Monday, April 30, 2012

A Tiger Mailday

Tiger Williams is more famously known as the PIM's guy. The rough and tough customer that wasn't afraid to drop his mitts to protect one of his teammates. In Vancouver though, he also known for this:


"Oh look at that Tiger!" Yup, Dave was quite the legend in Vancity. The flying V is what I associate with Tiger and the "riding stick" celebration is one for the ages.

Needless to say a Williams GU or AUTO card has been on my want list for quite some time. I've looked at more expensive pieces all the way down to what I have to show today. 

Since my patience has finally ran out and I saw a quick BIN of $0.99 with Free shipping, I pounced on Tiger (no pun intended...maybe a little).


Pretty much as basic as one can get. Small squared, plain white swatch, but what kinda stings about this one is the fact it is "Event Used". The fact that this wasn't worn in an "Official NHL Game" bums me out a little. 

In fact, although I am a jersey/mem advocate I think it is necessary to take out the crap. Which is "Event Worn" jerseys. Let's not get too hasty, I don't mind manufactured patches but when I buy a card I expect it to be at the very least worn in an All-Star game or something, not outside their local Costco. 

Anyways, that's not the point. I've added another jersey card to the collection and that of an iconic Canuck in an iconic Canuck jersey!

GO NUCKS GO!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

THANK YOU CASEY!

Only about a week ago Casey e-mailed me and asked for my address. I really didn't know what to think of it, to tell you the truth I thought he wanted it just in case I won the contest he is holding. So I was quite pleasantly surprised to open what I thought was an eBay bubble mailer but was actually a nice package of cards from Casey.

Then I figured out the motivation for the kind gesture:


I was able to decipher the scribble ;) (Brett would be proud) and it says : "Michael - go nucks? blech!" Well I have to thank you Casey for your kind condolences! The cards are just the beginning of my recovery process.

Let's take a look:



We start with four cards from my favourite low end set. The Salo is also a glossy parallel.




These next four cards are from last years Upper Deck Series 1, luckily I only had the Kesler so the other 3 cards are brand spankin' new.


A nice recent card of Alex Edler, it's really too bad Edler played so poorly for the Canucks. A better performance out of him may have not caused us Game 2.


The controversy has officially taken a huge twist. With Bobby Lu saying he would waive his no trade clause, could Schneids be our starter next season? Who knows, only Mike Gillis (and I don't even think he knows either). If anything I feel comfortable with either goalie in net, although Cory does seem to have the confidence to jump to the starter position next season. 



This was a SWEET card to find in the package. A 2011-12 QUAD Ruby /100 of Roberto Luongo. Well in this showdown of hockey cards, Luongo has the edge over Schneider for sure. 

Thanks for a couple awesome cards for my Goalie Project.



Last but not least is this beauty vintage of Andre Boudrias. This very nicely conditioned and centred card comes from 1970-71 Topps. The classic pink background against the vintage Canucks jerseys make this card a welcomed piece of cardboard in my collection. 

Thank you so much Casey for the great lot of cards! It's always nice to see the generosity in the hockey blogging community (even if our teams are mortal enemies) ;)

Alex Auld - 3/3 COMPLETE! 27 TOTAL
Murray Bannerman - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Martin Brochu - 3/3 COMPLETE! 4 TOTAL
Richard Brodeur - 1/3 COMPLETE! 15 TOTAL (1 JERSEY, 1 EVENT-USED, 1 AUTO)
Gary Bromley
Bruce Bullock
Sean Burke - 2/3 COMPLETE! 21 TOTAL
Frank Caprice
Jacques Caron
Dan Cloutier - 3/3 COMPLETE! 34 TOTAL (1 JERSEY, 2 AUTO's)
Ed Dyck
Ken Ellacott
Bob Essensa - 3/3 COMPLETE! 14 TOTAL
Mike Fountain - 3/3 COMPLETE! 11 TOTAL
Troy Gamble - 2/2 COMPLETE! 21 TOTAL
George Gardner 2/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL
John Garrett - 2/3 COMPLETE! 3 TOTAL
Glen Hanlon - 1/3 COMPLETE! 5 TOTAL
Johan Hedberg - 3/3 COMPLETE! 7 TOTAL
Rick Heinz
Corey Hirsch - 1/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL (1 AUTO)
Charlie Hodge - 2/2 COMPLETE! 3 TOTAL
Arturs Irbe - 1/3 COMPLETE! 3 TOTAL
Jason LaBarbera - 2/3 COMPLETE! 4 TOTAL
Ken Lockett
Roberto Luongo - 3/3 COMPLETE! 59 TOTAL (1 JERSEY)
Drew MacIntyre - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Cesare Maniago - 1/3 COMPLETE! 3 TOTAL
Bob Mason - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Dave McClelland
Steve McKichan
Kirk McLean - 2/3 COMPLETE! 149 TOTAL (1 AUTO)
Rob McVicar - 1/1 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Alfie Michaud - 1/1 COMPLETE! 7 TOTAL
Tyler Moss
Mika Noronen - 3/3 COMPLETE! 6 TOTAL
Maxime Ouellet - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
FĂ©lix Potvin - 3/3 COMPLETE! 31 TOTAL (1 AUTO)
Andrew Raycroft - 1/3 COMPLETE! 7 TOTAL
Curt Ridley - 2/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL
Dany Sabourin - 2/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL
Curtis Sanford - 3/3 COMPLETE! 7 TOTAL
Cory Schneider - 1/2 COMPLETE! 11 TOTAL (1 JERSEY)
Corey Schwab - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Petr Skudra - 3/3 COMPLETE! 4 TOTAL
Gary Smith - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Garth Snow - 2/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL (1 AUTO)
Kevin Weekes - 2/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL
Steve Weeks - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Kay Whitmore - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Dunc Wilson - 1/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL
Wendell Young - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL

