(NHCD) BOX BREAK - 2011-12 Parkhurst Champions

I hope everybody had a great National Hockey Card Day, I know I sure did (for the most part). It was my one legitimate excuse a year to go and spend a good chunk of my day at the local card store. After circling around the shop looking at extremely overpriced Cody Hodgson cards (I'm talking RIDICULOUSLY overpriced) I decided to look at some higher end boxes I've been moaning and groaning about.

It came down to two boxes, Limited or Parkhurst Champions. I somehow couldn't get myself to pay also 150 bucks for 7 cards, so I went with Upper Decks Parkhurst product. My local card store is kind of a mom and pop type shop and they're super great people, so I busted a box of UD Series 1 for the store and they even agreed to give me a CoHo Young Gun if they were to pull one. Unfortunately, they didn't. But they did give me the single of Cody Hodgson from the NHCD packs as well as three other packs.

I think this year the card design of NHCD was a home run. But now onto the box break!

I'm sure you must have all seen the pictures if not own this product already so I'll spare you the reviews, but I have to say I really love the look of these cards. Classy and good quality and that's what I want to see for a box that sets you back 100 bones. 

Like I said the base cards are fantastic and I ended up pulling all 4 Canucks incorporated into the 100 cards base set. Another thing I have to say is that the players in this 100 card set are absolutely stacked! This lineup is jaw dropping greatness and just thinking throughout the break that an autograph of any of these legends could be in my collection is exciting! I pulled 70 of the 100 base so this set is quite accomplishable. 

Next are the "Champ's Minis" which I think are pretty cool but also I huge pain in the neck to sort.

As you can see from the back of these two George Vezina "Champ's Minis", one is green meaning it is the green back parallel. I pulled 4 of these total plus...

According to the checklist, this card is number 52 of 57 which means it is a "Champ's Mini SP". BUT the back of the card (which I failed to scan) is green so this card is actually a "Champ's Mini SP Green Back Parallel"...got that? Can someone explain to me what a "Parkhurst Back" is though? I can't seem to figure that one out.

I'm a sucker for any type artist renditions type card so it's no doubt that I really like these cards! Plus a Gordie Howe hockey card is always excepted in my collection.

I pulled one "Black and White Renditions" and it's of Bobby Hull shown above, missing tooth and chest hair included. 

Now onto some of the coolest inserts in awhile. I pulled one double player version (Gretzky/Howe above). I think these cards pack huge emotion and hockey history and I have loved reading them thus far!

The top of these three "Wire" inserts is of Mike Bossy in the 1982 Stanley Cup finals where the Islanders beat the Vancouver Canucks. But you know what hurts more?

Ouch! 1994 Stanley Cup finals AND Mark Messier...just OUCH! But you know what hurts more?...

...do you know where I'm going with this...

...take a guess...

Did I mention I extremely dislike Mark Messier? But in all fairness even though I highly dislike the player and this moment in hockey history I still really respect this card and how cool it is. I figured I might get two "Base AUTO's" but getting a "Wire AUTO" (which are harder pulls) is still really cool. In fact according to the Upper Deck blog apparently they are separated into different groups. Messier is in group A so this pull is technically a 1:2,145 pack pull. Not bad if I do say so myself!

My second AUTO you ask?

Excuse my lack of knowledge of Rick MacLeish but I really don't know much about this guy. But from the picture it looks like he played without a helmet so that earns him some respect in my books. His stats are pretty impressive and he's a Canadian boy so I'll happily take his AUTO!

So that's it for the break and even though I pulled a Messier AUTO I'm not all that discouraged and I'm a pretty happy camper overall. Although if you're a fan of Mess and/or the Rangers, I'm willing to part with him for a fair card in return.

