Thursday, May 2, 2013

REDEMPTION COMPLETE - The Unveiling!

If you've been following my Redemption story (Part 1 & Part 2) you'll know that I've been long awaiting a very special card. One that would pick up some fairly nice returns in a trade and possibly some good cash on eBay.

Those two reasons were the only things pushing my desire to get my hands on this card. I would only really want to hold onto this card because of it's rarity, but I think it would be appreciated more somewhere else.

Saying that, a week ago I got this beauty in the mail from Panini:


This card is obviously one that would be attractive to many different collectors, not just Oilers and Devils fans but there are many Hall and Henrique collectors that pay big bucks for their sigs. The only downside to the card I can think of is that the AUTO's are stickers, but not a huge deal in the long run.


Nice simple design that carries from front to back and the paragraph ties the two Spitfire players together nicely.

I really do like the sheer awesomeness of the card, but like I said, I know collectors that would appreciate this much more than I.

With that being said, Kyle - we'll be in touch.

Also, best wishes to all the hopeful teams in the Stanley Cup play-offs! Hopefully my Nucks can shake the dust off their sticks and get playing the way we use to!

GO NUCKS GO!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

THANKS CHRIS! - Cloutier Tetrad AUTO

Yet another thank you post from yet another awesome guy. I'm a lucky man considering how nice people are toward me and my collection.

On to the story. Chris contacted me for help finding some old Canucks/Kings play-off tickets from 2012. He's a Kings fan and is having a little trouble finding Vancouver home tickets. Over the past months I've been searching like a mad man but with little to show for.

As I was continually sifting through craigslist and talking to the local collectors, Chris e-mailed me saying he had a nice thank you gift. 

I have to say, even after all that searching I still don't have the tickets, but he still sent me the card. What a guy eh?


Now this card is funky in a lot of ways. First, the design is unorthodox (to say the least), the numbering is a sky scraper high /7,750 but oh boy is this a sick card! 

This is my guy Clout in his classic all red pads and bucket helmet from his Greyhound days. This card is cool, cool and more cool!

And for a fourth cool, check out the signature. Notice anything different? Probably not if you're not a Cloutier fan. He signed with number 33 not his 39 he wore for most of his career, not that's unique!

Thank you Chris; this card will sit nicely next to the rest of my Cloutier hits! Plus its another one off the want list!

GO NUCKS GO!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

THANKS KYLE - Dan Cloutier Pick-Up

My Dan Cloutier PC is probably my favourite project at the moment and my friend Kyle from Beware the Hockey Card Closet sent me another card that fits right in.

Awhile back Kyle and I figured we had a few cards the other wanted/needed so we did a little swap. I ended up with a Cloutier card I didn't even know existed!

Clout actually shares the card with three other players from the Sault Sainte-Marie Greyhounds of the OHL.

This is the back of the card:


As shown above Dan shares the back of the card with the best name of the four - Joe Thornton. The front has two guys I've never heard of:


The front is covered over with gold foil and has a paragraph along the left that continues onto the back, you don't see that very often. 

I can't say the design is anything special but the card in whole definitely is. This is a card I had never even seen and it's certainly neat to get my hands on a card this unique. The brand "Classic" must not have had an NHL license because most (if not all) of the cards I own of them are from some sort of junior team. 

This card was also a special card to Kyle from what he told me. Apparently, this was one of his very first hockey cards. I'm honoured that you let me have it Kyle, thank you!

Be sure to check out C4K Cloutier for scans of my entire Cloutier collection.

GO NUCKS GO!

Monday, April 15, 2013

ANSWERED Redemption - The Power of the Internet

First off, thank you to those who helped me out yesterday with my inner dilemma on what to do with my redemption card to Panini.

I have a very interesting update. Today around noon, I came home to an e-mail from Panini saying my redemption had been sent out.


Is this a coincidence? I think not, it's the power of the Internet.

So now that the card is on it's way, I can't wait to see what it looks like. From the sounds of it, it looks like I have some trading to do!