GO NUCKS GO!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Jersey (or Sweater) Card Lot

I've been dabbling in and out of eBay lately and a small lot of 6 cards caught my fancy. Those 6 cards are all memorabilia cards and so I thought I might give it a shot. Sure enough I won the auction and I received my first of what I expect to be about 6 or so bubble envelopes in the mail today.

I bought the lot for a few reasons. First, it included one Canuck GU card and quite a big name at that! Next, there was not one single white swatch in the entire lot and I really appreciate a nice coloured swatch  (especially Philly orange)! Third, I really wanted to bulk my jersey (I'm learning Cap'n) sweater card collection. Also, these kinda lots act for great trade bait! Lastly, it was cheap and I love cheap hockey cards!

I'll list them from highest numbered to lowest. Starting with two unnumbered cards:



Nothing extra ordinary so far. Just your basic UD Series 1 GU hockey card. Rask is the back-up goalie for the Bruins, I would have taken Thomas over Rask since I'm not a huge fan of Tuukka. I seem to have the Bruin bug this year, I pulled a dual jersey of Thomas and Rask in a pack rip of 11-12 Artifacts. 

In fact this is one of two Bruins cards that are in this lot. Both are for trade by the way.



This was a neat pick-up for a few reasons. For starters you don't pull OPC GU cards that often from what I know about the product. Also, this is unnumbered but books for a solid $20. An interesting design for UD to say the least.



Kind of a disappointing card when I read the back and it said it was "used in a rookie photo shoot", yippee! It is from a pretty cool product and it is numbered to /799 I guess. But the unfocused photo just screams laziness. Grrrr!



I don't know a whole lot about Ryan Stoa besides the fact he has only 7 points in 37 games in the NHL and did not play at all for the Avalanche this season. But that doesn't bring me down too much! This is probably my favourite card design out of the lot. It also presents the nicest colour swatch of the bunch and also a fairly big chunk of sweater! Plus it's numbered to /250. Then again, it was used in another photo shoot. When did hockey players become models?



Finally we arrive to my Canucks! Numbered to just /100 copies Nazzy presents a nice blue swatch from a sweater he likely wore in his final season with the Nucks! Naslund was never my favourite player back in the"Express" days, but Big Bert was my type of guy. It's still nice to get a card with #19 on it, he will remain as one of the best to put on a Canucks sweater.



We end off the lot with what is yet another Boston Bruin. Zach Hamill GU RC numbered to /99. It's from a respectable product which means it has a nice thick card stock AND it's shiny and red. Those are all pluses in my books. Other than the fact that Hamill looks completely stoned in the picture and he's a Bruin, I'm a fan of the card.

So for 5 bucks plus about 2 dollars shipping I got what I think was a pretty cool pick-up. These cards should create some nice pieces to fit into trades and if not keep my GU collection slowly stacking higher and higher.

In other news, Luongo pretty much traded himself out of Vancouver today. Always nice to see how the bandwagon reacts to his press conference. It's going to be a LONG off season... 

As for now I'll be rooting for the Devils (as my next favourite team) and if not then the Rangers (since I have them in Casey's play-off contest)! Now that I jinxed both those teams...

GO NUCKS GO!

