Awesome Card of the Week

Normally, I'm not a fan of cards with sticker autographs. In general, I find them to be eye-sores and I don't have many in my collection. However, there are exceptions to every rule.

A recent box break of 2013-14 Panini Contenders Hockey had this beauty in it.

A quadruple autograph of 3 Hall of Fame players (Brett Hull, Grant Fuhr, and Dale Hawerchuk)... and Chris Pronger, who will be in the Hall of Fame someday himself.  And as a bonus, it's numbered to only /20.

This one will be staying in my collection... regardless of my dislike of sticker autographs. I'm not warming to sticker autographs but let's just say it's not an 'all-out-war' anymore!

Awesome Card of the Week

At the 2011 Fall Sports Card Expo in Toronto, Ontario, I had some good luck at the Panini booth with redemption products.

But no hits were better than this...

A massive 8X10 hard-signed photo/card of the hottest NFL rookie in a long time.

Cam Newton is my new best friend!

Awesome Card of the Week

From 2007-08 In The Game Ultimate Memorabilia 8th Edition comes this Retro Teammates jersey card of legends Vladislav Tretiak and Valeri Kharlamov.

Both thorns in the side of many Canadian hockey fans during the 1970's and 1980's, these veterans of the Soviet Union hockey team are important additions to any collection. The bonus of this card is the inclusion of seams and stitching from the Kharlamov jersey.

Awesome Card of the Week

In The Game has a great VIP Program.

It's pretty simple...
1. Open In The Game products.
2. Save the box-tops.
3. Send the box-tops to In The Game.
4. In The Game sends you a jersey card.

Today, I received my In The Game VIP Program memorabilia card in the mail. It was a Jeremy Roenick three-colour patch with thick seams and stitching from his days as a Chicago Blackhawk.

One cool feature is that my name is printed on the back of the card. Some collectors may not like being joined that closely to a card but I think it's a great idea.

It also means... I'll probably never try to move it!

Awesome Card of the Week

A marvelous Montreal Maroon!

Although Earle Robinson was not Hall of Fame worthy, he had a notable career in the NHL and in other leagues in the 1920's and 1930's. It culminated with a great season in 1934-35 and a Stanley Cup Championship.



Having died in 1986, this cut signature from In The Game Ultimate 8th Edition, is a piece of history worth keeping. It will also result in an additional player collection as I'll be attempting to acquire some other cards and Beehive photos, etc. from Robinson's playing days.

Awesome Card of the Week

The early 1990's were all about these two players. To get both Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr on the same card, sporting their signatures and some memorabilia from the Pittsburgh Penguins, is just plain awesome.



With Lemieux in the Hall of Fame and Jagr headed there once his playing days are done, this card is definitely a keeper.

Card of the Week

Every year there is one product I look forward to. And this year is no different as I bought 4 boxes of 2009-10 Upper Deck SP Authentic Hockey from Canada Card World.

I love the crisp, clean design. I love the hard-signed autos. I love the fact that you can get one of the hot rookies just as easily as you can get a poor one since the Future Watch Auto's are all numbered to /999.

Normally, the Matt Duchene Future Watch Auto /999 that I pulled would qualify as one heck of a hit... but in comparison to this, it just doesn't quite win the award.



This is the second year in a row that I've pulled a Bobby Orr autograph from SP Authentic Hockey. Last year, it was a 2008-09 Sign of the Times autograph. This year, it's the 2009-10 Sign of the Times Dual autograph of Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito.

Oddly enough, it was my favourite product before these recent pulls. I can't wait to see what next year holds!

Awesome Card of the Week

2008-09 ITG Between The Pipes was one of the best products released last season. In 2009-10, it's much the same. And that's a very good thing. From a box last week, I pulled this:



A Complete Package (jersey/glove/stick/pad) of Pelle Lindbergh is a dream card for anyone's collection. This is the silver version which is /19 and regardless of my loyalties, Lindbergh is a goaltender who should be in everyone's personal collection.

Even as a Habs fan, I felt great sadness when Lindbergh died in the mid-1980's in the prime of his career. The fact that we can still honour his career with spectacular cards like this is a great thing about our hobby.

Awesome Card of the Week

From 1995-96 Upper Deck Be A Player comes this image of Luke Richardson biting through his hockey stick:



Not only an imaginative pose, this card features Richardson's autograph as well. A nice autograph from one of the game's toughest customers.

Awesome Card of the Week

This is a classic card from 95-96 Pinnacle of former Washington Capital Olaf Kolzig.  How often do you see goaltenders without their masks on hockey cards... and how many of them spell their first name on their hotdog with mustard?