I've learned three things:

1. The Internet is a powerful tool
2. Panini has Internet spies
3. Panini CARES about their collectors

I really am impressed with Panini, although it took a little "push," Panini delivered. Thanks guys.

GO NUCKS GO!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Unanswered Redemption - What To Do?

Let me set the scene. November 13th, 2012. I'm opening a few packs of Panini Certified and BAM! Redemption card. My first redemption card ever to be precise. Not a bad one either.

In fact, the card I pulled was numbered to just 100 copies and was a dual signature card of Taylor Hall and Adam Henrique.

Although I see myself either trading or selling this card, it's still a significant card to have no doubt.

Why do I bring this up? Well 5 months later I still have received no update and I'm sure no progress has been made in making/sending me the card.

Now like I mentioned, this is my first time dealing with a redemption; therefore, I'm kinda left in the dark here. I do commend Panini's customer service as I have communicated with them in the past. Tracy Hackler over at Panini's official blog is a generous and understanding guy from what I gather with my past encounters with him.

Unfortunately though, whenever I look at my redemption status online, this is what I see:


Now I believe I remember selecting the 4 month option for the redemption so they're already a month behind. But, better late than never Panini! 

So I ask you, my readers: will I ever see THIS card? Will I be able to get my hands on a replacement card? If so, how and when? And lastly, am I pressing the panic button too early?

Your help would be much appreciated, chances are you know better than me!

GO NUCKS GO!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

(ALMOST) COMPLETE SET - 2003-04 McDonalds Atomic

First, some housekeeping...I'M BACK! That long 6 week void was by far the longest I've been away from my blog and the blogging world in general. But this is my senior year, so cut me some slack. Between keeping my head above water at school and work, I did sneak in a 12 day road trip with my family. It was one of those scenic trips with even more beautiful "A-ha" moments.

But none of that relates to hockey cards, that's what this blogs about right? Hockey cards.

In my last post, featuring the generosity of Paul D in our last trade, I didn't show the bulk of the actual deal - my first ever real attempt at completing a set without buying a complete set on eBay.

In case you're unaware, I chose a childhood favourite set - 2003-04 McDonalds Atomic Hockey. You can see why specifically I chose this set here; but, it basically comes down to nostalgia.

In the deal with Paul D, I was able to add 40 cards in addition to my 14. That means I'm missing one card from the base set - #41. In case you have that card, it's of Mario Lemieux.


These die-cut cards look really sharp in 9 page holders, except...


This one...it's missing just one card, that'll bother me until I track down that Lemieux.


Just for kicks, here's the backs. Ugh...I spot a Messier. 

As for the checklists, I now own all of them. They're kinda neat since they show the NHL star as a kid playing hockey. Other than that, nothing scan worthy.

I have to give a huge thanks to Paul D for helping me complete the set and for being such a great trader!

WANTED


BASE: 41
(COMPLETED (98%)
"Hockey Roots" CL: NONE
(COMPLETED 100%)
"Canadian Pride" INSERT: 1, 2, 4-6 
(COMPLETED 16.7%)
"Etched in Time" INSERT: 1, 3-6 
(COMPLETED 16.7%)
"Net Fusions" INSERT: 1-6 
(COMPLETED 0%)
"Saturday Night Rivals" INSERT: 1-4, 6 
(COMPLETED 16.7%)

TOTAL: 63/85 CARDS (74%)

I can't promise the posting will be as frequent as in the past, but there certainly shouldn't be anymore 6 week breaks (fingers crossed). Next up, another thank you post...

GO NUCKS GO!

Friday, March 1, 2013

TRADE: Paul D - A Boatload of Goodies

This is my second trade I made recently, this time with a different Paul. The initial trade was one that included almost my entire needed want list for the 2003-04 McDonalds set. But yet again, there was an overwhelming amount of generosity that came along with it.

I was absolutely floored when I saw what he included for me, so much thanks goes to Paul D!


First off we have some beauty goalie cards to add to my Goalie Project, which I actually have been neglecting lately and don't know why. This is a good reminder for sure. My favourite is definitely that UD Masterpiece of Richard Brodeur, I have one copy already but geez it doesn't hurt to have two of that beauty!


