Last post saw the induction of Bourque, Coffey, and Kharlamov while Fuhr, Lafontaine, Murphy, and Neely go the heave-ho. Sorry fellas, but that is how the cookie crumbles.

1961-1966
1967-1970
1971-1973
1974-1976
1977-1978
1979-1980
1981
1982-1984
1985-1986
1987-1988
1989-1990
1991-1992
1993-1995
1996-1997
1998-2000
2001-2002
2003-2005

2006
Dick Duff
Patrick Roy

Dick Duff?! Seriously? 1030 games, 283 goals, and 289 assists does not a Hall of Fame career make. Twice he finished in the top-10 for goals in a season and that is it. No individual hardware and no NHL All-Star 1st or 2nd Team selections. Six Stanley Cups is nice, but it’s a team achievement unless you put up UNGODLY numbers, which Duff did not. Very good, yes, but not amazing. Maybe he was a great defensive forward, but I can’t really find much anecdotal information on that. Duff is out.

Patrick Roy, on the other hand, is a no-brainer into the Hall of Fame.  18 seasons with a career record of 551-315-131. He finished in the top-1o in wins 16 times (leading twice), GAA 14 times(leading three times), and shutouts 11 times (leading twice). He is second on the all-time career win list. He has three Vezina Trophies, three Conn Smythe Trophies, and four Stanley Cups. He was also named to five NHL All-Star 1st Teams and two 2nd Teams. Roy is in.

Inducted: Patrick Roy
Kicked out: Dick Duff

2007
Ron Francis
Al MacInnis
Mark Messier
Scott Stevens

2007 is a strong HOF year. Let’s start with Ron Francis.

Dude played 23 seasons for starters! During his career, Francis appeared in the top-10 in assists twelve times, leading the league twice. For his career, he is 2nd all time. While he wasn’t known as a prolific goal scorer, he did tally 549 goals which is pretty darn good. Five times he finished in the top-1o in total points and is fourth all-time. He has some hardware to go along with his stats: a Selke Trophy, two Lady Byngs, and two Stanley Cups. Now I have to ask myself, was Ron Francis ever a dominant player? Would you get nervous when he was playing against your team? Was he a game changer? Yes and no. I don’t think he was ever dominant, but he was an elite playmaker who made his teammates better than they probably were. He was a headsy player  who was rarely out of position. It’s hard to argue against a guy who is 2nd in assists and 4th in points. So while he was never regarded as the best of his era, he performed at a high level for a LONG time. Plus, I gotta have a Whaler in the Hall. Francis is in.

In 19 seasons (40+ games) in the NHL, Al MacInnis tallied a total of 340 goals , 934 assists, and 1274 points, all of which are good enough for third all-time among defencemen. He won a Norris Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy, and a Stanley Cup while being named to the NHL All-Star 1st Team four times and the 2nd Team three times. He is also one of only five blueliners to score more than 100 points in a season. MacInnis was one of the premier defencemen of his time and certainly deserves to be in the Hall.

I’ll be upfront and honest about this: I have never liked Mark Messier. Ask me why and I can’t even tell you. It’s just one of those totally irrational dislikes that we sometimes get a humans. I think it’s something about the way he looks. Anyways, I am going to be very objective and let his numbers speak for his career. 25 years in the league (plus one in the WHA). Wait, that can’t be right…sweet Jesus it is! Wow, okay. During that time, he would score 30+ goals eleven times, 40+ four times, and 50+ once; six times he would finish with 100+ points. He finished in the top-1o in goals four times, assists six times, and points six times, but would never lead in any of those categories. His playoff numbers are absurd: 295 points (109 goals/186 assists) in 236 games. He won the Hart Trophy twice, the Ted Lindsay Award twice, and took home on Conn Smythe Trophy. Oh yeah, he has six Stanley Cups. And if that is not enough, he is 7th all-time in goals, 3rd in assists, and 2nd in points. Messier is in.

