The Great Zo
Verified Trader,
Nostalgia and obscure player collections are the focus for this mail post, anchored by a large purchase of minor/junior cards from Armchair Sports. A few other items arrived from ebay, and one of my favorite Hobby Insider trading partners came through to help yet again.
Mail Post #4 for 2014
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1999-00 Rimouski Oceanic Michel Ouellet
2001-02 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 7 Jean-Philippe Cote
2007-08 Quad City Flames 22 Curtis McElhinney
2004-05 Rimouski Oceanic 16 Eric Neilson
2004-05 Rimouski Oceanic 17 Marc-Antoine Pouliot
2007-08 AHL All-Stars 43 Clay Wilson
I'll start the Armchair Sports section of the post with a batch of AHL and junior cards, featuring current and former members of the Lightning and Blue Jackets organizations. Curtis McElhinney is the best of this batch -- he's the backup for Sergei Bobrovsky in Columbus.
-------------------------------------------------------
2012-13 Quebec Remparts Postcards Adam Erne (Signed)
2009-10 Oshawa Generals 16 Boone Jenner
2011-12 Brampton Battalion 5 Dylan Bujus
2013-14 Barrie Colts 3 Jake Dotchin
2013-14 Victoria Royals Patrik Polivka
The signed postcard of Lightning prospect Adam Erne is the biggest card here, in more ways than one. However, I also like the Patrik Polivka card in the bottom right. A friend who regularly attends Victoria Royals games got one of his game-used jerseys, which inspired me to pick up his most recent trading card. Yes, the uniforms are identical to that of the Tampa Bay Lightning's third jerseys -- they even have a white set to match.
-------------------------------------------------------
2012-13 Swiss National League SNL-051 Joel Vermin
2012-13 Swiss National League SNL-362 Reto Suri
Joel Vermin is a Lightning prospect, and Reto Suri has been on-again off-again linked to the Lightning organization as well. Perhaps one of these two players will come to Tampa in the next few years.
-------------------------------------------------------
1991-92 7th Inning Sketch QMJHL 236 Michael Gaul
This is the first-ever trading card of Michael Gaul, which fills a hole in my collection. Gaul is the only player in Columbus Blue Jackets history to never receive an NHL rookie card. He played two games for the Blue Jackets in the inaugural 2000-01 season, spending most of the year with the Syracuse Crunch. He also played one game with the Colorado Avalanche in 1998-99. This card finally gives me one item from every player in Blue Jackets history.
-------------------------------------------------------
2003-04 Lewiston Maineiacs Travis Mealy
2005-06 PEI Rocket Travis Mealy
Travis Mealy earns a spot in my collection by virtue of his birthday, which matches my own to the exact day! He's one of three players in my collection to have such wonderful timing -- Nathan Saunders is another, but the most well-known is Brandon Yip. Mealy played six games with the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League in 2011-12, but never made it any higher in professional hockey.
-------------------------------------------------------
1989-90 ProCards AHL 271 Steve Ludzik
1989-90 ProCards AHL 274 Mike Donnelly
From here, I'll transition to some Detroit Vipers nostalgia. The next batch of cards will go toward collections of players who I don't "officially" maintain collections of, but that I still remember fondly from my days as a fan of the International Hockey League's 1997 champions. Steve Ludzik was the coach of the championship team, and Mike Donnelly played a few games for the Vipers in 96-97 and 97-98.
-------------------------------------------------------
1986-87 Chicago Blackhawks Coke Postcards Wayne Presley
1987-88 Chicago Blackhawks Coke Postcards Wayne Presley
Double vision? These two cards look almost identical, but there are a few subtle differences to help tell the two years apart. The background color on the left card is a little bit lighter, and the cards use a slightly different font for the stats and player name. Thankfully, Armchair Sports wrote out the correct years on sticky notes, and attached them to the two cards.
-------------------------------------------------------
1988-89 Chicago Blackhawks Coke Postcards Wayne Presley
1992-93 Buffalo Sabres BlueShield Postcards Wayne Presley
I'm glad that Presley's third Blackhawks postcard uses a different picture. The Sabres card actually lists the year on the front, which makes its identification much easier!
The Blackhawks postcards all measure 6.5" by 3.5", and the Sabres postcard measures 6" by 4".
-------------------------------------------------------
1983-84 Kitchener Rangers 16 Wayne Presley
1984-85 Kitchener Rangers 20 Wayne Presley
1984-85 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Wayne Presley
1985-86 Nova Scotia Oilers 16 Wayne Presley
Here are four of Presley's earliest cards, which have that distinct 1980s team-issue look to them -- posed photos and white borders. All four cards are slightly bigger than standard size. The top two are wider, and the bottom two are longer.
There is a listing for a 1982-83 Kitchener card, so I don't believe I own Presley's first.
Wayne Presley was part of the 1997 Detroit Vipers championship team, and was one of two players (along with current St. Louis Blues Associate Coach Brad Shaw) who did a tour of local radio stations with the Turner Cup shortly after the victory. I was invited into the studio of the radio station I had been doing call-in reports for, and got to spend some time -- at the age of 12 -- with Shaw, Presley, and the massive championship trophy.
