Masks: Pacific Dynagon Ice (Part II)

Time for part two of the Dynagon Ice Goalie Masks set I bought on eBay recently. This is an awesome looking set that highlights some of the cooler masks from the late 90's and early 00's. In addition to the Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur cards I showed in my last post, there are more for John Vanbiesbrouck, Curtis Joseph and Mike Richter.

My favorite of the remaining cards in the set is this one featuring Vanbiesbrouck's mask from the Philadelphia Flyers. The mask itself is already a bit unique with the style cage he was using back then. Not many goalies wore these if I remember correctly. On top of that, the paint job is amazing and I love this adaption of the Flyers logo.

Here is the second Vanbiesbrouck card, which actually shows a completely different mask if you look at the details. This one has the main logo in black and the cage is also a different color now. He might have had one for home games and one for away games.

Up next is one that everyone should recognize and that would be Curtis Joseph's Toronto Maple Leafs mask. Before he came to Detroit, this was my favorite mask of his. It has the iconic Cujo design and always looked great in photos and on cards.

The other Cujo card has a great look at the side of the mask. After doing some searching online I found that of the several different designs he used in Toronto, this is my favorite.

Last but not least is another great 90's mask from Mike Richter of the New York Rangers. When I was a kid back then I remember thinking that he had one of the cooler looking masks at the time. At one point I even bought a bunch of Richter cards just for that reason. 

The second Richter card has a great look at the side of the mask, but some of it is covered up by the long white strap running along the bottom of the Rangers text. That's too bad because it kind of ruins what would be an excellent shot of this mask.

So this is my new favorite mask themed set at the moment. I love how these cards look in person and now I just need a good way to store them. They are too thick for the standard top loaders that currently have, so they are just sitting in penny sleeves at the moment. I'll have to get myself some of the thicker top loaders to hold these beauties.

Masks: Pacific Dynagon Ice (Part I)

When it comes to goalie masks cards, usually Pinnacle and ITG are the first sets that come to mind, at least for me. While there are plenty of goalie themed inserts out there, there are not a ton that focus on just the masks. I happened to be browsing eBay the other day and came across one of these other mask sets that I had forgotten even existed: 1999-00 Pacific Dynagon Ice Goalie Masks. 

Talk about a blast from the past. This set is almost 20 years old now and came out when I was really into cards back in middle school. Even though its newer than the Pinnacle sets, I still forgot about it for whatever reason. That made it that much cooler when I came across a listing on eBay for the entire 10 card set recently. The best part, it only cost me $10.

My favorite of the set has to be this one featuring Martin Brodeur's famous Devils mask. I always liked watching Brodeur in the late 90's and early 00's and his mask was always one of my favorites. This card has a great look at the mask and just looks awesome in person. These things are printed on a hard plastic card stock with a cool rainbow foil effect.

There are five goalies represented in the set and each of them have two different pictures of their mask. The other one featuring Brodeur has a nice shot of the front of his mask.

The second half of this post is the second greatest goalie of all time in terms of wins. Patrick Roy's mask from the Colorado Avalanche is shown here. He had another one of those unforgettable masks around the early 00's and it looks great on this card design.

Like the Brodeur cards, the second one for Roy has a nice front view of the mask.

Anyone else a fan of this set? I think they're awesome and will look great along with my Pinnacle and ITG mask cards. There are still some more of these to show, but the two guys above are in a league of their own as far as all time goalie stats, so I thought I would save the other three for the second part of this post. Stay tuned for that.

Card Show Pickups: Odds and Ends

Time to wrap up my pickups from the last card show I was at. As I was sorting through the various boxes I found some neat things that didn't really fit into any of my specific projects. You never know what you'll find at these things and that's half the fun. 

My favorite of this bunch has to be this Gary Thorne Young Guns Legend card from 2004-05 Upper Deck. I never even knew this card existed, but I grabbed it as soon as I found it. When I think back to all the big Red Wings playoff games I watched growing up, Gary Thorne was a part of most of them. I really miss him and Bill Clement calling the Stanley Cup Final, they were probably the best pair I've seen on television.

Here is another card from one of my favorite die-cut sets, 1998-99 BAP Milestones. This one features Paul Coffey and his 1000 point milestone. It is cut into the shape of the number 1000 and is imprinted with tons of smaller 1000's all across the surface. I thought these things were the coolest when I was a kid and am glad to have another one.