Scott Stevens was one tough hombre who was known to play on that fine line between tough as nails and dirty. I don’t think he was really known as an offensive d-man, but over the course of 1635 games, he did put up 196 goals and 712 assists. Not bad, not bad. He never won a Norris but he did take home a Conn Smythe Trophy and was the captain of three Stanley Cup winning teams. He wouldn’t get in on numbers alone, but Stevens was more than numbers. He was a hard hitter who made opponents change their style of play on more than one occasion. Ask Slava Koslov, Paul Kariya or Ron Francis about going across the middle with their head down. Despite being labeled as a sometimes dirty player, he only ever received four elbowing penalties in his career. Lastly, over his 22 seasons in the NHL, never never finished as a minus player. I want a hard-nosed, physical defencemen in my hall. Stevens is in!

Inducted: Ron Francis, Al MacInnis, Mark Messier, and Scott Stevens
Kicked out: No one

2008
Glenn Anderson
Igor Larionov

First Dick Duff and now Glenn Anderson? No way. Six Cups is nice, but 43rd all time in goals, 75th in assists, and 56 is points. Never the best player on his team, let alone the league. GET OUT!

Igor Larionov has to be in because of his pre-NHL USSR career. He didn’t enter the NHL until he was 29, where he proceeded to put up solid but not spectacular numbers. His USSR numbers are about the same, good but not great. I don’t really know what to say here. I almost feel like I have to give the Russian players a pass here, but I don’t know. My gut says he shouldn’t be in, so he’s not. Make an argument for his inclusion and I’ll be all ears. Out. What a weak class!

Inducted: No one
Kicked out: Glenn Anderson and Igor Larionov

One more part to go and we’ll be all caught up. SO EXCITING! Maybe.

Now onto something that, to me, is beyond exciting.

A while ago I asked Brett over at My Hockey Card Obsession if he would create a custom cut autograph card of Reggie Lewis for me. If you are not familiar with his work, it is out of this world. I mean, check out his stuff! I’m not sure why card companies haven’t come knocking at his door offering him jobs and obscene amounts of money but I figure it has something to do with the fact that card companies are run by morons with no artistic eye (Panini, I’m looking at you in particular). Anyways, I asked Brett if, when he had time, he could come up with something that would feature my little piece of paper with Reggie Lewis’ autograph on it. You can see it here. Being the nice guy that he is, he agreed and sent me his idea. Of course it looked amazing and so he went ahead with it.

Smash cut to yesterday and me at the post office checking my box. What do I find in there but this thing:

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?!?!

No exaggeration here: I lost my breath. Yeah, I knew what it would look like but actually seeing it in person BLEW. ME. AWAY! I am not sure if Brett knows exactly how much this means to me and how much I will cherish this card. Reggie Lewis was my favorite player at the  impressionable age of 13, when we still believed in heroes. His death affected me big time and this scrap piece of paper was my one tangible link to Reggie. Thank you, Brett, SO SO SO MUCH for this card.

Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, he goes and sends this along too:

C’MON!

The hockey blogosphere never ceases to amaze me!

Listen, I’m a fan of hockey movies and hockey fights, so this should be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it looks like a total mess.

I think the movie is based loosely on the book Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey by Doug Smith and Adam Frattasio, which was an interesting read. In my opinion, the life of an enforcer would make for a really great movie if done right; think something along the lines of The Wrestler. Ah well, maybe some day.

One last thing: I find it very interesting that Georges Laraque is in this movie; y’know, what with him taking the moral high ground AGAINST In The Game’s Enforcer release. 

1) Brett over at My Hockey Card Obsession is creating a custom cut autograph card for one of my favorite hoops players, Reggie Lewis. I’m not sure how knowledgeable you are about hoops, but Reggie was an exciting player for the Celtics and was on the brink of super-stardom when he collapsed during a playoff game against the Hornets (I remember everything about it). He later died of a heart condition at a practice at the all-to-young age of 27. Fortunately for me, I met Reggie while on a field trip in Boston when I was in the…6th grade, maybe 7th. He was walking around Faneuil Hall when a few of us noticed him eating a hot dog. He quickly swarmed him and had him sign whatever we could find. For me it was a piece of manila envelope. It is among one of my prized possessions. Anyways, Brett is taking on the challenge of creating a card that will feature the autograph. Here is what he has to work with…

2) While going through my binder that had the Lewis autograph, I came across all of the TTM’s I had sent out as a youngster. All the sports are represented, but I first wanted to share the two hockey players I admired growing up. First there is this guy….

