Posts Tagged ‘Dallas Stars’

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?

Look’s like a few cards are making the jump from general collection to the Hall of Fame collection (Sorry Mark Howe). Not sure yet if these guys would make my Hall of Fame, but congratulations anyways.

1990-91 Upper Deck #55 Ed Belfour

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1988-89 O-Pee-Chee #16 Joe Nieuwendyk

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1984-85 O-Pee-Chee #185 Doug Gilmour

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1986-87 O-Pee-Chee #93 Doug Gilmour

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2004-05 In The Game Franchises US East #A-DG1 Doug Gilmour

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2009-10 Upper Deck SPX Winning Combos Patch #WC-GF Doug Gilmour/Theoren Fleury