French_Connection
New Member, Must Send First
Hello everyone,
I always enjoy breaking "retro" hobby boxes (it still feels weird to see cards from the late 90s/early 2000s called retro in some places). I broke a number of boxes last summer that resulted in some amazing hits, from a dual hard signed Gordie Howe/Bobby Hull auto to a Patrick Roy pad card numbered to 99.
Has my luck continued this year?
Of course not! But I am still enjoying myself (and that is what matters, right???).
This year I have busted into 2001-02 Parkhurst, 2001-02 BAP Memorabilia, 2001-02 UD Top Shelf, 2002-03 UD Top-Shelf, 2006-07 UD Portraits, and even a single pack of 2006-07 UD Be A Player Signature Series. The results have mostly been middling, but it is still fun to go back and visit some of these products. No pictures of these products but I'll do a very quick rundown.
The two 2006-07 products probably resulted in the best hits - Portraits came with two Malkin rookie cards and a dual autographed of Chara and Milan Jurcina (my first Chara auto I've pulled myself). You shouldn't expect too much from Portraits, but it's a super fun product worth opening once if you ever get the chance. Ended up with seven total 8x10s.
The one Signature Series pack came with a Joe Pavelski rookie numbered to 999 and a Brian Campbell Variation 1 autographed numbered to 25.
Nothing too much from the 2001 ITG products - some numbered cards and a 500 Goal Scorers jersey card of Goulet.
The 02-03 Top Shelf came with a Fedorov jersey card and a Daniel Sedin auto. I also received the two rookie redemptions guaranteed per box - pretty neat addition to the collection. The 01-02 Top Shelf was a massive disappointment; I bought it from an online store I normally trust, but this box had clearly been tampered with. No seal, it was missing one of the guaranteed memorabilia hits, had terrible collation (I received base triplicates of at least three players), didn't have either of the two guaranteed numbered RCs, and even the wrappers of the two packs that had hits in them had been sliced. Very disappointed, though it's a retailer I've not have previous complaints with and have seen others do good business with here, so I shall leave them unnamed. Ended up with a Forsberg stick card and a Johan Hedberg pad card.
Anyway, I picked up a Gilbert Perreault autographed puck from 2001-02 Fleer Legacy Hockey recently and decided to give a hobby box a try. Each box should come with at least one each of the three memorabilia subsets: In The Corners, Tailor Made, and Hockey Kings. Puck redemptions fall 1:48 packs.
They should also feature a few numbered cards. The base set consists of 64 cards, with cards one through eight being the Ultra series that comes at least numbered to 2002. Ultimate variations exist for all base cards numbered to 202. I love the design of this set and figured it would be a fun rip. I didn't get anything massive, but did get all of my hits and ended up with a complete base set and some. Here they are:
First, the numbered cards:
Lafleur Ultra Ultimate #'d 203 / 2002
Red Kelly Ultimate #'d 85 / 202
Billy Smith Ultimate #'d 83 / 202
I really like the looks of the ultimate cards and am considering putting together the numbered base set.
Now for the mem hits:
Ciccarelli isn't my favorite player, but hard to really be picky over the player featured on a card with a piece of boards from Joe Louis Arena in it.
Tailor Made of Denis Savard. It's hard to see in the picture, but the jersey has some nice wear on it.
Hockey Kings stick card of Phil Esposito. I really enjoy the style of these cards. Wish this had been an autographed version (I have the Lemieux auto'd version that my dad pulled two decades ago), but still a nice player to hit on the day Ovechkin tied his career goal numbers.
Of course, I mentioned that the puck redemptions were 1:48 packs and, of course, I managed to hit one.
Would have been of The Hammer. Too bad! I still really enjoy getting these unsullied versions of redemptions cards from older eras. A neat novelty to add to the collection. Overall, a super fun break that I wouldn't mind trying again for the right price.
Now, onto the real star of this showcase. Courtesy of Dr. Price's President's Choice:
Walter "Babe" Pratt. Two time Cup winner (once with NYR and once with TML) and the 1944 winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy (as a defenseman!).
To echo the sentiments of others who obtained some of these cards - they are gorgeous in person. Pictures do not do them justice. There are a few more on the PC website that I plan to grab as funds allow it. With that said, thank you for the views, everyone!
