creasecollector
Verified Trader ,
Hello my fellow card collectors,
Another year down, and another year-in-review post just waiting to be written up.
I've always enjoy doing these, as it provides me with some time to reflect on how the past year has gone. While that mainly includes cardboard, I always catch myself thinking of how the past year has been in regards to other personal or professional matters and how much has changed, either for the good, the bad, and the somewhere in-between. This past year has been incredible in many ways for me on a personal note, and a year I will remember for the rest of my life.
On the cardboard front, things have been slower. To me, that isn't always a bad thing - Sometimes the slower card years can be some of the best. This year falls into the latter category. I remember mentioning on the Center Ice Card Cast podcast near the end of 2023 how I didn't know what the next year would hold for me and the Enroth card collection (which is my main PC focus) in terms of what cards I will be able to add. That time comes for every player collector out there, and I am okay with that. That being said, it was really cool waiting and seeing what opportunities presented themselves this year on the card front.
While I don't think it surpassed 2023 in terms of the quality of those pickups as a whole, 2024 has been a great year for me in the hobby. I was able to land a couple of cards I didn't know much about, along with a few 1/1's which is always super fun to track down. You'll even find a few non-Enroth cards in this year's Top 10, which I was happy to find.
As for 2025, just like this time last year, I really don't know what to expect. I am not aware of any newer Enroth cards being created, so we'll see if I have to scale down my Top 10 additions next year (Maybe a Top 5?). But either way, I will continue to have fun in this hobby and enjoy the pieces I've already added, which is an important part of this hobby I've found is sometimes overlooked.
Before I start, if anyone would like to review my Top 10 additions from last year in 2023, please click HERE.
Also, for those who read this thread, thank you for making it another year. Your comments are always read and greatly appreciated. Please grab a hot or cold beverage of your choosing (which I am enjoying now), and enjoy reading about my top pickups from 2024!
Honourable Mention: Curtis Joseph 2002-03 ITG BAP All-Star Emblem /10
I was lucky enough to snag this incredible All-Star patch /10 at the 2024 Spring Expo. As a Leafs fan, CuJo was an absolute legend here growing up. I've always had a soft spot for those nice NHL 2000 patches as well. This patch was from the NHL All-Star Game in 2000, which was hosted in Toronto. Always nice when you can match the patch to the type of jersey it's from.
February 6th, 2000: Curtis Joseph makes a save at the 2000 All-Star Game in Toronto, Canada.
10) Jhonas Enroth 2024 NHL Career Cloth Booklet Card (Custom)
This super cool custom NHL Career Cloth booklet card was created by Glenn (BigBarracuda on the forums, etc) this past year and this thing is just epic. Glenn was kind enough to make this for my collection and I couldn't be happier. I even saw some of his custom work showcased at the 2024 Sports Card & Memorabilia Fall Expo in Toronto, which was pretty cool. Card collectors tipping their "hat" (toploaders) out of respect for other card collectors. Gotta love that.
While I was putting this list together, this card definitely deserved a spot on my Top 10 this year. Way to go, Glenn! Thanks again!
9) Jhonas Enroth TAG Graded 2009-10 Young Guns RC
When TAG Grading burst on the card scene a few years ago, I knew I had to get one of their slabs into my collection. I submitted this card myself at the 2024 Spring Expo, as TAG was partnering with Slab Sharks to try out their new point-of-sale digital submission system. They were accepting Expo submissions at a very cheap price, so I figured why not.
I just grabbed a random Young Guns and threw it up for submission, and it luckily came back with a 9 Mint grade. Cool! Happy to have this card in my collection alongside the other graded Young Guns.
8) Mike Mole 2008-09 The Cup Printing Plate Magenta 1/1
For those who have followed the blog or my collecting habits over the years, you'll know I collect cards of my former goalie coach. I was glad to find another Mole 1/1 card for this small collection!
I'm still looking for the 2008-09 Artifacts Rookie Gold Spectrum #/5 to complete the collection, but any 1/1 will be happily added to the PC! Earlier in the Fall I was surprised to see this listed on eBay, but I was able to win it with ease.
