Sergei Bobrovsky Rookie Autograph from 2010-11 Panini Luxury Suite

After months of searching for this Luxury Suite rookie card of Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, and got it for a pretty insane price. 

Bobrovsky started his career out with the Philadelphia Flyers after being signed to a contract following four years with Metallurg Novokuznetsk of the RSL, and later, KHL. After two seasons with the Flyers, he was traded in June 2012 to the Blue Jackets for three draft picks, and that's where his career really took off. After splitting time with Steve Mason, Bobrovsky soon earned the position of the team's number one goaltender and Mason was then traded to Bobrovsky's old team, the Philadelphia Flyers. Bobrovsky was seen as the number one reason that the Blue Jackets made a major playoff push toward the end of the season, but they ultimately fell just short, at ninth overall in the Western Conference. Still, his role in the team's success, along with his statistical achievements, earned him the Vezina Award as the league's top goaltender.

This card (numbered 355/499) originally caught my eye when I pulled it out of a box I opened for a group break last July, and even then, it was a card that I wanted. I didn't know a whole lot about him at the time, but I'd heard enough to know that he has some legit potential, and the 2012-13 season proved that to be the case. It took me a while to find it, but my patience paid off, as I landed this card for the ridiculously low price of $5.29 shipped.

2012-13 Panini Rookie Anthology Box Break

I didn't pick up a box of 2011-12 Rookie Anthology until I included it as a part of a group break, but seeing the potential out of this year's set, I decided to pick up a box all for myself.

I'll admit that I was a bit confused when I saw this on Panini's schedule after the lockout ended. My thinking was, if there will be no 2012-13 rookies in this year's product, other than the ones left over from the 2011-12 season, what's the point of releasing a set called "Rookie Anthology." What I forgot, however, was what the spirit of this set is all about.

With the 2011-12 release, what they did was update the rookie cards from Certified, Crown Royale, Contenders, and a few other releases, with the rookies that entered midway through the season. What they did this year, though, was to put a twist on that theme, by inserting the hits from the Product lines that were cut due to the lockout, like Crown Royale, Titanium, and Elite.

Each box contains 10 packs of five cards, one of which is usually a hit or insert of some kind. Boxes are guaranteed four hits, one of which is autographed, plus one box-topper pack of three cards from the Prizm set. Some Prizm packs also contain an autographed card, so there's the potential for more than just the four promised hits.

My box gave me three Penguins, including two of the newest members of the team, Jarome Iginla and Brandon Sutter. I believe this marks the first cards of both of them wearing their new black and gold sweater.

The Penguins also made an appearance on two inserts, a Contenders Legacies card of Mario Lemieux numbered 362/999 and a Jordan Staal Elite Great Outdoors card numbered 141/500.  The Lemieux card is basic, but I like that in a set focused on former players, and the cool thing about the Staal is that it's done on an acetate material, and all of the white background is actually clear.

There were also  Trophy Contenders cards of Steven Stamkos (Hart 688/999), Loui Eriksson (Stanley Cup 431/999), and Niklas Backstrom (Vezina 719/999), as well as an Elite Rookie card of Carter Camper numbered 31/999. Not to be too critical, but I don't know if I'd exactly call any member of the Dallas Stars a "Cup Contender," at least for the time being.

My 3-card pack of Prizm actually gave me my first hit, which is good, because the other two base cards left a little to be desired, at least as far as my collection goes. The autographed refractor card is of Brandon Bollig from the Chicago Blackhawks. When I Googled Bollig to see how his season had gone, the first headline I saw was "Chicago Blackhawks insert Brandon Bollig for Game 1 of Stanley Cup Finals." Awesome! The next headline, however, read "Chicago Blackhawks: Don't blame Game 2 loss on Brandon Bollig." Uh oh.

This hit is a little frustrating, but maybe it doesn't need to be. I pulled a Titanium jersey card of Penguins goaltender Tomas Vokoun from Titanium. I say "frustrating," because I pulled a card of Jarome Iginla, who was acquired a couple months ago at the trade deadline, with his Penguins sweater, but this card of Vokoun, who signed way back in the off-season, has him pictured in his Washington Capitals gear. The only thing I can think of is that they would have released Titanium earlier in the year, they made the card as they would have made it back then, before a Penguins photo was available. 

Also from Titanium, I pulled a Bronze Metallic Marks card of Montreal Canadiens' defenseman Raphael Diaz. During the lockout, Diaz played for his former  Swiss hockey team EV Zug of the NLA. In 23 games with his NHL club in 2012-13, he scored one goal and 13 assists.

Like last year, Rookie Anthology brought us some more luxury suite cards. This year's offering features either cards with a piece of a player's stick or autographed cards with a player's jersey.  This Belfour is going right into my Hockey HOF Project and will replace the Between the Pipes jersey card I have of his, because this one is much cooler.

