CAUTION: Long read with photos ahead!
When I re-entered the hobby in 2005-06 in the midst of the post-lockout Crosby and Ovechkin rookie year, I found myself overwhelmed by the hobby.
A lot had changed since I last collected cards as a kid in the mid-90’s and there were just too many cards in too many sets. I needed a focus.
I was attending a game of the now-defunct St. John’s Fog Devils and little did I know that game would result in my first ever player collection.
After a Fog Devils game against the Quebec Remparts, I stuck around at the rink after the game to try to get their head coach, Patrick Roy, to sign a few autographs for me. After landing Roy, I stuck around to try to get a signature from a guy who really stood out on the ice that night. He scored a beauty goal and was highly-touted in the upcoming 2007 Entry Draft.
That player was Angelo Esposito.
I figured, “This guy is ranked number one among prospects, I need a focus to my collection and I just met this guy. What a way to start a collection.”
That was all it took.
I spent the next several years assembling what has to be the biggest and best Angelo Esposito collection in existence. If you’ve seen any of my posts on the boards, you are familiar with my Espo collection. I recently realized that I had never shown the collection off all together in one post before, so strap yourself in. Here it comes.
There are no dupes in my collection. If you see two similar cards, they are parallels.
2005-06 and 2006-07 Junior Issued Autographs
I bought the two team sets from both seasons just to get the Esposito autographs. Buying the sets wasn’t a complete loss, as I also obtained neat pre-rookie autos from some future NHLers, like Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Alexander Radulov.
2005-06 ITG Heroes and Prospects
Here’s where the collection really took off. As a prospect ranked ahead of Patrick Kane at this point, his stuff was expensive. I didn’t pick up these two short printed autographs until his bubble had burst. Both were selling for over $100 and I just didn’t have the cash at the time.
2005-06 ITG Ultimate
This Espo collection afforded me my first opportunity to delve into the high-end products of the hobby. I was especially pleased to add the Roy/Espo autograph to my collection, considering I had nabbed both of them for IP autos on the night I decided to collect Espo.
2006-07 ITG Heroes and Prospects
This is the year the collection really took off. He was a high-end prospect, so he was featured heavily in ITG products that year. I remember being offered serious coin for the autograph below, as it was a short print but I decided to hang onto it. To this day, I still haven’t been able to locate the gold parallels of the memorabilia cards in the set. Still looking.
My crown jewel of the collection came from this set and it’s still probably my fav card of Espo’s that I own.
2006-07 International Ice
Esposito was once again featured well in ITG’s International Ice. It was relatively easy to assemble his cards, considering all he had was an autograph (again a SP), a gold base parallel, a base card and an Expo card. I don’t go after many expo releases but this one came available at a good price.
2006-07 ITG Ultimate
Having been collecting Espo for some time before this release, I was super excited for this product and went crazy trying to complete it. This set provided me with my first ever 1/1, the gold jersey parallel. D’awww. I was able to complete ALL of the silvers and golds from this set, except for the auto patch and auto jersey. Even today, when they pop up, sellers hold them for ransom. Still hoping to add those to kill the set. I really liked this set. I landed two Espo 1/1’s and I really liked the Artist Proof base cards. The triples are still among my favourite cards, especially the Tavares/Espo/Cherepanov.
2007-08 ITG O Canada
Another great set. I believe this was the first product where I was able to knock off every card from the product. Thank god there weren’t parallels. The mem cards were a lot of fun to chase.
2007-08 ITG Heroes and Prospects
This product was full of Espos. Still haven’t been able to track down all the parallels but love the variety found here. I still haven’t even picked up the base jersey from this set. If you have one, I’m all ears. I only bought the Giroux/Espo dual jersey less than a year ago and it still sells very well.
2007-08 ITG Ultimate
Another high-end product I was super excited for. Would have to take another look at the checklist but I believe I still have a few to cross off here. Absolutely love the auto patches. Among my fav 1/1s.
2007-08 ITG Superlative
Loved this set. Great patches considering the small windows. Snagged a lot of parallels here. The AutoThreads is still a fav of mine. I believe another collector was hording these and was paying huge amounts to get them all. I played the waiting game and snagged this one years later for a fraction of the price.