7) Jhonas Enroth TAG Graded 2016-17 UD Exclusives 35/100 (Jersey Numbered)
More TAG! Shortly after the Young Guns submission, while checking the TAG portal, I noticed only one other Enroth card had just been graded, and it was this one. I assume it was submitted at the very same show or sortly after, which I was surprised about. To even further the surprise, I noticed that this was Enroth's jersey numbered copy of the 2016-17 UD Exclusives parallel numbered 35/100.
Since Enroth only received a handful of Maple Leafs cards, this is the only card numbered that can have a 35 jersey numbered copy out there, which is pretty cool. I'm not crazy over Jersey Numbered cards, but if the price is right, why not. I have a decent number of them from my years collecting this guy. The TAG graded 9 Mint is an added bonus. NICE!
6) Wayne Gretzky 2003-04 SPGU Limited Fabrics /75 (Oilers)
Nothing much to say about this card, as it's a game-used jersey card from the best player to ever lace up the skates, Wayne Gretzky.
I spotted this at the 2024 Spring Expo in Toronto for a very reasonable price, consider what prices his stuff goes for today. This card is from 2003-04, and they don't make then like the used to. I just love the design and the memorabilia windows they used 'back in the day'. As for the memorabilia itself, it's a great blue swatch from an Edmonton Oilers game-worn jersey, which is pretty amazing.
Wayne Gretzky's Oilers gamers don't come up for sale that often anymore. It's usually out of the price range of most card manufacturers too, as they usually end up in private collections with a lot more cash to spend on a single item.
Upper Deck currently has some Gretzky Oilers memorabilia cards from recent modern-day products, but those are practice-worn jersey material. It's been a while since a Gretzky Oilers game-worn jersey has been used in licensed Upper Deck products (around early-mid 2000's), hence the reason why I've wanted to pick one up for a while now. Glad I was able to cross this off the list this year!
5) Jhonas Enroth 2009-10 The Cup UD Black Printing Plate Cyan 1/1
Another 1/1, and another printing plate! Maybe I'm alone in this, but I've always enjoyed picking up printing plates. To have something that was used in the card production process will never not be cool in my mind.
This UD Black (Cyan) autographed plate was the 24th printing plate from Enroth's rookie card year in 2009-10, and it came all the way from Stockholm, Sweden. I've seen this change hands a few times over the years, so it's nice to have finally landed it.
4) Jhonas Enroth 2024 President's Choice Made To Order 1/1
I will let the card do most of the talking on this one.
Since Dr. Brian Price burst onto the scene in 2016 with his newest venture back into the card industry with President's Choice Trading Cards, he has offered up the opportunity for a continuation of his Made To Order project. For those who enjoy a little history lesson, Dr. Price first paved the way for Made To Order (MTO) cards many years ago when he was the President of In The Game (ITG) trading cards.
These MTO cards were randomly inserted into various products over the years, and gave a select few collectors the chance of having a customer card created using a pre-selected list of players ITG had memorabilia of. The chance to own a customer memorabilia card is something that many collectors have dreamed of, and ITG brought that process to life. I missed the boat on the original ITG Made To Order cards back in the day, so when Dr. Price started up MTo cards again, I knew one day I would take advantage of that program.
This year, I decided to have a custom Enroth card created for my collection, and Dr. Price knocked it out of the park with this quadruple memorabilia Complete Package card. I have always enjoyed the concept of Complete Package cards over the years, so to have one in my collection is really cool. The memorabilia pieces are awesome, and I just love everything about the card design.
A huge thanks to Brian for bringing this card idea to life. It's now one of my favourite cards in my entire collection!
3) Jhonas Enroth 2012 FairPlay & Respekt Swedish Playing Card
So this in an oddball type of card, but that's what I enjoy the most about it. I feel like the oddball cards in a collection really make it standout amongst the rest. Oddball cards can bring a well-rounded collection to the next level, as there are other cards out there that just can't replicate the appeal of oddball cards, in my opinion.
