STASHED IN THE CLOSET - 1988 Calgary Olympic MASK Posters

I was digging through the closet again and noticed a lot of mask stuff that hadn't received a lot of appreciation recently. So I got the camera out and did some reminiscing.

I came across a set of four posters from the 1988 Winter Olympics held here in Calgary. These posters were a part of a display put on at Canada Olympic Park (where they held the ski jump, bobsled, luge, etc.).


These posters are your typical 'poster size' and are on a thick backing board.

They have taken a bit of a beating over the years, but when I saw them on ebay a decade ago I jumped at the chance to own them. I haven't seen them come up too often since.


Here's a closer look at the 'montage' poster. I'll get to some feature shots of individual masks in a moment.

First, let's take a look at the other three posters I have in the set.


One of the coolest masks from the original era of goalie masks. Terry Sawchuk's 'cat' mask just reeked of intimidation when he put it on. Add to that his aggressive stance that dared shooters to try and put the puck past him and it was a match made in goalie mask heaven.


This mask belonged to Wayne Stephenson during his Washington Capitals days. It's such a simple design, but does it ever look cool.

The neck piece was a rarity at the time and just adds something to the overall design.


Yves Belanger didn't have a memorable career, but thankfully his name lives on through his mask. What a great lid. So nice, that the Flames had a giant version made and it is placed outside the Saddledome for all to see.




There's a trivia answer for those of you the next time you are at the Dome.


Let's go back to that 'montage' poster and take a closer look at a few of the masks featured.


One of my all-time favorite masks. In fact, if I had to pick just one....this would be it.


A classic. This mask was decades ahead of its time in design. What fantastic detail and theme. He must have looked like a fish out of water out there with his Ranger blue uniform. Tremendous.


Ed Staniowski had a great simple design to his mask. Years ago, I had the opportunity to interview him and I asked him about the teardrop. I was expecting a heartbreaking story. Instead, he just said that sometimes the goalies just need to let out a tear.


This is a rather unique mask in that it features multiple team logos. A tribute obviously to the teams he suited up for.


This Ron Low mask, much like the Stephenson, has that distinct 70's feel. The red, white and blue colors looked awesome paired up with the uniform.


Here's another Low....but one that doesn't get near the face time. The bold contrast really stands out for me. Another winner.


Hey, isn't that a Murray Bannerman mask? Nope...no it's not. Designed by the same mask maker, Greg Harrison, this mask saw time with the Whitby Warriors. A senior mens team that played in the Ontario Hockey League.

Mike Keenan coached there for a year in the late 70's. Yet another trivia answer.


Here's the Bannerman. This was my favorite mask in the 80's. Too bad he played backup to 'Tony O' for all those years.


This poster not only featured NHL goalies, but WHA masks as well. This Wayne Wood lid really looks cool. I'd like to get more stuff from the crazy days of the WHA. Some great masks made the rotation through the league.


Lastly, a prototype mask for the Canadian team that never saw the light of day. A great find on the poster. It really ties up the diversity of masks.

Well, it was a great look back into the past for goalie masks. These crude pieces of fibreglass really have gone from a protective piece of equipment to a true piece of art.

I'll end with some video featuring a goalie who had his mask on the montage poster as well. Gary 'Cobra' Simmons playing for the Los Angeles Kings vs. Ken Dryden and the Montreal Canadiens. Enjoy the vintage masks!

CARDBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY - Darcy Tucker

One moment not captured enough on card fronts in my opinion is the goal celebration.

Sure, there are times when you see the gathering of like jerseys to tap each other on the head and say 'good goin' guys'. But that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about the exuding of emotion and the release of enjoyment after scoring a crucial goal.

This photo captures just that.

2005/06 Upper Deck
#180 Darcy Tucker

Now I'm not the biggest Tucker fan, and he didn't pot too many goals in his illustrious NHL career, but this pic really captures a moment.

A fraction of a second earlier or later and this would have been a completely different card.

The intense glare in Tucker's eyes is the first thing I notice. The menacing grin and imminent fist pump make this card stand above a lot of the others from the set.

In addition, I like the contrast and depth of the shot. Tucker, in his blues, nicely in the foreground of the out of focus fans wearing the more traditional white. A great balance.

Speaking of balance, the horizontal aspect of this card allows for a more complete focus of the player. The left hand holding the stick out may seem unnecessary, but I think it is what completes the shot.

A great photo, a great moment. A Leaf scoring?

Crazy stuff!

1 vs. 100 - Honorable Number(s)

My most recent mailday landed me not only the second Linden Certified /5, but this great addition to my 1 vs. 100 project.

2007/08 Upper Deck 'The Cup'
Dual Honorable Numbers #HN2-SK
Phil Kessel/Miroslav Satan /81

What I really like about this card (other than the fact it is a dual patch) hard-signed card is that it is a unique card to the collection.

Nothing against the 'Significant Numbers' or 'Draft Pick' sets that have helped me out immensely, but anytime I can add a unique contribution to the collection it is a little more special.

As a side note....for the life of me, I can't make out Satan's sig (and I can barely figure out Kessel's). Sad.