Friday, April 20, 2012

THE GOALIE PROJECT - Kirk McLean

I'm gonna let most of the pics do the talking here since we have a lot of cardboard to go through. Kirk McLean reigned in net for the majority of 90's in Canucks gear, that being said he was part of the junk wax era. That means I have accumulated a lot of Captain Kirk cards by coincidence.

But hey, I'm never gonna turn down a card even if it is from the 90's and is only worth a dime. Let's take a look at some sheets.


These are the oldest of my McLean's but unfortunately no rookie in the bunch. You probably can't see it in the scan but I probably have somewhere from 4 to 6 dupes in every slot in that 9 pocket page.


The card on the top left is shared with Chevledae. Some more Pro Set and a couple atrocious Score cards.


Another card shared with Cheveldae mixed along with some more Parkhurst. The one thing I really like about looking at 90's cards is the old Canucks flying skate logos.


Probably one of my favourite McLean cards is that one on the bottom left with the close up of his mask. That lid is infamous around Vancouver and overall just sick!


Another thing I come to appreciate when looking through sheets of the same player is the broadness in picture variety. 



Now we start getting into some of the newer Canucks jersey's and the lesser popular McLean mask. 


This last page rounds out my McLean show and tell. As you can see from the very last card I do have a card of Kirk in another teams jersey which covers one third of the project. Plus the almost 150 total cards of McLean in Canucks gear leaves it at 2/3 complete. 

Only one last card to track down (rookie) until I can put a checkmark beside McLeans name.

Alex Auld - 3/3 COMPLETE! 27 TOTAL
Murray Bannerman - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Martin Brochu - 3/3 COMPLETE! 4 TOTAL
Richard Brodeur - 1/3 COMPLETE! 15 TOTAL (1 JERSEY, 1 EVENT-USED, 1 AUTO)
Gary Bromley
Bruce Bullock
Sean Burke - 2/3 COMPLETE! 21 TOTAL
Frank Caprice
Jacques Caron
Dan Cloutier - 3/3 COMPLETE! 34 TOTAL (1 JERSEY, 2 AUTO's)
Ed Dyck
Ken Ellacott
Bob Essensa - 3/3 COMPLETE! 14 TOTAL
Mike Fountain - 3/3 COMPLETE! 11 TOTAL
Troy Gamble - 2/2 COMPLETE! 21 TOTAL
George Gardner 2/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL
John Garrett - 2/3 COMPLETE! 3 TOTAL
Glen Hanlon - 1/3 COMPLETE! 5 TOTAL
Johan Hedberg - 3/3 COMPLETE! 7 TOTAL
Rick Heinz
Corey Hirsch - 1/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL (1 AUTO)
Charlie Hodge - 2/2 COMPLETE! 3 TOTAL
Arturs Irbe - 1/3 COMPLETE! 3 TOTAL
Jason LaBarbera - 2/3 COMPLETE! 4 TOTAL
Ken Lockett
Roberto Luongo - 3/3 COMPLETE! 58 TOTAL (1 JERSEY)
Drew MacIntyre - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Cesare Maniago - 1/3 COMPLETE! 3 TOTAL
Bob Mason - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Dave McClelland
Steve McKichan
Kirk McLean - 2/3 COMPLETE! 149 TOTAL (1 AUTO)
Rob McVicar - 1/1 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Alfie Michaud - 1/1 COMPLETE! 7 TOTAL
Tyler Moss
Mika Noronen - 3/3 COMPLETE! 6 TOTAL
Maxime Ouellet - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
FĂ©lix Potvin - 3/3 COMPLETE! 31 TOTAL (1 AUTO)
Andrew Raycroft - 1/3 COMPLETE! 7 TOTAL
Curt Ridley - 2/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL
Dany Sabourin - 2/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL
Curtis Sanford - 3/3 COMPLETE! 7 TOTAL
Cory Schneider - 1/2 COMPLETE! 10 TOTAL (1 JERSEY)
Corey Schwab - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Petr Skudra - 3/3 COMPLETE! 4 TOTAL
Gary Smith - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Garth Snow - 2/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL (1 AUTO)
Kevin Weekes - 2/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL
Steve Weeks - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Kay Whitmore - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Dunc Wilson - 1/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL
Wendell Young - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL

GO NUCKS GO!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Game 4 - Vanouver @ Los Angeles

Well, the day has finally arrived. The Canucks have their backs to the wall pushing themselves backwards into a 3-0 series deficit. I couldn't restrain myself from at least mentioning the Canucks awful return to the postseason this week.

People in Vancouver started pushing the panic button after game one, so you can imagine how crazy the city feels after 3 straight loses. People are yelling for Alain Vigneault's head, for Edler's head and hell even Luongo's head (and he played spectacular).

