Month: June 2012

Lost Cards: 1999-2000 Upper Deck Century Legends #23 – Ken Dryden

Upper Deck released a set called Century Legends during the 1999-2000 season. The first 50 cards of the 89-card set featured the top 50 NHL players of all time, as selected by The Sporting News. Absent from the set was number 23 on that list – Ken Dryden. Not only was Dryden omitted from the set, but the set skips card number 23, going from 22 to 24. Dryden’s card was never made. Or was it? Continue reading “Lost Cards: 1999-2000 Upper Deck Century Legends #23 – Ken Dryden”

Lost Cards: 1990-91 Upper Deck Update Chris Chelios in red Blackhawks jersey

1990-91 Upper Deck Sheets (close up)This card hints at what Chris Chelios’ 1990-91 Upper Deck Update card could have looked like. You might recall that Chelios’ card in the regular set (#174) pictures him with the Montreal Canadiens. The card in the Update set (#422) shows Chelios in a white Blackhawks jersey. So, where did this card come from?  Continue reading “Lost Cards: 1990-91 Upper Deck Update Chris Chelios in red Blackhawks jersey”

Lost Cards: 1990-91 Pro Set Kari Takko

1990-91 Pro Set Kari Takko - A card that never wasFor my first installment of “The Lost Cards,” we will look at a card that was featured heavily in promotional materials, as well as on packaging, but never made it into anyone’s collection. Former NHL goalie Kari Takko almost had a card in 1990-91 Pro Set Series 2. Continue reading “Lost Cards: 1990-91 Pro Set Kari Takko”

Hockey card news for this week

Here are some quick news and notes in the world of hockey cards.

“The Lost Cards” series starts tomorrow on Puck Junk

On Monday, June 25, I will start a 5-part series on Puck Junk called The Lost Cards.

Each day this week, I will profile a “mythical” hockey card–that is, a card that was supposed to be released, but was not for reasons many times left unexplained.

Like a cryptozoologist drawn to the Loch Ness Monster, I hope to shed some light on some famous and some obscure hockey cards that never saw the light of day.

The first part of The Lost Cards will go live soon after midnight tonight.

The end of the Want List magazine

The current issue of The Want List will be its last printed edition. Published since 2009, THW is going to an online-only format for news and stories, but will continue to publish a print edition of its annual Vintage Hockey Collectors Almanac.

Personally, I am bummed out to see another hobby magazine meet its end–especially one that was solely dedicated to hockey. A great read, I always looked forward to the next issue. This fall, let’s all make The Want List part of our weekly reading. You can visit their website at TheWantList.ca

War Room appearances (as in two!) this week

For those of you have started reading this blog in the past year, I am sometimes on an XM Radio Show called “The War Room,” in a collectibles segment called “Got ‘Em! Need ‘Em!” I was usually on the show once a week, but due to scheduling conflicts I’ve only been on 4 times this season. This week, I will be on The War Room twice (not sure of the days yet). The show is on XM Radio channel 92 / Sirrus channel 207 at 10 am CST.

Card show near Chicago this coming weekend

The “Sports Spectacular” collectibles convention will be held in Rosemont on June 29 to July 1. The show will be held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention center, and have over 100 dealers, as well as autograph guests.

For those who take mass transit in Chicago, the show is a 2-block walk from the CTA Blue Line Rosemont train stop. It is also near several expressways, for those who live within reasonable driving distance to Chicago. Admission is $10 per day.

Show Hours
Friday, June 29: 4:30pm to 9:00pm
Saturday, June 30: 9:30am to 5:00pm
Sunday, July 1: 10:00am to 4:00pm

Visit the show website for more details.

I will be there probably all 3 days–definitely Saturday, and either Friday, Sunday or both. If you plan on going to this show, let me know and we can meet up and trade cards. Fellow blogger Justin G. and Puck Junk reader Nick B. will be there too.

Want List and Trade List updated

Not to be confused with the magazine, I’ve updated my Want List. I am now looking for base cards from 2011-12 Enforcers, and still trying very hard to get all of the 2011-12 OPC Retro Parallels.

I’ve also “restored” more of my Singles, RCs and Inserts trade list, which now goes back to 2008-09. I hope to keep adding to it a little bit more each week with new (and old) stuff.

Some old reviews restored

When I moved Puck Junk from my custom-built website to solely using WordPress, not all of my content made the transition. I’ve been slowly restoring old reviews to this site as time allows. I’ve recently added these articles to the archives:

They might be from a while ago – but as the saying goes, if you haven’t seen them yet then they’re new to you.