What you're looking at here is an FairPlay & Respekt Swedish playing card. The release year is a little fuzzy, but I estimate that these playing cards were released in 2012 based on some evidence I've found.
These cards were distributed by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association (Svenska Ishockeyförbundet) as a fun tool to educate and inform their various minor hockey teams/players in Sweden about the rules of hockey and how to conduct yourself on and off the ice when participating within the game of hockey. I've included some images below I found from a Swedish Ice Hockey Association presentation promoting this card set.
The above promo Swedish marketing material released by their ice hockey federation links a website to download the 52-card playing card set digitally. The last text translates in English to: "A PDF with all cards is available for download at: hockeyakademin.se"
As an added bonus, this Swedish playing card is autographed! Very cool. There was a similar set of cards of the same name released in 2006, which I vaguely knew about. So eventually finding out years later that an update set had been produced was news to me. This newer 2012 FairPlay & Respekt playing card set was released in both digital and physical card formats, so to finally grab one of the physical version this year was something I didn't see coming. Amazing!
2) Jhonas Enroth 2023-24 Orebro HK SHL Team Issued Card
Aside from oddball cards, one of my favourite card categories to add into my collection are Team Issued cards.
I'm not sure why, but maybe it's because a lot of the time you don't really know they exist until you see one. It could also be that these cards usually come with an obscure rarity that you can only place with a few select cards, or maybe it's the stories that go along with them when you uncover their origins (if you can), and likely a combination of all those things.
These cards are from the Swedish 2023-24 Örebro HK SHL team issued set. Some of these cards were given away during the season at meet & greet events during the 2023-24 regular season, in addition to being signed and given out by the players at a 2024-25 premiere kick-off team event on August 8th in 2024 in preparation for the 2024-25 season. Before a fan of the team offered one up for my collection, I had no idea Enroth had a card in this set.
Fans from an Örebro HK fan Facebook group I'm a part of took these photos at this team event, letting me know that these cards had been issued and signed at this event in early August. Through these photos, another fan reached out saying they had a card for me from this event that I could have for my collection. What a cool story!
Goaltenders Jonas Arntzen & Jhonas Enroth signing cards for some fans who attended the event on August 8th, 2024.
Jhonas Enroth & Jonas Arntsen cards at the signing table waiting to be signed and given to fans at the event on August 8th, 2024.
Like I mentioned earlier, sometimes you don't know of these cards until a deal is in process. I will unlikely see one of these ever offered for sale on the secondary market, so it was nice to find one for my collection when I could.
Are there any other team issued cards out there that I have not seen? It is very likely, but will I find them? Who knows, but maybe that is a question that might be answered in 2025 or beyond...
1) Jhonas Enroth 2024 President's Choice Butt End 1/1
This BEHEMOTH of a card lands the top spot in 2024.
Dr. Price introduced what I like to call the 'bat knob' of hockey cards this past August, as he created these unique 1/1 Butt End stick memorabilia cards that featured the top end of a game-used hockey stick.
These cards have been a huge hit with collectors since their arrival. In November, President's Choice updated their website with a few updates to this set, which included an Enroth card. I was lucky enough to eventually snag that card for my collection.
After receiving the card, and a few image searches later, I was able to find a potential photo-match to a stick Enroth used during his very first NHL win on November 6th, 2010. Amazing!
I'm not 100% sure on the match, but it looks pretty good to me. Maybe an expert can help me out. I've included a photo below of the potential photo-matched image. Anyways, you can be the judge, but I am just happy to have the card. This was the final addition to the collection in 2024, and I'm glad I was able to end the year in a big way (pun totally intended).
Here's a potential stick knob photo-matched image after Enroth earned his first NHL win on November 6th, 2010 vs the Toronto Maple Leafs. The top of the stick knob resembles to 1/1 card above.
So that's a wrap on 2024! I hope you all enjoyed my quick little year-in-review recap from the past year.
If you have any cards you'd like to share with me that you've been proud to have acquired this past year, please send me an email! You can connect with me by using the contact page on this site. Thank you!
