Glad to see that some fellow collectors appreciate 1995-96 Upper Deck hockey as much as I do! Here's packs 3 and 4...
Pack 3
One thing I would've changed about the set would be to use in-game photos for the Star Rookie cards. Some of these guys may not have suited up for NHL action yet, but how about photos from Juniors/College/AHL rather than these yearbook shots? Nonetheless, a pretty nice card to get the Electric Ice parallel of. Doan's been a solid player throughout his career, and is the face of the Coyotes franchise. He's the only guy left on the Coyotes who was with them back in the Jets days.
Former Hartford Whaler, current Washington Capitals assistant coach.
Nice shot of the Winnipeg Jets sweater (see, I'm learning Captain Canuck!).
Ted currently serves as the head coach of Harvard University's hockey team.
Donnelly's the victim of a textbook hook in this photo.
Best card in the pack:
It was hard not to go with former Whaler Pat Verbeek or the Doan Electric Ice rookie, but ultimately the photo of Drake dodging a hip check was just too good. His facial expression sealed the deal.
Pack 4
Casual NHL fans living outside of New England may not remember that Shanahan even spent a season with The Whale. In a shining example of the kind of crap trades that ruined the franchise, Hartford dealt Chris Pronger (ever heard of him?) to St. Louis for Shanahan. Brendan would play one great season in Hartford but was then shipped off to the Red Wings. Pronger would go on to...ugh....
Nice shot. Ray currently plays with the Phoenix Coyotes as well, although he's on a different line than Shane Doan.
Might want to put a helmet on buddy.
My 13-year-old self would've been ecstatic to pull this card back in 1995. The first ever draft pick of the expansion Ottawa Senators, Yashin earned a Calder Trophy nomination for his rookie season. His career in Ottawa was marred by contract disputes and other off-ice issues. He ultimately ended up with the Islanders, and played with them until what looks likely to be his final NHL game, in 2007. He's still playing in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League, and has been pretty damn successful as well. In fact, the KHL did "player-based teams" for their All-Star game last season, sort of like Team Staal/Team Lidstrom from this year's NHL All-Star game. What were the names of the KHL All-Star teams? Team Jagr and Team Yashin.
Nice card to end the pack with. It was impossible to be a young NHL fan in the 1990's and not like the Detroit Red Wings.
Best card in the pack:
If either of the Yashin or Yzerman cards had been horizontal they probably would've won out, but as it stands I'll go with the Shanahan, even though it reminds me of a very painful time in Hartford Whalers history.
Packs 5 and 6 coming soon!
Presidential Players
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Let's look at some cards in my collection. Except for that one.
George Washington
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madi...
2 comments:
nice to see someone still knew how to throw a hipcheck. if anyone did that in today's game, the benches would clear and world war three would erupt.
Steve Larouche still plays for TRois-Riviere in the LNAH, the best hockey league in the world...
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