Here's one from my new favorite team, the Nashville Predators. During the playoffs this past spring I decided to start rooting for Nashville in round one and was behind them rest of the way. I'm still a Wings fan, but they are a new and exciting team for me to root for. This Pekka Rinne card comes from the 2013-14 Prizm Net Defenders set.

This Scott Mellanby Gold Script is from 1999-00 Upper Deck MVP. I guess you could call this a sibling to the Stanley Cup Edition set as they are both MVP and both from the same season. The one thing I love about these Gold Scripts is how the entire border of the card has been turned gold. They did the same thing for the Super Scripts, only in silver, and they just look great. Kind of makes me want to grab a few more of these now.

Up next was this Patrick Roy Stoppers card from 1995-96 Score. Technically this is the Black Ice version and definitely one that does not scan well. It looks pretty cool in person though. I have a couple of these now so maybe I'll try to find some more at the next card show.

Here's the other half of the epic goalie battle from the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals. This John Vanbiesbrouck is from 2013-14 Panini Contenders Legacies. It is a pretty simple design with a cool black and white action shot. I just wish they made the logo black and white too.

Finally, we have this monstrosity from 2009-10 Upper Deck Collector's Choice. This card is from the Warriors of Ice set and features a cartoon superhero version of Alexander Ovechkin. I get that these were geared towards kids, but man these things are strange looking. For just $0.25 I had to have it so I could show it here.

So that's it, nothing too fancy, just some neat randomness to add to my collection. A couple of these have me contemplating some new set projects, but I will probably hold off on those for now. I kind of like picking up random things like this as it give me a variety of things to share and write about on here.

Red Wings: Card Show Pickups

Going to card shows in the metro Detroit area means there will always be an abundance of Red Wings stuff. Most of it is overpriced just because they are the hometown team, so usually I avoid most of the bigger ticket items. The lower end stuff though is usually more reasonably priced. While its not much, I added two new cards to my Red Wings collection.

The first was this Mike Vernon from 1997-98 Totally Certified. It is the Platinum Red parallel version, which is numbered out of 4299 on the back. I guess serial numbers were a bit different back then, right? Not many cards are numbered that high anymore.

The other one is this nice Gordie Howe from 2007-08 SPx. It's a cool looking card, but there is definitely a lot going on here design wise, almost too much. I do like that they used the old school Wings logo instead of the current on. Also, I don't have a ton of Howe cards in my Red Wings collection, so this was a nice addition.

I'm almost through all of the stuff I picked up at the card show now. I've got one more post planned to cover some odds and ends that I picked up just for fun. Now that I am almost done, it makes me want to go out and find another local show to check out. For not all that much money, I can get a decent haul of cards and on the plus side it gives me a ton of things to write about on here.

Dominik Hasek: Card Show Pickups

Dominik Hasek was my favorite player when I was a young kid back in the 90's. I've always been on the lookout for his cards, but he was never my main PC guy like Jimmy Howard. That is still the case, but I do like to grab cards of his when the price is right, or if something just catches my eye like the first one I have to show today.

This Hasek card comes from 1995-96 Leaf Limited. I remember having just a couple of these cards as a kid and I thought they were the coolest thing. Even today, they still look great. They are even better looking in person when the light hits the background.

This next one is from a set I've never seen before. I am familiar with the base 2001-02 Topps design, I mean who could forget that obnoxious blue design, but not this particular version of it. This is slightly different with a rainbow finish and the 2002 All Star Game logo added to the front. Apparently it is part of a special six card set from Topps.

Sometimes I forget that Hasek spent some time in Ottawa. This Fleer Ultra card is a good reminder of that and has a nice overall look to it. The gold tinted background, for the Gold Medallion parallel, helps the player image really stand out.

Here's one from 2007-08 Upper Deck. It is part of the Clutch Performers set and has a nice action shot of Hasek from that season. While I like the mask design he went with that year, the one he had from 2001-02 when they won the Cup will always be one of my favorites.

This next one from the 1998-99 SPx Lasting Impressions set is pretty neat, although it did not scan the greatest. It has a giant gold foil impression toward the bottom and the entire card has a silver foil finish. Its pretty thick too so it feels like a premium card.

Here's another card that did not scan all that well. It comes from the 1999-00 Upper Deck Headed for the Hall set. They we're definitely right with their prediction of Hasek going into the Hall of Fame. He was inducted back in 2014 along with Forsberg, Blake and Modano.

