Posts Tagged ‘Anaheim Ducks’

Oh, the exciting conclusion of the 94-95 Pinnacle U.S. Edition Series 1 two-pack break. Part one is here. The excitement in the air is palpable…

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?

For the next two-pack break, I present you with some 1994-95 Pinnacle U.S. Edition Series 1 cards.

Here is what the big Beckett book says:

…Series 1 packs had exclusive Canadian and U.S. inserts…Members of the St. Louis Blue and Calgary Flames are posed in front of a locker which displays their newly designed sweaters. Rookie Cards include Mariusz Czerkawski, Eric Daze, Eric Fichaud, Ed Jovanovski, Jeff O’Neill and Wade Redden. A one-per-case (360 packs) insert card was produced for Canadian and U.S. series 1 packs. Pavel Bure is numbered MVPC, while Domink Hasek is MVPU.

Wow, this set sure does sound exciting. There are some inserts in the U.S. series including Artist’s Proofs (1:36 packs), Rink Collection (1:4), Boomers (1:24), and Team Pinnacle (1:90). Did I get any? Look on to find out.

First, the wrapper:

Ah foil! We can thank Upper Deck for making wax packs a thing of the past. I get that collectors were tired of wax/gum stained cards, but with almost every pack containing a dummy card, couldn’t they just put that on the bottom and bring back the wax? Getting back to Upper Deck for a moment, I actually liked their early pack types. Y’know, that heavy foil type stuff? It felt like you were actually ripping into something. The Pinnacle foil pack is just flimsy, 90′s garbage. Whenever I try to find a reason why I got out of cards in the mid-90s, I can turn to Pinnacle, Pacific, Crown Royale, and Score as the reason. Basically, every set that Panini is trying to bring back.

This set is just hideous. The design in boring, the gold foil is tacky and unnecessary, and the backs like the if the whole of the 90′s threw up. Ugh.

Don’t believe me? Just look…

Two things you may not have known about Brian Noonan:

1) He was involved in a trade that brought Tony Amonte to Chicago.

2) He scored the game winning goal in game 7 of the ’94 Stanley Cup Finals for the New York Rangers.

And that is Brian Noonan.

There are only two players in the history of my Bruins fandom that I absolutely could not stand: Marty McInnis and Andy Hilbert. Hilbert I openly rooted against and not-so-secretly wished he would get the tar kicked out of him. McInnis less so, but I still could not stand him. Why? No clue. There are just some players who you dislike.

Hey, how come he is not posing in front of his locker with the new Flames sweater?! German Titov came into the league late, at the age of 28. He enjoyed a decent little career with a handful of 20+ goal seasons. He would eventually be part of a trade for this guy…

Ken Wregget has three claims to fame:

1) Led the league in wins (25) for the ’94-’95 season.

2) Won a Stanley Cup.

3) Faced the first penalty shot ever awarded during an overtime period in NHL playoff history.

I have absolutely nothing to say about Boris Mironov. Sorry Boris.

Bill Houlder enjoyed his best, and only, season with the Anaheim Ducks: 14 goals, 25 assists. Not bad for a defenceman.

Did you know that Patrick Flatley was once the captain of the Islanders? Neither did I.

Jeff Norton suited up for 10 different teams during his 15 year career. According to Wikipedia, he was on the receiving end of a Trevor Linden check that put him through the glass. That fact was for you, Brett.

John Vanbiesbrouck: Hockey Hall of Famer? Naaaaah. John Vanbiesbrouck: American Hockey Hall of Famer? Yep. His Wiki page is very interesting.

Zdeno Ciger once scored 31 goals. True story.

I could never get behind Adam Oates. Why? Because he was dealt to the Bruins for my favorite player, Craig Janney. Sure, Janney was soft, but man could he pass. As well as Oates? Probably not but it wasn’t that huge of a drop-off.

Paul Ranheim = WHALER-JO!

A Yan Kaminsky rookie?! Sadly, no. Pinnacle, why you gots to lie to me?

Another Russian? Apparently, or at least according to Wikipedia, Alexei Gusarov is considered to be “one of the finest Russian defensemen to ever play.” Huh, how about that.

So there you have it, a pack of 94-95 Pinnacle. Seventeen examples of pure-90′s junk. If anyone wants any of these, let me know.

Part two coming soon. Yay.