Hockey Cards from Hockeytown

I was lucky enough to get four tickets to the Wings vs Hawks game the other night from work. The seats were great, except for the VS camera guy obstructing our view the entire game.

The game itself, wasn't so great, as the officiating was questionable at best and to top it off the Wings lost in overtime. Of course Hossa had to the the one to score the goal too.

Enough of that, onto the reason for this post: free hockey cards. After passing through the metal detectors at the entrance, there were people handing out a special edition Original Six nine-card set.

Here's what the cards look like:

As you can see, most of the cards are based on the 2010-11 Upper Deck base set design. The Esposito is probably my favorite because of the old school goalie equipment.

The cards were all printed on a single perforated sheet, so I had to tear them apart and stick them in my pocket during the game, but they made it through alright without much damage.

Anyone else get any free cards from going to a game like this?

My Picks # 56: Detroit Red Wings

This will be the first of my picks to not focus on a card of a single player, as it is also the first checklist to make the list. Checklists are rarely seen, but once I found this one I had to make it my latest pick.

Specifically, this is a checklist for the insert sets that were part of the 1997-98 Donruss Canadian Ice set. Most checklists simply feature a single player or a generic action shot, but this one is different as it captures a great moment from Detroit's 1997 Cup run. 

It's kind of funny that a card that is supposed to be feature a Stanley Cup celebration picture nearly cuts out the Stanley Cup entirely. You can just barely see the top of the Cup on the lower left side.

Some of the faces in the picture I recognize right away include Vernon, Lapointe, Yzerman, Kocur, Maltby, and Kozlov. Those names take me back a little bit, as I was a kid just getting into hockey when the Wings brought home the Cup that year. 

I wish more checklist cards would have pictures like this. It's something you don't usually get to see on cards unless there's a specific set dedicated to it.

SCE Super Script Update

My latest ebay win just arrived and brought me another addition to my Super Script collection. This will be the fifth one so far in 2011, making for a pretty darn good start to the year for this set. Hopefully, I can keep up this pace throughout the year.

The latest addition is this Petr Svoboda numbered 01/25. It's the first one I've gotten that is the first of it's print run.

This one brings the set total to 19 and it brings another team to the collection in Tampa Bay. Svoboda is the greatest player in the world, but that doesn't really matter in set collecting, I'm just glad to cross his name off of my list.

Luckily, I got this one for just $1.99, which kind of makes up for having to pay $26 for the Boucher. Split the difference and that's about $14 each, not far off from the average I've paid for one lately.

Thoughts: Hot Packs

I know I've done a few more "Thoughts" posts than usual lately, but I don't have much else to write about until a few more pickups arrive in the mail and this is something I just had to share.

I was searching for some more SCE cards on ebay and came across this auction. I saved a screenshot of it in addition to linking to the auction page, which can be found here.

I've never seen something like this before. I hope nobody believes they are actually guaranteed a jersey card like this, last time I checked there were these little things called decoy cards.

How do I know this isn't a retail pack with one of those anti-theft decoy cards inside? Has anyone else seen any kind of auction for a single so called "hot pack" guaranteeing a jersey card like this?

Also, what are your thoughts on an auction posting like this? Personally, I don't like, but I also know better than to believe it.

Thoughts: Selling TTM Auto's

The other day, while searching for some Stanley Cup Edition singles on ebay, I came across two auctions for signed copies of two base cards: Mike Sillinger and Ray Sheppard. I don't know what to think.

One the one hand, these would go perfectly with my Ink Script project, except for the fact that I wasn't the one who went about getting the signatures. On the other hand, most reasonable people, me included, would think selling TTM or IP auto's is wrong.

I guess I just have one question. Is selling TTM or IP auto's right or wrong in your opinion?

Silver Script Update

The last time I did an update on my Silver Script project was back in January when I picked up ten of them in a trade with Chris over at Confessions of a Hockey Card Addict. Since then, I haven't come across any more Silver Scripts until now.

This particular Silver Script update is a bit different than the rest, as it only happened out of the generosity of another collector. A few days back I received an email from someone saying they had a bunch of Silver Scripts from my want list and I could have them for nothing more than the cost of postage.

When the package arrived the other day, I pulled out two team bags filled with Silver Scripts, pretty much all of which I needed for my set. Here's a look at what I got.

Of the 53 Silver Scripts in the package, I needed 45 of them for my set. I already had 56, so I pretty much doubled my Silver Script collection for just a few bucks. The total now stands at 101, which puts me at nearly 50% of the way there. 

