Superlative 2??? ITG has a new graphic on their site

[cards-gotta-go]

In our discussion with Brian Price in the chat room a couple months ago, he stated that a team-specific Superlative could be very well received. Since BB&R did so well, what's wrong with doing a Leafs or Wings or Bruins version?

Given how well BB&R was received, I can see the Leafs (clearly on the verge of happening), Wings and Bruins all being monster hits as well. There is certainly a large enough collecting base of those teams to warrant it.

Sweet, sweet Wings pieces.... aaararararraararar [/Homer drool]

 

[habscards]

if it is a leafs version it may be what is even better for the hobby. as a habs fan i would prefer to be a nhl wide superlative like last years. i really liked the BBR that was released a few months ago. if they start to do team oriented sets then that will also give them a chance to stock up on other memorabilia pieces and keep them for a later use.

i think that a chicago superlative would be a hard sell but bobby orr played there and i think he has some hobby love. plus i really can't recall and hawks autos or game used cards of his.

 

[quincy]

Well said, Matt. I wasn't intending to imply a dearth of players around which worthwhile sets may be constructed. It's simply that I don't believe that there is really sufficient hobby demand to make standalone releases viable.

Habs, Leafs, Bruins and Wings sets make fine standalones because of their extremely wide hobby appeal. You'd be hard pressed to find a collector that wouldn't want a nice piece or two from any of those teams, particularly guys like Yzerman, Bourque, Beliveau or Bower. Sure, there are comparably venerated guys on both the Rangers and Hawks rosters - Hull and Da Moose leap to mind - but I don't think there's the depth of appreciation that seems to go along with the other four teams. That's just my opinion, largely based on experience with O6.

 

[tmlfan67]

oh dear....

 

[Bebop]

Come on....Peter Ing Autos & Memorabilia

 

[MGiuseffi1969]

Superlative is a great product and I am glad to hear a new set is coming down the pipe. The Team Specific sets is a good idea only if you can get the best players from those teams to be included. For example, O6 Bruins was a success because it had Orr along with the rest. Superlative Bruins would need Orr Autos and GU to carry the product. You could do a Superlative Rangers if you got Messier, Leetch, Richter and Lundqvist to Sign. Otherwise it would BOMB at the current price point. My $.02... Mike

 

[habscards]

list of chicago players:

chuck gardiner--G
howie morenz
lorne chabot--G
doug bentley
max bentley
bill moisienko
bill gadsby
charlie conacher---coach
bert olmstead
roy conacher
frank brimsek--G
harry lumley--G
sid abel--coach
**** irvin--coach
pierre pilote
bobby hull
ted lindsay
glenn hall--G
al arbour
stan mikita
phil esposito
dennis hull
ken hodge
billy reay--coach
tony esposito--G
bobby orr
bob pulford-coach
doug wilson
denis savard
darryl sutter
steve larmer
darren pang--coach
rick vaive
duane sutter
mike keenan--coach
jeremy roenick
ed belfour--G

1990-current:
michel goulet
bruce cassidy
chris chelios
stu grimson
dominik hasek--G
brent sutter
steve thomas
jeff hackett--G
bernie nicholls
gary suter
tony amonte
eric daze
rich sutter
bob probert
alexei zhamnov
doug gilmour
ed olczyk
paul coffey
steve sullivan
jocelyn thibault--G
brian sutter--coach
phil housley
theoren fleury
bryan berard
tuomo ruutu
brent seabrook
patrick sharp
duncan keith
nikolai khabibulin--G
cam barker
martin havlat
peter bondra
patrick lalime--G
brian boucher--G
patrick kane
jonathan toews
sergei samsonov

future hawksyoung players:
kyle beach
billy sweat
shawn lalonde
jack skille
corey crawford--G
akim aliu
josh unice
dave bolland
troy brouwer
dustin byfuglien
kris versteeg

or others just for their names:
jack jackson--sounds like a CIA agent from a movie
harry ****--who wouldn't want to pull one?
hank blade--just a cool hockey name
max quackenbush--i just love the name
**** gamble--sounds more like an STD
zeillio toppazzini--sounds like a soccer player
howie glover--great name for a baseball player
len frig--you can swear when you pull him
ivan droppa--rocky's opponent in rocky VIII


with that list i would say that the could do a pretty good blackhawks superlative

 

[habscards]

rangers players:
lester patrick--coach
lorne chabot--G
bill cook
howie morenz
dave kerr--G
chuck rayner--G
andy bathgate
lorne 'gump' worsley--G
johnny bower--G
harry howell
eddie shack
jean ratelle
vic hadfield
doug harvey
rod gilbert
**** duff
jacques plante--G
ed giacomin--G
bernie 'boom boom' geoffrion
brad park
tim horton
terry sawchuk--G
syl apps
glen sather
emile francis--coach
derek sanderson
rick middleton
john ferguson--coach
john davidson--G
phil esposito
herb brooks--coach
john vanbiesbrouck--G
marcel dionne
brian leetch
chris nilan
guy lafleur
lindy ruff
mike richter--G

1990-present:
roger nielson--coach
mike gartner
ray sheppard
tie domi
mark messier
tony amonte
adam graves
doug weight
alexei kovalev
sergei zubov
kevin lowe
esa tikkanen
mike keenan-coach
glenn anderson
craig mactavish
colin campbell--coach
pat verbeek
luc robitaille
jari kurri
wayne gretzky
pat lafontaine
marc savard
dan cloutier--G
kirk mclean--G
guy herbert--G
eric lindros
theoren fleury
bryan berard
pavel bure
dan blackburn
mike dunhan--G
jaromir jagr
petr sykora
henrik lundqvist
brendan shanahan
scott gomez
chris drury

young players/prospects:
artem anisimov
bobby sanguinetti
michael del zotto
evgeny grachev
derek stepan
ryan callahan
brandan dubinsky
marc staal

cool names:
alf pike--sounds like a skateboard trick
william 'chick' chalmers--how often do you get a chick when opening up hockey cards?