One of my favorite card that I pulled from the box was this Royal Lineage card from Crown Royale. I guess the idea of this set is that it traces a team's history from past two present. Even though they decided to trace the lineage of this "Original Six" team all the way from the '90a to two players from today, I still love this card. I'm a big fan of Chelios and Toews, and despite him shunning Pittsburgh in 2008, I still like Hossa quite a lot. Plus, the fact that all three guys are top-notch players is pretty awesome. You don't always get that lucky with these.

The one actual "Rookie Anthology" hit was an autographed dual jersey card of Buffalo Sabres center Travis Turnbull, numbered 579/699. An undrafted free agent signing by the Sabres in 2009, Turnbull made his NHL debut during the 2011-12 season. Three games is all it took that season for Turnbull to earn his rookie card, with one goal scored and five penalty minutes. That's pretty much the extent of his NHL career, as he played the 2012-13 season with Düsseldorfer EG of the DEL (German Ice Hockey League), scoring 12 goals and 34 assists in 50 games. 

Lastly, I got a super-cool Brandon Dubinsky Lords of the NHL prime jersey card, numbered 19/25. Unlike the Vokoun, this card actually depicts the player on his new 2012-13 team, which confuses me more as to why the one hit of a player from my team features him with his old team. Anyway,  the card features a really nice two-colored seam swatch, which is probably a New York Rangers jersey, but it still works with the new team. Crown Royale always has some of the coolest looking inserts, and that's the case here, with one exception

If you focus in on the bottom left corner, it is severely dinged, which may have to do with the thickness of the card. It's a bit disappointing, because even though Dubinsky's not on one of my favorite players lists, but it's such a great looking card that I would have been happy to keep it in the collection, had it not come out of the pack damaged.

After some internal deliberation, I've decided to send it in for a replacement. I've had to do this a couple time with Panini before, and they're usually pretty good with this kind of thing. I'm ok with having to do this if I need to, and I'm happy that they are willing to stand by the quality of the products and are willing to make things right when the products don't live up to those standards. I'll keep you updated with what I get back in return.

Anyway, remember how each box is guaranteed four hits? Have you been keeping count? SEVEN!!! If you count the autograph from the Prizm bonus pack, I almost got twice as many hits as promised. Instead of one auto and three relics, I found two autos, four relics, and one auto/relic. Apparently, this is actually not out of the ordinary, as when Panini opened up two boxes to preview the release, one of those boxes contained seven hits, as well. The other one they opened, though, just contained the promised four, so they don't all have all the bonuses.

Still, it's worth a shot, and the hits from the unproduced sets are pretty cool, even if you only get the four.

2013 NHL Award Winners

Congratulations to the 2013 NHL Award winners!

Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player) - Alex Ovechkin

Ted Lindsay Trophy (Most Outstanding Player as voted on by NHLPA) - Sidney Crosby

Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman) - P.K. Subban

Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender) - Sergei Bobrovsky

Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) - Jonathan Huberdeau

Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward) - Jonathan Toews

Jack Adams Trophy (Coach of the Year) - Paul MacLean

Messier Trophy (Leadership) - Daniel Alfredsson

General Manager of the Year - Ray Shero

Bill Masterton Trophy (Perseverance, Sportsmanship, and Dedication to Hockey) - Josh Harding

Lady Byng Trophy (Sportsmanship and Gentlemanly Conduct) - Martin St. Louis

NHL Foundation Player Award (Community Service) - Henrik Zetterberg

King Clancy Trophy (Leadership On & Off the Ice, Community Service) - Patrice Bergeron

Trade with Sportscards from the Dollar Store

The last of three Saturday night rapid-fire trade posts is one from our neighbors up north. I've completed many trades with Doug from Sportscards from the Dollar Store, and always enjoy them, because of how much progress I make on my set-building, and this trade is no exception to that.

In total, Doug sent me 50 set-building cards from the following:

2012-13 Between the Pipes - 35 cards
2012 Golden Age - 20 cards
2010-11 Upper Deck - 6 cards
2012 Allen & Ginter - 4 cards (2 SPs)
2011-12 Titanium - 1 card
2013 Gypsy Queen- 1 card (an SP)
2011-12 Certified  - 3 cards

In additon to the set-building help, Doug also sent me two cards for other focuses of my collection. The 2009-10 SP Game Used Rod Langway jersey 90/100 is going right towards my Hockey HOF Relic Project, and the 2008-09 Artifacts Marian Hossa jersey will fit nicely into my Penguins collection.

Thanks for the great trade, Doug, and with all the chaos that has been going on with me, I haven't gotten yours sent out yet, but it'll be on its way soon, with a few extras to make up for the wait.

