The Great Zo
Verified Trader,
The playoffs for my favorite teams have come and gone. For the Lightning, it was a quick and surprisingly painless exit -- only in the fourth game did it look like they had any sort of fighting chance. For the Blue Jackets, the three games in Columbus were some of the most entertaining (if inconsistent) hockey I've ever seen, and witnessing the end of Game 4 will be hard for me to ever beat.
I'm having trouble keeping up with all the latest developments and new products in the hockey card world, but I'll try to keep things moving with this rookie-dominated mail post.
Mail Post #7 for 2014
-------------------------------------------------------
99-00 Boston Bruins Team Issue Sergei Samsonov
I'll start with a couple of Sergei Samsonov items, including this card that I did not even know existed. First, I need to thank Tatu (MOGO89) for alerting me to the card, which was owned by Sami (2bob4), a HI member from Finland. Sami purchased a lot of two cards from this Bruins team-issue set (the other was Ken Belanger). I then worked out a very easy deal to acquire the Samsonov card from Sami.
Figuring out the year of the card was a challenge, as there is no marking to indicate when it was produced. However, the key ended up being in the "Good Guys, Great Game" logo at the top of the card. This was a promotional slogan used by the Bruins during the 1999-00 season. I was able to verify this from the Samsonov/Thornton season ticket offer card sheet that I already own, in addition to the pocket schedule owned by Brian (itsonlycardboard). Both of those items were released in 99-00, and use the exact same promotional logo as the team issue card I just acquired.
This card measures 6 inches by 4 inches. Thanks to Sami and Tatu for helping to get this "new" card into my collection!
-------------------------------------------------------
01-02 SP Game Used Tools of the Game CT-CS (03/50)
-- Anson Carter / Sergei Samsonov
This SPGU dual-glove card is over ten years old, but with a print run of 50, copies are hard to find. The card features two all-black glove swatches from Sergei Samsonov and Anson Carter. Although the Edmonton/Boston pairing seems a little strange, Carter and Samsonov did play together on the Bruins from 97-98 through 99-00.
-------------------------------------------------------
03-04 Pacific Luxury Suite Nathan Horton RC (028/299)
My first rookie card for the post is a nice one of a player who was injured and unavailable for the end of the Blue Jackets' season. This is one of Horton's better rookie cards, and it contains a two-color swatch (yellow and white jersey).
-------------------------------------------------------
03-04 Private Stock Reserve Hobby Nathan Horton RC (32/99)
Here's one of Horton's most scarce RCs -- one of seven that are limited to 100 or 99 copies. It's certainly not his best, though -- that would be his #/99 patch/autograph from UD Premier Collection.
-------------------------------------------------------
03-04 ITG Used Signature Series Nikolai Zherdev RC (023/135)
This card signifies the completion of my Nikolai Zherdev RC collection, at a perfect 30-for-30. It's one of my biggest completed rookie collections. I can't even imagine trying to work on Zherdev's RCs ten years ago, but in 2014, they've all been quite inexpensive.
-------------------------------------------------------
03-04 Bowman Chrome Antoine Vermette RC (046/250)
This Vermette RC wasn't a high priority, but with a fairly low print run, I was glad to pick it up for a few dollars. I already have the regular Bowman version.
-------------------------------------------------------
01-02 Crown Royale Martin Spanhel RC (267/267)
Crown Royale RCs from 01-02 remain some of the more difficult cards to find from that product year. I'm glad to have another one out of the way. This card is also the last copy numbered out of 267.
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Ultimate Collection Nikita Filatov RC (82/99)
Just after completing the RC collection of one of the Blue Jackets' three big draft busts from the past decade (Zherdev), here's a card that gets me to within one RC of finishing another one! This Nikita Filatov rookie issue leaves me with only UD Black #/99 to finish the batch of 21 cards. Obviously, I wouldn't even be attempting this if the prices weren't so inexpensive.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Crown Royale Shawn Hunwick RC (18/99)
On the other hand, Shawn Hunwick is one of a few recent players whose RC collections I legitimately do want to complete, for reasons of actually liking the player. The reason for Hunwick is simple: on April 7, 2012, I witnessed his entire NHL career.
