Super Soviet Sticker

1979 Panini Hockey Stickers #140 – Vladislav Tretiak

Any Canadian over 40 years of age no doubt remembers the 1972 Summit Series, which pitted Canada’s best players against the best players from the Soviet Union. It was a grueling, eight game series – the Canadian Team barely coming out ahead, winning one more game than their opponents. One big reason that the series was so close was because of the amazing play of the Soviet goaltender, Vladislav Tretiak. Continue reading “Super Soviet Sticker”

Review: 1988-89 Panini Hockey Stickers

Quite possibly one of the best hockey sets – ever!

The 1988-1989 Panini hockey sticker set was a great series, and possibly the best one a new hockey fan from that era could hope for. Way back in early ’89, I “discovered” hockey when I, at 14 years of age, accidentally put on the wrong channel (I was flipping between SCTV reruns and a biopic on Martin Luther King Jr.). I ended up catching the last five minutes of a Chicago Blackhawks game. Tuning into a game of theirs a few days later, I was hooked–and I needed to start collecting hockey cards.

But hockey cards were hard to find in Chicago in 1989. The only place you could find them was at baseball card stores. However, my local grocery store happened to sell Panini hockey stickers. I decided to start collecting them. Why not?–a pack of six stickers was 25 cents, and the album was only 69 cents.

Little did I know how useful this set would be to help me understand the great game of hockey. Continue reading “Review: 1988-89 Panini Hockey Stickers”

Line-Drive Lindros

1990 Score Rookie & Traded Baseball card #100T – Eric Lindros

Spring is in the air. While we hockey fans in the U.S. of A start thinking about “Stanley Cup Playoffs” when the snow starts melting, the rest of the country thinks of another sport: baseball. Continue reading “Line-Drive Lindros”

Card of the Week: Under Unger

1973-74 Topps card #15 – Gary Unger

Here is proof that not all hockey cards from the 1970s had boring photography. While the 1973-74 Topps set was rife with static portraits and blurry game-action photos, this card is one of those rare, wonderful exceptions. Continue reading “Card of the Week: Under Unger”

2007-08 OPC collector tin break #5

My last tin of 2007-08 O-Pee-Chee. That is, unless I decide to buy more. Here’s what this last batch of 13 packs got me:

– 66 base cards
– 7 Marquee Rookies
– 1 Base Parallels
– 1 Stat Leaders
– 2 Team Checklists
– 1 OPC Buyback (1989-90 Pierre Turgeon)

Sweet! More team checklists. I think I have over half of them now (I did get some duplicates). In addition to all 500 base cards and all 100 Marquee Rookies, I am trying to get all 30 Team Checklists. The other insert cards I can take or leave.

Speaking of take or leave, I got another card from the infamous ’89-90 OPC set–a card of former sniper Pierre Turgeon. Sigh…another quarter card.

After opening three blaster boxes, five wax boxes and five collectors tins, I still need 14 base cards and eight Marquee Rookies. I also need nine Team Checklists, as well as other insert cards…should I decide to pursue those insert sets.

Of course, now I have tons of cards to trade. So, if any of you out there are trying to build this 2007-08 O-Pee-Chee set, drop me a line at sjb44@hotmail.com

Ever Heard of Herter?

1990-91 Upper Deck card #325 – Jason Herter

Jason Herter had one NHL trading card, but technically was not supposed to. Continue reading “Ever Heard of Herter?”

2007-08 OPC collector tin break #4

Results from my fourth OPC tin. Remember, there are only 13 packs per tin…

– 66 base cards
– 7 Marquee Rookies
– 1 Base Parallels
– 1 Stat Leaders
– 2 Team Checklists
– 1 OPC buyback

Hey! Team Checklists! I haven’t gotten any of those in a while. I also got a 1989-90 OPC Kirk McLean rookie card. This card is maybe worth a buck…maybe. Since that set was so over-produced, you can get the set of 330 cards for $10. So, I find it hard to believe that someone would shell out a dollar for this ex-Canucks goalie. Though I was a fan of McLean “back in the day”. I even did a portrait of him, standing in his net, ready for action. I think I was in ninth grade when I drew it. I was doing a lot of portraits and caricatures of hockey players back then. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be the next Carlton McDiarmid or the next Dave Elston.

2007-08 OPC collector tin break #3

My third collectors tin. Now we’re getting somewhere…sort of.

– 66 base cards
– 7 Marquee Rookies
– 1 Base Parallels
– 1 Season Highlights
– 1 In-Action
– 1 Stat Leaders
– 1 OPC Buyback (1987-88 Mike Bossy)
– 1 Quad Materials: Minnesota Wild

I got another “old” buyback card, an ’87-88 Mike Bossy card. OK, so this one is only 20 years old, but at least it’s not growing on trees like its ’89-90 brethren.

More importantly, I got one of those Quad Materials cards. You have to open a lot of packs to get one of these. Allegedly, you get one of these in about every 288 packs or so. Looking at this “prized pull”, I am reminded why I hate memorabilia cards so damn much.

Yes, this is a nice, colorful card. But why did Upper Deck (the company “leasing” the O-Pee-Chee name) decide to use a purple and black swatch for Pavol Demitra??? Yes, Demitra did play one season for the Los Angeles Kings–two years ago–so they probablby have some leftover Kings jersey of his to cut up and put on a card. But why use it on this one? There’s a green swatch of a Marioan Gaborik jersey, a red swatch from a Piere-Marc Bouchard jersey, and a white (or maybe gray) swatch from an Adam Hall jersey. These three swatches look nice–they are all of the Minnesota Wild’s color scheme (as you’d expect). But the Demitra swatch “clashes” with the other three, ruining what otherwise would be a nice presentation and welcome addition to my collection.

Adding insult to injury is that the Demitra swatch is “multi-colored”. Why couldn’t that swatch go with a pic of Demitra as a King? Sure, he no longer plays with them. But why put a swatch from a Kings’ jersey when it’s a Wild card?

Wild card? Ugh. Time for sleep.

Review: 1985-86 Winnipeg Jets team set

Above average photos and player selection for 80’s set

The 1985-86 Winnipeg Jets Police Safety Tips set is comprised of 24 cards that were issued in 12 two-card panels. These cards are also a bit taller and a bit wider than your standard hockey card. The thing that I enjoy so much about these “team issue” sets is that they feature many players who did not get a Topps or O-Pee-Chee card in a given year. This set not only has cards of lesser known players – it has a few cards of guys that lasted nary a season. Continue reading “Review: 1985-86 Winnipeg Jets team set”

2007-08 OPC collector tin break #2

Here is the breakdown for the second of five tins I purchased recently:

– 67 base cards
– 6 Marquee Rookies
– 1 Base Parallels
– 1 Season Highlights
– 1 In-Action
– 1 Stat Leaders
– 1 OPC Buyback (1976-77 Canadiens)

Hmmm, one less Marque Rookie in this tin. That sucks. I also got one of those “buyback cards” that I’ve gotten so tired of. At least this time, it was not another Patrick Roy award winner card. This go-around, it was a card from 30 years ago, featuring the Montreal Canadiens. I don’t mind getting a 30 year old card in a pack of new cards, even if it is a common.