BOX BREAKS: 4 Boxes of ITG Decades

I headed up to Edmonton this weekend for the 'Summit II' Sports Collectibles show. Normally I wouldn't travel up to Edmonton for a show...but I had good reason this time (more on that later).

I managed to pick up a few cards for various projects and I was able to see some amazing collectibles. Some old game-used jerseys from the 1970's were on display at the In The Game booth. Stunning to say the least.

Other sellers had some great vintage cards, jerseys, sticks and memorabilia. It was like going through a little mini time machine. A very different vibe from the shows I'm used to in Calgary....in a good way.

I might just have to make my way up there again next year.

One thing that was definitely on the 'to do' list was bust a few boxes of ITG's newest product - Decades. Why?


Cause this guy is in it....my wallet is already crying.

Actually, It wasn't so bad. I bought 4 boxes and I found it to be a real fun break. This product celebrates the decade of the 80's so I knew it would bring back some great memories for me.

You get nine cards in a box - all of them 'hits' so no base cards. Three hard-signed autograph cards, three authentic game-used memorabilia cards, one Decades rookie card, one non-memorabilia insert card and one 100 Years of Hockey Card collecting card. Guaranteed.

Here's what I got...


The 4 '100 Years Of...' cards. These have been inserted in numerous ITG products this season, so building the set would take time. I'm on the fence when it comes to the design. Love the concept though.


I ended up with three 'Battle Of' cards. Would have preferred a mixture of non-memorabilia inserts, but you get what you get. How many of you remembered that Phil Esposito played for the Rangers....in the 80's? I did.


ITG's version of the rookie card. Cool design and look at the mugs on these guys. Francis looks so young. I really liked these cards.


But I liked these even more. I traded for a couple (I pulled the Roy myself). Definitely planning on getting the entire set. That Moog is awesome. You never see photos of him in an Oilers mask...he's always wearing just a helmet.


On to some of the autos. Three in a box and they're all hard signed. The checklist is a who's who of 80's hockey (or should I say - Who's That!). Actually, it's a bit of both. Seeing some of the autos coming out of the boxes yielded a 'Oh man....I forgot about him' comments.

I traded for the Snepsts and pulled the Tanti. I thought I had the Linden, but no. I will have to trade for it now.


A great treat in this product are the Team USA autos. Every member of the 1980 Miracle On Ice has signed. Now that's an impressive feat.


Don Lever.....anyone? Anyone! Yikes.


This Dave Keon is a shortprint so it should come in handy when it comes to gaining a Linden in return. What a great auto.


Now the jerseys. You've seen the Linden (which I traded for) so that's a start. There are three versions of jerseys for each player (a black version, a silver version and a gold version). Each has a print run more limited than the previous.

For me, it just means more Linden cards to add to the wantlist. So be it ITG....so be it.


This card is pretty cool in person. Normally with patch cards, you see stitches and such. Because this is a Nordiques jersey from the 80's, it's got the ironed on plasticy stuff. Love it.


Along with the normal jersey cards, there are various subset jersey cards available in the product. You pretty much need an abacus to stay organized with all the jersey cards and parallels and subsets.

This Pokey Reddick card should help me out - since there's a resurgence of Winnipeg stuff right now.


This Tony Esposito jersey is the Gold version (there are only 10 copies of this card). Too bad for the solid red swatch.


Like I mentioned....another subset. The seam on this bad boy is just bursting out. It's pretty cool if I do say so myself. And how could you not like a Coffey jersey from his heyday in Edmonton?


Quads! In four boxes of the product, I hit four quads. I really like these too.

The player selection on the Canada quad is not what one would normally see. Blue for the Goulet? Sadly, they had to use a Nordiques jersey. Sadly I say...am I crazy?


The USA quad is equally as eclectic in player selection. Barrasso and Esposito on the same card. Wait! Tony Esposito in a USA jersey? What gives?

We all remember him as part of Team Canada in 1972 and he represented Canada numerous times. But in 1981 he became a naturalized US citizen and played for the States in that year's Canada Cup.


All-Stars from the 80's. I always liked the All-Star cards in the various O-Pee-Chee products back then. I remember getting a Don Edwards or Danny Gare and thinking "Who are you?" Other years, it would be Oiler stacked.

This four pack of players fire off a fine wallop.