I still have a few more Hunwick RCs to go, but his Dominion card #/99 is the by far the toughest.
This Crown Royale RC has two visible layers (dark blue jersey seam at the bottom, with off-white covering most of the swatch). There appears to be another dark blue seam under the lighter color at the top of the swatch.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 SP Authentic 171 Wayne Gretzky (SP)
12-13 UD Artifacts Rookie Redemption RED206 Jonathan Audy-Marchessault (488/699)
13-14 Upper Deck 226 Ryan Murray RC (SP)
Here are three cards I received with the next one. The Blue Jackets cards are extras, so all three of these will be going to my tradelist.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Titanium Dalton Prout (40/47)
Dalton Prout wears #47, so his base card from 12-13 Titanium is limited to the same number of copies. Prout had an up-and-down season in 2013-14, but did play in two playoff games against Pittsburgh.
This finishes the original five cards I needed from the 12-13 Titanium base set (with Shawn Hunwick, Andrew Joudrey, Cody Goloubef, and J.T. Brown). I may also look to pick up the card of Carter Camper, who was acquired for the Blue Jackets' AHL team in Springfield. However, Camper is now a UFA, so his future status with the organization is unknown.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Retail Richard Panik RC (013/299)
13-14 Titanium Retail Ryan Murray RC (139/299)
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Retail Jonathan Marchessault RC (289/299)
13-14 Titanium Retail Sean Collins RC (133/299)
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Retail Alex Killorn RC (206/299)
13-14 Titanium Retail Cory Conacher RC (109/299)
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Retail Radko Gudas RC (247/299)
13-14 Titanium Retail Mark Barberio RC (282/299)
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Retail Tyler Johnson RC (109/299)
13-14 Titanium Retail Ondrej Palat RC (160/299)
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Retail Andrej Sustr RC (246/299)
The preceding six pictures should provide an idea of why the 2013-14 season has been difficult to get motivated for as a rookie collector. That's 11 different rookie cards limited to 299 copies, from just one retail-exclusive product, with at least two more still on the wantlist!
I sincerely appreciate the innovation and creativity that Panini has shown during their four years making NHL cards, and I'm not in favor of the exclusive. I might as well pull some positives out of it, though, so here it is: Panini made life extremely difficult for dedicated player and rookie collectors. There are far too many products with huge rookie checklists with low print runs. UD hasn't been moving in the right direction either, but I'm at least cautiously optimistic that 14-15 will be a little more manageable. However, if 05-06 was any indication, it won't be a huge improvement. Every scrub had 10-15 RCs that season, but at least the print runs were generally in the 750-2000 range, rather than sub-500 copies.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Draft Parallel Sean Collins (076/100)
I also picked up a few very inexpensive draft parallels from the Titanium hobby release. Sean Collins was drafted #187 in 2008, so his card is limited to 100 copies.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Draft Parallel Jonathan Marchessault (031/100)
Jonathan Marchessault (who changed his name from Jonathan Audy-Marchessault) was undrafted, so his card is also limited to 100 copies. He was originally a member of the Blue Jackets organization, but he was acquired by the Lightning at the 2014 trade deadline. He will probably be one of the leaders on the Syracuse Crunch next season.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Draft Parallel Andrej Sustr (061/100)
Andrej Sustr was also undrafted, and was one of the most sought-after college free agents in 2013. He will probably be a regular with the Lightning in 2014-15.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Select Michael Kostka RC (201/399)
Michael Kostka was a member of the Lightning organization several years ago, but signed with Toronto after winning a Calder Cup with the Norfolk Admirals in 2012. He later signed with the Blackhawks, and was then re-acquired on waivers by the Lightning this season. He is an offensive defenseman who probably doesn't figure any higher than #6 on the Lightning's depth chart.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Select Cory Conacher RC (374/399)
13-14 Upper Deck Overtime Cory Conacher
13-14 Select Jean-Gabriel Pageau RC
A few cards of Cory Conacher will finish out the mail post. Conacher is an important part of Lightning history for two reasons: as a great feel-good story, for making it to the NHL as an undrafted, undersized, diabetic player, and for landing the team Ben Bishop in trade.
