Happy 2010

2009-10 Upper Deck Hockey box break

A few days back at a card show, I purchased a box of 2009-10 Upper Deck Hockey. Here is what got:

169 Base Cards: Thankfully, I did not get any duplicates. This gives me about 85% of a complete base set.

6 Young Guns: Artem Amisimov, Jamie Benn, Dimitry Kulikov, Matt Pelech, Sergei Shirokov and James Van Riemsdyk. Other than Van Riemsdyk, a disappointing lot. Sure, we all want a Tavares rookie card, but I would have been happy with an Anti Niemi YG.

And now, onto the inserts that most of us don't want anyway:

2 All World Team: Pekka Rinne and Patrick Kane. Looks like every hockey card set is going to have some sort of quasi-tie-in with the Olympics.

2 Draft Day Gems: Pekka Rinne and Theoren Fleury. What, is Rinne in every insert set?

2 Faces of the Franchise: Joe Thornton and Ales Hemsky. WHY?????????? What makes these any different than the typical "Hometown Heroes" inserts?

1 Top Guns: Thomas Vanek. Another useless insert set....

 

1 Season Highlight: Evgeni Malkin. Yawn.

2 Martin Brodeur Hockey Heroes: Looks like New Jersey's "fat goalie" (as Sean Avery called him) gets his own insert set. 

1 Limited-to-100 Parallel: Dimitry Kulikov, numbered 069/100. Great...now I got the regular and parallel versions of this guy.

 

 2 UD Game Jersey: Jason Pominville and Jason Spezza. Two jersey cards of two Jasons. As much as I detest jersey cards, I am glad that the swatches at least match the uniforms the players are wearing.

Overall, I like Upper Deck brand-cards, but can do without the inserts . None of them really "grab" me, though the Draft Day Gems insert set is an interesting idea. It is lame that you get only 6 Young Guns in a box, but 10 insert cards. No one buys Upper Deck in hopes of getting a Pekka Rinne All-World Team  insert card. Maybe that will all change if someone else gets a license to do hockey cards next season.

Pittsburgh Penguins Keychain

Every time I renew my subscription to "The Hockey News," I get a free "spinner" keychain. One side features a team logo, which spins around to reveal an alternate logo on the other side.This year, I chose the Penguins, and received it a few days ago.

One side of the keychain has the "penguin with a stick" logo...


...and the other side has the "conceited swan"...


Which one is the "alternate" logo depends on when you started watching hockey. Of course, to hockey purists the cartoon-y penguin is the *only* Penguins logo.

Review: 2008-09 National Hockey Card Day

Given away in 5-card foil packs on February 21, 2009, the National Hockey Card Day set by Upper Deck focused on some of Canada's most beloved players. Packs were handed out, free of charge, at card shops, Toys R' Us, and Wal-Mart stores across Canada as an effort to increase interest in hockey card collecting. This is similar to Free Comic Book Day, when numerous comic books - made especially for the event - are given away at comic shops across the U.S. The 2009 National Hockey Card Day set has 15 cards: 5 are of rookies, 5 of popular current superstars and 5 of retired greats. (Full review)

Epic Win FTS

I went to a card show today, and normally I like to write about all the cool cards and memorabilia I picked up.

But today, I scored what was probably the best purchase I have ever made in my 20 years of hockey card collecting.

I bought a 1985-86 Topps Hockey Set for $50.

Yes, it had the Lemieux. It's not perfect, but I have a few Topps Lemieux RCs anyway, so a less-than-perfect one will be fine to put in the 9-pocket page.

The set also had the Gretzky card, an unmarked checklist and the other 162 cards.

Complete.

I won't have to piece this one together.

Yes, it seems too good to be true. Hooray for me.

I also got some other stuff--including a 2009-10 Upper Deck hobby box. Seems kind of unimportant by comparison, now that I think of it.

Ironic that I spent more on an unopened box of new cards than a complete set of old ones...