A huge thanks again to the person who made this update possible.

Thoughts: Shipping Practices

It's been a while since I've done one of these, but my latest Super Script pickup kind of forced my hand on this one. I say that because of the way the card arrived in the mail.

It wasn't as bad as a PWE, and I've gotten a few of those before, but just something minor. That would be the way the seller put a piece of scotch tape across the top of the top loader.

I tried to remove the tape, but failed and now the top loader is ruined in my mind because you can easily see the residue from the tape on both sides. Why is it so hard for people to use team bags when shipping things like this?

In a perfect world, the basics should be: penny sleeve, top loader, team bag, and bubble mailer. If I'm paying more than $3 for shipping, I think that would be more than reasonable, don't you?

Anyone else have any issues with seller's or trader's shipping practices lately? What's your idea of proper shipping practices?

SCE Super Script Update

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted here. I've just been busy with work and other things lately, but I hope to get back to regular posts here soon. Anyway, onto the update. I came across this Super Script on ebay a few days back and knew I had to have it.

I held the highest bid for most of the auction, until at the very end where the price jumped nearly $20 to a final winning bid of around $26, the most I've paid for a Super Script to date.

The card I'm referring to is this Brian Boucher numbered 11/25.

I told myself I would not let any more of these slip away, no matter the price tag. Well, I stuck to my word and I now have 18 Super Scripts to show for it, four of them just this year so far.

As with the Hecht, the facsimile signature is kind of hard to see in the scan. These seem to be hit and miss with my scanner, some of them pick up more of the rainbow in the foil than others.

This one brings me to 18/220, nearly 10% of the way there. Hopefully the next one that comes along doesn't come with this big of a price tag, especially given the fact that Boucher is nowhere near the biggest of stars from this set.

SCE Super Script Update

In my last post, I showed off two new additions to my Gold Script collection. They were part of a three card deal, and this next card would be the third one I was referring to in that post.

It's a Jochen Hect Super Script numbered 11/25. 

It's nearly impossible to see the rainbow foil facsimile signature in the scan, but it's there. These cards look so much better in hand, especially with the color changing rainbow foil. 

This one brings my Super Script total to 17. It's only the third one I've picked up in 2011, not bad for such a rare set. Hopefully this year brings me a few more of these, whether that be through ebay, trades, or anywhere else. 

I've decided that anytime I come across an opportunity to add a new one to the set, I cannot pass it up unless the price tag is absolutely outrageous, thankfully most of the time it isn't. I've just seen too many of these slip away.

Gold Script Update

The last time I added to my Gold Script set was back in September of last year, and that was only one card. Before that, I hadn't added anything since last January when I bought the first lot of ten. Now, I've got two more to add to the collection, thanks to a trade on SCF.

The first is this Joe Thornton numbered 073/100.

The second is this Simon Gagne numbered 002/100.

What's unique about this addition to the Gold Script collection is where these cards came from, and that would be Finland of all places.

I was searching the web for cards from the set and came across a collector's trade page that listed these cards. I contacted them and negotiated a deal, $33 delivered, for these two and one other card, which I will share in another post.

I actually received them pretty quickly in the mail, and by quickly I mean only a week. I've had cards coming from Canada take three times as long, so that was definitely a nice surprise.

These two bring the Gold Script set to 12, not including the one Jose Theodore duplicate I have. That's 12/220 or just about 5.5% of the entire set. This set has been a bit slower than the Super Scripts, which doesn't make sense, as there are four times as many of these.

My Picks # 55: Mike Dunham

This pick is another one that just stood out when searching through my collection. It's a Mike Dunham from 2001-02 UD Victory, back when Victory actually looked like a halfway decent set. 

There are a few reasons this one stood out to me. The first would be the water bottle and the second would be the fact that you have a shot of a goalie on the ice with no mask on. There aren't usually a lot of cards with these non-action shots, so that's kind of neat. 

Beyond that, I just really like this particular Predators jersey, much more than their current road jerseys. It's got an excellent logo, a great combination of colors, and something a bit different in the silver fabric on the shoulders. 

As far as the design of the card, I like it. It's pretty simple with some neat elements thrown in, like the ice-like surface in the background of the sidebar and the fading to the team color at the bottom. 

The only thing I would have changed would be the use of the same image on the sidebar as the primary image on the card. I think it would have been nice to see something different there. 