The key card here is obviously the Select autographed RC. For Conacher, it was very tough to find a copy with a fully-contained autograph on the sticker.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Draft Parallel Cory Conacher (079/100)
To match the three draft parallels from earlier in the post, here's Conacher's card. Since he was undrafted, the card is limited to 100 copies printed.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Fleer Showcase Cory Conacher RC (266/375)
Hot Prospects was never one of my favorite sets, but some parts of Fleer Showcase look better to me, and the RC design is one of those aspects. This card contains a three-color, four-layer swatch (red jersey / white patch / black patch / black stitching).
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Crown Royale Cory Conacher RC (05/99)
My first Silhouettes RC from 13-14 also features Cory Conacher. The swatch on this card is pretty nice -- two different layers of red jersey, one layer of white jersey, and a big seam connecting the two. The thin piece of cardboard containing the image of Conacher's right arm actually curls down into the jersey piece, which probably wasn't intentional, but is a consequence of the new "off to the side" design of the Silhouettes cards.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 SP Game Used Cory Conacher (16/89)
I will end the post with my first rookie from 13-14 SP Game Used -- and yes, Conacher has one of the highest print runs in the set. The 12-13 SP Game Used rookie cards didn't seem to sell very well, so it was easy for me to pick up the cards I needed. That's not the case in 13-14 at all -- they've been selling for higher prices than I have the desire to pay, especially as I don't consider them true RCs.
Conacher, however, is an important player for my collection -- out of all the 13-14 rookies that I'm collecting, he's my highest priority.
-----------------
News and notes:
** One of my most-wanted cards in a while, the ITG Decades 1990s Gordie Howe Autograph, remains just out of my reach. With a few more copies hitting ebay in the past couple months, I have now seen about five in total, so I would guess that the print run is around 10. Unfortunately, the prices have been high, and I haven't yet convinced myself to pull the trigger. Hopefully a few more will show up, and I'll be able to get one soon, if the cost drops a little bit.
** I'm saving cards up for another big Tim Thomas mail post some time this month. I wonder what he'll end up doing in 2014-15?
That'll be it. Thanks everyone!
--Andy
http://www.thegreatzo.com/cards/
-------------------------------------------------------
I'm having trouble keeping up with all the latest developments and new products in the hockey card world, but I'll try to keep things moving with this rookie-dominated mail post.
Mail Post #7 for 2014
-------------------------------------------------------
99-00 Boston Bruins Team Issue Sergei Samsonov
I'll start with a couple of Sergei Samsonov items, including this card that I did not even know existed. First, I need to thank Tatu (MOGO89) for alerting me to the card, which was owned by Sami (2bob4), a HI member from Finland. Sami purchased a lot of two cards from this Bruins team-issue set (the other was Ken Belanger). I then worked out a very easy deal to acquire the Samsonov card from Sami.
Figuring out the year of the card was a challenge, as there is no marking to indicate when it was produced. However, the key ended up being in the "Good Guys, Great Game" logo at the top of the card. This was a promotional slogan used by the Bruins during the 1999-00 season. I was able to verify this from the Samsonov/Thornton season ticket offer card sheet that I already own, in addition to the pocket schedule owned by Brian (itsonlycardboard). Both of those items were released in 99-00, and use the exact same promotional logo as the team issue card I just acquired.
This card measures 6 inches by 4 inches. Thanks to Sami and Tatu for helping to get this "new" card into my collection!
-------------------------------------------------------
01-02 SP Game Used Tools of the Game CT-CS (03/50)
-- Anson Carter / Sergei Samsonov
This SPGU dual-glove card is over ten years old, but with a print run of 50, copies are hard to find. The card features two all-black glove swatches from Sergei Samsonov and Anson Carter. Although the Edmonton/Boston pairing seems a little strange, Carter and Samsonov did play together on the Bruins from 97-98 through 99-00.
-------------------------------------------------------
03-04 Pacific Luxury Suite Nathan Horton RC (028/299)
My first rookie card for the post is a nice one of a player who was injured and unavailable for the end of the Blue Jackets' season. This is one of Horton's better rookie cards, and it contains a two-color swatch (yellow and white jersey).