2008-09 and Beyond
It didn’t take long for the Esposito bubble to burst. As his production and ‘can’t-miss-prospect’ status declined, so did my desire to shuck out big bucks for his cards. Not that I’m not still collecting him, just not as ferociously. Have two of the silver and two of the golds from the mem Heroes and Prospects set. The gold emblem 1/1 is on the Bay. Anyone wanna give me $300? #crazyprice Still didn’t even pick up the standard auto from Heroes and Prospects, just the World Juniors Superbox auto /50. Anyone have one?
But wait, there’s more!
My collection didn’t stop with cards. I was really banking on this guy making it huge, so I expanded my collection into the game-worn world. I now have a Quebec Remparts gamer, Montreal Juniors gamer and a rookie camp Pittsburgh Penguins worn jersey. My last real Espo grail is a jersey from the World Juniors. If anyone knows where it is, please let me know.
What now?
Because he has turned into the biggest bust in recent years, I’m really not sure. I have sunk too much into the collection to let it go now. It was my first hobby baby and I’m attached to it now. That said, if there was any interest in any cards in the collection, I’d be happy to discuss it with you. I may continue to pick up the odd piece here and there but will not likely be spending big bucks like I did five years ago.
I still have a few big pieces I’d like to add. I’m still missing out on a couple ‘He Shoots He Scores’ redemptions, as well as an 05/06 Tavares/Espo dual auto, a triple auto with Phil and Tone Esposito, as well as a few triple jerseys, Espo/Voracek/Sheppard and Neely/Kovalchuk/Espo. Please keep your eyes open.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank those who contributed to my collection. I've made lots of great deals with y'all for a lot of these cards. I couldn't have done it without you guys. Thanks also goes out to Dr. Price and the fine folks at ITG. You guys ARE my Espo collection. Please find a reason to put him in more products!
Well, you made it to the end. Thanks for the long read. All comments welcome.
Cheers,
Chris
When I re-entered the hobby in 2005-06 in the midst of the post-lockout Crosby and Ovechkin rookie year, I found myself overwhelmed by the hobby.
A lot had changed since I last collected cards as a kid in the mid-90’s and there were just too many cards in too many sets. I needed a focus.
I was attending a game of the now-defunct St. John’s Fog Devils and little did I know that game would result in my first ever player collection.
After a Fog Devils game against the Quebec Remparts, I stuck around at the rink after the game to try to get their head coach, Patrick Roy, to sign a few autographs for me. After landing Roy, I stuck around to try to get a signature from a guy who really stood out on the ice that night. He scored a beauty goal and was highly-touted in the upcoming 2007 Entry Draft.
That player was Angelo Esposito.
I figured, “This guy is ranked number one among prospects, I need a focus to my collection and I just met this guy. What a way to start a collection.”
That was all it took.
I spent the next several years assembling what has to be the biggest and best Angelo Esposito collection in existence. If you’ve seen any of my posts on the boards, you are familiar with my Espo collection. I recently realized that I had never shown the collection off all together in one post before, so strap yourself in. Here it comes.
There are no dupes in my collection. If you see two similar cards, they are parallels.
2005-06 and 2006-07 Junior Issued Autographs
I bought the two team sets from both seasons just to get the Esposito autographs. Buying the sets wasn’t a complete loss, as I also obtained neat pre-rookie autos from some future NHLers, like Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Alexander Radulov.
2005-06 ITG Heroes and Prospects
Here’s where the collection really took off. As a prospect ranked ahead of Patrick Kane at this point, his stuff was expensive. I didn’t pick up these two short printed autographs until his bubble had burst. Both were selling for over $100 and I just didn’t have the cash at the time.
2005-06 ITG Ultimate
This Espo collection afforded me my first opportunity to delve into the high-end products of the hobby. I was especially pleased to add the Roy/Espo autograph to my collection, considering I had nabbed both of them for IP autos on the night I decided to collect Espo.