BALL POINT PEN FAIL! That said, I was a HUGE Janney fan. When they traded him for Oates is when I sort of faded away from the sport for a long period.

The second player may surprise you, or at least Captain Canuck…

Yes, it is true, I liked Patrick Roy. I don’t even know why really, but I did. I remember sending out two requests: one with US stamps going out and Canadian ones on the SASE and one with Canadian stamps going out and US ones on the SASE. I got back both requests (remember living in a world where this sort of thing just got worked out) along with a postcard of Roy. I always found it odd that he signed the cards on his back, but at least he signed them. No clue if they are real, but I have to believe that they are. My 13 year old self refuses to believe otherwise.

Later on, I’ll share my successes with the other sports; some will surprise you (I think).

3)

I came across these two things today and thought I’d share them. The first is a three part article by the New York Times about the life and death of Derek Boogaard. It is a fantastic article that I implore you all to read. The second is a sort of companion video by the New York Times about Boogaard. I miss Boogaard and hope some good can come from his passing, along with Rypien’s and Belak’s.

The first big purchase involves a personal “white whale” and finally puts an end to a longtime quest of mine. Finding a certified on-card auto of Woody Dumart is pretty darn tough. According to Beckett, there are only three options: a Bruins Alumni card set, a Parkhurst card that is sort of like a cut auto, and an In The Game Ultimate slabbed card. I had pretty much given up hope of ever finding any of these and instead had first settled on this card…

I’ve talked a bit about this card before. It belonged to a set that was to be produced by Dr. Brian Price of In The Game. As per usual, the NHL rejected his license request and these cards were never officially released. However, they eventually showed up in ITG’s Ultimate Memorabilia 5th Edition but set inside a black frame and slabbed. Like this…

The Parkhurst Dumart is sort of the same, only it is set behind a green border and was unslabbed.

Here is a little write-up ITG did concerning this card:

“In the Game, Inc., the manufacturer of the Be A Player brands of hockey cards, recently paid tribute to a Hockey Hall of Famer and Boston Bruin legend Woody Dumart in their 2001-02 Parkhurst brand.

When the Parkhurst brand was on the drawing board early in 2001, one of the planned insert sets was a 40-card effort entitled Parkhurst Autographs. The set featured an amazing lineup of hockey legends ranging from Gordie Howe to Jean Beliveau to Phil Esposito complete with their signatures. Woody Dumart was included in the set.

Once the cards were printed, they were sent to each of the players but sadly, Dumart passed away before he signed any of them on October 19. Officials at In the Game were now forced to revise their plans.

Rather than simply withdraw the card or replace it with another retired great, a plan was implemented which not only paid proper tribute to Dumart, it also provided something special for collectors. To avoid any further delays during pack-out, special Dumart redemption cards were inserted in packs of Parkhurst.

“Fortunately we had a small supply of Woody Dumart signatures,” explained Dr. Brian H. Price, President of In the Game. “We had discussions with Mrs. Dumart and decided to follow through with this tribute to a great player and a fine gentleman.

“It took some ingenuity on the part of our production staff but we were able to use them as ‘cut signatures’ and literally build a new card of Woody that featured his autograph. Anyone who pulled one of the redemption cards can send it to us in exchange for one of these. I’m quite pleased with the results and I think collectors will be too.”

Only 20 of these special signed Dumart cards were produced.”

As I had never seen either of these cards, I was mostly satisfied with my unframed “bootleg” version, even though I couldn’t say for certain it was real.

Later, I picked up a different Dumart autograph, this time for an obscure regional set.

You can read a little bit about it here. Although Beckett recognizes the set, they don’t mention an autographed version of it. Again, I took a (cheap) chance on this and was mostly satisfied.

Anyways, to make a long story longer, I picked up this gem…

2001-02 Parkhurst Autograph #PA-09 Woody Dumart

The hunt for a certified Dumart autograph is officially OVER! Twenty copies, no pricing due to scarcity, and I snagged it for a pretty good price. If anyone is interested in either of my other two Dumart cards, let me know; they are definitely up for trade.