But my favorite quad in the bunch is this Islanders card. These are the four that I remember most from those early days of card collecting. They were at the pinnacle of the sport when I was introduced to hockey cards. Man, those were the days.

Look at the photos they used. Right from that era. Points for that.


Lastly, the showcards that I received from ITG for opening my boxes at their booth. One card per box. Completely random (bummer). Not bad. A couple of the cards have that wildly popular seam burst going on. And with them being 1/1's, there might be a bit of a demand if the right collector comes along.

I've seen a Linden Emblem show card 1/1 go for well over $100 on ebay already. And these cards were given out for free.

Overall, I really like this product. Player after player...memory after memory. By essentially eliminating the base cards, one can get right to the goods. That said, I wouldn't have minded some base cards from that era. Would have been neat to see some old school collecting going on.

Got it, got it, got it, need it.

Go out and get a box - and trade me your Lindens. :)

ANOTHER WEEK GONE BY

It's June. The Canucks are pushing ever closer to that elusive Stanley Cup championship, my work is shifting into its summer season (which is a nice change) and there's a huge opportunity awaiting for me this weekend.

How big? Big enough that I've tried my best to make it my only priority this week. While that didn't happen, I feel I have done all I can to prepare.

I hope to share more down the road. As well, I hope to get back to posting a few more blog posts over the next while. I miss it.

Thanks to all who stop by to see what's up with my collection and I hope you all are doing well.

Until next time!

OUTSIDE THE BOX - Marvel Beginnings Ultimate Panel Focus

Innovative? Challenging the status quo? Or sacrilege? It seems there are two very distinct feelings towards Upper Deck's latest concept.

Recently, Upper Deck released its Marvel Beginnings product. In it, a very interesting and much talked about insert set. It's called "Ultimate Panel Focus".


In a nutshell, it's like a cut autograph, except the cut comes from a panel of a vintage comic book from the golden era.

Now, the comics used to cut the panels out are in very poor condition, but nonetheless - they are the real deal.


For example, The Amazing Spiderman issues #2, 4, 6, 9, The Avengers issue #57 and Daredevil issue #181.

These cards are numbered (based on the comic issue) to less than 70 copies. And the variation for each issue obviously is based on how much they can squeeze out of the print.



There is a blog post by Upper Deck with more details on the product (and they have a ton more scans).

I also found this neat video on how the process of cutting up the comics is done. NOTE: I want me one of those nifty die-cutters!





So, what do you think of this? Is it really any different than seeing a jersey being cut up and glued on a card? And not just any jersey.....but the most important jerseys of all time. What if it was the Paul Henderson 72 Summit Series jersey? Where does the line get drawn? (see that....I did that just now)

I for one think the idea is pretty cool. To own a piece of a historic publishing, to even be able to pull one from a pack is pretty neat. I like the idea as well because it's something that hasn't been done before. New, fresh twists on things add excitement to the hobby for me.

I like the simple design layout of the card, but wish they stepped away from the beige border. Something with a little more contrast would make the panel pop a little more. As well, a little variation (maybe by comic or superhero) would better distinguish what one gets.

I'm curious to see how far they take this idea. How rare a comic would they consider chopping up? Only time will tell.

BRING ON THE BRUINS!

The 1994 Stanley Cup Finals series between the Vancouver Canucks and the New York Rangers go down, in my books, as the greatest final series I have ever seen.

There were tremendous ups and downs and Game 7 was one I will never forget (and believe me....I've tried).

It was Vancouver's best attempt at winning the Cup.....until now.

This season, the Canucks were probably the most consistent team throughout the season. The President Trophy winners managed to slay the Blackhawks dragon in the first round and the Sedins have hit their stride this past series.

And I truly believe they haven't played their best hockey yet.

The Boston Bruins, well they too have some interesting storylines heading into the Finals.

A team rich in history, they have not had a shot at the cup in over 20 years. Goalie Tim Thomas alone has taken one of the most amazing paths to finally land in the Stanley Cup Finals. Nathan Horton has flourished as he gets his first taste of playoff hockey. And Patrice Bergeron gets an opportunity to realize a dream.....after coming close to having his career taken away from him.

One thing is for sure....one city is going to go absolutely hog wild in the next couple weeks.


This series is one that I am very much looking forward too. Not just because of what I think will be some exciting hockey, but also the friendly wager I have set up.