The Luongo and Brodeur cards bring an update to my Goalie Project:

Alex Auld - 3/3 COMPLETE! 27 TOTAL
Murray Bannerman - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Martin Brochu - 3/3 COMPLETE! 4 TOTAL
Richard Brodeur - 1/3 COMPLETE! 15 TOTAL (1 JERSEY, 1 EVENT-USED, 1 AUTO)
Gary Bromley
Bruce Bullock
Sean Burke - 2/3 COMPLETE! 21 TOTAL
Frank Caprice
Jacques Caron
Dan Cloutier - 3/3 COMPLETE! 32 TOTAL (1 JERSEY)
Ed Dyck
Ken Ellacott
Bob Essensa - 3/3 COMPLETE! 14 TOTAL
Mike Fountain - 3/3 COMPLETE! 11 TOTAL
Troy Gamble - 2/2 COMPLETE! 21 TOTAL
George Gardner 2/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL
John Garrett - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Glen Hanlon - 1/3 COMPLETE! 5 TOTAL
Johan Hedberg - 3/3 COMPLETE! 7 TOTAL
Rick Heinz
Corey Hirsch - 1/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL (1 AUTO)
Charlie Hodge - 2/2 COMPLETE! 3 TOTAL
Arturs Irbe - 1/3 COMPLETE! 3 TOTAL
Jason LaBarbera - 2/3 COMPLETE! 4 TOTAL
Ken Lockett
Roberto Luongo - 3/3 COMPLETE! 58 TOTAL (1 JERSEY)
Drew MacIntyre - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Cesare Maniago - 1/3 COMPLETE! 3 TOTAL
Bob Mason - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Dave McClelland
Steve McKichan
Kirk McLean - 1/3 COMPLETE! 3 TOTAL (1 AUTO)
Rob McVicar - 1/1 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Alfie Michaud - 1/1 COMPLETE! 7 TOTAL
Tyler Moss
Mika Noronen - 3/3 COMPLETE! 6 TOTAL
Maxime Ouellet - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Félix Potvin - 3/3 COMPLETE! 31 TOTAL (1 AUTO)
Andrew Raycroft - 1/3 COMPLETE! 7 TOTAL
Curt Ridley - 2/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL
Dany Sabourin - 2/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL
Curtis Sanford - 3/3 COMPLETE! 7 TOTAL
Cory Schneider - 1/2 COMPLETE! 10 TOTAL (1 JERSEY)
Corey Schwab - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Petr Skudra - 3/3 COMPLETE! 4 TOTAL
Gary Smith - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Garth Snow - 2/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL (1 AUTO)
Kevin Weekes - 2/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL
Steve Weeks - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Kay Whitmore - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL
Dunc Wilson - 1/3 COMPLETE! 2 TOTAL
Wendell Young - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL

In addition to that I also added another card to my very young Cody Hodgson PC.

CODY HODGSON COUNT

Cards: 3

Rookies: 2

So how was your NHCD? Did you go out with the fam and enjoy the day? Any big breaks? Let me know, and also if you're interested in the Messier card let me know!

GO NUCKS GO!

WHAT DOES 25 BUCKS GETCHA? (Part 8) The Cream of the Crop!

As the title suggests, this card is the standout of my eBay purchases. But what's odd about this card is how and why I bought it. It's something very unique in my collection and it rests as something very special in my collection. First let me set up the scenario.

At this point in my purchases I've tried scraping deals and getting mediocre cards for a fairly cheap price. I wanted to mix it up so I made a generic search of "hockey cards" and sorted them by "ending soonest". After scanning through some nice looking cards I found one that stood out to me. Not because of a multi-coloured patch or a super low numbered card, but instead it was because of the signature.

This card is also BGS graded (no clue what BGS stands for) but it's in the plastic casing with a nice number 9 on top with the word "mint" below it. What really attracted me was the gold square beside the number 9 - a 10. The square rated showed a 10/10 Beckett Autograph. From the scan above you can tell why. That is by far the classiest and most cared for signature in my collection. No sloppy or lazy letters and he even included his nickname "cat". 

If you can't tell who this card is signed by from the signature (which isn't that hard) it's signed by Emile "Cat" Francis. It's safe to say I didn't know much about this goalie from the late 40's to early 60's so with about 20 minutes before the auction ended - I did some research.

Francis' stats go back from his times with the North Battleford Beavers (N-SJHL) in 1941-42 all the way to 1959-60 with the Seattle Totems. Throughout his career he played in a variety of leagues from the NHL to USHL. Probably the most interesting fact for me personally was his stint with the Vancouver Canucks (WHL) in 1952-53. This was a pretty cool fact to stumble across and this pretty much sealed the deal.