This next one caught my eye when I was sorting through one of the $1 boxes. It comes from the 2000-01 UD Reserve Big Ticket set. I always like cards showing Hasek in this particular Sabres jersey so this was a nice add to the collection.

Finally we have an interesting die-cut card from the 90's. This one comes from the 1996-97 Upper Deck 3 Star Selects set. It is cut so it can be paired up with two other cards. It's a neat idea, but I would be worried about keeping all the cut corners in good shape.

So that's eight new additions to my Dominator collection. I'm hoping none of these are actually duplicates, but its been so long since I went through everything of his to know what I do and don't already have. One of these days I'll have to see what I do have and come up with an accurate total.

Goaltending Gallimaufry: Card Show Pickups

Gallimaufry [gal-uh-maw-free] - A hodgepodge; jumble; confused medley.

As with every card show I attend, I was on the lookout for cards that would fit into my Gallimaufry project. Usually I can at least find a few and this time was no different. I was able to find a nice trio in one of the $1 boxes.

My favorite of the three was this Sebastien Centomo from 2002-03 SPx. At first glance this seems like another holy grail for this project, similar to the Jeff Hackett monstrosity that I posted a few years ago. There sure are a lot of colors on this one. 

The pads and gloves wouldn't look out of place if he was picture in the Leafs regular uniform. Since this is a throwback jersey, it violates one of the original rules I set for this project. The red mask saves it though, so it is now part of the collection.

Young Guns from Upper Deck are always a good place to look for Gallimaufry candidates. Since they include all kinds of rookies, there are bound to be some goalies who were called up before getting equipment to math their NHL team. 

This Tyson Sexsmith from 2012-13 is a perfect example. he is shown in a Sharks jersey, but with dark red and black gear from his time with the Vancouver Giants.

 

The last one I picked up at the show was this Michael Wall from 2005-06 Upper Deck Rookie Update. Talk about a great last name for a goalie. Anyway, he is shown in the Mighty Ducks white uniform with primary black gear. I can't quite figure out what team his mask was from, but it definitely clashes with the Mighty Ducks look.

That's it for now. This still has to be my favorite side project as I never know what I'm going to find and there will always be cards like these. I'm closing in on 200 different cards now so that's kind of neat. I'll need to hit up a few more shows to get to that number though.

Goaltending Gallimaufry Count: 190

Masks: Card Show Pickups

Mask cards are some of my favorites and I am always on the lookout for them at card shows. This time around, I was able to come up with six, all from one seller. They were in the $2 box, but I got them all together for $10, so not too bad of a deal if you ask me.

The first three come from the 1993-94 Pinnacle Masks set. These are one of the better looking Pinnacle Mask designs in my opinion. I like how they kept the background relatively simple so the mask design can be the center of attention. 

The first on features Grant Fuhr's mask from his time with Buffalo. I'm not very familiar with this mask, but it does look pretty sweet. Its got the Sabres logo front and center and Furh's name on the chin. The actual buffalo on the side is pretty cool too.

Then there was this one featuring Wendell Young's Tampa Bay Lightning mask. This one is a bit simpler, but you can definitely tell which team its for. The lightning bolts on the top are cool and there is just a little blue to bring it all together.

Another Lightning mask, this time from Pat Jablonski. This one is similar to Young's design and even has the actual team logo front and center. I like the look of this one although you can't see any of the side detail in this picture of it.

Up next are the first three cards I've gotten for "The Mask" set from 2001-02 BAP Between the Pipes. These cards look much better in person than they do in these scans. The background is a little more distracting that the older Pinnacle set, but still looks pretty cool.

The first one features Ron Tugnutt's mask from Columbus. Tugnutt had a lot of masks with this splash theme. Click here to see my previous post about his masks. I love the look of Stinger the mascot on the top of the mask. It really pops with the electric green color.

The next one features Miikka Kiprusoff's mask from San Jose. Sometimes I forget that Kiprusoff started out in San Jose. This mask is pretty neat with his nickname on the chin and the sharks fin logo on the top. The splash effect around the cage is pretty cool too.

Finally we have Steve Shields' mask from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. This mask design is great and the purple really helps it stand out from the background of the card. The terminator looking duck is awesome if you ask me, especially with all those teeth.

These six are a nice addition to my growing Mask card collection. I now have 30 different cards all together. As much as I like the newer designs from BAP and ITG, the original Pinnacle sets are still my favorites. It would be nice if someone brought these back today instead of the Masked Men sets that are out there. For whatever reason, these just seem cooler when the mask is by itself.