Upper Deck to continue Hockey Card Day in 2010

For a second year in a row, Upper Deck hockey cards will be given out at card shops and retail chains across Canada to celebrate National Hockey Card Day, or NHCD as the cool kids like to call it.

NHCD will happen on Saturday, January 30, 2010. Those who visit a Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, London Drugs, Rexall, Jean Coutu, Pharma Plus or a local participating card shop will receive a free, 5-card pack featuring all-new hockey cards.

And while only one pack will be given out per customer, there's no rule against visiting as many of these shops as possible. There are 15 cards in the set, so you'll need to get at least 3 packs to try to complete a set...or 6 packs if you want to hook your buddy Sal up with a set.

Here is the 15-card checklist:

5 "2009-10 Rookies" cards:
- John Tavares (New York Islanders)
- Matt Duchesne (Colorado Avalanche)
- Jaime Benn (Dallas Stars)
- Evander Kane (Atlanta Thrashers)
- Logan Couture (San Jose Sharks)


5 "Pride of Canada" cards:
- Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
- Vincent Lecavalier (Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils)
- Mike Richards (Philadelphia Flyers)
- Rick Nash (Columbus Blue Jackets)


5 "Heroes" cards:
- Jarome Iginla (Calgary Flames)
- Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks)
- Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks)
- Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers)
- Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings)


The "Rookies" and "Pride of Canada" cards look great. The full color photo, placed atop a sepia-toned background, really make the player "pop". The bold red or blue bars punch up the design while also playing off of the red, white and blue "National Hockey Card Day" logo.

But the sepia-toned "Heroes" cards are a bit lacking. The "National Hockey Card Day" logo should have been sepia-toned too. But it isn't, so it sticks out like a sore thumb. A shame, since the "Rookies" and "Pride of Canada" cards have such carefully-considered designs.

Then again, the cards are FREE, so who am I to complain about the design?

However, I would like to complain that these are only given out in Canada. How about us fans in the U.S.? Don't forget that 24 of the 30 teams are here south of the border, and that the Winter Classic will be held in Boston this season.

Anyway, be sure to check out the National Hockey Card Day website. Eventually, they will post a list of participating retailers who will be giving out these free cards.

And check back on Monday, when I post a review of last year's National Hockey Card Day set.

The Sweater

Merry Christmas to some, and Happy Festivus for the rest of us.
For those of you who ever wanted to get a hockey jersey for the holidays, you need to see this 10-minute cartoon from 1980 entitled The Sweater. It is awesome, funny and awesomely funny.

Blackhawks TV show to premier on X-Mas Day

Those of you who live in or near Chicago, and need a break from arguing with your family on Christmas Day might want to sneak over to the telly and check out "Blackhawks TV."

The 30-minute show looks like it will be a lot of short clips that were originally posted on the team's website. Some of it looks comedic, such as Adam Burish playing a prank on a teammate, or Andrew Ladd serving restaurant customers while dressed in full hockey gear. There will also be some "unseen footage" from the 2009 Winter Classic, as well as some behind-the-scenes footage of when Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Denis Savard and Tony Esposito took to the ice in a pregame ceremony on October 10.

Blackhawks TV will debut on Comcast Sportsnet Chicago on December 25 at 7 PM CST, with a repeat at t 10 PM.

More info on the show can be found here.

War Room - Dec. 23, 2009

This week's Got 'Em! Need 'Em! continued last weeks discussion of getting hockey cards and memorabilia for Christmas.

We do go off on a few tangents (McDonald's cards, autographs, and the current "Card of the Week" of Jeremy Roenick).

We also talk about Evgeni Nabokov at the start (Mick and Pete were talking about Nabokov right before I came on).

The clip is just over 6 minutes long


If you don't see a play button above, right click on this link and either "Save As..." or open in a new tab or new window.

Thanks to Mick, Pete and NHL Home Ice 204 for providing me with the clip.