Happy Collecting,
- Aaron / creasecollector
Another year down, and another year-in-review post just waiting to be written up.
I've always enjoy doing these, as it provides me with some time to reflect on how the past year has gone. While that mainly includes cardboard, I always catch myself thinking of how the past year has been in regards to other personal or professional matters and how much has changed, either for the good, the bad, and the somewhere in-between. This past year has been incredible in many ways for me on a personal note, and a year I will remember for the rest of my life.
On the cardboard front, things have been slower. To me, that isn't always a bad thing - Sometimes the slower card years can be some of the best. This year falls into the latter category. I remember mentioning on the Center Ice Card Cast podcast near the end of 2023 how I didn't know what the next year would hold for me and the Enroth card collection (which is my main PC focus) in terms of what cards I will be able to add. That time comes for every player collector out there, and I am okay with that. That being said, it was really cool waiting and seeing what opportunities presented themselves this year on the card front.
While I don't think it surpassed 2023 in terms of the quality of those pickups as a whole, 2024 has been a great year for me in the hobby. I was able to land a couple of cards I didn't know much about, along with a few 1/1's which is always super fun to track down. You'll even find a few non-Enroth cards in this year's Top 10, which I was happy to find.
As for 2025, just like this time last year, I really don't know what to expect. I am not aware of any newer Enroth cards being created, so we'll see if I have to scale down my Top 10 additions next year (Maybe a Top 5?). But either way, I will continue to have fun in this hobby and enjoy the pieces I've already added, which is an important part of this hobby I've found is sometimes overlooked.
Before I start, if anyone would like to review my Top 10 additions from last year in 2023, please click HERE.
Also, for those who read this thread, thank you for making it another year. Your comments are always read and greatly appreciated. Please grab a hot or cold beverage of your choosing (which I am enjoying now), and enjoy reading about my top pickups from 2024!
Honourable Mention: Curtis Joseph 2002-03 ITG BAP All-Star Emblem /10
I was lucky enough to snag this incredible All-Star patch /10 at the 2024 Spring Expo. As a Leafs fan, CuJo was an absolute legend here growing up. I've always had a soft spot for those nice NHL 2000 patches as well. This patch was from the NHL All-Star Game in 2000, which was hosted in Toronto. Always nice when you can match the patch to the type of jersey it's from.
February 6th, 2000: Curtis Joseph makes a save at the 2000 All-Star Game in Toronto, Canada.
10) Jhonas Enroth 2024 NHL Career Cloth Booklet Card (Custom)
This super cool custom NHL Career Cloth booklet card was created by Glenn (BigBarracuda on the forums, etc) this past year and this thing is just epic. Glenn was kind enough to make this for my collection and I couldn't be happier. I even saw some of his custom work showcased at the 2024 Sports Card & Memorabilia Fall Expo in Toronto, which was pretty cool. Card collectors tipping their "hat" (toploaders) out of respect for other card collectors. Gotta love that.
While I was putting this list together, this card definitely deserved a spot on my Top 10 this year. Way to go, Glenn! Thanks again!
9) Jhonas Enroth TAG Graded 2009-10 Young Guns RC
When TAG Grading burst on the card scene a few years ago, I knew I had to get one of their slabs into my collection. I submitted this card myself at the 2024 Spring Expo, as TAG was partnering with Slab Sharks to try out their new point-of-sale digital submission system. They were accepting Expo submissions at a very cheap price, so I figured why not.
I just grabbed a random Young Guns and threw it up for submission, and it luckily came back with a 9 Mint grade. Cool! Happy to have this card in my collection alongside the other graded Young Guns.
8) Mike Mole 2008-09 The Cup Printing Plate Magenta 1/1
For those who have followed the blog or my collecting habits over the years, you'll know I collect cards of my former goalie coach. I was glad to find another Mole 1/1 card for this small collection!
I'm still looking for the 2008-09 Artifacts Rookie Gold Spectrum #/5 to complete the collection, but any 1/1 will be happily added to the PC! Earlier in the Fall I was surprised to see this listed on eBay, but I was able to win it with ease.
