New hockey 2-packs by McFarlane

McFarlane Toys has announced that they will release three hockey 2-packs that will be sold exclusively at Lowblaws stores in Canada. These will go on sale on December 26, 2007–a.k.a. “Boxing Day”.

Each pack contains previously-released figures, giving fans a second chance on a favorite player they might have missed. The 2-packs are:

— Jarome Iginla (Calgary Flames) vs. Roberto Loungo (Vancouver Canucks)

— Sakiu Koivu (Montreal Canadiens) vs. Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils)

— Bryan McCabe (Toronto Maple Leafs) vs. Jason Spezza (Ottawa Senators)

Since these are being sold only in Canada, they tend to focus on Canadian-based players, with the exception of Martin Brodeur–who has been the best goalie in the NHL for a while, as well as Team Canada’s goalie in the Olympics and such. Brodeur has not been available since 2004, so this is a good chance for fans to get a figure of him now.

You can see the full article on the Spawn.com website here.

2007-2008 MVP Box Breakdown #2

I recently purchased another box of 2007-2008 Upper Deck MVP Hockey cards Here is the box breakdown. You get 24 packs in a box.

– 165 base cards
– 12 MVP Rookies

Inserts
– 4 Monumental Moments
– 4 New World Order
– 2 Game Faces
– 2 Hart Candidates
– 2 Gold Scripts
– 1 One-on-One dual jersey card (Doug Weight / Michael Handzus)
– 1 Rookie Redemption card (good for 3 RCs)

Last month, I purchased my first box, and posted a box breakdown here.

After two boxes, I have 299 out of 300 cards for the base set, and 24 of the 50 short-printed rookie cards.

Again, I hope to post a review of this set once I have all the cards 1-350.

Completed my 70-71 Topps set

Today, I went to a card show here in Chicago, and tracked down the last card I needed to complete my 1970-71 Topps Hockey card set…

Look, boys and girls–it’s Bobby Orr! Now my set is complete!

Many people, when building a set, put off buying the most expensive card until the end, hoping to find a deal. I think I did pretty good on this card. It currently “books” at $75, but I got it for $20. No, it is not a “Gem Mint PSA 10+++” grade or whatever…it is “raw”, it has a dinged corner. It is not perfect, as is the case with so many old hockey cards. But it still looks awesome, and for $20 how could I go wrong?

One thing I love about card shows is that you can see so much in one place. As much as I love buying things online, sometimes it is nice to just go out and get something on the spot, without any bidding or waiting…or shipping charges. Plus, you can always negotiate the price.

Review: 1985-86 New Jersey Devils postcard set

Ten card set is 30% goalies, 100% mediocre.

The 1985-86 New Jersey Devils postcard set was very small, consisting of only ten cards. Allegedly, only 3,000 sets were produced. While I am not sure if this is true or not, I don’t think the demand for this set is going to raise its value anytime soon – you can probably find it in the $10-15 range. Continue reading “Review: 1985-86 New Jersey Devils postcard set”

Bespectacled Blueliner

1969-70 O-Pee-Chee Al Arbour – card #178

On November 3, 2007, longtime hockey coach Al Arbour came out of retirement to step behind the bench for the New York Islanders for just one more game. This game – a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins – brought his total number of games coached for the Islanders from 1,499 to an even 1,500. And at 75 years of age, Arbour is now the oldest man to have coached in an official NHL game.

Arbour holds another interesting notoriety, though. He is the last NHL player to take to the ice while wearing eyeglasses. Continue reading “Bespectacled Blueliner”

Review: 1991-92 Parkhurst Hockey

First Parkies set in over 25 years a mediocre offering in crowded 90’s market

The 1991-92 Parkhurst Hockey set was manufactured by now-defunct trading card company Pro Set, who was the first company to lease the Parkhurst name. Parkhurst made hockey cards from 1951 until 1964. Pro Set’s big idea was to use the name to brand another set of their own hockey cards, hoping that its nostalgic ties would help it stand out in an increasingly crowded hockey card market. Continue reading “Review: 1991-92 Parkhurst Hockey”

Review: 1993-94 Donruss Ice Kings

Striking portraits of hockey immortals make this 90’s insert set memorable today

In 1993, trading card manufacturer Donruss released its first set of hockey cards. Until then, the company had focused mainly on baseball cards. One of the coolest things about Donruss baseball cards was a yearly insert set called “Diamond Kings”, which featured paintings of the best players in Major League Baseball – usually one player per team. These paintings, by renowned sports artist Dick Perez, were the true highlight of the Donruss baseball card series.

Fortunately, Donruss commissioned Perez to do a series of 10 cards in their inaugural hockey set, known as “Ice Kings”. The set contained ten of the best players at that time. Of course, most of these players would be considered the best players of all time – including Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Patrick Roy. Featuring striking portraits, this insert set is a worthwhile addition to any hockey card collection. Continue reading “Review: 1993-94 Donruss Ice Kings”

Stupid Action

1981-82 Topps Denis Potvin – card #130E

Wow. This card is bad…very bad.

If Hall of Fame defenseman Denis Potvin was looking for a flattering portrayal of his career, it would not be this 1981-82 Topps hockey card. Continue reading “Stupid Action”

Review: 2005-06 Upper Deck Ice

Fantastic design, great photography make for a worthwhile base set

This day and age of short-printed rookie cards has led to a plethora of “base sets” that can be purchased “on the cheap”. Base sets have become a byproduct – almost an epidemic – in the hockey card collecting world.

Since collectors will buy multiple boxes in an attempt to get either all the short prints – or a lot of inserts – they usually end up with numerous base sets. Look on eBay, and you will see many people trying to sell you a “base set” with “no SPs” or “no RCs”. Many times, you can get these base sets for a bargain.

2005-06 Upper Deck Ice was a set that a lot of people went crazy over, because of ultra-limited rookie cards of Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovehckin. Cards 101-268 were all short prints, many of them selling now for hundreds of dollars…or thousands, if it’s Crosby’s RC. Some RCs were limited to 2,999 copies, while others – such as Crosby – were limited to just 99 copies, making them among the hardest to find, and therefore most expensive, rookie cards in existence.

The first 100 cards, on the other hand, are not so desirable, since they were printed in much higher numbers. Cards 1-100 – known in price guides as the “base set” – is what is reviewed here. Continue reading “Review: 2005-06 Upper Deck Ice”

Review: 1986-87 Chicago Blackhawks team set

Nice portrait photographs make this set a winner

Released during the 1986-87 season, this Chicago Blackhawks team-issued set was sponsored by Coca-Cola. Twenty-four close-up portraits comprise the set, making these cards ideal for both identifying players or for getting autographed. Continue reading “Review: 1986-87 Chicago Blackhawks team set”