Next up two more cards from the same eBay seller. Do you ever bid on something, look at the seller’s other auctions, and then bid on a couple others? I was not actively seeking these two cards, but when I saw them, I knew I needed them. First is this “nifty” card…

2001-02 Greats of the Game Autographs #70 Rick Middleton

I have always liked the Greats of the Game sets (all sports included) and when I saw this card, I had to have it. I love me some Middleton and the picture cracks me up.  Did you know Nifty had five straight 40+ goal seasons (40, 44, 51, 49, 47)? Or that he won the Lady Byng Trophy once?

Know who has never won and never will win the Lady Byng? This guy…

2000-01 Topps Premier Plus Private Signings #PS-CP Chris Pronger

Pronger is a future HOFer, so I figured I would get his card now. My preference is to get certified autos of HOFers from when they were still active (for guys like Richard, Howe, Beliveau, etc. it is impossible) and I like to have them in the jersey of the team they were most identifiable with. For me, Pronger enjoyed his best years with the Blues, so I was happy to get this one.  The Middleton and Pronger cost me a combined $13. Um, yes please.

The next couple of cards came courtesy of CheckOutMyCards.com. Paul over at Card Boarded sent me an emailing saying that he saw an Axelsson card on the site that I might not have. He was right, so I had to buy it. While there, I figured I’d poke around for a few other cards that I’ve been looking for and save on shipping. The Axelsson will have to wait for another time; for now you get to see these two…

1973-74 O-Pee-Chee #3 Phil Roberto

This is a card that I’ve been aware of for a long time and always mean to pick up a copy, but then just forget. Recently, though, Shane over at Shoebox Legends had a post highlighting a truly righteous quarter box haul and this card was in it. With that fresh in my head, I finally picked up a copy and I have to say, it is about time. This is one of the VERY few NHL licensed hockey cards to feature an actual fight (Sal over at Puck Junk has a great post about this card and fighting on hockey cards). I like that he played for three defunct teams during his career: Scouts, Rockies, and Barons.

Lastly, there is this jewel…

2003-04 Bowman Chrome Refractor #134 Gregory Campbell /300

Campbell is my second favorite current Bruin behind McQuaid and I have been looking to pick up his rookie since he joined the team. I struck out at the Shriner’s show and a couple other shows, so online I had to go. I like Campbell for a few reasons For starters, he wears #11, PJ’s old number. Secondly, the dude is a bad ass and will throw ‘em with anyone. Lastly, he is just a hard-nosed, gritty player who does all the little things very well. He’s good on the PK, can win his share of draws, goes hard into the corners, and can even put the puck in the back of the net (13 goals on the 4th line last year). He is like Axelsson’s rough and tumble twin brother. Okay, maybe not.

Anyways, here is a clip of Campbell feeding Pyatt his lunch (this is for you, Capt’n)

First off, I don’t even know why I subscribe to Panini’s blog The Knight’s Lance. Day after day, I glance at posts that feature crappy foil cards, sticker autos, and quality control video breaks involving men wearing super tacky shirts. I have almost zero interest in their products and feel that they’ve squandered their NHL license. Outside of maybe 3-4 SUBSETS, I think each release has been an epic foily fail. Heck, even my LMC doesn’t carry their product, but that is mostly because Panini apparently requires all sorts of paperwork, bank statements, and other stuff if you want to carry their flimsy foilboard. They’re actually doing me a favor; instead of being bored at my LMC and buying some of their product, I just save my pennies.

As much as I dislike Panini, they are their own company and can do whatever they want. That is fine with me; I’ll just choose to not buy their product. But what gets me is their incessant need to over hype their products on their blog. The post that got me was one of their many about some Black Friday Promotion they are running. I haven’t been keeping up with it until I saw a post of theirs on November 16. The reason it caught my eye was because it was dubbed a “can’t miss” promotion. If Panini is good at ANYTHING, it is absolutely “missing”.

So anyways, I read. And read. And vomited. And read. It is line after line of bombastic hyperbole that is typical of someone who lacks self-confidence and overcompensates with a douchebag attitude (think The Situation from Jersey Shore). It is as if Panini knows it is a crappy promotion but really wants to have people believe it is the be all, end all. Here are the highlight lines:

-Nine days from now, Panini America’s groundbreaking Black Friday promotion will blossom from an idea into a full-blown phenomenon…

-We previewed the multisport Black Friday base set last week and blew your collective mind…

-The results, as you’ll see below, are quite stunning.