I always enjoy breaking "retro" hobby boxes (it still feels weird to see cards from the late 90s/early 2000s called retro in some places). I broke a number of boxes last summer that resulted in some amazing hits, from a dual hard signed Gordie Howe/Bobby Hull auto to a Patrick Roy pad card numbered to 99.
Has my luck continued this year?
Of course not! But I am still enjoying myself (and that is what matters, right???).
This year I have busted into 2001-02 Parkhurst, 2001-02 BAP Memorabilia, 2001-02 UD Top Shelf, 2002-03 UD Top-Shelf, 2006-07 UD Portraits, and even a single pack of 2006-07 UD Be A Player Signature Series. The results have mostly been middling, but it is still fun to go back and visit some of these products. No pictures of these products but I'll do a very quick rundown.
The two 2006-07 products probably resulted in the best hits - Portraits came with two Malkin rookie cards and a dual autographed of Chara and Milan Jurcina (my first Chara auto I've pulled myself). You shouldn't expect too much from Portraits, but it's a super fun product worth opening once if you ever get the chance. Ended up with seven total 8x10s.
The one Signature Series pack came with a Joe Pavelski rookie numbered to 999 and a Brian Campbell Variation 1 autographed numbered to 25.
Nothing too much from the 2001 ITG products - some numbered cards and a 500 Goal Scorers jersey card of Goulet.
The 02-03 Top Shelf came with a Fedorov jersey card and a Daniel Sedin auto. I also received the two rookie redemptions guaranteed per box - pretty neat addition to the collection. The 01-02 Top Shelf was a massive disappointment; I bought it from an online store I normally trust, but this box had clearly been tampered with. No seal, it was missing one of the guaranteed memorabilia hits, had terrible collation (I received base triplicates of at least three players), didn't have either of the two guaranteed numbered RCs, and even the wrappers of the two packs that had hits in them had been sliced. Very disappointed, though it's a retailer I've not have previous complaints with and have seen others do good business with here, so I shall leave them unnamed. Ended up with a Forsberg stick card and a Johan Hedberg pad card.
Anyway, I picked up a Gilbert Perreault autographed puck from 2001-02 Fleer Legacy Hockey recently and decided to give a hobby box a try. Each box should come with at least one each of the three memorabilia subsets: In The Corners, Tailor Made, and Hockey Kings. Puck redemptions fall 1:48 packs.
They should also feature a few numbered cards. The base set consists of 64 cards, with cards one through eight being the Ultra series that comes at least numbered to 2002. Ultimate variations exist for all base cards numbered to 202. I love the design of this set and figured it would be a fun rip. I didn't get anything massive, but did get all of my hits and ended up with a complete base set and some. Here they are:
First, the numbered cards:
Lafleur Ultra Ultimate #'d 203 / 2002
Red Kelly Ultimate #'d 85 / 202
Billy Smith Ultimate #'d 83 / 202
I really like the looks of the ultimate cards and am considering putting together the numbered base set.
Now for the mem hits:
Ciccarelli isn't my favorite player, but hard to really be picky over the player featured on a card with a piece of boards from Joe Louis Arena in it.
Tailor Made of Denis Savard. It's hard to see in the picture, but the jersey has some nice wear on it.
Hockey Kings stick card of Phil Esposito. I really enjoy the style of these cards. Wish this had been an autographed version (I have the Lemieux auto'd version that my dad pulled two decades ago), but still a nice player to hit on the day Ovechkin tied his career goal numbers.
Of course, I mentioned that the puck redemptions were 1:48 packs and, of course, I managed to hit one.
Would have been of The Hammer. Too bad! I still really enjoy getting these unsullied versions of redemptions cards from older eras. A neat novelty to add to the collection. Overall, a super fun break that I wouldn't mind trying again for the right price.
Now, onto the real star of this showcase. Courtesy of Dr. Price's President's Choice:
Walter "Babe" Pratt. Two time Cup winner (once with NYR and once with TML) and the 1944 winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy (as a defenseman!).
To echo the sentiments of others who obtained some of these cards - they are gorgeous in person. Pictures do not do them justice. There are a few more on the PC website that I plan to grab as funds allow it. With that said, thank you for the views, everyone!