-------------------------------------------------------
03-04 Private Stock Reserve Hobby Nathan Horton RC (32/99)
Here's one of Horton's most scarce RCs -- one of seven that are limited to 100 or 99 copies. It's certainly not his best, though -- that would be his #/99 patch/autograph from UD Premier Collection.
-------------------------------------------------------
03-04 ITG Used Signature Series Nikolai Zherdev RC (023/135)
This card signifies the completion of my Nikolai Zherdev RC collection, at a perfect 30-for-30. It's one of my biggest completed rookie collections. I can't even imagine trying to work on Zherdev's RCs ten years ago, but in 2014, they've all been quite inexpensive.
-------------------------------------------------------
03-04 Bowman Chrome Antoine Vermette RC (046/250)
This Vermette RC wasn't a high priority, but with a fairly low print run, I was glad to pick it up for a few dollars. I already have the regular Bowman version.
-------------------------------------------------------
01-02 Crown Royale Martin Spanhel RC (267/267)
Crown Royale RCs from 01-02 remain some of the more difficult cards to find from that product year. I'm glad to have another one out of the way. This card is also the last copy numbered out of 267.
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Ultimate Collection Nikita Filatov RC (82/99)
Just after completing the RC collection of one of the Blue Jackets' three big draft busts from the past decade (Zherdev), here's a card that gets me to within one RC of finishing another one! This Nikita Filatov rookie issue leaves me with only UD Black #/99 to finish the batch of 21 cards. Obviously, I wouldn't even be attempting this if the prices weren't so inexpensive.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Crown Royale Shawn Hunwick RC (18/99)
On the other hand, Shawn Hunwick is one of a few recent players whose RC collections I legitimately do want to complete, for reasons of actually liking the player. The reason for Hunwick is simple: on April 7, 2012, I witnessed his entire NHL career.
I still have a few more Hunwick RCs to go, but his Dominion card #/99 is the by far the toughest.
This Crown Royale RC has two visible layers (dark blue jersey seam at the bottom, with off-white covering most of the swatch). There appears to be another dark blue seam under the lighter color at the top of the swatch.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 SP Authentic 171 Wayne Gretzky (SP)
12-13 UD Artifacts Rookie Redemption RED206 Jonathan Audy-Marchessault (488/699)
13-14 Upper Deck 226 Ryan Murray RC (SP)
Here are three cards I received with the next one. The Blue Jackets cards are extras, so all three of these will be going to my tradelist.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Titanium Dalton Prout (40/47)
Dalton Prout wears #47, so his base card from 12-13 Titanium is limited to the same number of copies. Prout had an up-and-down season in 2013-14, but did play in two playoff games against Pittsburgh.
This finishes the original five cards I needed from the 12-13 Titanium base set (with Shawn Hunwick, Andrew Joudrey, Cody Goloubef, and J.T. Brown). I may also look to pick up the card of Carter Camper, who was acquired for the Blue Jackets' AHL team in Springfield. However, Camper is now a UFA, so his future status with the organization is unknown.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Retail Richard Panik RC (013/299)
13-14 Titanium Retail Ryan Murray RC (139/299)
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Retail Jonathan Marchessault RC (289/299)
13-14 Titanium Retail Sean Collins RC (133/299)
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Retail Alex Killorn RC (206/299)
13-14 Titanium Retail Cory Conacher RC (109/299)
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Retail Radko Gudas RC (247/299)
13-14 Titanium Retail Mark Barberio RC (282/299)
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Retail Tyler Johnson RC (109/299)
13-14 Titanium Retail Ondrej Palat RC (160/299)
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Retail Andrej Sustr RC (246/299)
The preceding six pictures should provide an idea of why the 2013-14 season has been difficult to get motivated for as a rookie collector. That's 11 different rookie cards limited to 299 copies, from just one retail-exclusive product, with at least two more still on the wantlist!