Panini is pretty ballsy with their prediction that this promotion will become a “full-blown phenomenon” and I must belong to the 1% whose collective mind WASN’T blown.

Luckily, in my moment of Panini rage, an almost angelic post from Dr. Brian Price from In The Game appeared.

First off, instead of looking over 2-3 posts a day from Panini, In The Game posts maybe once every few weeks. And guess what is missing from their posts? That’s right, hype. They simply describe their product and the highlights while posting some pictures. There latest post is about an upcoming product that is basically custom made to my tastes. Sure, I may be biased because it’s a set devoted to tough guys, but just look at the post; no prefabricated hype, no bold predictions, and no goofy quality control video breaks.

In The Game let’s their product do the talking.

Listen, I’m no ITG fanboy. I’ve bought way more Panini packs than ITG packs. Heck, I’ve NEVER purchased an ITG pack/box, but that is because my LMC never gets any (for whatever reason). But comparing these two posts, you see how different each company is.

Panini has an NHL license, produces crummy cards, hypes up its own product beyond belief, and floods my Google Reader with ridiculous “drool gallery” posts.

In The Game has no NHL license, produces beautiful sets, comes up with interesting concepts (Decades, Enforcers, Between the Pipes, etc), and let’s the cards do the talking.

In other news, on Friday night, I drove two hours to see Jessica Lea Mayfield’s 45 minute opening set and then drove two hours home. She is THAT good, in my opinion…

As I said in my previous post, I was super excited to (re)meet my childhood here Marty Barrett. Let me tell you this, it was everything I had hoped it would be and more. Marty was the first scheduled guest of the day, appearing from 10-11:30. I meandered into the Fez Room (best name for a room ever) at around 10:30 after spending the first 30 minutes doing a quick run through of half the dealers set up. There was barely a line (as I expected), so I was excited at the prospect of spending a good 5 minutes chatting with Barrett. When it was my turn to step up to the table, I was a nervous wreck but I kept it together enough to sound mostly coherent. Basically, I told him that he was my all-time favorite baseball player, that he was my childhood hero, and that it was a huge honor to meet him. He said he had goosebumps hearing that which I think he actually meant. I mean, how many people does he meet that actually say that to him?

I told him how I met him when I was 12 or 13 and it was a huge deal then and it’s still a huge deal now. I also told him getting his autograph was really secondary and that I just wanted to talk to him. Yeah, I was like a super fan boy (even at 34), but I’m over it. He agreed to a photo, check it out…

Hellz yeah! Marty and me, reunited. Oh, and here it what he signed…

Outside of his immediate family, I am probably THE greatest fan.

Everything after this experience at the show was puuuuuuure gravy.

Now let’s get to the cards. The last two times I’ve been down to the show, I’ve dealt almost exclusively with two dealers who only have vintage hockey. Sadly, only one of the guys was set up this time, which diminished my bargaining power. I ended up with a small stack this year as opposed to the bigger stacks from previous shows. I went down wanting an OPC Dryden rookie, which I found. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t pull the trigger on it; something about two of the corners just didn’t sit well with me, so I passed.
All in all, I ended up spending $1 at one guy’s table and the rest of my budget at the vintage hockey guy’s table.

Here we go…

2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Update Metal-X (Rainbow) #441 P.J. Axelsson

I’ve really stepped up my PJ collection lately, so I was happy to grab this.

2003-04 Topps Update #TT157 Colton Orr

I could have sworn that I had this card, but apparently I don’t. I had to get at least one enforcer card at the show. Also, if I went to the show by myself, I would have spent more time going through the MILLION boxes of cards and finding deals galore. The sheer amount of dollar boxes and binders was dizzying.

1970-71 O-Pee-Chee #233 Esposito Line

I’ve wanted this card for a bit, so I was happy to snag it. I don’t get why Phil’s name is abbreviated. I also like the French spelling, La Ligne Esposito.

1976-77 O-Pee-Chee #115 Bryan Trottier

No brainer here. This copy is stunning and I got a good deal on it. Now I just need a Potvin rookie.