As you can see the card is from the 2006-07 Between the Pipes set by ITG and rings in around 12 bucks BV (not graded). Does the fact that it's graded make this card even more valuable BV wise? To me it really doesn't make a difference because I did the rare act and purchased this about the BV price. You could say I really fell in love with this card. What's there not to like? A Hall-of-Fame goaltender from over half a century ago, along with his personal on card signature and graded "mint" on top of that? I'll take this card any day of the week. 

Francis in net along side Bill Gadsby on the right.

This picture is basically why Francis is in the Hall-of-Fame. He was in inducted in 1982 as a builder. In 1945 Emile was the first goalie to wear a baseball glove with a protective cuff at the wrist. Before that, goalies would were the same gloves as their team mates! Could you imagine that in the modern NHL? Goalies would have broken hands and fingers every other night. Thanks Emile!

I believe this is the exact photo that was put onto the card. "The Cat" was a back-up goalie with the Rangers after being the primary keeper in Chicago.

Finally for those of you old enough to remember (which I certainly cannot attest to) Francis was also a coach. He coached the OHA's Guelph Royals, the NY Rangers ('65-'75) and the St. Louis Blues. He was also the GM of the Hartford Whalers from 1979-1988.

Overall this card will now act as a centre piece for my collection. It's one of those rare cards from an era I can only really imagine and it makes me appreciate this great games history. If it wasn't for guys like Emile "The Cat" Francis, who knows what our NHL would be like?

(1.02 + 3.05 Shipping) 2010-11 Ultimate Collection Nazem Kadri "Debut Threads" /200 (DT-NK)

(11.64 + 2.52 Shipping) 2006-07 ITG Between the Pipes "Autographs" (A-EF)

------------------------------------------------
$6.77

GO NUCKS GO!

OLD TIMER TREASURES/THE GOALIE PROJECT - Richard Brodeur (Part 1) + What is it ALL Worth?

It's nice to get back to my hockey card community after being buried underneath hours of homework lately. Today I present my very last signature of the 10 Old Timer Treasure cards. Like I said in my last Old-Timers Treasures this is the guy that started the entire segment. He's the first Canuck goalie to go to the Stanley Cup finals - Richard Brodeur. If you've followed me long enough to read my first post of "Old-Timer Treasures", you already know how I acquired all these signatures. If not, read the next paragraph :)


When I was younger, my grandma (believe it or not) got the privilege of meeting one of the Canucks all-time best goalies. Richard Brodeur; famous for his 1982 run to the Stanley Cup finals with the Canucks; waltzed into my grandma's office. Richard was a nice enough guy to give my grandma a signed book from himself. My grandmother knew I was a crazy hockey fan and quickly called me and passed the book along. This is what the front cover looks like:

Obviously I was pretty psyched to receive a signature from an old time Canucks goalie, but for some odd reason it never occurred to me to actually look inside until 2 years after I received the book. Why?? I have no clue. But to my pleasant surprise there were 10 signed "hockey cards" of old-timers inside.

My favorite out of all my signatures was the front cover masterpiece of Brodeur above. But his signature on a hockey card don't look so bad either!

GP-385

Michael's Rating: 9

  

There it is! That's all the old timer sigs I got for ya! But like most of my posts, I'll leave my readers with some food for thought. HERE is a link to all my Old-Timer Treasures posts. The signatures include Gilbert Perreualt, Kirk Muller, Ron Hoggarth, Doug Bodger, Steve Shutt, Gaston Gingras, Mark Napier, Glenn Anderson, Dale Hawerchuck and Richard Brodeur. 

Combined, these players have...

PLAYED: 8486 games

POINTS: 6914

After seeing these names and numbers, what would you value these cards at? One of my goals for this year was to "value" my collection. Whether you as a hockey card collector use the Beckett hockey card pricing guide or not, this is what I am using personally. I'm not old enough to remember the times where others used and went by Beckett, and this was my first time buying it. So I'm rolling with the Beckett and using it as my source.

That being said, there is no way of knowing the specific pricing for all these signatures. I'm a big "number's" guy so figuring out what this is worth is a big deal for me. Although, these do have much more than monetary value to me as the story behind these cards is pretty cool.

So I ask again, what are these signed cards value?