Some really nice base cards here and even a nice 90's insert of Pavel Bure thrown in! It's one of those reflective "action" cards really retro and super cool. Probably my favourite base is that of Andre Boudrias, it's a really nice looking retro set and the back of the card is one of my favourites from ITG. Simple but classic.

As if that wasn't enough, Paul threw in not one but TWO GU Canucks cards!


Canucks captain? Check! Nice dark colour from the old Canucks jerseys. Weird to say those are "old" considering that's how I remember my Nucks as a kid.

Aaaaannndddd...


A dual GU card from two great Canucks d-men. I don't have a GU piece from either of these guys and especially considering Bieksa is a fan favourite here in Vancity, it's a very nice card. Ohlund was a great vet Canuck that we lost to Tampa Bay seasons ago. But I really liked Mattius, he was solid as ever. Considering we lost Salo to the Lightning in the off-season, TB must really like veteran Nucks d-men.

Thanks so much Paul D, the kindness has not gone unnoticed that's for sure!

GO NUCKS GO!

Thursday, February 28, 2013

TRADE: Paul from Card Boarded

After pulling a pretty sweet Jimmy Howard insert I knew it had Paul from "Card Boarded"'s name all over it. We got in contact and bada-bing bada-boom a deal was made.

Here is what it looked like:

TO PAUL:
2012-13 Certified "Goalie Pulls" Jimmy Howard
20 random Red Wings cards

TO ME:
2001-02 BAP Signature Series Gino Odjick AUTO
(Way more than...) 20 random Canucks cards

The AUTO is of former Canucks grinder - Gino Odjcick.


A nice on card AUTO of a Canucks alumni. Doesn't get much better than that!

Even more exciting though was the extra goodies Paul threw in for me. We had agreed to send 20 randoms each way but Paul, being his generous self, sent almost 4 times that! I don't know why I'm surprised, there are tons of really kind guys in the hobby and Paul is right up there.

Thanks Paul!




This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the generosity, can't thank you enough! Some really nice finds from a dozen different years and dozens of different sets. These are gonna look sharp in my Canucks binders for sure!

GO NUCKS GO!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Unlucky Limited

A week back, on NHCD in Canada, I purchased a box of Limited. Little did I know the monstrous effects it would have on my Canucks.

I'm crazy you say? Let's examine the facts.

My first hit was of a young Dallas rookie name Brenden Dillon. I had no clue who he was except for the fact that last season he appeared in only one NHL game.


This season he has played 16 games in the big league and has had quite a positive effect on the Dallas back line. When February 15th rolled around, it was game time against the Stars. It had the aggressiveness and grit of a play-off game, which I have yet to see in a Canucks game thus far. 

With three minutes left in the third and the game tied at three, this happens...


Brenden Dillon folks.

Unlucky Limited.

Fast forward two more nights and the Canucks play home to the Blues. Who's in net for St. Louis? Non other than Jake Allen.

I also pulled a nice GU piece of him numbered to /99 copies in my Limited break.


Another 3-3 hockey game in OT. Allen has played a solid game but still nothing to write home about. Until with less than a minute left in OT, Burrows gets a beauty chance, and then...



... Jake Allen makes a beauty glove save. He went on to save both shots in a shootout to win the game for the Blues.

Unlucky Limited.

I'm just waiting for my other hit of Gadsby and Ullman to bite me somehow. I don't know, how but it will.

My Nucks were on a six game winning streak until they met those two hot rookies; now they are 0-1-2 in their last three.

I tend to follow the players I get "hits" off. Do you tend to do that? Has this ever happened to you?

I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy...except the Blackhawks.

GO NUCKS GO!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

NHCD Canadian Set

Happy (American) National Hockey Card Day to all those south of the border. For us Canadians (eh) we had our second Christmas last weekend.

I already posted my big box break of Limited but along with those cards came 2 free packs of UD's NHCD set. Since I know the owner of my LCS pretty well he hooked me up with an entire complete set.

Along with the three checklists, there were four sub sets.


"Hockey Heroes" has all the retired Canadian legends such as that beauty Bobby Orr card. I might add all the cards feature the player in Canadian gear. That Orr is a classic! 

