Rink Collection Complete!

Today I finally get to begin showing off some of the contents of a really spectacular trade package that I received over the summer from Mark, aka 'avsbruins65' on TCDB.  Mark sent so many great cards that I can't show them all off in a single post, so let's start with a batch of '90s Whalers parallels!

Yes, it's 1995-96 Pinnacle Rink Collection!  The short-lived Rink Collection parallels are some of my absolute favorites of the entire decade that was the '90s, and I was totally pumped to find a handful of these in the package for my ever-growing Whalers collection.

Always loved this shot of defenseman Adam Burt taking an awkward puck to the face!

These are so appreciated, because I've mainly focused on the inaugural '94-95 Rink Collection parallels to date, and only had one lone Whaler from this '95-96 set prior to receiving Mark's generous package.

Great shot of the Whalers uniforms of the era here, as Robert Kron engages in discussion with the referee.

I've mentioned many times before how Hartford fans were conflicted about Glen Wesley.  He was a despised member of the rival Bruins for many years before donning the Whalers green and blue.

Unfortunately, as we now know, the team was just a couple of seasons from its demise move to Carolina when these cards were issued.

Love this Geoff Sanderson, the blue uniform looks great on these particular parallels.  As is always the case with Dufex or foil cards, these look infinitely better in hand than they do in scans.

Lastly, my favorite card of the bunch, Darren Turcotte posing with (presumably) his son in front of the net.  Pinnacle had some great photographs in their mid-'90s hockey releases, quirky portraits like this one included among them.

What's especially great about the eight cards I showed in this post is that they complete my '95-96 Rink Collection Whalers team set!  I'm really starting to feel like a serious team collector now, with not just team sets completed but team sets in parallel format as well.  With these added to my collection on TCDB I'm now up to 1,836 Whalers cards and counting, good enough for third place on the site as far as largest Hartford Whalers collections go.

Mark, thanks for these great cards, they are very much appreciated!  Everyone else, enjoy the rest of your Tuesday and I'll be back soon with more goodies from Mark's package.  Thanks as always for stopping by!