As for how this affects my Goalie Project, this is where my Brodeur signature lands me:

Alex Auld Murray Bannerman Martin Brochu Richard Brodeur - 1/3 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL Gary Bromley Bruce Bullock Sean Burke Frank Caprice Jacques Caron Dan Cloutier Ed Dyck Ken Ellacott Bob Essensa Mike Fountain Troy Gamble George Gardner John Garrett Glen Hanlon Johan Hedberg Rick Heinz Corey Hirsch Charlie Hodge Arturs Irbe Jason LaBarbera Ken Lockett Roberto Luongo - 3/3 COMPLETE! 35 TOTAL Drew MacIntyre Cesare Maniago Bob Mason Dave McClelland Steve McKichan Kirk McLean Rob McVicar - 1/1 COMPLETE! 1 TOTAL Alfie Michaud Tyler Moss Mika Noronen Maxime Ouellet Félix Potvin Andrew Raycroft - 1/3 COMPLETE! 6 TOTAL Curt Ridley Dany Sabourin Curtis Sanford Cory Schneider - 1/2 COMPLETE! 5 TOTAL! Corey Schwab Petr Skudra Gary Smith Garth Snow Kevin Weekes Steve Weeks Kay Whitmore Dunc Wilson Wendell Young

GO NUCKS GO!    

OLD TIMER TREASURES - Dale Hawerchuck + WHAT IS A GOOD SIGNATURE?

This is the second to last signed old-timers I have from this "set". I'm really excited about this signature, as I think the autograph is really well done. Let's get to it...

GP 1188 / P 1409

Michael's Rating: 8.5

Dale Hawerchuck doesn't need an introduction, we all know who he is and his stats above say a lot. Let's see why I like his signature A LOT. To me, this is a solid signature that young hockey players should look to as a model. First, you don't HAVE to spell your entire name! Dale signed his card D. Hawerchuck. Nothing wrong with that. The key to his autograph is that his capital letters aren't KIND OF the shape of a letter, they ARE the letters D.H. Second, he doesn't show every single letter in his last name. He showed the "h" and "k" as lines coming out of his last name. As long as the prominent letters are showed nicely, the point comes across. Lastly, the number. I love it when signatures include their numbers! Even if you have a lousy sig, the number can make up for it (depending on how sucky your signature is). Finally, the underline. It may seem subtle but when a signature is straight, and has some sort of underline to it, it gives it structure and class. I'm not saying this is the only way an autograph should be done, but this looks darn good. Take for example Perreault's signature...unorthodox but kinda has an old fashion/classy feel to it...

Even though it looks a bit messy, the sig still has character and form to it. So I ask you, what is your favorite sig? What makes a good signature in your mind? Remember, there is one last signature left. Here's  hint to who it is: It's the man that started the segment. Hopefully, if you read my blog regularly you know who I am talking about.

GO NUCKS GO!

Old Timers Treasures - Glenn Anderson

Another nice signature from a great hockey player. A 6 time Stanley Cup champion, born in my home city right here in Vancouver, BC; Glenn Anderson! After his stint in the DEL, he almost came back home to Vancouver to become a Canuck. Unfortunately, the Oilers picked him up on waivers and claimed the man who had won 5 Stanley Cups with them in the 80's. He was kinda washed up anyways. Overall, a fantastic player with some great stats. Now let's take a look at the signature:

GLENN ANDERSON

GP - 1129 / P - 1099

Wow, to think this guy signed a card for me! That's incredible! I don't remember seeing him play as I was too young. But, I always do my research on great players like this. Thanks Glenn!

Michael's Rating: 8.5

Enjoy the Superskills competition today!

GO NUCKS GO!

Old Timers Treasures - Mark Napier

Round 7 of 10 is Mark Napier. There is one thing I really like about this card, take a guess...

MARK NAPIER

GP - 767 / P - 541

Well it should be a pretty easy guess. It's only thing that makes this card special; the signature. I really like the full name sig. It's not like other Legends signatures where its a 2cm up and down blob in black sharpie. It looks prominent and has some authority! Thanks Mr. Napier!

Michael's Rating - 7.5

GO NUCKS GO!

Old Timers Treasures - Gaston Gingras

It's been awhile since my last Old Timers signature. I have 5 cards left and I'm very happy with the last 4 I'm going to show. Let's just get this one out of the way early...

  

GASTON GINGRAS

GP - 476 / P - 235

I can't say I know much about Gingras other than his stats. For a defense man a 0.5 points per game average isn't bad. Very lame signature though...faded...simple...bleh. But like I said, I have a few other neat sigs coming along the way. If anyone knows much about Gaston, don't hesitate to inform me with a comment. I would gladly send him your way!