Next is "Pride of Canada," which is shown in the middle with Sid the Kid. These are current Canadian NHL stars.

Finally is "Canada's Rookies," which is pretty self explanatory. 

But then there is that one extra subset. Only one card...


Ya, I would say that's a pretty "Memorable Moment." This is card 16, and I think is a little bit of a tougher pull. Not sure, correct me if I'm wrong. 

I got a few doubles from two extra packs so if anyone needs anything to complete a set, let me know!

We'll finish off with a full view of the loot:


GO NUCKS GO!

Monday, February 11, 2013

NHCD BOX BREAK - 2012-13 Limited

I hope everybody in Canada and the USA had a great National Hockey Card Day! North of the border, I had some success breaking a "high-end" product, which I don't do very often. I decided to spend my money on a box with only 7 cards in it, 2012-13 Limited.

I'm going to go out on a lim and officially say, I am a fan of Panini products. The price, value of hits and variety of sets, gets me every time. But that's a whole different post.

I originally made a quick 5 minute video of my box break; however, it's not uploading. So, scans it is!

Let's do this as a card by card thing. First card I saw after unwrapping the silver foil wrapper was a base card of Mikka Kipprusoff and another of recently re-signed P.K Subban.


i scanned the back side of the Kippy to show off the design. In most cases, I prefer I product stick with one direction on a card (e.g. vertical front, vertical back) but in this case, the back of the card matches the front perfectly. I really like the simple and classy design this card gives off and the thick card stock is a really nice touch!

But base is not what I spent 120 bucks on right?


My first hit, was this beautiful "Phenoms" rookie AUTO if Brendan Dillon. Brendan who? Ya, with only one NHL game under his belt, I don't know who he is either; however, the card is great. I've always admired these fabric AUTO's. It gives that signed jersey feel; plus, Brendan has a decent AUTO including his number. Not a bad first hit despite the "high" serial number of 499 copies. Still, I'm not jumping through hoops about this box quite yet.


A nice low numbered sub-set was this "Limited Captains" card. Only downside - a Bruin (of course). Although, I don't hate Chara as much as I hate some other Bruins *ehem* Marchand *ehem*. Anyways, this is a nice addition just not my favourite player. Up for trade if it catches anyones fancy.



Now THIS is what I'm talking about! This is a SWEET insert. Sure "Trophy Winners" has been done tons of times, but the execution is perfect! The textured foil surrounding the images of Lafleur and the Conn Smythe trophy is dealt in a classy and appropriate manner. Big thumbs up Panini! This card is right up my alley, I'm a big Guy Lafleur fan and numbered at 199 copies is very fitting to the insert set.


Well we are down to the final two cards and things are going good, but not nearly great. I still have two big hits left. The first of which is directly above this text. This card is from a really nice GU set and even better name. It's numbered pretty low at 99 copies, which adds value in my eyes. The swatch is a nice dark blue; although if I had gotten a white swatch I would tear another one into Panini. There is no space for all white swatches in a product like Limited. Jake Allen is a nice prospect and one I'll watch now that I have his card.

The last hit...drumroll please...


Well, this is a scan of eBay because I actually don't have this card anymore. Shocker right? I seem so lucky to pull a low numbered BEAUTIFUL AUTO of a Canuck and I trade it away? Yup I did. Truth is, I'm not a huge Kesler fan. My version of the "Moniker" AUTO was not quite the same as the one above. Mine was numbered to /99 NOT /49 and it had the Canucks "Orca" logo not the "Stick in the Rink" logo. 

So I traded my only Canuck hit, for what? Take a looksy:


What's happening to me, am I going mad or what? I traded a Canucks AUTO for a Red Wings dual GU card. Yes I did. 

Only about 10 minutes after leaving my LCS I marched back in with the Kesler in hand and showed the owner and his wife. They were happy when I said I wanted to trade it and they thought I was crazy. The inflation for Canucks GU and AUTO's in that shop is crazy and I knew it would probably get a 60 dollar price tag (I know crazy). He told me he would sell it for 50 and he always trades half od the sticker price. 