Card of the Week: Road Rash Roenick

During the summer of 1996, the Chicago Blackhawks made one of their worst trades in the decade - hell, in their history - when they sent fan-favorite Jeremy Roenick to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Alexi Zhamnov, Craig Mills and a first round draft pick. As a result, the Blackhawks became a downright abysmal team for the next 12 years. Another downside was this cheesy, tacky card of Roenick straddling a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Note the manly tassels hanging from the handlebars. (Full story)

Chris Chelios speaks

Last night, Comcast Sportsnet Chicago had a one-on-one interview with my favorite player, Chris Chelios. He discusses why he has not retired yet, if any teams have offered him an NHL contract and if he would consider returning to the Blackhawks.

Blackhawks / IKEA commercial

I haven't had the time nor ambition to do a full article or blog post today. So instead, here is a funny commercial starring Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson.



Hilarious! But now I'm not sure if I want to buy Blackhawks' tickets or a couch.

1963-64 Parkhurst #12 - Bob Pulford

Yes! I did it! I now have 20 cards from the 1963-64 Parkhurst Hockey set. Twenty out of 99, 20%, one-fifth (1/5) of the complete set.

This card is of former Toronto Maple Leafs player Bob Pulford. Sometimes, I forget that Pulford had a pretty good playing career. For so long, he has been associated with the Chicago Blackhawks--as a coach, then a GM, then a coach again, then a GM again, then a Senior Vice President.

So, as it stands I have acquired 2 cards from this set in 2008, and 18 cards in 2009. I have 79 cards to go to complete this set. While I'd like to get 1 card a week in 2010, that's probably unrealistic. Maybe when I finish grad school and re-enter the full-time work force (knock on wood), I'll be able to afford some of the more pricey cards.

War Room - Dec. 16, 2009

This week's Need 'Em! Got 'Em! was a short but lively discussion about getting hockey stuff for Christmas.

The clip is about 3 1/2 minutes long.


If you don't see a play button above, right click on this link and either "Save As..." or open in a new tab or new window.

Next week, we will continue the conversation about getting hockey-related items for Christmas. Fellow bloggers and readers, I'd love to hear what cool hockey items you got for Christmas.

Card of the Week: Fantastic Fowl

During the 1991-92 season, a set of 24 hockey cards was issued in specially-marked boxes of Corn Flakes cereal. Superstars found in the set included Steve Yzerman, Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic, Brett Hull...and Cornelius Rooster. Though small in stature, the Corn Flakes' famous mascot overshadows them all, putting up numbers that would make even The Golden Brett jealous. (Full story)

Thank you, David

I got to give a shout out and say "Thanks!" to David M. of Industry, Pennsylvania. David so kindly sent me three cards that I needed from the 1979-80 Topps set, including the sweet, unmarked checklist that you see here. And he didn't even want anything for them either...just the satisfaction of helping out a fellow hockey collector.

I am now only 6 cards away from completing my 1979-80 Topps set. And yes, I do have the Gretzky--though I wouldn't mind another one :)

1963-64 Parkhurst #49 - Ian Cushenan

The 19th card in my never-ending quest to complete a 1963-64 Pakrhurst set. This is only the 4th Red Wing I have in this set, and the first Red Wing I've picked up since July.

The back of the card has a special offer for a Stanley Cup replica--only 35 cents and 4 wrappers. Of course, 35 cents was a lot of money in 1963, as I think cards were only 5 cents a pack back then. But you got to wonder how big of a replica Stanley Cup that would have bought someone.

NHL SportsPicks 23 photos

McFarlane Toys has just released photos of NHL Series 23, due out in January 2010. This series will feature some brand-new sculpts, as well as some re-paints. Also, it will be the first time McFarlane Toys inflicts introduces their different "Collector Level" variations on unsuspecting eager hockey fans.


Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
This figure is a repaint of Martin Brodeur 2, released in NHL Series 9 (December 2004), but of course with a different head. Given his team's Stanley Cup victory last spring, a figure of Fleury makes sense. Too bad it is not an action pose, though.