Trade with Dutch Card Guy

I'm trying my best to rapid-fire these trade posts out tonight, so we'll see how it goes. This one comes all the way across the globe from the Dutch Card Guy. I had a Time Lincecum Cy Young Award Winner manu-relic from 2013 Topps, along with a few other cards that were sent his way. In return, I got quite a few set-builders, including 2 cards from 2008 Allen & Ginter, 13 from 2012 Allen & Ginter (including 1 SP), 28 from 2013 Gypsy Queen, 1 from 2012 Heritage (an SP), 2 from 2008 Masterpieces (which completed my base set), and 5 from 2009 A Piece of History.

He also sent 2 hits for my Chicago Cubs collection: a 2012 Topps Golden Moments jersey of Carlos Pena, and a 2004 Upper Deck Vintage Stellar Stat Men jersey of Mark Prior.

Thanks for a great trade!

Trade from My Cardboard Habit

One of the posts that has long been in the hopper during my move is a trade I made with J. Meeks from My Cardboard Habit. Actually, it wasn't even really a trade. He simply replied to a post I made about a trade I made with somebody else, and said he would just go ahead and send me a bunch of cards.

In total, I received 9 cards from 2012 Allen & Ginter (including 2 SPs) and 46 from 2013 Gypsy Queen, which went a long way in getting me closer to completing the set.

Thanks for the generosity, and if you ever see anything of mine that interests you, be sure to let me know.

Back in the Saddle

Well, I know that two weeks really isn't that long of a time, but it feels like it when that is the last time I have posted anything. Mostly, that has to do with the fact that my family and I just moved.

After my wife was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, got pregnant with our second child, and I lost my job, all within a six-month span, we were financially drained. As luck would have it, my dad, who lives in Fargo, ND, was assigned a temporary position with his company that had him working a one and a half year assignment in Florida. So, he and my mom went down there, and they offered for us to move in to their place to house-sit, and more importantly, get caught up from a financial perspective.

Fast forward to today, my wife is coming up one one year of being cancer free, our baby girl is now a two-year-old terror, and I have been working at my current job for a year and a half. Things are looking good. Apart from the Penguins getting embarrassed in the Eastern Conference Finals, things are looking real good.

Anyway, my dad's assignment in Florida came to its conclusion, which meant that they moved back,which meant we had to move out and find our own place, which we did, moving all the way from Fargo, ND to Moorhead, MN. Now, it may seem like we moved far away, but both places have basically grown together at the state border, so really, we just moved across town. Either way, it's nice to finally have a place to call our own, even if we are still renting.

With our internet finally hooked up now at our new place, I finally have time to get caught up on some posts, including two box breaks, a bunch of Ebay purchases, and a couple of trades (one of which, from Sportscards from the Dollar Store, I still have to send my end of the package out to......sorry about that, Doug).

So now that I'm back on, I'm going to try and rapid-fire some of these postings out, so look for more to come in the near future.

Panini Redemption Redeemed: 2012-13 Limited Monikers Sam Gagner

Recently, I have been on quite a run of my Panini redemptions actually being filled. I started things off with a Dontari Poe football auto, then a Festus Ezeli basketball auto, but now I finally got a hockey auto in the mail. This one is of Edmonton Oilers center Sam Gagner from 2012-13 Panini Limited Monikers. The card is signed on a white piece of fabric right next to an embroidered team logo and is numbered 5/99.

Gagner was Edmonton's first round pick (sixth overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry draft and went straight to the pro team for the 2007-08 season. During his rookie campaign, he scored 13 goals and 36 assists in 79 games.

During the 2011-12 season, Gagner tied a couple of Edmonton Oilers records set by guys now in the Hockey Hall of Fame. On February 2, 2012, he scored four goals and four assists in a 8-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, which tied both Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey, and his 5 points in a period tied a team record set by Jari Kurri. Then at the very next game, he set his own team record of 11 consecutive points after scoring two goals and one assist in the first period.

Hockey is definitely the family game of the Gagner family. Sam's father, Dave, played 15 seasons in the NHL with the New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, and Vancouver Canucks. Sam's sister Jessica is playing college hockey for the Dartmouth Big Green.

2012-13 Fleer Retro Mini Box Break

I've never been shy about the fact that when it comes to hockey card, I'm a Panini guy. Any time the company puts something puck-related out, I snatch it up without thinking twice. But there is still one other heavy hitter in the hockey market, Upper Deck. Of course, I say that, while already having picked up boxes of Series 1, Artifacts, Black Diamond, and SP Game Used. So, naturally, when they released Fleer Retro, I had to pick me up a box, just to see how this product would turn out.