7) Jhonas Enroth TAG Graded 2016-17 UD Exclusives 35/100 (Jersey Numbered)
More TAG! Shortly after the Young Guns submission, while checking the TAG portal, I noticed only one other Enroth card had just been graded, and it was this one. I assume it was submitted at the very same show or sortly after, which I was surprised about. To even further the surprise, I noticed that this was Enroth's jersey numbered copy of the 2016-17 UD Exclusives parallel numbered 35/100.
Since Enroth only received a handful of Maple Leafs cards, this is the only card numbered that can have a 35 jersey numbered copy out there, which is pretty cool. I'm not crazy over Jersey Numbered cards, but if the price is right, why not. I have a decent number of them from my years collecting this guy. The TAG graded 9 Mint is an added bonus. NICE!
6) Wayne Gretzky 2003-04 SPGU Limited Fabrics /75 (Oilers)
Nothing much to say about this card, as it's a game-used jersey card from the best player to ever lace up the skates, Wayne Gretzky.
I spotted this at the 2024 Spring Expo in Toronto for a very reasonable price, consider what prices his stuff goes for today. This card is from 2003-04, and they don't make then like the used to. I just love the design and the memorabilia windows they used 'back in the day'. As for the memorabilia itself, it's a great blue swatch from an Edmonton Oilers game-worn jersey, which is pretty amazing.
Wayne Gretzky's Oilers gamers don't come up for sale that often anymore. It's usually out of the price range of most card manufacturers too, as they usually end up in private collections with a lot more cash to spend on a single item.
Upper Deck currently has some Gretzky Oilers memorabilia cards from recent modern-day products, but those are practice-worn jersey material. It's been a while since a Gretzky Oilers game-worn jersey has been used in licensed Upper Deck products (around early-mid 2000's), hence the reason why I've wanted to pick one up for a while now. Glad I was able to cross this off the list this year!
5) Jhonas Enroth 2009-10 The Cup UD Black Printing Plate Cyan 1/1
Another 1/1, and another printing plate! Maybe I'm alone in this, but I've always enjoyed picking up printing plates. To have something that was used in the card production process will never not be cool in my mind.
This UD Black (Cyan) autographed plate was the 24th printing plate from Enroth's rookie card year in 2009-10, and it came all the way from Stockholm, Sweden. I've seen this change hands a few times over the years, so it's nice to have finally landed it.
4) Jhonas Enroth 2024 President's Choice Made To Order 1/1
I will let the card do most of the talking on this one.
Since Dr. Brian Price burst onto the scene in 2016 with his newest venture back into the card industry with President's Choice Trading Cards, he has offered up the opportunity for a continuation of his Made To Order project. For those who enjoy a little history lesson, Dr. Price first paved the way for Made To Order (MTO) cards many years ago when he was the President of In The Game (ITG) trading cards.
These MTO cards were randomly inserted into various products over the years, and gave a select few collectors the chance of having a customer card created using a pre-selected list of players ITG had memorabilia of. The chance to own a customer memorabilia card is something that many collectors have dreamed of, and ITG brought that process to life. I missed the boat on the original ITG Made To Order cards back in the day, so when Dr. Price started up MTo cards again, I knew one day I would take advantage of that program.
This year, I decided to have a custom Enroth card created for my collection, and Dr. Price knocked it out of the park with this quadruple memorabilia Complete Package card. I have always enjoyed the concept of Complete Package cards over the years, so to have one in my collection is really cool. The memorabilia pieces are awesome, and I just love everything about the card design.
A huge thanks to Brian for bringing this card idea to life. It's now one of my favourite cards in my entire collection!
3) Jhonas Enroth 2012 FairPlay & Respekt Swedish Playing Card
So this in an oddball type of card, but that's what I enjoy the most about it. I feel like the oddball cards in a collection really make it standout amongst the rest. Oddball cards can bring a well-rounded collection to the next level, as there are other cards out there that just can't replicate the appeal of oddball cards, in my opinion.