So what could be the problem?

Well for starters it's not been in net. Luongo put up two great starts when the Canucks left him out to dry in the first two games. Game 3 Scneider played his usual awesome self and could not be faulted for the one rebound goal he let in.

Defense was horrific games 1 and 2 but game 3 was a definite improvement (aside from Alex Edler of course).

SCORING is the most obvious of all problems currently. When you take 41 perimeter shots and give Jonothan Quick the satisfaction of a shutout, we have a problem. SHOTS do not equal SCORING CHANCES and I think that's the biggest obstacle the Nucks are facing. In most post game interviews they mention "Oh well we got 40 plus shots so we unfortunately ran into a hot goalkeeper". Excuses, excuses, when only 1 of those 41 shots are from the slot shouldn't sirens be going off?

The poweplay has just plain sucked. With the absence of Daniel and the never ending guilt from trading away our second line PP centre (Cody Hodgson) the Canucks have lost their creativity and more importantly their swagger.

Anyways that is a very short summary of my thoughts on the series. Tonight I think we'll pull through with a 2-1 win in OT. My overall prediction is Kings in 6. I can't believe I just said that...

On another note I had my road test today and failed so ya, you could say I'm in a bad mood. So if the Canucks don't win tonight a bad day will turn into a terrible day.

As for hockey cards, I'm planning to recieve about 6 or so packages in the next 2 weeks so look forward to some new cardboard.

Time to nap away my sorrows.

GO NUCKS GO!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

INSERT IDEAS - Score Playoff Heroes

Inserts are the middle ground of hockey cards. I believe they're something most collectors enjoy to have in their collection, whether it be by complete accident (pulled from a pack) or on purpose. Inserts aren't quite your common base junk (which isn't always junk) and they're not your super exciting AUTO or GU pull. They fit right in between those two and will always have a place in the hobby IMO.

Inserts were the backbone of the hockey card industry in the past and I think they've lost some of their steam in this new era of AUTO's and GU. Once in a while though, a product really comes out with a nice concept and/or design on an insert that gets collectors going (and their wallets). Off the top of my head I think of ITG Between the Pipes "Masked Men" and the Pinnacle "Tough Times" set more recently.

Other times there are those insert sets that make you think "Uhhh...why?". Either the ideas have been recycled, the pictures are boring or the design is just plain ugly.

Well in any case I've decided to start giving inserts the credit they deserve. Every once and a while I'll take a few inserts out of my collection and rate them on three categories:

1. Idea /5
2. Pictures /5
3. Design /5
4. Player Selection /5

That means every insert will have a mark out of 20. So let's start the quest to find the best (and worst) inserts created.

Today we start with a fairly "new" insert set from the past two seasons of the Score release by Panini.

NAME: Playoff Heroes
YEAR: 2010-11



First off the concept or lack there of. This seems like a vey lazy and generic idea to put on an insert. It's kinda your typical low end product insert (which I guess you can't blame them for). You get what you pay I guess. I just don't see the point in making another set featuring playoff heroes when half the players you chose are in no way heroes. 

On a side note, Sidney here should have his own insert set called "Playoff Beast" with the points he's putting up. Mind you Giroux should have his own then too ;)

Next let's take a look at the design of the card. Pretty much all the writing is written vertically while the picture is horizontal. Hmmm...that just seems careless on Panini's part. It has all the essentials: name, position and team. 


The back seems like more of the same junk. Almost identical design to the front besides replacing the picture for a short biography. 

This is the main insert set for Score (I believe it is the biggest). With that comes pour player selection and exceptionally boring "turning while skating" pictures.

RATING:

Idea - 1/5
Pictures - 1.5/5
Design - 1.5/5
Player Selection - 2/5

TOTAL - 6/20

NAME: Playoff Heroes
YEAR: 2011-12



Let me say right away that they definitely improved on the design this year but it's still far from perfect or even "great", I'd say average. They stuck with the all vertical look which is nice and I'm a sucker for the 3D pop out design.

The idea is still lame but the photos definitely got a bit better. I believe most if not all of the pics are of the players celebrating a goal. 


The backs are similar but not exactly the same as the front. The problem I have with this set is this: when you're picking players for this set does that mean if one guy scores a big goal one series that he is forever entitled to be a "Playoff Hero" and permanently has a spot on this set? I think not but you may have a different view.

RATING:

Idea - 1/5
Design - 2.5/5
Pictures - 2/5
Player Selection - 2.5/5


TOTAL - 8/20


Unfortunately both sets did not get a passing grade and thus I think it would be wise for Panini to drop the set. But what do you think, what would you rate these sets on my scale of 20?