And be sure to check back tomorrow for the first installment of The Lost Cards.

Card of the Week: Invalid Claim

2010-11 Score Rookie & Traded #659 – Taro Tsujimoto

2010-11 Score #659 - Taro Tsujimoto

Back in the 1970s, the NHL draft was not televised or open to the public. They were either held in a hotel or conducted via telephone. In the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, Buffalo Sabres general manager George “Punch” Imlach was bored. So, in the 11th round he had a little fun and drafted a player that did not really exist – Taro Tsujimoto from the Tokyo Katanas of the Japan Hockey League. Continue reading “Card of the Week: Invalid Claim”

ITG Enforcers Box Break #1

A while ago, I bought 3 boxes of In The Game Enforcers. I actually video recorded the breaks to post on my YouTube channel, but then my video editing software got all crazy and decided to crash every time I opened it. So, the first break (and probably the next two) will just be boring ol’ blog posts.

I think everyone who reads this blog and liked this idea has bought a box or two by now. For those who are not aware, a cost per box was $65. Each box contained 12 “tough” cards, including 5 autographs.

Here are the results for my first box: Continue reading “ITG Enforcers Box Break #1”

1963-64 Parkhurst #55 – Gordie Howe

1963-64 Parkhurst #55 - Gordie HoweLongtime readers of this blog — and of my quest to complete a 1963-64 Parkhurst Hockey set — might have thought I already had this card. And they’d be right. The very first ’63-64 Parkie I bought, way back in 2008, was a Gordie Howe card in poor condition.

I told myself that I would upgrade the Howe after I got all of the other cards. But then I recently came across this card you see here. It has a few minor flaws — the most noticeable being the small bends on the lower corners. The card actually looks better in person — scanning something at two times its actual size makes everything look worse.

1963-64 Parkhurst #55 - Gordie Howe (back)That “wrinkle” along the top is more noticeable in the scan than in real life. And honestly, I did not notice that tiny crease by the Stanley Cup until I scanned this.

Small flaws aside, this is nicer than many of the other cards in my set build.

So, this card really does not move me “one step closer” to finishing this set, but I still feel that it is an accomplishment because it is an upgrade of the most expensive single.

Parkhurst Percent Counter: still at 59%

Upper Deck finally gets an O-Pee-Chee design right

I know these have been around for around a month now, but I recently saw images of the new 2012-13 O-Pee-Chee hockey set.

It took Upper Deck seven tries, but they finally made an O-Pee-Chee design that I actually like. 

OK, that’s not entirely true. I loved the 2009-10 design. But my biggest complaint has always been the gi-normous O-Pee-Chee logo that has dominated the design every year since 2006-07–when Upper Deck started making OPC-brand cards. Upper Deck always felt the need to hit us over the head with an OPC logo that was unnecessarily large.

But not this year. Instead, more important details–like the player’s name and team–take precedence over the brand logo. The design isn’t too shabby either–it looks modern enough, but feels kind of old school.

The inserts really have me excited about this set, though.

The Retro Parallel cards will be seeded 1-per pack, and have a 1950s vibe to them. I am currently building the 2011-12 OPC Retro Parallel set (want list here), and might actually go after these too.

STICKERS?!?! How freaking cool is this? As an American, I fondly remember getting a sticker in almost every Topps card set I bought back in the day, be it Hockey or a movie set like Star Wars. You’ll get one sticker in every 3 packs of the upcoming OPC set.This sticker’s design feels like a 1970s baseball card–simple, but colorful. Frankly, I’d rather get a sticker than a retro rainbow black die cut parallel.

And don’t worry–there will be 8 rainbow parallels per box, too. And harder-to-find black rainbow parallels. This is Upper Deck we’re talking about.

You’ll also get 2 pop-ups per box. While I’m not exactly a fan of the idea, I do like the fact that we are getting some variety in this year’s OPC product. Plus, I’m kind of tired of inserts like Trophy Winners and Team Checklists.

One idea I really like are these manufactured Team Logo Patch cards.

I guess these are going to feature different incarnations of team logos, or a team’s supporting logo, like the Red Wings’ cartoon octopus. Unfortunately, these will be hard to get–1 in every 96 packs–so I won’t hold my breath. I like the idea of collecting team logos, past and present. That would have made a cool insert set itself, even without patches. Oh well.

The 2012-13 O-Pee-Chee set will be released August 14. I’m definitely going to collect it. Now my only debate is, do I buy a complete set (like I did this year) or do I buy some boxes. One way is more effective, but the other way is more fun–and expensive.

Is anyone else planning on collecting the 2012-13 O-Pee-Chee set/