, card companies have introduced new cards to us hobbyists. New ideas, new concepts. From inserts to jersey cards, autographs to limited print runs, there's always something on the horizon to try and make the hobby feel fresh and exciting.

Sometimes new ideas are far fetched, sometimes they are a dud. Every once in a while though, a new concept is produced that catches my eye and makes me stop and appreciate them.

So, I'm going to do just that. First up.....'Nicknames'.

2010/11 Panini Dominion
Notable Nicknames

This was the card that we were talking about. It's one of 10 cards in the new Notable Nicknames Autograph set released by Panini in their Dominion product.

Hard signed and numbered to just 50 copies, I commented that something as simple as Jarome adding "Iggy" to his card immediately places that card in a different light for me.

What I like about it is that it put a bit of light on the individuality of the player.

Do you remember the first time you pulled an autograph card from a pack? I bet it was pretty cool. A new idea...the thought that the player was actually holding on to the very card now in your hands. But year after year of seeing autographs...seeing sticker autographs...over-saturation, it just diminishes the 'specialness' of the autograph card.

Now, by having the player add a little personal touch to the card, that connection to the player is reinforced.


Some of the other cards in the set include this Doug Gilmour favorite of mine. Additionally, the checklist includes Dustin Byfuglien, Felix Potvin, Ed Belfour and Mark Messier. I've seen a Messier....sadly, he didn't grasp the concept - he only signed his name.

The one card in the set I'm looking forward to seeing most is the Jean Beliveau. In addition to his phenomenal signature, I can already appreciate the time and care he would have put towards making this nicknames project the best it can be.

One card in the set had me scratching my head though....


Sadly, I had to do some research to find out Al's nickname. You'll have to do the same too. :) Once you find out....you'll see it.

But this concept is not a new one. Card companies have used this technique in the past and have created some really fun and highly discussed sets.

2007/08 Upper Deck Trilogy
Personal Scripts

This Bob Nystrom card from a few years back is one of my favorites. Not only is the photo on the card awesome (I miss the helmet-less days), the simplistic scribe of 'Thor' just punches off the card.

I haven't seen any other cards from this release, but the checklist looks deadly.

A 38-card set that includes the likes of Bobby Clarke, Bobby Hull and Bobby Orr, Ron Hextall, Phil Esposito, Lanny McDonald and Jari Kurri.

Even some of today's stars like Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, Martin St. Louis and Corey Perry.

Now, with this set - 'Personal Scripts' - the idea isn't always about nicknames. Sometimes the player includes when they were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, or if they accomplished something unique.

Still, the idea of making the card more personal is there.

2005/06 Upper Deck Trilogy
Personal Scripts

Trilogy has used this concept in the past more than once. I tracked down this fantastic Gordie Howe card from the same insert set a couple years prior to the Nystrom.

This 21-card set is equally as intriguing as its 07/08 counterpart.

'Mr. Hockey' is so synonymous with Howe that he includes his nickname quite regularly when he signs his cards. You can find a number of examples with a quick search on ebay.

To my earlier point, I think it starts making the inscription a little less special........just a little. :)

2004/05 Upper Deck Legendary Signatures
AKA Autographs

Without question, the granddaddy of the 'Nicknames' concept goes to this stunning collection of cards from 04/05.

Breaking new ground to create this 24-card set, Upper Deck started a buzz with the uniqueness and coolness of this eclectic mix of players.

Where else would you see Al Iafrate and Gump Worsley sit side by side? Tony Twist and Glenn Hall?

I find myself just looking at this set over and over, appreciating each card individually (remembering each of their nicknames just takes me back to the time when they played), but then realizing how cool it is to see a set like this completed (numbered to just 100, it's not impossible, but pretty rare to see a full set).

A great way to cap off this look at one of my favorite concepts to come along on the past decade.

Do you know of any other nickname cards out there?

Do you have any favorite concepts?