French_Connection
New Member, Must Send First
I am a few months into my new dedicated project of collecting certified company/pack-issued autographs of players who have been inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame. I am basically at the point where my HHOF equivalent collection is at the mercy of affordable cut signatures (Geraldine Heaney Esso autograph aside), so this has been a fun and illuminating extension of love for both the game and the hobby.
I still have plenty of cool stuff on the way from Europe, but I figured I would share some of the interesting autos that have made it from Slovakia and Sweden, respectively.
Let's start with the 2018 SportsZoo Pocta Legendam (Tribute to Legends) 1st Ed. Blue Autographs set.
Karol Fako, Jan Starsi, and Julius Cernicky
Jozef Golonka, Vladimir Dzurilla*, and Igor Liba
Jaromir Dragan, Lubomir Sekeras, and Zdeno Ciger
This is the entire nine card set, dedicated to Slovakian hockey legends. First, the elephant in the room - obviously the Dzurilla is a facsimile print (he died in 1995) and the back of the card indicates as such. Starsi and Golonka (along with Dzurilla) have been inducted in the IIHF HOF and are the main reasons I chased this set; honestly, either player wouldn't look out of place in the HHOF, especially Golonka. Thankfully, I was able to find someone selling the entire blue ink set for a reasonable price. This is the base version and each card has a stated print run of /65. There is a 2nd edition that features the Stastny brothers, amongst others, but it's not on my priority list.
Okay, now up north with some Swedish Aflabilder Autographs.
Ronald "Sura-Pelle" Pettersson and Stefan Persson
The Pettersson is the lone Alfa Auto I have that isn't from the initial 1997-98 Autograph set. While the 97-98's are all numbered on the back to /2000, subsequent years are much more limited, with the Pettersson (2009) coming in only /200 copies. He was inducted into the IIHF HOF in 2004, whereas Persson is not enshrined (but I loved the picture with his four Isles Cup rings too many to not grab him too).
Nisse "Nils" Nilsson and Roland Stoltz
Nilsson was inducted in 2002, while Stoltz was inducted in 1999. The Stoltz is in pretty rough shape (I was made aware of this when I acquired it!) with it being heavily sun-faded and featuring a crimp across the top. Hopefully I am able to find a replacement at some point!
Ulf Sterner and Leif "Honken" Holmqvist
Sterner was inducted in 2001; Honken Holmqvist in 1999
Tord Lundstrom and Bengt-Ake Gustafsson
Lundstrom was inducted in 2011, which is relatively recent for an older player. Gustafsson was inducted in 2003. Gus was a complete stud as a player internationally and in the NHL for the Capitals, before moving on to coaching the Sweden Men's National Team for about 5 years. He coached them to Olympic gold and WC gold in 2006, though I get the sense that the rest of his tenure as HC was marred with underperformance. Either way, I was pumped to grab his Alfabilder autograph.
Now, the best for last.
Sven Olof Gunnar Johnasson, or Sven Tumba
Inducted in the inaugural class of 1997, I cannot begin to do Sven Tumba's vast accomplishments and legacy justice in this post. Just, go do yourselves a favor and read up on him if you are unaware, as it extends well beyond the hockey rink. Honestly, he belongs in the HHOF and absolutely had the ability and even an offer to play in the NHL, but did not want to void his eligibility to play for Sweden in national tournaments. I was beyond thrilled to add him to the collection.
More cool stuff is on the way, including one player that will allow me to check off a name on both HOF lists... Thanks for viewing!
I still have plenty of cool stuff on the way from Europe, but I figured I would share some of the interesting autos that have made it from Slovakia and Sweden, respectively.
Let's start with the 2018 SportsZoo Pocta Legendam (Tribute to Legends) 1st Ed. Blue Autographs set.
Karol Fako, Jan Starsi, and Julius Cernicky
Jozef Golonka, Vladimir Dzurilla*, and Igor Liba
Jaromir Dragan, Lubomir Sekeras, and Zdeno Ciger
This is the entire nine card set, dedicated to Slovakian hockey legends. First, the elephant in the room - obviously the Dzurilla is a facsimile print (he died in 1995) and the back of the card indicates as such. Starsi and Golonka (along with Dzurilla) have been inducted in the IIHF HOF and are the main reasons I chased this set; honestly, either player wouldn't look out of place in the HHOF, especially Golonka. Thankfully, I was able to find someone selling the entire blue ink set for a reasonable price. This is the base version and each card has a stated print run of /65. There is a 2nd edition that features the Stastny brothers, amongst others, but it's not on my priority list.
Okay, now up north with some Swedish Aflabilder Autographs.
Ronald "Sura-Pelle" Pettersson and Stefan Persson
The Pettersson is the lone Alfa Auto I have that isn't from the initial 1997-98 Autograph set. While the 97-98's are all numbered on the back to /2000, subsequent years are much more limited, with the Pettersson (2009) coming in only /200 copies. He was inducted into the IIHF HOF in 2004, whereas Persson is not enshrined (but I loved the picture with his four Isles Cup rings too many to not grab him too).
Nisse "Nils" Nilsson and Roland Stoltz
Nilsson was inducted in 2002, while Stoltz was inducted in 1999. The Stoltz is in pretty rough shape (I was made aware of this when I acquired it!) with it being heavily sun-faded and featuring a crimp across the top. Hopefully I am able to find a replacement at some point!
Ulf Sterner and Leif "Honken" Holmqvist
Sterner was inducted in 2001; Honken Holmqvist in 1999
Tord Lundstrom and Bengt-Ake Gustafsson
Lundstrom was inducted in 2011, which is relatively recent for an older player. Gustafsson was inducted in 2003. Gus was a complete stud as a player internationally and in the NHL for the Capitals, before moving on to coaching the Sweden Men's National Team for about 5 years. He coached them to Olympic gold and WC gold in 2006, though I get the sense that the rest of his tenure as HC was marred with underperformance. Either way, I was pumped to grab his Alfabilder autograph.
Now, the best for last.
Sven Olof Gunnar Johnasson, or Sven Tumba
Inducted in the inaugural class of 1997, I cannot begin to do Sven Tumba's vast accomplishments and legacy justice in this post. Just, go do yourselves a favor and read up on him if you are unaware, as it extends well beyond the hockey rink. Honestly, he belongs in the HHOF and absolutely had the ability and even an offer to play in the NHL, but did not want to void his eligibility to play for Sweden in national tournaments. I was beyond thrilled to add him to the collection.
More cool stuff is on the way, including one player that will allow me to check off a name on both HOF lists... Thanks for viewing!