 

[habscards]

i would say that a pretty darn good product could be made with the rangers or hawks. who else agrees with me?

 

[chadsexington]

i would say that a pretty darn good product could be made with the rangers or hawks. who else agrees with me?

To those of us who have been against the idea of a standalone Chicago product (namely Steve and myself,) our lack of support doesn't center around the product's quality so much as it does the support it would receive from the rest of the hobby as a standalone product. You can go out and make the best product in the world, but if nobody wants it, it's number is up before it hits shelves, and you're left to evaluate what went wrong.

There's no better example of this than 06-07 Parkhurst, which was a quality set all around. Few will tell you the set itself was poorly done (exclusion of Wayne Gretzky aside,) seeding a generous 4 vintage player autographs a hobby box and such. But the product suffered horribly after release, when the interest amongst the new generation of collectors just wasn't there. One of the dealers I spoke to about the product at a show estimated he lost a handsome sum from that product alone because the same people coming in and picking up Crosby and Ovechkin didn't want Henderson and Kurri and his singles sat on the shelf till he sold them all on eBay for a loss.

EDIT: Something that hasn't been brought up with all the name throwing is the fact that many of the players people want to see are signed to UD Exclusives. Your NYR sets won't have Messier or Gretzky autos, your Detroit sets won't have Gordie Howe autos, and your Boston sets won't have Bobby Orr autos just to give off a couple examples.

 

[MGiuseffi1969]

I would love to see a Rangers release but I doubt it would fly off the shelves. Don't get me wrong, you posted an impressive list of names, etc but simply put at the price point there would need to be some BIG HITS. How many players on the Rangers list would have the typical Auto #/50 sell for better than $10-$20... Simply put, there needs to be a core group of Big names to drive sales of a product. Imagine a typical Superlative Pack. Marc Staal Auto #/50, Jersey Auto Ratelle #/50 and a couple of other cards for a SRP of $400. Not good.... Now, if Richter, Messier, Leetch, Giacomin, Lundqvist, Rod Gilbert all signed for the set and perhaps you added a bunch of Cut Autos, you might make a decent product that would move. It is an uphill battle though... Mike

 

[quincy]

Well said, Mike.

Again, I don't think anyone doubts the star power ITG can bring to the table for such a release. It sounds more like folks doubt the feeling of value instilled in the average collector busting his pack and getting some of those players.

 

[MGiuseffi1969]

Well said, Mike.

Again, I don't think anyone doubts the star power ITG can bring to the table for such a release. It sounds more like folks doubt the feeling of value instilled in the average collector busting his pack and getting some of those players.

If Steve agrees with me, then I retract my last statement.

 

[quincy]

Oh yeah? I retract my agreement. NYAH!


In the background, Bruce shakes his head.
"I cast Magic Missile, killing you both. I get 500 XP and 50 gold. Now shut up you two."

 

[meatmancgy]

Oh yeah? I retract my agreement. NYAH!


In the background, Bruce shakes his head.
"I cast Magic Missile, killing you both. I get 500 XP and 50 gold. Now shut up you two."

Actually I'm more of a thespian than a dungeoner... "to ban or not to ban... that is the question"

 

[MGiuseffi1969]

Actually I'm more of a thespian than a dungeoner... "to ban or not to ban... that is the question"

If I was a Chick, I would be a Thespian too.

 

[2fnlo]

Where is the all Flames Superlative? That's all I have to ask. I would actually collect again.

 

[justinanika]

I agree that I dont think the superlative brand can carry a stand alone NYR or Blackhawks release. And to add to that The Canadiens superlative didnt exactly fly off the shelves like the UD product did. I can still find books of Bleu Blanc Rouge now for under 600 CAD. Sure ITG made their money they dont im sure have any books left in the warehouse, but to be able to still find them from a very high end very popular set about a very popular team during its 100TH anniversary? I think a leafs break would move much slower if released this year.

Im not against the idea I just think they would have been better suited if they released Leafs, NYR, Blackhawks, Detroit, Boston during say some sort of anniversary such as what we saw with the Canadiens set.

 

[chadsexington]

Where is the all Flames Superlative?

Sure ITG made their money they dont im sure have any books left in the warehouse, but to be able to still find them from a very high end very popular set about a very popular team during its 100TH anniversary?

I can think of a few reasons for this that aren't the typical economy-related answer.

a) The Habs aren't exactly the best team this year. I think if they were doing better, and there was actual Stanley Cup buzz surrounding the team on their 100th anniversary, inventory wouldn't be a question.

b) East Coasters might just be biding their time and waiting for the Expo since a redemption program has been confirmed.

 

[justinanika]

i have never been to an expo, and once again wont be able to make it to this one. what exactly is the redemption program, and why would people wait to buy their books because of it?