Michael's Rating: 6.5

GO NUCKS GO!

KEN DRYDEN

As I promised I'm showcasing my fourth and final framed picture currently hanging on my wall. Unfortunately, unlike the other three this one is not signed. But I really like the design...

Like I said, the layout of this montage is great. Very classy, and sums up a great career! This was my dad's favorite goalie growing up and he thought it would be fitting to snag me this great piece on eBay. Let's take a look at the design. First of all the black background shows a really classy style. Ken Dryden is printed nicely at the top and at the bottom it shows all his best accomplishments. WOW! What a career! My favorite though is that famous pose. Really shows the atmosphere of old time hockey. Of course, there is his number popping out well against the black, very good contrast! Great piece IMO! 

GO NUCKS GO! 

Old Timers Treasures

It's that time again, let's break out another old signature. Montreal Canadians fans should be happy with this one, introducing Mr. Steve Shutt...

STEVE SHUTT

GP - 930, P - 817

Not a very nice signature, can't say it looks like he put much effort into it. Despite that, I would never reject a signature of a 5 time Stanley Cup champion, who had one 60 goal season, and played on the top line on the Canadians with Lafleur and Lemaire EVER! 

Michael's Rating: 8

GO NUCKS GO!

Old Timers Treasures

It's time for another Old Timers signature...but first! I urge everybody to check out a contest that is happening on another bloggers website (click here to see it)! It's a very cool idea, and has a great reward for any hockey fans out there!

Now onto the card...take a look:

DOUG BODGER

GP - 1071, P - 528

I can't say Doug Bodger has "highlight" worthy stats by any means, with a career high of only 54 points in the 1992-93 season. Although he did play 13 games for the Canucks, so technically he's a 'nucker. Anyways, I'm happy to pull out another oldie!

Michael's Rating: 6.5

GO NUCKS GO

Old Timers Treasures

Well it's a new week, and time to look at 2 more old timer hockey card signatures. This week, I'm featuring 2 cards because one of them is a little less exciting then the other. You'll know what I mean after the first card. Let's get to it...

RON HOGGARTH

CAREER 1971-1994

Well here's a look at an old-time referee, it's a little odd, but interesting. My only question is why is he holding a mic? Well, I don't know much about this referee, but if your interested in him I found a link from a Q and A he did...http://www.oldtimershockey.com/players/hoggarth.html...enjoy! Now on to the better stuff! (No offence Hoggarth.)

Michael's Rating: 7

KIRK MULLER

GP - 1349, P - 959

Before Muller was assistant coach of the Canadiens, he was/is a well known hockey player. He had 2 career high 94 point seasons and played for 19 seasons. I like the signature on the card with the number 11, and you can't beat that smile :D. A nice card to have in the collection!

Michael's Rating: 8

GO NUCKS GO!

Old Timers Treasures

I was thinking of a little segment to do every week (or so) and going through my collection a neat story caught my eye. When I was younger, my grandma (believe it or not) got the privilege of meeting one of the Canucks all-time best goalies. Richard Brodeur; famous for his 1982 run to the Stanley Cup finals with the Canucks; waltzed into my grandma's office. Richard was a nice enough guy to give my grandma a signed book from himself. My grandmother knew I was a crazy hockey fan and quickly called me and passed the book along. This is what the front cover looks like:

Obviously I was pretty psyched to receive a signature from an old time Canucks goalie, but for some odd reason it never occurred to me to actually look inside until 2 years after I received the book. Why?? I have no clue. But to my pleasant surprise there were 10 signed "hockey cards" of old-timers inside. So I've decided to post a card a week, just for kicks. Let's start with this:   

Gilbert Perreault

Reg. Season Stats: GP-1191, P-1326

Playoff Stats: GP-90, P-103

Now, this isn't a "real" hockey card since it isn't made by a real company, it's more like cardboard tear-outs found in a magazine. But, it adds to the uniqueness of the story and the card. Nonetheless, it's signed and I'm very happy. It's an interesting signature, although it's more like a scribble. I have to say though some very impressive stats for Mr. Perreault, so I'm very pleased to own it.  

Michaels Rating: 8/10 (even though it's not a real card)

GO NUCKS GO!