Fair? Sure, they need to make money too. I said, "Hows about we call it 30?" He agreed and off I went. As luck has it this Bill Gadsby and Norm Ullman dual GU beauty had the perfect 30 dollar price tag. I swiped it right away. 

I mean two HOF's from the 60's is a no brainer right? That Gadsby GU piece is a leather piece from his glove, cool right!? My first GU glove card, yes! Plus it's nice dark red Detroit swatch on the Ullman.

I'll take that anyway. 

Overall, I didn't really make my money back in secondary market value. But who cares? I probably won't bust another box of this this year, so I enjoyed it for sure! 

I'm pretty tired now, so I'll post up my NHCD pack rips tomorrow. But how was your February 9th? Bust any boxes/packs? And what's your opinion on the newest Limited product from Panini; good or bad?

GO NUCKS GO!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

SWEET (AND SOUR) SIGS - Canucks Edition

Upon my daily browsing of the Vancouver Canucks official website, I found a very neat video about something we all love in this hobby blogging world - autographs!

You don't see much of players talking about their signature or even picking apart their fellow teammates, so I found this video quite entertaining.

The Canucks are a funny bunch of guys which doesn't hurt either. Check out the link HERE.

A couple observations I made.

1) I agree; Luongo's AUTO is horrid.

2) Higgins, like many others, just guesstimates where the dots in his name go.

3) Lapierre is a perfect example of how an AUTO can go from SWEET to SOUR



I wouldn't say Lappy's signature was great to begin with, but it definitely did decline after a couple of seasons!

What did you think of the video, any other related vids come to mind?

GO NUCKS GO!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

HELP NEEDED - 2003-04 Pacific McDonalds SET BUILD

I'm not one to set build. In fact I only have two complete base sets; both are of SP Authentic. However, collecting is also about experimenting. So I'm going to make it a goal to build a set.

I didn't just make this decision while shuffling through cards bored. I saw a complete built base set on the shelf of my LCS listed at 30 bucks and thought: "Wow that would be a neat set to look through in a binder" and so I decided to go for it! But what fun is there in buying? If I can build this realistically attainable set on my own through trades etc. why not?

The set you ask? Well for my friends in the US of A, it's called 2003-04 Pacific Atomic; otherwise known as the once annually released set held by McDonalds across Canada. McDonalds released cards through Upper Deck starting in the early 90's and then switched to Pacific in the early 2000's only to switch back to UD for the 05-06 season. Unfortunately, McDonalds stopped this promotion and it's last release was in 2009-10.

The 2003-04 release was my favourite by far and nostalgia pushed me to build the set. Here's a look at what the base cards look like:



As you can see the right side of each card has a die-cut team logo popping out. Pretty cool eh? The reverse side has everything written en anglais et français. Unfortunately due to the fact I believe I was in grade three at the time these came out, some cards I have look like this:


Ain't that a lovely crease for ya! Poor Giggy never saw it coming. The base set clocks in at 55 cards, which is smaller than I think every product that comes out these days. I have a head start owning 14 of the 55 base already. The set I'm building excludes the six rookie AUTO's (included in the base set technically). Those AUTO's book anywhere from $200-400 in top shape. It also excludes the "McDonalds Pacific Patches," (Silver and Gold variations) again those ring from the lowest at $80 and highest $500. Hard to believe that a Mario Lemieux McDonald's patch card would go for 5 bills but that's what the book says.

The most exciting part will be collecting all five insert sets.



First are the ten checklist; all cards have a picture of the player on the card as a kid. I think that's a pretty neat checklist idea, I have almost half of these already with four of the ten cards. 


With a similar design to the base cards. This insert said called "Canadian Pride" have a die-cut maple leaf on the left and showcase all Canadian players (obviously). It's a six card set and the only one I have is the one above of Rick Nash that quite obviously sustained some serious damage.


These "Etched in Time" inserts have a really neat puzzle piece texture to it. They aren't the most eye catching cards but it's a unique idea. Again this is a six card set and I have only the card above.