1951-52 Parkhurst #29 Milt Schmidt

My big purchase, an absolutely mint copy and my first Schmidt card. At the end of the day, I couldn’t pass this up over a Dryden rookie that I was 50/50 on. I will say that there was a nice Cheevers rookie for about the same price as the Dryden, but I think a Cheevers rookie is overpriced.

So that is it. A mere five cards BUT an experience that I will keep with me forever. Oh, and a wicked pulled pork sandwich.

And now I see there is a show next Sunday that McQuaid will be at! @%^&Q*

Wikipedia claims that Garry Valk had a “distinguished NHL career spanning over a decade.” Really? 100 goals in 777 games for a right winger doesn’t sound too distinguished. Granted, it is 100 more goals than I ever scored, but c’mon.

Brian Rolston rookie card that isn’t really a rookie card! I have always liked Rolston since his Boston days. He was a great penalty killer and a sneaky good scorer. Plus, he was good friends with PJ Axelsson. When I went to Bruins training camp one year, Rolston and Axelsson were in a car together leaving (Rolston was driving). They stopped to chat and sign autographs, so I got the chance to meet the two of them. It was a thrill for me because it was the first time I got to meet PJ, my favorite player. Anyways, I told PJ that I had him down for 20 goals that season which resulted in a hearty chuckle from PJ and an “Easily” from Rolston. Anyways, both guys were super nice and I was sad to see Rolston go. Did you know he was the 11th overall pick in the 91 draft and that he had three straight 30+ goal seasons in Minnesota. Solid player!

Hey, I pulled a Gary Suter card out of my 90-91 Upper Deck packs! Possible Suter super collector being born?

Darcy Wakaluk was the first AHL goalie to score a goal, netting an empty netter two days before Ron Hextall became the first NHL goalie to do the same. Huh.

GOON-JO! Gino Odjick had three seasons of 300+ PIM’s. Here is a clip from a pre-season tilt between the ‘Nucks and Flames:

If my status as Gary Suter super collector gets stripped, I can start a James Patrick collection. Two different packs, two different James Patrick cards.

HOF-JO! 4th overall pick in the ’80 draft, Larry Murphy had one heckuva career. He is currently the 5th all-time leading scorer among defencemen. He also has four Stanley Cups to his name, being a member of two separate back-to-back winning teams.

Dave Reid has two Stanley Cups under his belt. Who knew?! I dig the shiner he is sporting on the back of this card. He had 25 PIM’s the year this photo was taken, so he definitely dropped them, but against who? A little research shows me that he did indeed drop ‘em against New Jersey’s Randy McKay.

We all know that Joe Nieuwendyk is of the newest members of the Hall of Fame, but did you know that he has an award named after him? The Ontario Lacrosse Association’s Junior A League awards the Joe Nieuwendyk Award to its most outstanding rookie. Thanks Wikipedia.

Cliff Ronning was good. That is about all I have on him.

Jason Allison played for the Bruins during a time when I was away from hockey. I remember knowing that he put up decent numbers with Boston but by the time I came back on board, he was gone. A couple of 30+ goal seasons is nothing to sneeze at.

Russ Courtnall was the 7th pick of the ’83 draft and was once traded straight-up for tough guy John Kordic. Seems to me they could have snagged more for him, but the Leafs have never been savvy wheeler-dealers. He’d go on to have five 20+ goal seasons.

Three HOFers in one pack? WIN! Joe Mullen could score; he had seven 40+ goal seasons including  a 51 goal effort during the 88-89 season. He has three Cups to his name to go along with two Lady Byng Trophies.

Who doesn’t love Ron Tugnutt? Especially when he is stonewalling Chicken Parm?

There you have it; two packs from a super crappy set. Anyone want them?