One thing this card does is make me want to see just how many cards with goalies taking a drink from the water bottle (like this one over at My Hockey Card Obsession) I can find. I'm sure there's a few of them.

Captured on Cardboard #5: Rod Brind'Amour

This edition of Captured on Cardboard features another game dated card from 1997-98 Upper Deck, the third one to be featured now. This one captures another moment from the 1997 Stanley Cup Playoff series between the Flyers and Rangers.

First, let's look at the photo on the card. You've got Rod Brind'Amour looking on as he puts the puck past Ranger goalie Mike Richter in Game 5 of the 1997 Eastern Conference Finals. That goal put the Flyers up 4-2 late in the 3rd period, setting up a memorable Detroit-Philadelphia Stanley Cup Final in which the Flyers were easily swept.

As far as the YouTube video, this one was a little more difficult to track down. Luckily I came across a highlight video for the entire game. The photo seen on the card above was taken at about the 6:10 mark.

Now that three of the five Captured on Cardboard picks have come from these 1997-98 UD game dated cards, I'm on the lookout for more cards that just happen to feature a YouTube moment, unlike these that focus on them. 

Jimmy Howard: Score & A Sticker

Additions to my Jimmy Howard collection have been lacking lately, mainly because I haven't had the time to make it out to any card shows or spend a lot of time on ebay. These latest two additions actually came from fellow blogger Sal over at Puck Junk. 

The first is Jimmy's base card from this year's Score set. I really like this card, everything except for the orientation of the player name. Panini got this one backwards in my mind,

What I like most though has to be the overhead shot. I don't think there are enough of these used on cards. The puck being right there in the crease makes this one just that much better. 

Sal was also nice enough to include a sticker from the 2010-11 Panini NHL stickers set. This is the first sticker I've added to my Jimmy Howard collection. The only other stickers I know of in my entire collection are the ones from late 80's Topps sets.

These bring me to 17 unique cards (one double) and one sticker. If anyone wants to see all of them, click here for a link to my Howard collection Photobucket album.

SCE Ink Script Update

Finally. I've been waiting for months to post an update for this project. My latest TTM success brings me to two cards total for the Ink Script project now. I sent these two cards to Terry Yake at his home address in Missouri back in October.

Yake definitely has an interesting signature. I'm having a hard time actually seeing his name in there, but it looks cool nonetheless. He even threw his number on at the end. And I'm assuming that's the little number symbol to the left of it. I like when players add that.

As you can see, both signatures looks pretty much the same, but they have their individual differences. The only flaw with this second one would be how the loop furthest to the right is interrupted at the top.

The reason I sent two of the same card was just in case one of them got smeared, I would still have a decent one for the Ink Script set. This time, I got two quality signatures, so one goes in the Ink Script pile and the other goes into my TTM binder.

Another shout out to Moody's TTM blog for the address on this one.

Le Masque

I picked this card up from a quarter box at a card show a while back and thought I would show it off here. This hidden gem, featuring Patrick Roy's famous Montreal Canadiens mask, was buried within the 1991-92 edition of Pro Set.

The back of the card lists this one as number CC2. I'm not sure what that means, if anyone knows can they please explain it to me.

Pretty simple design here. I really like how the bleu, blanc et rouge stands out on the solid black background, unlike some of the more colorful backgrounds used for more recent mask cards. The Pro Set logo in the upper left corner looks just right too.

 

The back of the card, in English, reads as follows: 

"The battle-scarred facemask tells a compelling story - of 100-mile-an-hour slapshots that didn't make him blink, of flying elbows and swinging sticks that didn't make a difference on the scoreboard. 

If you look hard enough at this battle-scarred mask, you'll see the ghostly imprint of a pair of Vezina trophies, three Jenning's trophies and two Trico trophies as well as a Conn Smythe trophy for the playoff MVP in 1986.

You'll see a pair of first all-star team appearances and a second all-star selection. And most importantly, you'll see the shadowy image of a Stanley Cup victory - climax to his first full season in the NHL. And a fraction of an inch behind the mask, you'll find the face of Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens goaltender par excellence and a hockey card collector."

At the bottom, at least on the English version, it also says the mask was designed by G.K. in Detroit, Michigan. Now that's something I never knew. 

I believe this is the first "Mask" card of it's kind, as it predates the 92-93 Pinnacle Masks subset by one year. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong though. There could very well be some even more obscure card at any point in time prior to this.