Pack Rip - 2008-09 SHL Elitset Hockey

Variety is the spice of life, so every so often I find myself picking up a pack of cards for no reason other than that I've never seen them before. Such was the case when this pack of SHL Elitset cards caught my eye. I picked this up about 6 months ago just to have something different to rip. Since the cards portray members of the Swedish Hockey League I did not expect to recognize a single player. Let's just say that the pack met my expectations. Apparently the card to get was Victor Hedman, who was drafted second overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in this year's entry draft. Let's take a look at the 6 cards...

#44 - Eero Somervuori - Tampa Bay apparently selected Eero in the 7th round (170th overall) in the 1997 draft, however Eero never saw any ice time in the NHL.

#59 - Andreas Jamtin - From what I've read online, Andreas was supposedly signed by the New York Rangers in 2008, but played just 4 games for their minor league affiliates before returning to Sweden. I have to say, the design on these cards isn't terrible, but the photography is very boring.

#102 - Andree Persson - Apparently less successful than the first two players in the pack. I'm basing this on the fact that when you Google his name, you get a 1-line Wikipedia entry, followed by the Facebook profiles of various Andree Persson's in Sweden. Andree looks suspiciously like a Heineken bottle.

#TL1 - Pavel Brendl - Team Leaders - Not a horrendous looking insert I suppose. I don't recall what the odds are on these, and I threw away the wrapper long ago. Can I just say for the record that I'm glad the NHL doesn't allow blatant advertising on their jerseys? These sweaters are so chock full of company logos that the players look like Nascar cars. Pavel actually saw a decent amount of action with the Flyers, Hurricanes and Coyotes a few years ago, but has since returned to Sweden.

#43 - Johan Motin - Current property of the Edmonton Oilers. Advertising on the socks too? Come on!

#58 - Jonas Johansson - Jonas actually appeared in one game with the Washington Capitals during the 2005-06 campaign.

Well that was interesting. I won't be buying any more of this (doubt I will have the chance anyway). It was kind of interesting to look into some of these players, but I would stay away unless you're a die-hard hockey fan, and even then... If you're so inclined though, you can find a checklists for all of the SHL Elitset releases here.