66 out of 100 (66%)

LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - Yet Another Certified

It was a rare Saturday mailday after a quick trip to the postal outlet and a quick signature. The card I have been anticipating arrived.

And yes.....it is yet another Certified.

But there's no doubt it is a big enough card to feature in a mailpost.

2010/11 Panini Certified
#170 Mirror Emerald /5

Yes, it is the second Certified card /5 I have landed in less than a month. To have both of these cards crossed off the wantlist so quickly is frankly ridiculous.


The story of how I acquired it is another one of those 'right place, right time' moments.

I had posted my success in obtaining the Mirror Emerald Autograph earlier in the month. One of the responders noted that he had the unsigned version /5. It was a simple no-brainer move to contact him to try and work out a trade.

He indicated that he would like to trade it for a Penguins card /5 from the same product. Fair enough....the hunt was on.

I quickly found a Malkin patch card /5 on ebay that was within a reasonable price (considering how much the Linden would have gone for in the open market).

I threw a price on the Malkin hoping to land it. I ended up getting an e-mail from the seller asking if I had just submitted an offer on the card. Guess what....the seller was the same guy that I got the autographed version Linden /5 just a few weeks earlier.

Small world.

We quickly made another transaction and I was able to personally pick up the Malkin card in person. What a huge time saver and risk cutter.

A deal to secure the above Linden was made (I actually got a second card in the deal as well) and we shipped off the cards.

I sent via expresspost (which I didn't realize was so expensive) which was worth it as I wanted to make sure there were no hiccups in the shipping.

The card arrived and I picked it up from the post office Saturday. I had to pay a bit for customs, but it was worth it.

I now have both Lindens /5 for less than the price I was willing to pay for just one of them at the start of the season.

Now to find the elusive 1/1's. :)

BEHIND THE MASKS - Pinnacle Inside Stoppers

I picked these up at the card show last month. They were toss-in's with another card and inch me towards finishing this set. Yes, I realize this set is like 15 years old....what can I say.

1997/98 Pinnacle Inside Stoppers

These discs were randomly inserted into tins of Pinnacle Inside (1:7 tins) and feature mask shots of NHL goalies of the day.

There are 24 discs in the set and I decided to go after the set when I purchased a few tins at the local dollar store a while back. I pulled a few discs (including the Patrick Roy....which comes in as the highest booking disc).

I never really pursued the project with any sort of effort. Rather, I would just pick up the odd item I'd need whenever one happened to land in my lap. I wouldn't pay top dollar for them as most people treat them as throwaways.

Not a bad side project for those who like goalie masks....so it's right up my alley.

By the way, I'm down to needing 2....Grant Fuhr and Ron Hextall.

TO THE BIKE SPOKES!!! - Kelly Kisio

In honour of the latest Panini product release - Score, I randomly selected a card from the original set (released 20 years ago) to use in this post.

OK, not really, some of the photos weren't too bad, but definitely nothing to write home about.

In defense, the Score set from 1990/91 was a landmark set. It redefined (along with Upper Deck and Pro Set) the way we looked at cards and ultimately, the way we collected them.

If only the quality of the products could have matched the quantity.

1990/91 Score
#37 Kelly Kisio

Or should that say card #37.....Budweiser Sign.

Now maybe I don't know a whole lot about cards and the thought process or time that is put into creating such a work of art, but my gut tells me to put the player photo in the card as opposed the sign on the board.

I understand the dilemma, have Kisio fill the frame of the card, but keep the puck in the shot. If you scaled the player down too much, he would look like a chipmunk. That would look terrible. Kisio is already 'chipmunk-esque'.

I think it would be best just to have him peeking out the side of the card and leave the hockey puck in full view. It is after all an 'action shot'. It's what we do nowadays with hockey cards. Show the puck!

A horizontal card? No, we can't do that. That would mean we would have to rebuild all of the information on the card. These are complex designs we're talking about. It's not the 80's anymore you know.

I often sift through singles from this set when they are at card shows. I always like saying "Got it, got it, got it, got it, got it, got it, I'm thirsty!"

Hopefully Score, you will have some better photography in your new release. I'm skeptical though since you are paying homage to the product. The style, the price, the massive checklist of scrub players.....hopefully not the photos.

To you Score (1990 version)......

PPPPPPFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!

TO THE BIKE SPOKES!!!

LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - Even More Certified

The phrase 'right place...right time' has been a fixture of the Linden Panini Certified cards I have picked up so far this season. Out of the 9 cards released in this product, I have already acquired 5 of them (5 of 7 if you don't count the two 1/1 cards).

Definitely the quickest I have landed this many new release parallels in all my years of collecting Linden cards.

2010/11 Panini Certifed
'Immortals' Mirror Red /250

Next to the base version /500, this is the most common parallel from the product. I picked this up as a 'throw in for a couple other cards I landed.

2010/11 Panini Certifed
'Immortals' Mirror Gold /25

This being one of them. To have both of the golds crossed off is of great relief to me. To see what kind of prices these have been getting on ebay makes me even more happy.

I picked these two cards up along with another. It was an Evgeni Malkin Mirror Emerald patch /5. Why that card?

Stay tuned.