First, there is this beauty…

2010-11 Upper Deck The Cup #97 Adam McQuaid /199

Finally, an Adam McQuaid on-card autograph and a rookie to boot. I tried to win a gold version of this numbered to /54 but lost out twice, so I settled on the regular version. Fine by me, I just wanted his signature. I have never opened any UD Cup and never plan to, not because I don’t want to but because I think it is a colossal waste of money. I could have spent $1000 easily opening this stuff just to pull this card OR I could go on eBay and get it for under $30. As a side note, this card is effin’ thick. It is like six cards glued together; maybe if I pull them all apart there will be six different McQuaid rookies. Hmmm…

This summer, the only cards I have been buying are Marty Barrett and PJ Axelsson cards for my player collections. Barrett is fairly easy because he played long before the era of parallels, jerseys, and autographs. Axelsson, on the other hand, is a bit trickier, thanks in large part to Pacific and their 8 million parallels. I have been making progress, though, and will share when the time is right. For now, you get this card…

2003-04 Parkhurst Original Six The Big One #1 PJ Axelsson /10

This card was given out at the 2004 Vancouver Big One show through a redemption program. Aside from the 1/1 printing plates of PJ, this is one of his rarest cards even though it is really a gimmick-y sort of card. Whatever! For a Axelsson collector like myself, I had to have it. Plus, it was like $3.

Finally, let me talk a little Panini. As most of you know, I am not a huge fan of any of their products. I think they look and feel cheap and produce way too many unnecessary inserts. They have really only released a handful of things that I dig. The Normand Leveille auto was a very nice and long overdue card. There is some stuff out of Dominion involving Derek Sanderson that has my interest piqued. The Ice Kings is a nice set, although a signed version would have been A+. However, my most favorite set that they have released is the Tough Times set, especially the autographed version. A while ago, I wrote that they finally got around to sending my the Lyndon Byers auto redemption. About a month before that, I had emailed them asking when these would be shipped. No response ever came until they sent me the card. Smash cut to last week. In my mailbox was a package from Panini. Thinking it was one of the other redemptions, I ripped it open only to find…

WHAT?! Panini fail!

Now wait, I am actually not complaining. Their goof is my gain. Actually, my good is YOUR gain as I will be having a contest soon with this being one of the prizes, along with a stack of other autographs and memorabilia cards from all sports. Stay tuned for that!

Okay, time to go. More later!

While some may be quick to blame blows to the head as the culprit, I just don’t buy that. Guys like Savard, Bergeron, Lindros, etc have all sustained multiple concussions and seem to be alright. Depression, it seems, is the mitigating factor here. Rypien and Belak both suffered from it and ultimately succumbed to its sad stranglehold. Boogaard mixed drugs and alcohol, but I can not believe for one second that he did not suffer from some sort of depression, turning to those vices to numb the pain.

What I do not hope happens is that the NHL bans fighting. Yes, all three of these guys were tough customers and yes, I am sure there is some psychological issues that come with dropping the gloves for a living, but getting rid of it outright would be a mistake. What the solution is, I do not know but am open to opinions.

Whatever the NHL does in response to these deaths, if anything at all, one fact remains: hockey fans are going to miss these guys.

Godspeed, brothers!

Now, let me try and be positive…

During the summer, you may have remembered reading about my two pack break of 1991-92 O-Pee-Chee (part 1 / part 2) and how I mentioned that I had a stack of other packs to share. Well, now it is time for 1990-91 Upper Deck Series 1.

Here is part of Beckett’s write-up about Upper Deck’s inaugural hockey release

“…contains 550 standard-size cards. The set was released in two series of 400 and 150 cards, respectively.”

It then goes on to give a description of the cards, but you will just see for yourself (as if you didn’t already know this product). The set is loaded with rookies with the biggest being Jagr, Belfour, CuJo, Sundin, Recchi, Bure, and Fedorov. There was one insert set, a nine-card hologram set that were actually stickers.

So, onto pack one…

I’ll be posting front and back because, unlike with Topps/OPC of that time, Upper Deck used photography on both sides of the card.

Daniel Shank (great name, BTW) played a total of 77 games in the NHL before becoming a very good career minor leaguer, averaging more than a point per game during his six seasons in the IHL. According to ye olde Wikipedia, he was notorious for kissing his stick on both ends when scoring.

Charlie Huddy was a pretty good blueliner with Edmonton and is one of seven Oilers to be on all five Stanley Cup winning teams. He also rocks a pretty good ‘stache and rivals Gretzky for dopiest-looking-Jofa-helmet-wearer. You can catch him this season as assistant coach of the Winnipeg Jets.