The Lalime/Belfour "Saturday Night Rivals" card is in rough shape but is my favourite insert set for sure! Such a sweet design, sweet name and just sweet overall! Once again, I have one out of the six cards in this set.

The last insert set called "Net Fusions" is a pretty cool all goalie set. It has a mesh background that looks like a net behind the goalie. This time I don't have any of the six cards in the insert set.

In total here is what I have to chase:

BASE: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10-18, 20-25, 27-29, 31, 33-38, 40-43, 47-51, 54, 55 
(COMPLETED 25.5%)
"Hockey Roots" CL: 1, 3-5, 9, 10 
(COMPLETED 40%)
"Canadian Pride" INSERT: 1, 2, 4-6 
(COMPLETED 16.7%)
"Etched in Time" INSERT: 1, 3-6 
(COMPLETED 16.7%)
"Net Fusions" INSERT: 1-6 
(COMPLETED 0%)
"Saturday Night Rivals" INSERT: 1-4, 6 
(COMPLETED 16.7%)

TOTAL: 18/85 CARDS (21%)

To wrap it up, I ask, if you have any of these laying around to contact me at johnny_canuck57(at)yahoo.com or drop me a comment below. I'd be more than happy to work out a trade for these bad boys. 

Thanks in advance!

GO NUCKS GO!

Saturday, January 26, 2013

PACK RIP - Hat Trick of Certified

A trip to my LCS shop this afternoon scored me three fresh packs of Certified. It seems like as long as I  buy two packs, I'm guaranteed something good. After these three packs, I still can't complain.

I'll spare you all the base cards and just show the bulk of them in one scan:


My first Canucks base card from all these packs (I think) is of Henrik Sedin.

The regular GU jersey cards are nothing to write home about, but not bad as a set. It all depends on player selection. Boy oh boy, did I get a good player...


Nick Lidstrom is a living legend and I'm sad to see him go. He was such a work horse for the Wings throughout his years and truly a household name. To me, pulling a Lidstrom hit is just as valuable as pulling a guy like Crosby. All class card.

 

Such a great insert idea and execution, and this card is the perfect example. The insert isn't called "Play-Off Rivals" it's called "Path to the Cup," which is a very smart move by Panini. Realistically, to get a good number of cards in a set that involves the play-offs, not all teams can be "rivals". Example A: Chicago and Phoenix; so by called the set "Path to the Cup" it eliminates the cheesiness factor and ups the ante. I particularly like the look of the back of the card with the scoreboard idea. Only thing I would change is the back pictures. Instead of re-using the same picture on the front, do a neat design with the two team logos; spice it up a bit.



Last but certainly not least is this SICK insert! It quite literally matches the name "Goalie Pulls" as the picture of Jimmy Howard is actually an acetate pull-out. Such a neat concept and really well executed! I think I might know a guy interested in it too...

Anyways, hope everyone is enjoying their weekend and let me know what you think of the product and your experiences with ripping some packs!

GO NUCKS GO!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

INSERT IDEAS - 2012-13 Certified "Masked Marvels"

I was sifting through some cards today when I came across an insert that might have some mixed reactions; in fact, I can guarantee it has received mixed reactions. So the best way to figure out if it's a good insert or not would be to put it through the test of "Insert Ideas."

The card in question is the 2012-13 Certified "Masked Marvels" set. Here is the only card I have from the set but I've seen the bulk of them online already...

NAME: Masked Marvels
YEAR: 2012-13


First let's discuss the concept or "idea." Pick any synonym of the word over-used and you hit the nail on the head. It seems that most products these days have a goalie mask variation of an insert set. That's why it will be hard for this insert set to get a good mark. They really have to "WOW" me if they're going to use a generally popular idea. Products like "Between the Pipes" from ITG have done that right. They were one of the first to put out the concept (if not the first) and now they have a loyal fan base that look forward to the cards each and every year.