GO NUCKS GO!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

IT'S PLAYOFFS TIME BABY!

Can you smell it? Hockey is in the air, I can finally start and feel the excitement in the air today as the Canucks are playing the Kings tonight at Rogers Arena! I'm sure if your favourite team is in the playoffs (or not) you're still stoked to see 16 teams battle it out for a chance at Lord Stanley's Cup.

Most know me on my blog for the hockey cards I collect but I am somewhat of a memorabilia collector also. Anything that has a Canucks logo or is Vancouver Canucks related I will try and get my hands on. Anywhere from lamps, stickers, bobble heads etc. I want it! But there is one type of collection that isn't unique to little old me. In fact it's more of a tradition than anything else.

I'm sure you're all familiar with the white towel waving that STARTED here in Vancouver in 1982 that soon other hockey teams and other sports copied started doing themselves.

It's more than just a "thing" we do every year, it's a ritual, something with meaning and importance! Over my short lifespan I've been able to acquire a neat variety of towels, let's take a look at some of them.


This is the oldest towel in my collection. Obviously it's from the Canucks short play-off run in 2003. As you can see it's a bit dirty on the bottom left hand side which I think adds a little character. It's made of a dishcloth type material that could actually be used in your kitchen if you're that type of person. I am not that type of person, this will stay as safe and preserved as possible from now on.


This next towel is wider and whiter then the towel from 2003. The only problem is I'm not sure what year this is from. All I know is that it has to be earlier than 2007 but later than 2003. Take your guess...


Now we're getting into the era of stronger Canucks teams and the "new" Canucks logo. This towel was actually given to me by my 8th grade teacher a few years back. She knew I was a crazy Canucks fan and she left it in my desk for me one morning. Thanks Mme. Armstrong :)


These pair are from 2009. Probably my favourite design and texture. The thinner the towels are the easier they are to whip around above your head.


This is the second appearance this towel has made on my blog. This towel is signed by none other than Roberto Luongo!


It's a funny looking autograph considering he had to sign on towel material. The blue ink looks great and this is one of my favourite signatures because of the uniqueness. Think of it, many might have a Luongo signature on a hockey card, photo and even jerseys; but a towel signature is definitely different!


This one was not given out at Canucks games like all the others, instead it was issued by RBC (Royal Bank of Canada). But I guess it's still a towel so I'll take it anyway.


These two slightly different towels are from last years magical play-off run. The left is obviously from the 4 games the Canucks played against the Bruins here in Vancity. The right towel was being handed out at the other 3 rounds in Vancouver.

I own three towel from the finals and two from the other rounds.

What do they all look like together you ask? Well here is the answer:


That makes for a total of 12 towels with 8 unique designs!

Good luck to your team in the play-offs and enjoy the ride! As always...

GO CANUCKS GO!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

CRAZY CARDS - The Matt Cooke Mystery

Well it's not that much of a mystery but it does have a story behind it. First I'm gonna fill you in on what I'm talking about. Years ago when I was a wee little boy my eyes were opened to the wonderful world that is eBay by my aunt. She offered to buy me any card I wanted (within reason of course). Which card did I want? Well the name that escaped my mouth was Matt Cooke.

Yes I typed it right. Matt Cooke. Why? Why you ask? Even I don't have the answer to that. My favourite player was Dan Coutier at the time and I was also a big fan of Bertuzzi. Deep inside though I must have wanted a Matt Cooke hockey card.

The card was given to me later by aunt and this is what it looked like:


Okay so it's obviously an autographed hockey card from the Stadium Club set. I don't know much about the set but after searching through my Beckett a year back or so I couldn't find an autographed Matt Cooke card that was listed. 

The back doesn't say "you have received a certified autograph of Matt Cooke" so this leads me to believe that I (or should I say my aunt) bought a TTM/IP autograph. 

If I were to go back in time, I wouldn't have bought this card. Not because it's Matt Cooke but because the fact it's most likely a TTM. TTM'ing is something that should never be sold, period. I would accept it in a trade IF I know the other person and their usual intentions with TTM's. 


I guess now the deed has been done and there is nothing left to do but enjoy it. It is the signature of an NHL right, so why not enjoy it? 

If you want a good laugh, read the write up on Cookie on the back of the card. Apparently he has a tendency to "avoid[] foolish penalties". *SIGH* How times have changed.

So what do you think about this card? Am I missing something here, is it a TTM or Certified? What are your views on buying and/or trading TTM's or IP AUTO's?

GO NUCKS GO!