The snow is coming down hard here in Rhode Island. Yesterday it was 54 degrees and sunny, today we're in the midst of about a foot and a half of snow. Seems like a good day to show some hockey cards!
Today's loot comes courtesy of Brad over at Coast to Posts. Brad sent an awesome bubble mailer stuffed with hockey goods, starting with a pair of Bruins from the new Upper Deck flagship release.
I didn't pull either of these in the lone blaster of this stuff that I picked up, so it was nice getting them here. Brad also included the instantly infamous Bobby Ryan card, but since I already had a copy of that one I re-routed it to Joe Shlabotnik.
Here's another, even nicer, David Krejci card. From what I remember these 2009-10 OPC Stat Leaders inserts weren't the easiest pulls. A nice shiny card featuring a row of Ottawa Senators in the background.
Here's one of those cards Upper Deck issued on National Hockey Card Day in Canada a couple of years ago. I believe this is the first one of these that I've ended up with. A very Canadian design for sure.
I was really happy to find this one in the envelope. There are a million cards of Martin Brodeur out there from his time with New Jersey, but very few from his brief, late-career stint with the Blues. This is just my second.
Nice! Torey Krug has become a mainstay in the Boston defensive corps over the past few seasons, it's exciting to add another of his rookies to my collection. A very thoughtful inclusion from Brad here.
Brad even managed to add a few new Whalers to my collection, something that is becoming increasingly harder to do as the years roll by.
These are from the 1988-89 O-Pee-Chee stickers set. Most of these are smaller stickers that come two to a card like Carey Wilson and Bob Sweeney here.
I didn't have any of these previously, so all of the ones that Brad sent were new to me.
I like this one in particular, as it pairs fan favorite Kevin Dineen with a Pierre Turgeon rookie sticker!
Here's the last of the multi-player stickers, but there were two Whalers in the package that got their own full-size stickers:
Goaltender Mike Liut...
...and team captain and greatest Whaler of all-time, Ron Francis!
The Bruins were not to be left out when it comes to stickers though, as I received half a dozen from the 2012-13 Panini Stickers set.
Third new Krejci of this post!
There were actually two Tuukkas (hah!), so I shipped one of those off to Joe Shlabotnik as well.
I like this one even better though, nice shot of Rask coming down the tunnel at the TD Garden.
I don't think I've ever seen these Panini Titanium cards available at a store, and the only times I've gotten any in trade have been from folks who live up in Canada. Maybe they're Canadian exclusive cards? Either way, a nice Bergeron. I'm wondering how Patrice and the rest of the guys are going to respond to a new coach...
The First Goal inserts in the Panini Score product were a great idea if you ask me. I'm a big fan of "moment in time" cards like these, sort of like a Topps Now concept. I can't believe I hadn't picked this one up myself on COMC at some point, and I'm very grateful that Brad decided to include it.
Here's one I was not familiar with at all, a Flash of Excellence insert from Upper Deck Overtime. This card is every bit as shiny and full of foil as it seems in the scan.
I really like what Panini did with this Donruss Boys of Winter insert. Sure, the name is a little cheesy, but I think the bright photo of Tim Thomas against a mostly-white background works. It doesn't hurt either that around the time this card was printed up Thomas was regularly displaying some of the best goaltending I've ever seen.
I'm definitely not going to complain about receiving a surprise serial-numbered Bobby Orr!
I also found a new trio of Sergei Fedorov cards inside the package. As I explained when I showed off my newest Fedorov acquisition the other day, Sergei was one of my favorites as a kid. Brad really covered his career quite nicely too with a classic Red Wings Upper Deck flagship card...
...a late-career Columbus Blue Jackets card...
...and a "forgot he played for them" Mighty Ducks card! This one is particularly awesome, coming from the days before the team got serious, dropped the Mighty from their name, and changed their logo. I have around 150 unique Fedorov cards now, maybe more, and this is just my second from his time with Anaheim. Great stuff.
We'll wrap it up here with a trio of hard-signed autographs. I'm guessing that Brad may have obtained these with TTM requests as I know he has some experience in that realm. Either way, this card represents my first autograph of the guy who's now the captain of the Winnipeg Jets!
My favorites though, not surprisingly, were the two Hartford Whalers autos. From the 1990-91 Panini Stickers release we have Brad Shaw...
...and Kevin Dineen! What an awesome tandem for my Whalers collection, two guys who were on the team when I was a rabid kid fan. These really brought a smile to my face.
Brad, this was a fantastic trade package, thank you for taking the time to put it together. I know I've got some Score cards for you, and will see what else I can find to ship back your way. Thanks for reading everyone, and to those of you in New England happy shoveling!
Hey there, I'm just trying to spread the word about a new site of mine, http://www.free-autographs.com. The name is pretty self-explanatory I think. Thought you and your readers might be interested. Take care.
ReplyDeleteHey Alex, cool idea! I just went for it, when I get the auto in the mail I'll do up a post to hopefully get some more traffic going your way. Great concept, if it works out I'm sure I'll be back for more!
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff, stickers or not I'm amazed that Brad could find some Whalers you don't have. (I'm following his blog now)
ReplyDeleteIt's still strange to see Brodeur in a Blues jersey, but it's neat to have a card or two. The UD flagship is a sharp looking card.
Love the Toews. I'm frustrated with the Blackhawks inconsistent play this season but Captain Serious seems to be coming out of his slump, including the GWG last night in OT. Unfortunately they blew yet another 3rd period lead. Oh, nice Bruins cards too. ;)
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