I sincerely appreciate the innovation and creativity that Panini has shown during their four years making NHL cards, and I'm not in favor of the exclusive. I might as well pull some positives out of it, though, so here it is: Panini made life extremely difficult for dedicated player and rookie collectors. There are far too many products with huge rookie checklists with low print runs. UD hasn't been moving in the right direction either, but I'm at least cautiously optimistic that 14-15 will be a little more manageable. However, if 05-06 was any indication, it won't be a huge improvement. Every scrub had 10-15 RCs that season, but at least the print runs were generally in the 750-2000 range, rather than sub-500 copies.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Draft Parallel Sean Collins (076/100)
I also picked up a few very inexpensive draft parallels from the Titanium hobby release. Sean Collins was drafted #187 in 2008, so his card is limited to 100 copies.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Draft Parallel Jonathan Marchessault (031/100)
Jonathan Marchessault (who changed his name from Jonathan Audy-Marchessault) was undrafted, so his card is also limited to 100 copies. He was originally a member of the Blue Jackets organization, but he was acquired by the Lightning at the 2014 trade deadline. He will probably be one of the leaders on the Syracuse Crunch next season.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Draft Parallel Andrej Sustr (061/100)
Andrej Sustr was also undrafted, and was one of the most sought-after college free agents in 2013. He will probably be a regular with the Lightning in 2014-15.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Select Michael Kostka RC (201/399)
Michael Kostka was a member of the Lightning organization several years ago, but signed with Toronto after winning a Calder Cup with the Norfolk Admirals in 2012. He later signed with the Blackhawks, and was then re-acquired on waivers by the Lightning this season. He is an offensive defenseman who probably doesn't figure any higher than #6 on the Lightning's depth chart.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Select Cory Conacher RC (374/399)
13-14 Upper Deck Overtime Cory Conacher
13-14 Select Jean-Gabriel Pageau RC
A few cards of Cory Conacher will finish out the mail post. Conacher is an important part of Lightning history for two reasons: as a great feel-good story, for making it to the NHL as an undrafted, undersized, diabetic player, and for landing the team Ben Bishop in trade.
The key card here is obviously the Select autographed RC. For Conacher, it was very tough to find a copy with a fully-contained autograph on the sticker.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Titanium Draft Parallel Cory Conacher (079/100)
To match the three draft parallels from earlier in the post, here's Conacher's card. Since he was undrafted, the card is limited to 100 copies printed.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Fleer Showcase Cory Conacher RC (266/375)
Hot Prospects was never one of my favorite sets, but some parts of Fleer Showcase look better to me, and the RC design is one of those aspects. This card contains a three-color, four-layer swatch (red jersey / white patch / black patch / black stitching).
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Crown Royale Cory Conacher RC (05/99)
My first Silhouettes RC from 13-14 also features Cory Conacher. The swatch on this card is pretty nice -- two different layers of red jersey, one layer of white jersey, and a big seam connecting the two. The thin piece of cardboard containing the image of Conacher's right arm actually curls down into the jersey piece, which probably wasn't intentional, but is a consequence of the new "off to the side" design of the Silhouettes cards.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 SP Game Used Cory Conacher (16/89)
I will end the post with my first rookie from 13-14 SP Game Used -- and yes, Conacher has one of the highest print runs in the set. The 12-13 SP Game Used rookie cards didn't seem to sell very well, so it was easy for me to pick up the cards I needed. That's not the case in 13-14 at all -- they've been selling for higher prices than I have the desire to pay, especially as I don't consider them true RCs.
Conacher, however, is an important player for my collection -- out of all the 13-14 rookies that I'm collecting, he's my highest priority.
-----------------
News and notes:
** One of my most-wanted cards in a while, the ITG Decades 1990s Gordie Howe Autograph, remains just out of my reach. With a few more copies hitting ebay in the past couple months, I have now seen about five in total, so I would guess that the print run is around 10. Unfortunately, the prices have been high, and I haven't yet convinced myself to pull the trigger. Hopefully a few more will show up, and I'll be able to get one soon, if the cost drops a little bit.
** I'm saving cards up for another big Tim Thomas mail post some time this month. I wonder what he'll end up doing in 2014-15?
That'll be it. Thanks everyone!
--Andy
http://www.thegreatzo.com/cards/
-------------------------------------------------------
