Hockey Cards

Card of the Week: Platinum Pratfall

PC8_blake_fprat·fall  • /ˈpratˌfôl / • Noun

  1. A fall on the buttocks.
  2. A stupid and humiliating action.

This is not a great photo for a hockey card. I mean really — who exactly is flattered by this picture? Defenseman Rob Blake, getting knocked into his own goalie? Or goaltender Kelly Hrudey, about to get his head squished by Blake’s butt? Maybe this photo would make the net-crashing Canuck look cool — if his head was in the frame.

And yet, this is the photo that was used on Rob Blake’s “Sensational Sophomore” insert card in the 1991-92 Pro Set Platinum Hockey set.

Let me rephrase that; a photo of Rob Blake’s ass about to crush Kelly Hrudey’s head was THE photo that Pro Set used for an insert card touting Blake as a “Sensational Sophomore.”

One can only wonder what the REJECTED photographs looked like. The pic might have been better utilized for a goalie mask advertisement: Easton goalie masks – made to withstand being sat on by a 220-pound defenseman.

Blake was a regular in the Kings’ lineup in 1990-91 and 1991-92, so many pictures of him should have been available for Pro Set to choose from that year. Even the picture from the back of the card would have been a better choice for the front, since you can see his face. Oh, and because he doesn’t look like a stooge crushing his own teammate.

Better?
Better?

This was not the first time a defenseman was made to look like a doofus on his own card. Ten years prior, Topps — for some strange reason — used a photo of New York Islanders defenseman  Denis Potvin falling on his own goalie. for his “Super Action” card.

Can you think of any other cards that use a very unflattering picture of a player ON HIS OWN CARD?

One Game Wonder #2: Alexander Andrijevski

026_alexander_andreijevskiThe Chicago Blackhawks wasted a lot of draft picks on Eastern European players in the early 1990s. For a time, it seemed like they drafted anyone and everyone from Russia or former Soviet Union countries who even showed a glimmer of promise to perhaps one day become the next Sergei Fedorov or Jaromir Jagr. One such draft pick is Alexander Andrijevski from Belarus, who played a whopping ONE game for the ‘Hawks in the 1992-93 season. Continue reading “One Game Wonder #2: Alexander Andrijevski”

2013 ITG Draft Prospects Box Break

boxComing out tomorrow (June 20) is the 2013 Draft Prospects set, produced by In The Game Trading Cards. The set focuses on junior league prospects eligible for the  NHL Entry Draft later this summer.

But just like the Heroes and Prospects sets of years past, there are also cards of current and former NHLers — here categorized as “First Round Picks” or “Draft Surprises.” There are also cards of “Future Draft Prospects” who are new to junior hockey and may one day be drafted by an NHL team.

A box costs around $90 and contains 12 cards, including seven base cards, three autographs and two game-used jersey cards.

Here’s what I got in the box I opened: Continue reading “2013 ITG Draft Prospects Box Break”

2012-13 SP Game Used Box Break

2012-13 SP Game Used BoxIt’s easy to figure out why someone would want to buy a box of SP Game Used Hockey by Upper Deck. Each and every pack in the box includes a card containing a game-used memorabilia card. A 5-pack box costs around $150, meaning that each 5-card pack costs $30. That heightens the expectations for getting great memorabilia cards instead of the lower-end memorabilia cards prevalent in Upper Deck’s more inexpensive sets.

Five packs is not a lot to play with, so this was one of the quickest boxes I ever opened. Continue reading “2012-13 SP Game Used Box Break”

2012-13 Panini Limited Box Break

2012-13 Panini Limited BoxPanini Limited gets its name, I assume, from the fact that every card is serial numbered. The base, parallels, inserts, jerseys and autographed cards all proudly display a serial number on the front of the card. A box of 2012-13 Panini Limited costs around $80 and contains 7 cards. Three of them are either jersey or memorabilia cards. I recently opened up a box–here’s what I got: Continue reading “2012-13 Panini Limited Box Break”

2012-13 Artifacts Box Break

2012-13 Artifacts BoxArtifacts was slated to coincide with the beginning of the 2012-13 NHL season. But we all know how that went. (For those of you reading this blog post 30 years from now, the 2012-13 season was delayed by a 3-month lockout.) Other than the rookie redemption cards, the labor dispute didn’t really have much of an effect on Artifacts, which is laden with current and former star players, as well as three memorabilia hits per box. Each box contains 10 4-card packs and costs around $100.

Here are the results of this box break: Continue reading “2012-13 Artifacts Box Break”

Custom Cards: 1990-91 Pro Set Mario Gosselin, Ron Scott & Three More

1990-91_Pro_Set_Mario_Gosselin 1990-91_Pro_Set_Ron_Scott
Those of you who read this blog no doubt recall my endless love for the 1990-91 Pro Set Hockey set. Between its colorful design and comprehensive player selection, it will always be one of my all-time favorites.

But Pro Set could have been a little more comprehensive that year. Continue reading “Custom Cards: 1990-91 Pro Set Mario Gosselin, Ron Scott & Three More”

2012-13 O-Pee-Chee Box Break

2012-13 O-Pee-Chee Hobby BoxThe cancellation of several sets by Upper Deck and Panini means that O-Pee-Chee will be the largest set of the 2012-13 season. There are 500 base cards, 50 Marquee Rookie cards and 50 Marquee Legends cards, making a total of 600 cards. There are several different parallel sets and a few interesting inserts, like Stickers and Pop-Ups, giving this year’s OPC set some nice variety.

I recently opened another box of OPC. Here are the results: Continue reading “2012-13 O-Pee-Chee Box Break”

Motown Madness Box Break

In The Game Motown Madness - unopened boxMotown Madness, released at the end of February 2013, continues In The Game’s series of team-centric hockey card sets. Previously, ITG has released sets focusing on the Montreal Canadiens (Blue, Blanc et Rouge) and the Philadelphia Flyers (Broad Street Bullies). This set is all about the Detroit Red Wings.

A box of Motown Madness currently sells for around $90 and contains 12 cards. Each box guarantees 4 autographs and 2 game-used memorabilia cards.

Here are the results of the box I opened. Continue reading “Motown Madness Box Break”

2012-13 Upper Deck Series 1 Box Break

2012-13 Upper Deck Series 1 BoxUpper Deck Series One was released in November 2012. A box will cost you roughly $70 or $80, and contains 24 8-card packs. You can pretty much expect 6 Young Guns, 4 Canvas cards and 2 memorabilia cards in every box.

Here are the results of my most recent box break. Continue reading “2012-13 Upper Deck Series 1 Box Break”