2006-07 ITG Heroes and Prospects
This is the year the collection really took off. He was a high-end prospect, so he was featured heavily in ITG products that year. I remember being offered serious coin for the autograph below, as it was a short print but I decided to hang onto it. To this day, I still haven’t been able to locate the gold parallels of the memorabilia cards in the set. Still looking.
My crown jewel of the collection came from this set and it’s still probably my fav card of Espo’s that I own.
2006-07 International Ice
Esposito was once again featured well in ITG’s International Ice. It was relatively easy to assemble his cards, considering all he had was an autograph (again a SP), a gold base parallel, a base card and an Expo card. I don’t go after many expo releases but this one came available at a good price.
2006-07 ITG Ultimate
Having been collecting Espo for some time before this release, I was super excited for this product and went crazy trying to complete it. This set provided me with my first ever 1/1, the gold jersey parallel. D’awww. I was able to complete ALL of the silvers and golds from this set, except for the auto patch and auto jersey. Even today, when they pop up, sellers hold them for ransom. Still hoping to add those to kill the set. I really liked this set. I landed two Espo 1/1’s and I really liked the Artist Proof base cards. The triples are still among my favourite cards, especially the Tavares/Espo/Cherepanov.
2007-08 ITG O Canada
Another great set. I believe this was the first product where I was able to knock off every card from the product. Thank god there weren’t parallels. The mem cards were a lot of fun to chase.
2007-08 ITG Heroes and Prospects
This product was full of Espos. Still haven’t been able to track down all the parallels but love the variety found here. I still haven’t even picked up the base jersey from this set. If you have one, I’m all ears. I only bought the Giroux/Espo dual jersey less than a year ago and it still sells very well.
2007-08 ITG Ultimate
Another high-end product I was super excited for. Would have to take another look at the checklist but I believe I still have a few to cross off here. Absolutely love the auto patches. Among my fav 1/1s.
2007-08 ITG Superlative
Loved this set. Great patches considering the small windows. Snagged a lot of parallels here. The AutoThreads is still a fav of mine. I believe another collector was hording these and was paying huge amounts to get them all. I played the waiting game and snagged this one years later for a fraction of the price.
2008-09 and Beyond
It didn’t take long for the Esposito bubble to burst. As his production and ‘can’t-miss-prospect’ status declined, so did my desire to shuck out big bucks for his cards. Not that I’m not still collecting him, just not as ferociously. Have two of the silver and two of the golds from the mem Heroes and Prospects set. The gold emblem 1/1 is on the Bay. Anyone wanna give me $300? #crazyprice Still didn’t even pick up the standard auto from Heroes and Prospects, just the World Juniors Superbox auto /50. Anyone have one?
But wait, there’s more!
My collection didn’t stop with cards. I was really banking on this guy making it huge, so I expanded my collection into the game-worn world. I now have a Quebec Remparts gamer, Montreal Juniors gamer and a rookie camp Pittsburgh Penguins worn jersey. My last real Espo grail is a jersey from the World Juniors. If anyone knows where it is, please let me know.
What now?
Because he has turned into the biggest bust in recent years, I’m really not sure. I have sunk too much into the collection to let it go now. It was my first hobby baby and I’m attached to it now. That said, if there was any interest in any cards in the collection, I’d be happy to discuss it with you. I may continue to pick up the odd piece here and there but will not likely be spending big bucks like I did five years ago.
I still have a few big pieces I’d like to add. I’m still missing out on a couple ‘He Shoots He Scores’ redemptions, as well as an 05/06 Tavares/Espo dual auto, a triple auto with Phil and Tone Esposito, as well as a few triple jerseys, Espo/Voracek/Sheppard and Neely/Kovalchuk/Espo. Please keep your eyes open.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank those who contributed to my collection. I've made lots of great deals with y'all for a lot of these cards. I couldn't have done it without you guys. Thanks also goes out to Dr. Price and the fine folks at ITG. You guys ARE my Espo collection. Please find a reason to put him in more products!
Well, you made it to the end. Thanks for the long read. All comments welcome.
Cheers,
Chris
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