Gary Suter was a very good defenseman that played most of his career with the Flames. Did you know he ranks 4th overall for total points for an American defenseman and 13th overall for all American players? Or how about that he won the Calder Trophy? The more you know…

First off, whatever happened to the name Wendell? Secondly, look at Young sporting the old school goalie equipment! All brown leather pads? Check. Bucket helmet? Check! Wooden Sherwood stick? Check! Receding mullet? Check!

Wikipedia lays this fact down:  Young is the only hockey player to have won a Memorial Cup (in 1982 with the Kitchener Rangers), a Calder Cup (with the 1988 Hershey Bears), a Turner Cup (with the 1998 and 2000 Chicago Wolves), and a Stanley Cup (with the 1991 and 1992 Penguins). I was dubious of the Stanley Cups because I didn’t think his name was actually on it (and hockey-reference.com backs that up) but according to his website, it is a true fact. Wait, you didn’t know that Wendell Young has his own website? He sure does; he runs a goaltending school.

My favorite card of the pack! There is so much to love about this Kevin Dineen card. The most obviously being the prominence of the Whaler logo and colors! Next, it’s a pretty good candid shot. Lastly, I believe it was taken at the old Boston Garden. Dineen was a tough dude and a guy I never cared for because he, along with Pat Verbeek, always gave my beloved Bruins fits. Heck, he even throttled my boy Gord Kluzak:

Yeah, that’s Sanderson and Cusick calling the action. Sidenote: When Kluzak used to do color commentary along with Dale Arnold, he would always get ribbed by Arnold for that fight. Funny, sure, but I’d like to see Dale handle himself in a fight against this dude.

Daniel Marois showed some promise during his first two seasons, putting up 54 and 76 points respectively before falling off a cliff. I blame his weak-ass visor for the decline.

Bring back the Jets! Oh wait, they did. Bring back the Jet’s old uniforms! For some reason, Thomas Steen was always a player I was aware of and I’m not sure why. He is now a politician in Canada. Cool.

Did you know that Rick Vaive doubled as a linebacker for the Buffalo Bills? Okay, I made that up, but what is with the neck roll, pal? Here is a fact I didn’t make up: Vaive had three straight 50+ goal seasons! And that he was the first Maple Leaf to ever score 50+ goals.

A Jyrki Lumme rookie?! Score! I miss those old Canuck jerseys.

Hey, wait a second. Upper Deck collation fail.

Bob Corkum Star Rookie! He played for seven teams in twelve seasons, defining the term journeyman. He is now an assistant coach for his alma mater’s hockey team, the University of Maine Black Bears. BOOOOOOOO!

Hey, didn’t I pull a Jimmy Carson from the 91-92 OPC packs? I am well on my way to become a Carson super collector. This dude did his best Gretzky impersonation after getting traded for The Great One by putting up 100 points, but then was dealt the next season because he couldn’t handle the pressure of filling Gretzky’s shoes in Edmonton. Eventually, the two would be teammates.

So there you have it, pack one.

Upper Deck pretty much turned the hockey card industry around. Where Topps and O-Pee-Chee used the old school format (picture on front, stats on back) Upper Deck introduced front and back shots. Their photography was, and still is, their strong point and featured some great in-action shots. Personally, I prefer the old school look, especially the thicker stock, but I do appreciate the images UD introduced to the hobby.

Stay tuned for part two….sometime.

Check it out!

A little PJ-JO from 07-08 Upper Deck. Natch!

The player most non-Bruins fans love to hate. Thankfully Canuck didn’t use this card as a coaster or chuck it against the wall.

So, I knew those two cards were coming at some point. Now onto the extras…

2010-11 Upper Deck Authentic is a nice looking set; I just wish they’d expand the set and use more players from each team.

These are the first 2010-11 UD Biography of a Season cards I have, so that was nice.

I absolutely LOVE this card from the 2007-08 Upper Deck McDonald’s set. It is a shame that these are Canada-only releases because they are beautiful.

And these 2009-10 UD McDonald’s cards are even better looking. They’re so shiny and thick and etched. Man, you Canadians get all the cool cards!

Lastly, Canuck catered to my goon-tooth and sent along these…

LOOK AT THOSE PIM MINUTES!

So thank you, Capt’n; I have a pile for you that is almost ready to be mailed out.

Oh, and what post would be complete without some Allen & Ginter updates?

The end.