Dominik Hasek: Card Show Pickups (Part 1)

One of the things I was really looking for at the last Gibraltar show was stuff for my Dominik Hasek collection. I figured that I would be able to find a good amount of his Wings stuff and I definitely did when it comes to base. Here's a look at 17 new cards for the PC:

 

This first one is from 2006-07 Upper Deck. This one has a nice action shot, but I find it interesting that they used a photo from way back in 2001-02. Not sure why they couldn't have gotten one from his second stint with the Wings in 2003-04.

Next is another nice horizontal card, this time from 2003-04 ITG Action. I remember getting a box of this stuff back in the day and there are some nice actions shots like this one.

Next is one from 2001-02 Top Shelf. This one shows Hasek at the press conference with the Red Wings after they traded for him in the summer of 2001. Sometimes I think people forget that the Wings actually traded Slava Kozlov for him.

Then there was this one from 2008-09 Artifacts. This is probably one of my favorite Artifacts designs of the last few years. I really like the background choice and the bronze foil design in the four corners is a nice touch.

Another one that makes use of an older photo is this one from 2006-07 OPC. Its shows Hasek playing back in the 2001-02 season and I know that based on the pads he's wearing. Those ones were only used during his first season as a Wing.

Another OPC, this time from 2008-09. Definitely a downgrade in card design from the last as I don't think they could've gone much bigger with the OPC logo. I mean seriously, other than the picture, it's the largest design element on the front of the card.

The next one comes from 2006-07 SP Authentic. I haven't seen all that many singles from this set, so it was kind of nice to be able to add one to one of my collection projects.

This one is from 2007-08 Ultra, one of the better looking designs for this set the last few years in my opinion. I really like the font they used for the player's last name and the fade to black at the bottom is a nice touch.

This next one is from 2003-04 Bowman. I completely forgot that there were Bowman hockey cards at the end of Topps' run of hockey during the early 2000's. It's actually a pretty nice looking base card even with all the random shapes and patterns.

Here's one from what I think is one of the worst MVP set designs. I've said it before, but ever since they changed the "MVP" logo, these designs have gone downhill. Still, its another Hasek card for the collection so its definitely a welcome addition.

This next one is from 2006-07 BeeHive. I really like the look of this set with the simple border and a nice full-body image. Now I just need to start working on the many parallels that go along with this one including blue, gold, matte and wood.

Here's another Beehive, this time from 2003-04 Beehive. It's a bit simpler of a design as the whole thing just looks like a wooden plaque you would hang on the wall. Not a huge fan of the design, but it's unique so that's kind of neat.

Here's another great example of the quality photography that Upper Deck makes use of in it's flagship set. Definitely a plus that this one is a horizontal card because you get a great wide look at Hasek making a save on his blocker side.

This one comes from 2007-08 Hot Prospects. It's got a nice close up shot of Hasek where you can get a good look at the front of his mask. While this one is good, I think I will always prefer the one he wore at the end of his first season with the Wings.

Time for something a little bit different. This one from 2005-06 ICE is the first one of the haul to show Hasek in his Senators gear. Still seems weird to me. I tend to forget about his time there between stints with the Red Wings. Pretty cool mask though.

Let's add one more team to the mix now. This one is from 1997-98 ICE, back when ICE cards were actually made out of acetate. I really wish UD would bring that back for all ICE cards, but oh well we can't get everything we want as collectors, can we?

Last but not least, we have this once from 2003-04 SPx, one of my favorite SPx designs. While it's not as cool as the ones from the 90's with all the die-cuts and what not, it's way better than some of the more recent attempts at this set.

That's it for the base card additions to my Hasek PC. I think this may have overtaken my Howard PC now when it comes to the total number of cards, but that's only because Hasek's got 20+ years of cards to go after, where Howard only has 8 years of stuff now.

Stay tuned for the inserts and parallels, those should be posted here soon.