If you are a regular reader, you know that I am a big fan of the autograph hounding adventures and hobby-rich quests of Ron and his son Colin over at Hound Central 5.0. It's no secret that Colin's team this playoff season is the Boston Bruins. And having made a custom Patrice Bergeron card for him in the past, and receiving a fantastic team sheet from him a few months ago, I knew there was a great opportunity to have a little fun with this final series.

I decided to propose a friendly wager with Colin. If his beloved Bruins win the Cup, I will create a custom Patrice Bergeron Stanley Cup Champions card for him to get signed. If my Canucks hoist the hardware, then Colin will make a custom Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup Champions team sheet to get signed.

Not only has Colin accepted, he stated that he's looking forward to his new card.

I'm sure he meant to say that he's looking forward to designing a fabulous Canucks team sheet. :)

I can't wait for these finals to begin!

BEHIND THE MASKS - Dwayne Roloson

Well, the teams are set for this year's Stanley Cup Finals. I for one am looking forward to a great series. Lots of great storylines and at the end of the day.....one city is going to go bonkers.

I watched Game 7 between the Lightning and the Bruins tonight. Once again, Dwayne Roloson was in net for the Bolts.

Dwayne Roloson....I remember him from way back when he came into the league with the Flames. That was 1996 and I'll admit, I wasn't a big fan of his.

I never saw him as a bona fide #1 goalie. Especially when he tag teamed with Manny Fernandez in Minnesota. I was convinced that he couldn't carry the workload.

I still wasn't convinced when he played with the Oilers or the Islanders. And when he went over to Tampa Bay, I thought that the team took a step back in net.

Boy was I wrong.

Roloson turned back the clock. He was inspiring to his teammates, had the confidence and swagger of a starter and took the team that was on the verge of falling out of the playoffs and helped them get one game away from the Stanley Cup Finals.

He's got a little more respect from me, and I hope he comes back next year to prove that it wasn't a fluke.

Now onto a great mailday.

Last year, I received a great team issue Mike Smith Goalie mask sheet from Ron (Puckhound) over at Hound Central 5.0.

At the time, he mentioned that he would be on the lookout for anything they did for Dan Ellis. Well, Dan Ellis turned into Dwayne Roloson and sure enough - they did.

Ron was quick to e-mail me letting me know that he had an extra. It arrived in the mail today.


Roloson doesn't have enough Tampa Bay mask designs to warrant a whole sheet of masks, but that doesn't depreciate from the coolness (as well as the kind gesture).

One thing that really caught my eye was the fast facts at the bottom of the cards.

Did you know that Dwayne became the first goalie in Lightning history to record a shutout in his very first game with the club?

Did you also know that he became the oldest goaltender to start more than 60 games in a single season (he had 63 total starts in 2008/09)?

And lastly, did you know that Dwayne used to walk to school.....20 miles.....uphill both ways? For real!

Now, I haven't separated the cards on the Mike Smith sheet......yet, but because some of the perforations were already coming apart on the Roloson sheet - I decided to tear away.

So let's take a closer look at the mask card.


Yes....very nice. This “Thor, God of Thunder” helmet was designed by Roloson’s artist of choice, Jesse Acciacca of Jesse’s Custom Design. In his own words...

"The new paint job is inspired by Thor the god of Thunder and Lightning. I tried to get away from most of the paint styles used on other goalies that have played for Tampa. All Blue with lightning and some characters. It is a Full Thor Helmet with his Hammer striking down on backplate. Roli’s name on chin as we have always done."

I really like the silver and black tones. The lack of color really makes the design texture pop.

Thanks again Ron for the great addition to my collection. I really appreciate it. And best of luck Colin to Patrice and the Bruins (I know you're rooting for them), I hope it's a series that will be talked about for many years to come.

OPINION: TEAMWORK

Ruthlessness or compassion? Time of day or talk to the hand? Yours.......or mine?

What side of the fence are you on?

As a kid, buying packs of cards and then trading off the doubles for the singles I needed to complete my set was the epitome of teamwork. My friends and I would always be looking out for one another when it came to building our sets.

Sure, there was a bit of competitiveness when it came to who could finish their 396 first, but in the end we all worked together.

That's what card collecting should be about......right?

Enter the 90's. I was a little older, knew the value of a dollar a little more and card collecting became more of an industry than a hobby for a lot of people. There was a little more......heck - a lot more competitiveness going on when trying to acquire singles. Ebay didn't help with that either.

