Bobgat
Registered Trader
So I was on the phone with my wife the other day. She was on the other side of the country at a card store, and she was reading to me what they had and what it cost. The stores here in Charlotte don't really have hockey, so I was excited to hear. Anyway, she read past some and said "01-02 UD Premier for $99 a pack" and then moved on. I had her repeat herself, and told her that was what I wanted. She balked at first, and then when I told her that "Premier" was the same thing as "Ultimate", she had to have it. After looking at my Beckett and realizing that the chances of hitting a decent card were slim, I told her not to buy it.
She bought it.
I have been dreading this since she bought it. I didn't want to open it, because I knew from the start that there wouldn't be anything good in it. It was the last pack in the box, and there's a hockey collector there who always buys until he gets the box hit, then quits.
I was going to sell it on eBay, but those packs don't go for much. Rather than take a $40-50 loss and have nothing to show for it, I decided to open it and try to enjoy the experience. Here's what I got.
Card 1 - Not looking good.
Card 2 - There's a story to this one below. You *might* call it personal mojo, but it's a ,99 card nonetheless. Story is below.
Card 3 - OK, this was pretty cool, I have to admit. My jaw dropped when I saw it was a dual auto!
Before I get to card #4, here's the story I wanted to tell about my interaction with Jeff Jillson. I didn't realize it until tonight, but this story actually has a lot of NHL players in it.
My first class of my first semester at Michigan, the prof was calling roll and I heard a familiar name, Kevin Holdridge. As a die-hard Whalers fan, I had seen Holdridge play dozens of times, so when his name was called, I was in shock. Kevin was drafted by the Hurricanes (they had a pipeline from Plymouth to Carolina because they are owned and run by the same man) in the 3rd round of the 1998 Draft. I approached him after class, and we ended up being study partners for that class from then on.
One night, after studying, he asked me if I wanted to come out with some of the guys. We stopped at the liquor store to get some booze, then went to a dorm room to pick up a couple of his friends. One of the friends in question was Mike Komisarek. We all walked to the front of the dorm, where we met up with a bunch of the other hockey players and we headed off to a frat party. By then, we were pretty well plastered, and I don't know if you have ever been to a frat party or not, but getting in the bathroom at a party like that is no small feat. Kevin had a solution, and to make a long story short, I can't imagine how bad the dining room carpet must have smelled the next morning as those hung-over frat guys ate their Cheerios.
We left that party and went to the "hockey house". I never figured out who lived downstairs, but the upstairs had three bedrooms. One belonged to Mark Kosick. Next to his room was Jeff Jillson's room, and across the hall from him was Mike Comrie's room.
Comrie had left before the start of that season to play with Kootenay, and as Jillson and a couple of the other guys got more and more drunk, they kept talking about what an a-hole Comrie was for deserting their team for the WHL. There really was some serious animosity there. Comrie had left a dry-erase board on his door, and there were all sorts of nasty remarks scribbled on it. I was amazed.
Anyway, after a very short conversation with Andy Hilbert (probably the biggest prick I have ever met...and let's just say that the fact that he can't seem to play a full season before getting traded is no surprise for me...his teammates and the coaches couldn't stand him...if his talent were even half as great as his ego, he'd make Wayne Gretzky look like Wayne Primeau), Jillson, his drunk girlfriend, Kevin and I piled into his car and we made the scary one-mile journey back to our dorm.
Jillson was a stand-up guy, and I would really love to see him succeed in the NHL. I was glad to get his card.
Komo is a good guy too. Had him in a bunch of classes, and it was clear the entire time that he was focused entirely on the NHL. He's a little too tightly wound if you ask me.
Hilbert...let's just say that I showed more respect for that frat's carpet than I have for Hilbert.
Funniest line from the night...Jillson had a puck bunny on his lap, and in the middle of our conversation, the puck bunny says "can I cut your mullet?"
Anyway...
Card 4 -
All in all, I have to say I am glad I opened the pack. Seeing the look on my wife's face was worth 10x BV.
She bought it.
I have been dreading this since she bought it. I didn't want to open it, because I knew from the start that there wouldn't be anything good in it. It was the last pack in the box, and there's a hockey collector there who always buys until he gets the box hit, then quits.
I was going to sell it on eBay, but those packs don't go for much. Rather than take a $40-50 loss and have nothing to show for it, I decided to open it and try to enjoy the experience. Here's what I got.
Card 1 - Not looking good.
Card 2 - There's a story to this one below. You *might* call it personal mojo, but it's a ,99 card nonetheless. Story is below.
Card 3 - OK, this was pretty cool, I have to admit. My jaw dropped when I saw it was a dual auto!
Before I get to card #4, here's the story I wanted to tell about my interaction with Jeff Jillson. I didn't realize it until tonight, but this story actually has a lot of NHL players in it.
My first class of my first semester at Michigan, the prof was calling roll and I heard a familiar name, Kevin Holdridge. As a die-hard Whalers fan, I had seen Holdridge play dozens of times, so when his name was called, I was in shock. Kevin was drafted by the Hurricanes (they had a pipeline from Plymouth to Carolina because they are owned and run by the same man) in the 3rd round of the 1998 Draft. I approached him after class, and we ended up being study partners for that class from then on.
One night, after studying, he asked me if I wanted to come out with some of the guys. We stopped at the liquor store to get some booze, then went to a dorm room to pick up a couple of his friends. One of the friends in question was Mike Komisarek. We all walked to the front of the dorm, where we met up with a bunch of the other hockey players and we headed off to a frat party. By then, we were pretty well plastered, and I don't know if you have ever been to a frat party or not, but getting in the bathroom at a party like that is no small feat. Kevin had a solution, and to make a long story short, I can't imagine how bad the dining room carpet must have smelled the next morning as those hung-over frat guys ate their Cheerios.
We left that party and went to the "hockey house". I never figured out who lived downstairs, but the upstairs had three bedrooms. One belonged to Mark Kosick. Next to his room was Jeff Jillson's room, and across the hall from him was Mike Comrie's room.
Comrie had left before the start of that season to play with Kootenay, and as Jillson and a couple of the other guys got more and more drunk, they kept talking about what an a-hole Comrie was for deserting their team for the WHL. There really was some serious animosity there. Comrie had left a dry-erase board on his door, and there were all sorts of nasty remarks scribbled on it. I was amazed.
Anyway, after a very short conversation with Andy Hilbert (probably the biggest prick I have ever met...and let's just say that the fact that he can't seem to play a full season before getting traded is no surprise for me...his teammates and the coaches couldn't stand him...if his talent were even half as great as his ego, he'd make Wayne Gretzky look like Wayne Primeau), Jillson, his drunk girlfriend, Kevin and I piled into his car and we made the scary one-mile journey back to our dorm.
Jillson was a stand-up guy, and I would really love to see him succeed in the NHL. I was glad to get his card.
Komo is a good guy too. Had him in a bunch of classes, and it was clear the entire time that he was focused entirely on the NHL. He's a little too tightly wound if you ask me.
Hilbert...let's just say that I showed more respect for that frat's carpet than I have for Hilbert.
Funniest line from the night...Jillson had a puck bunny on his lap, and in the middle of our conversation, the puck bunny says "can I cut your mullet?"
Anyway...
Card 4 -
All in all, I have to say I am glad I opened the pack. Seeing the look on my wife's face was worth 10x BV.
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Thanks for the story too. 
So I'm unawares as to what you pulled from the pack. I guess that I'll have to have a lookie from home.