Next to determine the quality of the insert would be the design factor. What makes a good mask card? Masks! I have no problem with the size of the picture they chose for the front. Not only does it show off most of the mask (which I'll get to later) but it also shows how the mask meshes in well with the jersey. Additionally, the foil background and black and white banner/logo gets an A+ from me. By using this much foil and non distracting colours, it doesn't take away from the art on the mask or the colours on the picture. Therefore, the picture is really what determines the colour of the card. Its like making a team coloured theme card but not adding any extra colours; brilliant!

But the back is where things get nasty!


Instead of following along with the sleek and smooth design of the front, the back of the card goes all Pinnacle on me (much like the base cards). The same picture is re-used on the back AND the paragraph on the player mentions NOTHING on his mask. Thumbs wayyyy down. In my opinion, you scratch the team colours, you scratch the stats and you start the bottom in an all grey fading into a head on shot of the mask (not the same as on the front) in the top half of the card. That way you get a different angle of the mask, you continue with the non distracting colours and you let the picture and colours of the mask do all the work. Underneath that picture in the grey area, you can do a small write-up on one part of the mask in white ink. All logos (NHL, Panini and NHLPA) can go on the bottom and the card number and team logo can go on the top left and right corners. What you DO NOT need is the position, I think it's pretty obvious he plays goalie guys...

As for the picture, like I said, I like the idea of using a shot from the chest up; but, you need to see at least 2/3 of the mask (i.e. the Lehtonen card above). Other cards in the set (i.e. Jimmy Howard) show just half the mask and that does not cut it. As well, as I already mentioned a head on shot of the mask on the back of the card would be a great touch instead of the debacle we see on the back of the card currently.

Last but not least is the player selection. There are 20 cards and therefore 20 goalies in the set. I would like to see one goalie from each team just for variety's sake, but I'll only dock them minimal points for that.

RATING:

IDEA - 2/5 (Overused and getting old)
DESIGN - 2.5/5 (Front of the card gets a near perfect 2/2.5 but the back gets only 0.5 points)
PICTURE - 3/5 (Like the pics from the chest up but need to show more angles of mask)
PLAYER SELECTION - 4.5/5 (I can't be too picky)

TOTAL - 12/20

Passing grade I think is acceptable but nothing to chase IMO.

What do you think? What do you rate the card out of 20?

GO NUCKS GO!

Monday, January 14, 2013

CANUCKS STUFF - Season Tickets

The eight year old boy inside of me gets a little excited when my pops comes home and says, "I have some hockey stuff for ya." What was it he had? Take a look for yourself:

That is 13 different season ticket holder books from 6 different seasons.

Now the boy inside of me said, "This is gonna be so cool, you can add these into your ticket collection and one day they're gonna be worth millions!"

The 17 year old teenager said, "What are you gonna do with a bunch of unredeemed play-off tickets from non-existent games?"

The eight year old boy won. Of course I kept the books, they're freakin cool!

Basically these books are from past years where the Canucks made the play-offs (or the organization thought they were gonna make the play-offs).

Before the play-offs start, all the season ticket holders get their ticket books for the upcoming rounds.

Sometimes you'd have an entire booklet of unused tickets because the Canucks came 9th place and didn't make it. 

There are even tickets for rounds that lasted only 4, 5 or 6 games so the other tickets are for games that never happened.

Even though all my tickets prior to this were from games I had attended and I was proud of that fact; this is pretty rad as well

Now for some show and tell:


 

That flat booklet to the left is from the 2007-08 season for round 1. Unfortunately, the Canucks did not qualify for the play-offs that year. That's why that booklet is untouched and actually should never had existed. Kinda cool huh?

The booklet to the right is actually from last season. It's also neat seeing how the tickets have changed over the years and the different themes.






















The tickets to the left look similar to those of last season but are actually from the 2011 play-offs. Then to the right we have a completely different design, with the theme of retired Canucks (Stan Smyl, Kirk McLean, Trevor Linden and Greg Adams).


From 2008-09 are these set of tickets, again going with the Canucks Alumni theme. From left to right is Adams, Snepsts, Linden (I think) and Smyl.

I thought this was kinda a neat find; very unique to be exact. Who knows maybe these will get passed down from generation to generation and they'll be worth more than a bucket of nickels. That may just be the eight year old boy talking...

GO NUCKS GO!