David Krejci Collection - Card 23

With the NHL playoffs starting tonight, I thought it would be appropriate to post a Krejci card to commemorate the end of the 2009-10 regular season. I decided on what is probably the highlight of my David Krejci collection so far, this 2007-08 Upper Deck The Cup Rookie Card (Level 2) Gold Auto Patch Parallel. Tell me that isn't a mouthful!

I don't know much about the Upper Deck The Cup releases, except that they are an ultra high-end product that I would absolutely never bust. I think there are 2 Krejci rookie cards from the 07-08 set. The first is a regular (non-Gold) auto patch parallel which looks very similar to this card except with a silver background as opposed to gold. That version is numbered to 249. Then there is this gold parallel, which is numbered according to the player's jersey number, which in Krejci's case is 46. I had my eye on obtaining one of these for quite some time, but never pulled the trigger until recently. There must be some hardcore The Cup collectors out there, because these things go for way more than your average patch/auto card does on eBay. When I was able to negotiate a Buy It Now seller down to a price that was lower than what I've seen the silver #'d/249 versions going for, I bit.

Some Bruins fans probably feel that Krejci had a disappointing year, but I only agree with that to some extent. There was definitely a dropoff in key statistical categories. Krejci played in only 3 fewer games this year than last, yet he went from 22 goals to 17, 51 assists to 35, and most staggeringly from a +36 (which led the league) to a +8. While it did take him a while to get rolling (remember he was coming off of pretty significant surgery in the off-season) Krejci really seemed to hit his stride in the latter half of the year, particularly during the Olympics and after the Olympic break. There were many games during the season where it felt like he and Patrice Bergeron were the only two Boston forwards doing anything at all.

Even though I acknowledge that it took Krejci a while to get going, I think the team around him was equally to blame for his 09-10 stats, especially his linemates. If Krejci had a drop-off, then his wingers Ryder and Wheeler flat out fell off a cliff. As far as the +/- goes, any Bruin in the + category gets some respect in my book considering the B's were dead last in goals scored. In fact, they were the only team in the NHL to fall short of the 200 goal mark. With the Bruins nabbing the #2 overall pick in last night's draft lottery (YES!!!) I now have visions of Krejci playing with a true goal scorer in 2010-11, either Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin.

Like any hockey fan, I am thrilled that the NHL playoffs are about to kick off tonight. I will basically be glued to my television every night in the coming weeks. I'll be posting new Krejci cards with every goal or assist that he tallies against the Sabres in round 1. Go Bruins!!!



#1 - 2007-08 Upper Deck SPX (Auto/Dual Relic/#'d to 999)
#2 - 2007-08 O-Pee-Chee Premier (Auto/Quad Relic/#'d to 299)
#3 - 2007-08 Upper Deck Ice Fresh Threads (Dual Relic)
#4 - 2008-09 Upper Deck Champs Mini
#5 - 2007-08 In the Game Heroes & Prospects
#6 - 2009-10 Fleer Ultra
#7 - 2007-08 Upper Deck SP Authentic (Auto/#'d to 999)
#8 - 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee
#9 - 2007-08 O-Pee-Chee
#10 - 2009-10 Upper Deck
#11 - 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee Stat Leaders Insert
#12 - 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee Retro Parallel
#13 - 2005-06 In the Game Heroes & Prospects
#14 - 2007-08 Upper Deck MVP
#15 - 2008-09 Upper Deck Powerplay
#16 - 2007-08 Upper Deck Young Guns Rookie
#17 - 2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Gold
#18 - 2009-10 Upper Deck MVP Winter Classic
#19 - 2007-08 Upper Deck Rookie Class
#20 - 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Gold Parallel
#21 - 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee Retro Rainbow Parallel (#'d/100)
#22 - 2009-10 Fleer Ultra Ice Medallion Parallel (#'d/100)