MVP Stanley Cup Edition Update

In addition to the four Silver Scripts I was able to add to my set project from the 20 packs I bought recently, I pulled three insert cards that I didn't already have. Even though these insert cards are not really the primary focus of my MVP Stanley Cup Edition project, it is still nice to add some once in a while. Who doesn't love late 90's / early 00's inserts?

The first one and my favorite of the three is this Pavel Bure, which is #PH6 in the Playoff Heroes insert set. These cards are covered in rainbow foil and look great in person. 

The other two cards came from the Second Season Snipers insert set. The first one was #SS3 and features Peter Forsberg of the Colorado Avalanche.

The other one is #SS11 and features Mats Sundin of the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

This is another set covered in rainbow foil and it looks much better in person than in the scans. This update gives me three out of ten for the Playoff Heroes set and eight out of twelve for the Second Season Snipers set. Not much further to go for either one now.

Silver Script Update

These Silver Scripts are a lot more common than their serial numbered counterparts in MVP Stanley Cup Edition, so whenever I have an update on my progress it is usually more than one card at a time. In this case, these are the results of the 20 packs I bought on eBay recently. I actually pulled twelve of them, but only ended up needing these four.

The first one is card #87 featuring Rob Blake of the Los Angeles Kings.

Next was card #103 featuring Patric Kjellberg of the Nashville Predators.

Next was #167 featuring Vinny Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The last one was #209 featuring Barret Jackman of the Regina Pats. 

These four bring my Silver Script total to 140/220, which is just under 64% complete now.

Its too bad that only four of the twelve we needed for my set. Either way, it was still fun cracking open some packs of almost 20 year old product. It kind of makes me want to track down another box or two of this stuff just for the fun of it.

Card Show This Weekend

Card shows are something that I've always loved going to as far back as I can remember. When I was a kid my dad would take us to several shows a year. I would always enjoy seeing all the cool stuff available and usually get myself some nice Red Wings stuff. 

This weekend I am planning on going to one of the places my dad took me to the most for the very last sports card and memorabilia show there ever as the place is closing down after 37 years of business. It's a bit of a bummer for me because my house now is only about 15 minutes away and it's the only place I've been going to for card shows lately. Double bummer because the model train show I go to every year was held there.

Anyway, I'm hoping that there will at least be a decent showing this last time so I can maybe grab some stuff for my various collection projects. It's nowhere near as big as it used to be, but the last couple have been pretty decent so we'll see what happens.

MVP Stanley Cup Edition Update

Now that I am back into blogging about cards, at least for now, I thought it would be good idea to do an overall update on the progress of my MVP Stanley Cup Edition project. I've been working on this project one way or another for 17 years now, so it will be nice to have an update like this at a fixed point in time so I can look back at it in the future. 

At one point, I decided to start working on a master set including all the inserts, autos and memorabilia cards, but since then I've backed off a bit from that goal to just pursue the Silver, Gold and Super script parallels. After all, those are what really got me into this set.

For anyone that hasn't read my posts back in 2009, I've been into this set since it came out all because of the Dominik Hasek card shown below. He was my favorite player in the late 90's and early 00's and that made pulling this card from a pack that much more exciting. This card immediately became the centerpiece of my collection.

Just pulling this would have been enough for me with Hasek being my favorite player and all. However, I was lucky enough to pull a second one from another pack, this time featuring Alexei Kovalev of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Those two cards were my favorites for a very long time and I still enjoy looking at them 17 years later.

As of writing this post, I have managed to put together 258 of a possible 660 script parallels, which is just under 40% of way there. Of those 258, I've been able to create several complete Rainbows including the base cards. Here's a look at some of them:

If you have any of these script parallels you're looking to get rid of, feel free to leave a comment below as I would definitely be open to making some new trades. I don't really have a want list, I just know which ones I already have.

On a side note, now that I'm more actively searching eBay again, I was lucky enough to find and win a lot of 20 unopened packs of this stuff. I know buying loose packs like this could be a gamble, but that's ok with me as I only ended up paying $15 including shipping.

I know I'm going to end up with a ton of base cards that I already probably have two or three copies of, but that's alright with me if I have a chance an pulling some of the script parallels. As soon as I have a chance to get these opened and sorted I'll post an update with anything new for my set project.