I'll admit, when I started my Linden collection, I was more about tracking down stuff for myself. I wasn't too worried about what others were doing and if they were looking to purchase a card I wanted, I had a little more 'me, me, me' in me to go and get it.

It wasn't until a few years ago that I realized it might be easier (and more fun) to work together with fellow collectors rather than against them. Actually e-mailing them - communicating with them - made the whole experience of getting cards I needed a lot easier and less punishing on the wallet. Most importantly, I got to know some of the other die hard collectors out there who share the same passion for hobby that I do.

I like being able to help someone out with their collection. And I'll admit - I love it when someone else can help me with mine. Especially with those nasty rare Linden parallels from 10 years ago. :)

I still see a number of instances where collectors have tunnel vision when it comes to their projects. Sure, it's ok to focus on your wants, but to do it at the expense of other hobbyists or the camaraderie of a collecting community just doesn't sit well with me.

There are days where I go to a card show or a hobby shop and I feel like I'm back in junior high - clique city. Other days, it's a great experience where I can share my collection with others and they can do the same. Listening and learning without question has made me a happier hobbyist. Sap city eh?

Door #1 or Door #2? I'll take Door #2 every day of the week.

What are your thoughts on how other hobbyists fit into your world of card collecting? Do you enjoy dealing with other collectors? What if they collect the same thing you do?

BEHIND THE MASKS - Masked Men Progress

I thought I'd take some time to update the goalie mask collection. It's been a busy last few weeks with the release of ITG's Between The Pipes. Another 50 mask cards to collect with what I consider to be the nicest Masked Men product to date.

Panini has also jumped into the mix with their Pinnacle insert set Saving Face. This one is a big disappointment for me.

But first, a nice find at the card show last weekend. I haven't really pursued any of the mask cards on my wantlist recently. Rather, snag ones here and there when they literally fall in my lap.

This card did just so.

2008/09 In The Game
1972 The Year In Hockey
Masked Men #MM-04 Ed Giacomin

I love the retro mask and Giacomin's is a nice unique shaped lid.

While the photo on the card isn't spectacular, it does show that there's an attempt being made to showcase some of the older fibreglass masks.

This leaves me with just one more to get....Doug Favell.


Here's one of the four cards I have from the Pinnacle Saving Face insert set. They scan horrible, but look alright in person.

I was stoked to see Panini go with the retro mask for Quick as opposed to his regular helmet. Sadly, the photo is tough to really see any detail on.


The back isn't much better. In fact, it's this photo that really turns me off on the product.

Here's a great opportunity to put a nice closeup photo of the mask full force on the back of the card. This blurry picture just reeks of lazy.

I'm also not a big fan of the fact that out of the 19 card checklist originally posted, only 13 cards were produced. Apparently, there were some issues getting clearance to use the mask pics.

Really? You didn't get your ducks in a row before you started producing a checklist Panini?

Rookie mistake in my books.


Alright...on to the main chunk of my goalie mask collecting recently. ITG's Between The Pipes Masked Men III.

This is a 50 card set that really looks sharp in person, scans well too and has a pretty nice checklist. I'm not the biggest fan of the future stars included in the mix (as done in past years) and so it was refreshing to see only current NHLers make the mix.


Nice crisp photos on all the cards I've seen so far. Good detail on the masks. Can't miss in my opinion.


You really get to see the team colors, personal details and overall design take focus on this checklist.


Rookies and vets sitting in the same bucket. Nice.


Here's my one beef. The Tim Thomas mask. ITG used last year's mask as opposed to this year's lid....which is my favorite of the current players. Small detail, but still a little bit of a bummer.

I'll have to wait until next year.


Miller looks a little weird in this photo. Thought I'd share this one with you guys. Is he concentrating, confused or does he have to go to the bathroom. Only the photographer and Miller know for sure.

Out of the 50 card set, I have landed 30 singles so far. I've picked up cards at the big show last weekend, traders night last month and through the two boxes I've broken so far.


Completing the set won't be a problem. It's more of a when and how much. I'm not in a rush and I'm definitely not looking to jump at the first ones I see.

Overall, the goalie mask collection has grown quite a bit.

On the horizon....Memorable Masks from the 80's - Decades style. It's a 10 card checklist. Looking forward to the pics...if they're all like the Fuhr, I'll be a happy camper.