Alexander Ovechkin 4, Washington Capitals
About two weeks back, I mentioned how tired I was of Alexander Ovechkin having a figure in seemingly every other SportsPick assortment. Well, I take that back. This toy looks fantastic. Ovechkin celebrates a goal; stick raised, mouth open and teeth missing. Oh, and he's rockin' the playoff beard too.


Gordie Howe, Hartford Whalers
EPIC FAIL! What should have been my favorite figure in the series is in fact looking like it will be my least favorite. I don't mind that the figure is a straight-up repaint of the Gordie Howe figure from Legends Series 6 (December 2007). But I wish the head sculpt was different. This Howe figure looks more like Reggie Dunlop from Slap Shot...

...than Mr. Hockey at the end of his career:

If the figure looked more like Gordie here, then it would have been a winner.


Luke Schenn, Toronto Maple Leafs
Not much to say here. Good pose, glad they used the blue home uniform. Next up...


Bobby Orr 3, Boston Bruins
Bobby! According to their website, this "Bobby Orr action figure is based on his legendary 1970 season." But big-time figure geeks will recognize this as another repaint-with-a-new head. This figure was originally Jean Beliveau way back from NHL Legends Series 2 (April 2005). Orr was 6-0, and Beliveau 6-3. Close enough in height to use one figure as another.


Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Ducks
Another decent action pose. But what's really got me excited is...


Teemu Selanne, Winnipeg Jets
Yay! A player in a uniform from a defunct NHL team! And I'm not being sarcastic, either. Who wouldn't want this figure? Unfortunately for old-time hockey fans and those still holding a candle for the Jets, this figure will be one of the hardest to get in this series. Which brings me to our next topic.


Collector Level
Apparently, the occasional chase figure was not enough. In addition to normal chase figures (say, a player in his road uniform instead of his home uniform), there are even harder-to-get chase figures, known as "Collector Level". The levels are Bronze, Silver, Gold, Premier, All Star and MVP. Here are the reported quantities of each "Collector Level" figure in NHL Series 23. Note that this information was reported by an online retailer, but has not been confirmed by McFarlane Toys:

Bronze - 1000-2000 - Bobby Orr in white jersey

Silver - 500-1000 - Marc-Andre Fleury - Gloves and stick at his feet, base painted to look like red carpeting.

Gold - 250-500 - Gordie Howe in Green Jersey - I am not sure how this will vary from the "normal" Gordie Howe in green jersey that is part of the regular assortment.

Premier - 100-250 - Alexander Ovechkin 4 in All Star Uniform.

All Star - 50-100 - Teemu Selanne in Jets uniform.

MVP - 1-50 - Gordie Howe in white jersey with Authentic Autograph

The "Classic Chase" figures will be of Schenn or Ovechkin in road (white) jerseys instead of the normal home jersey versions.

Personally, I don't care one way or another about a figure having a signed base like the "MVP level" Gordie Howe figure mentioned above. But making a major paint variation like the Jets Selanne figure super-limited will aggravate a lot of fans. Most of the time, variants are cherry-picked before they even hit the shelves at your local Toys R Us. Why go through all the trouble to entice us, when all 50 to 100--or however many end up getting produced--are whisked away by toy store managers or stock room boys before you or I have a chance to get one? You know that you are not going to just walk into a Wal-mart and find a Gordie Howe with signed base figure just sitting on the shelf, waiting for you.

Perhaps this is a ploy to sell more cases of toys to consumers via online retailers. Again, according to the McFarlane website, "Every SportsPicks assortment case is guaranteed to receive a special Collector Level or Classic Chase figure."

In other words, buy a sealed case and you will either get a Classic Chase (boo) or a "Collector Level" (yay) figure.

Knowing that I won't get a Selanne figure puts me in a poor state of mind before bedtime...

UPDATE: Where are my manners? I was so irate about the predicted rarity of the Selanne-as-a-Jet figure that I forgot to link to McFarlane Toys article about NHL Series 23. Photos are courtesy of McFarlane Toys.

