Hockey Cards

Review: 2005-06 Parkhurst Hockey

Great for fans of 1960s, 1990s hockey cards

400_f_zoomSeveral different companies have leased the Parkhurst name over the past 20-plus years, starting with Pro Set way back in 1991, as an effort to sell a brand of hockey cards with some nostalgia attached to it. The 2005-06 Parkhurst Hockey set was produced by Upper Deck, coming out just as the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals were underway. This late-season set was a great “jumping on” point for collectors who had fallen off the hockey card-collecting wagon, but wished to return and try to get some rookie cards from the 2005-06 “double rookie class” — without spending over $100 on a box of cards. This relatively low-price, late season release was met with mixed feelings from collectors. Continue reading “Review: 2005-06 Parkhurst Hockey”

Card of the Week: Oil Painting

1980-81 Topps Don Murdoch
murdochDon Murdoch’s late season trade from the Rangers to the Oilers resulted in his last hockey card looking awfully…awful. Apparently, Topps didn’t bother finding a photo of him with the Oilers. He did play 10 games for Edmonton at the end of the 1979-80 season, so a picture with his new team might have existed then.

No matter. Topps did what they always would do, and painted the photo. Out with the Rangers jersey, in with the Oilers jersey. Since they could do anything they wanted, you would think that Topps would have at least bothered to use the right logo.  Continue reading “Card of the Week: Oil Painting”

Review: 1980-81 Topps Hockey

One of the ugliest hockey card sets ever made

bourqueYou would think that it would be impossible for me — a die hard hockey card collector — to hate a set of hockey cards. But there is one set that still makes me mad every time I think about it: the 1980-81 Topps Hockey set.

Topps used a stupid gimmick on their hockey cards that year. Player names were obscured by a black “scratch-off” puck that you had to remove with a coin in order to identify the player. This is even touted on the card wrappers. Continue reading “Review: 1980-81 Topps Hockey”

Box Break: 2008-09 Panini Stickers

boxK–Mart stores in Illinois are selling full boxes of older Panini Hockey Stickers at heavily discounted prices.I purchased a box of 2008-09 Panini Hockey Stickers for $21.99 plus tax at a Super K-Mart in Bradley, IL yesterday. A box contains 50 packs. Each pack has five stickers. Packs originally sold for 89 cents, so at $22 a box I basically got these at half price. Although I acquired an album a long time ago, I never did bother to build this set. I figured now was a good time to do so.

Unlike other sets, though, there are no jersey cards, autographs or other “hits” to hope for. My only hope was at building a complete set. Continue reading “Box Break: 2008-09 Panini Stickers”

Two-Box Blaster Break: 2013-14 Panini Contenders Hockey

box2013-14 Panini Contenders Hockey came out last week, but I didn’t really notice until yesterday. Admittedly, I have not reviewed much Panini stuff this year. What drew me to Contenders is the fact that a $20 retail blaster box has two autographs. Sure, it only has 20 cards total, but come on — two ‘graphs for $20 isn’t bad.

So I had to give Contenders a try. Actually, I had to give it two tries, since my local Target had two blasters left, and I didn’t want to pick one and then wonder if the other blaster had the better autographs.

I will let you be the judge of which blaster had the better autographs. Continue reading “Two-Box Blaster Break: 2013-14 Panini Contenders Hockey”

The Alex Galchenyuk before THE Alex Galchenyuk

dad_1The name sounds familiar, but the card belies you. Before there was Alex Galchenyuk, first-round pick and promising young star for the Montreal Canadiens, there was his dad Alex Galchenyuk, a star from Belarus who spent six seasons in various North American minor leagues. Continue reading “The Alex Galchenyuk before THE Alex Galchenyuk”

Box Break: 2013-14 SPx Hockey

boxUpper Deck SPx hockey cards are hard to miss. They are shiny, usually horizontal and have a giant “X” in the background. But as I’ve stated many times before, collectors don’t really buy a set like SPx for the base cards — they buy it for the hits.

A box of 2013-14 SPx Hockey costs around $100 per box and promises four hits on average. Each box contains 12 four-card packs, plus one bonus five-card pack of Upper Deck Ice, which has been relegated from stand-alone set to an impossible-to-complete insert set.

Here is what I got in this box of SPx:

Continue reading “Box Break: 2013-14 SPx Hockey”

Deja Vu Tuesday: Dave Lumley

Lumley_2013-14_OilersWhen I opened a box of the 2013-14 Edmonton Oilers Collection last week, I knew I had seen this photo of Oilers forward Dave Lumely before. Longtime collectors might recall this pic being used on a card during Lumley’s seven-year career with the Oliers. Do you know what other card this photograph appeared on?

Continue reading “Deja Vu Tuesday: Dave Lumley”

Box Break: 2013-14 Fleer Showcase

boxFleer Showcase picks up where 2012-13 Fleer Retro left off. Showcase is your typical mid-range Upper Deck hockey card set, with 100 base cards to collect. But 2013-14 Fleer Showcase also has inserts designed after 1990s Fleer sets — just like Fleer Retro did two years back, making it a spiritual successor to Retro.

For those who don’t know, the Fleer Showcase brand was used on baseball, football and basketball trading card sets from 2000 until around 2005. This is the first time that the Showcase name has been applied to hockey cards.

A box costs around $130 and gets you 15 five-card packs. What goodies could be lurking inside? Continue reading “Box Break: 2013-14 Fleer Showcase”