Each full box contains two mini boxes, each of which are guaranteed to contain three autographs and two classic inserts (on average). I would have liked to have gotten the full box, but seeing as though I could only afford one mini box I had to go with that.

The entirety of this set, from the base cards, to the inserts, to the hits, is based solely on the Fleer products from, mostly, the mid-'90s, and nearly all of them are based on hockey product from that era. The one exception is the base set design, which is based on 2002 Fleer Triple Crown baseball. Still, the design really works well with hockey, having a white border with sharp, shiny foil. It almost resembles the skate blades on the ice.

Apart from the base cards, there were also some "Throwback" cards that put present day players in past Fleer Ultra Designs. The ones I pulled were 1993-94 Martin Brodeur & Patrick Kane,  1992-93 Jonathan Toews, and 1994-95 Claude Giroux & Ryan Miller. As somebody who was purchasing Fleer Ultra hockey cards, I can definitely appreciate how faithful they were to the source material, right down to the separate horizontal design they used for goalie cards in 1994-95.

There were also four cards based on 1997-98 Metal Universe including a Ruby Precious Metal Gems parallel of Mikko Koivu numbered 19/100. My "base" Metal Universe cards were of Pavel Bure, Tie Domi, and Jussi Rynnas. 

I was guaranteed two classic inserts in my box, but I was lucky enough to pull four, including the Koivu. My other three were cards on Wayne Gretzky and Martin Brodeur based on 1996-97 Flair Showcase Row 2, and a card of Taylor Hall based on 1997-9 Ultra Stars. I must say, between these cards and the Metal Universe cards that I pulled, they really went the distance when it came to recreating the same exact look as the cards' predecessors.

My first of three autographs was on Dallas Stars right winger Reilly Smith based on 1994-95 Rookie Sensation. Smith, the younger brother of Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith, spent 37 games with the pro club after playing for their AHL affiliate, Texas Stars, during the lockout. During the regular NHL season, he scored three goals and six assists, with eight penalty minutes.

My second autograph was a Brett Bulmer card based on 1996-97 Skybox Autographics. The Wild might not be my favorite team, but they are one of my "home" teams (Fargo, ND is closest to Minneapolis and Winnipeg), so it's always good to pull an auto from one of their players. Bulmer earned his rookie card in 2012-13 hockey card sets by playing nine games for the Wild during the 2011-12 season, but did not make an appearance with the pro club in 2012-13. in 43 games with the Houston Aeros during this past season, he scored four goals and three assists, with 41 penalty minutes.

While my first two autographs were of rookies and prospects, my third auto was a big one, or at least, a redemption for a big one. This redemption card is good for an autographed card of Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick. After being selected in the third round (72nd overall) of the 2005 NHL entry draft and making his NHL debut in 2008, Quick has established himself as one of the NHL's premier goaltenders. He backstopped the Kings to their first Stanley Cup victory in the 2011-12 season, and earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs. He was also nominated for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goaltender that same season, and was a member of the silver-medal-winning Team USA during the 2010 Olympics. He was the team's third goaltender that year, but many people expect him to take the starting position over from Ryan Miller for the 2014 Olympics.

I believe the auto is from the base card variation. I pulled his regular card out of this box, and basically, they'll be taking this card and slapping a sticker on the front, so here's kind of a look at what the card will sort of look like.

Well, this turned out to be a pretty good box. I got my three promised hits, one of which is pretty awesome, and I got a few extra inserts on top of my two promised ones. Of course, my enthusiasm of this product has a lot to do with getting a good autograph. I know other boxes have just contained three rookies, and with the rookie pool so thin this year, it might not be such a welcome sight. It's definitely a buy-at-your-own-risk type of product, but if you're willing to take a chance, you can get some really cool cards.

Two Champ's Hockey Autos for Two Bucks (Plus Shipping)

These two autographed cards fall under, "Hey, they were a buck each, so why not?" For $1.98 + shipping, I was able to get my hands on autographed mini cards of Jon Filewich and Niklas Kronwall from 2008-09 Champ's

Filewich had a short NHL career, playing in only five games during the 2007-08 season, with no points. During the 2012-13 season, he played in Croatia for Medveščak Zagreb of the EBEL, but next season, the team will become part of the KHL. Still, he is featured as a Penguin on this card, so I can at least add it to my team collection.

Kronwall, on the other hand, has become a regular for the Detroit Red Wings, and is one of the team's alternate captains. He is no stranger to success, too, having won an IIHF World Championship (Sweden 2008), an Olympic Gold Medal (Sweden 2008), and a Stanley Cup (Red Wings 2008). He is also known as one of the biggest hitters in the league, and fans refer to his devastating open ice hits as being "Kronwalled."