2009-10 Fleer Ultra pack

I've had this pack of 2009-10 Fleer Ultra for a few weeks now, and finally got around to opening it. Let's see what my $1.99 ($2.20 with Chicago sales tax) nets me...

Card #114, Mikkel Boedker, Phoenix Coyotes - Despite watching a ton of Coyotes games last year, I don't have an opinion on this guy one way or another. I'm not a huge fan of sets that flip-flop between vertical and horizontal photos, either.

Card #66, Tomas Vokoun, Florida Panthers - It looks like Vokoun is being screened by the Fleer Ultra logo.

Card #34, Christobal Huet, Chicago Blackhawks - Hey, one of those Gold Medallion cards. Parallel inserts suck--especially when you get one in every single pack. That means you'd have to buy 50 packs instead of 40 if you were going to try to complete the 200-card base set. Of course, Upper Deck knows this fact. As for the card itself, the photo is from the 2009 Winter Classic, so that makes it 10% cooler.

Card #110, Scott Hartnell, Philadelphia Flyers - I'm not sure why the Nashville Predators traded away this guy. Oh yeah--because his contract was about to expire. By the way, I've never been a fan of the black Flyers uniforms.

Card #236, Peter Regin, Ottawa Senators - An elusive Ultra Rookie card. You get one in every six packs. Too bad it had to be this one. It's hard to get excited about--or even try to build--the rookie subset if it is just a bunch of leftovers from last year.

One thing I dig about these cards is that they show all of the player's stats. Not sure how it deals with the stats of a super veteran like Mike Modano or Chris Chelios, but the layout looks like it can accommodate 20 seasons or so.

The back of the Gold Medallion parallel cards replace the big uniform number in the lower right with a "Gold Medallion" insignia.

Like most other sets with "hard-to-get-rookies," I might just wait until I can find a base set in the $5 to $10 range. Then again, I did buy a jumbo pack too. If I get around to opening it, I'll post the highlights from that too.

War Room - Dec. 9, 2009

Kicking it old school! In this week's segment of Need 'Em! Got 'Em! on "The War Room," Mick, Pete and I reminisce about the elusive cards that kept us from completing our sets from back in the day.

The clip is just under 8 minutes long.


If you don't see a play button above, right click on this link and either "Save As..." or open in a new tab or new window.

Readers of this blog, I would love to hear about the card or cards that drove you nuts in completing your sets. Not necessarily the short-prints of now, but the seemingly dime-a-dozen type of card that *should* have been easy to find, but was (or still is) not.

It's Saturday!

My two favorite songs to hear on a Saturday night:


"Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," covered by Nickleback. This really gets me psyched for the next six hours of hockey. It reminds me of the "Are you ready for some football?" song from Monday Night Football, but in a good, non-redneck kind of way.


"Canadian Gold," the new Hockey Night in Canada theme. This is the intro from last year--I can't seem to find a video of this year's shorter intro. Personally, I like the minute-long version instead of the truncated version. True, everyone likes the "old" theme song better. Having a new HNIC theme is like giving Star Wars a new theme. But "Canadian Gold" is still pretty awesome.

Bottom line, the only thing I want to do on a Saturday night is watch Hockey Night in Canada. A perfect Saturday evening starts with the "Saturday Night" song and ends with "After Hours." Fortunately, my girlfriend is pretty understanding. Plus, she does not like going out on cold, winter Saturday nights anyway. Good thing hockey is not s summer sport.

Sal interviewed by Kukla's Korner

Earlier this week, I was interviewed by a gent named Patrick Hoffman, who is a blogger for the hockey site Kukla's Korner. Today, they have posted the interview--you can check it out here.

Review: 1990-91 Boston Bruins team set

Produced by a company called Sports Action, this team set was sold at the Boston Bruins Pro Shop during the 1990-91 season. Appealing in its simplistic design, the 24-card set came in a cardboard and polybag package that was stapled shut.

Typical for a team-issued set, this does not disappoint. (Full Review)