What you're looking at here is an FairPlay & Respekt Swedish playing card. The release year is a little fuzzy, but I estimate that these playing cards were released in 2012 based on some evidence I've found.
These cards were distributed by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association (Svenska Ishockeyförbundet) as a fun tool to educate and inform their various minor hockey teams/players in Sweden about the rules of hockey and how to conduct yourself on and off the ice when participating within the game of hockey. I've included some images below I found from a Swedish Ice Hockey Association presentation promoting this card set.
The above promo Swedish marketing material released by their ice hockey federation links a website to download the 52-card playing card set digitally. The last text translates in English to: "A PDF with all cards is available for download at: hockeyakademin.se"
As an added bonus, this Swedish playing card is autographed! Very cool. There was a similar set of cards of the same name released in 2006, which I vaguely knew about. So eventually finding out years later that an update set had been produced was news to me. This newer 2012 FairPlay & Respekt playing card set was released in both digital and physical card formats, so to finally grab one of the physical version this year was something I didn't see coming. Amazing!
2) Jhonas Enroth 2023-24 Orebro HK SHL Team Issued Card
Aside from oddball cards, one of my favourite card categories to add into my collection are Team Issued cards.
I'm not sure why, but maybe it's because a lot of the time you don't really know they exist until you see one. It could also be that these cards usually come with an obscure rarity that you can only place with a few select cards, or maybe it's the stories that go along with them when you uncover their origins (if you can), and likely a combination of all those things.
These cards are from the Swedish 2023-24 Örebro HK SHL team issued set. Some of these cards were given away during the season at meet & greet events during the 2023-24 regular season, in addition to being signed and given out by the players at a 2024-25 premiere kick-off team event on August 8th in 2024 in preparation for the 2024-25 season. Before a fan of the team offered one up for my collection, I had no idea Enroth had a card in this set.
Fans from an Örebro HK fan Facebook group I'm a part of took these photos at this team event, letting me know that these cards had been issued and signed at this event in early August. Through these photos, another fan reached out saying they had a card for me from this event that I could have for my collection. What a cool story!
Goaltenders Jonas Arntzen & Jhonas Enroth signing cards for some fans who attended the event on August 8th, 2024.
Jhonas Enroth & Jonas Arntsen cards at the signing table waiting to be signed and given to fans at the event on August 8th, 2024.
Like I mentioned earlier, sometimes you don't know of these cards until a deal is in process. I will unlikely see one of these ever offered for sale on the secondary market, so it was nice to find one for my collection when I could.
Are there any other team issued cards out there that I have not seen? It is very likely, but will I find them? Who knows, but maybe that is a question that might be answered in 2025 or beyond...
1) Jhonas Enroth 2024 President's Choice Butt End 1/1
This BEHEMOTH of a card lands the top spot in 2024.
Dr. Price introduced what I like to call the 'bat knob' of hockey cards this past August, as he created these unique 1/1 Butt End stick memorabilia cards that featured the top end of a game-used hockey stick.
These cards have been a huge hit with collectors since their arrival. In November, President's Choice updated their website with a few updates to this set, which included an Enroth card. I was lucky enough to eventually snag that card for my collection.
After receiving the card, and a few image searches later, I was able to find a potential photo-match to a stick Enroth used during his very first NHL win on November 6th, 2010. Amazing!
I'm not 100% sure on the match, but it looks pretty good to me. Maybe an expert can help me out. I've included a photo below of the potential photo-matched image. Anyways, you can be the judge, but I am just happy to have the card. This was the final addition to the collection in 2024, and I'm glad I was able to end the year in a big way (pun totally intended).
Here's a potential stick knob photo-matched image after Enroth earned his first NHL win on November 6th, 2010 vs the Toronto Maple Leafs. The top of the stick knob resembles to 1/1 card above.
So that's a wrap on 2024! I hope you all enjoyed my quick little year-in-review recap from the past year.
If you have any cards you'd like to share with me that you've been proud to have acquired this past year, please send me an email! You can connect with me by using the contact page on this site. Thank you!
Happy Collecting,
- Aaron / creasecollector