-------------------------------------------------------
1999-00 Manitoba Moose 5 Mike Prokopec
This very-oversized card (9.5" by 6.25") is showing its age -- it includes a coupon that expired on November 30, 2000.
The card is numbered as part of a set, and contains a full printing of stats on the back. I will count this as a trading card, rather than a photo or program insert.
-------------------------------------------------------
1991-92 7th Inning Sketch OHL 13 Mike Prokopec
1993-94 Guelph Storm 16 Mike Prokopec
1994-95 Indianapolis Ice Mike Prokopec
1995-96 Indianapolis Ice Mike Prokopec
The 7th Inning Sketch card is one of two from Prokopec's first year on cardboard (91-92). I have a hard time believing that Edge Ice couldn't find a better picture for the 95-96 Indianapolis card (bottom right) -- it's entirely out of focus!
Mike Prokopec was a bit-player on the 1997 Vipers championship team, playing in just eight playoff games. However, after a year in the AHL, he returned to the Vipers and became an IHL all-star in 98-99. His career ended after the 99-00 season with Manitoba.
-------------------------------------------------------
1990-91 7th Inning Sketch OHL 220 Aleksander Stojanov
1991 Classic 6 Alex Stojanov
1991 Classic French 6 Alex Stojanov
1991 Classic 4-Sport 6 Alex Stojanov
1991 Classic 4-Sport French 6 Alex Stojanov
1991 Ultimate Draft 6 Alek Stojanov
1991 Ultimate Draft 62 Alek Stojanov
1991 Ultimate Draft French 6 Alek Stojanov
1991 Ultimate Draft French 62 Alek Stojanov
Alek Stojanov is famous for two things, neither of which have anything to do with the Detroit Vipers:
1) He was drafted 7th overall and did not develop into an NHL star.
2) He was traded for Markus Naslund.
Stojanov's offensive game never developed, even in the minor leagues. However, during his 70 games with the Vipers in 98-99 and 99-00, Stojanov gained a legitimate reputation for being a strong and feared opponent. He also shares my birthday, though he was born 12 years before I was.
Stojanov was featured on a plethora of these Classic and Ultimate Draft cards, and to be honest, they're very difficult to tell apart. My favorite card here is the 7th Inning Sketch card, which is Stojanov's first.
If anyone has any of the Stojanov autographs from the Classic or Arena products, I'd be interested in acquiring them.
-------------------------------------------------------
1995 Signature Rookies 58 Byron Briske (/45000)
1995-96 Tri-City Americans Byron Briske
1993-94 University of Maine Black Bears 46 Patrice Tardif
1999-00 Grand Rapids Griffins John Emmons
2001-02 Providence Bruins 11 John Emmons
Here's a mix of additional players who were on the Vipers during my time as a fan of the team. There are few cards with logo-block-outs as obvious as the first Byron Briske card pictured here!
-------------------------------------------------------
1994 Classic 4-Sport Gold 154 Geoff Sarjeant
1995-96 Collector's Edge Ice 147 Geoff Sarjeant
Geoff Sarjeant only played eight games with the Vipers, and is perhaps better known for his stops in Cincinnati and Peoria. He played for five different teams in 1998-99, and four of those teams (including the Vipers) were in the IHL.
That's almost everything from the Armchair Sports batch, but I'm saving one more card for later in the post.
-------------------------------------------------------
1996 Collector's Edge Ice Crucibles Michal Pivonka
The next few cards all came in from ebay transactions. Here's one of the two Detroit Vipers players featured in the Crucibles insert set from the Collector's Edge Ice product. This card is numbered "0530" on the back in dot-matrix printing, but there is no denominator, so I have no idea what the print run is. One ebay auction noted (without citation) that the set's print run was 2000 copies. Given that I saw another serial number in the 1400s, this seems reasonable.
I still need the Peter Bondra card from this insert set.
-------------------------------------------------------
93-94 Spokane Chiefs Jason Podollan
94-95 Spokane Chiefs Jason Podollan
I can't overstate the importance of these two items -- two of Jason Podollan's earliest appearances on cardboard! These tough junior-league issues have been on my wantlist for years.
My Podollan collection is now up to 24/26. The only cards I am missing are the Signature Rookies Autograph Promo (/23), and an impossible-to-find German DEL promotional card that was given away at a local bakery in Mannheim.
-------------------------------------------------------
98-99 B.C. Icemen EBK Sports 19 Dieter Kochan
Dieter Kochan earned several NHL cards in 00-01, but his six cards from the 90s have been very tough for me to find. This card is from one of two sets that the BC Icemen of the UHL released in 98-99, with the other card being much easier to find. This one is from a set produced by EBK Sports, and supposedly (according to the seller) has a print run of only 50 copies.
Note that the B.C. in the team's name stands for Broome County, New York -- home of the Icemen, who were based in the city of Binghamton.
-------------------------------------------------------
09-10 Dinamo Riga Card Wrappers
The next three pictures contain items I received from an ebay user in Latvia. I have enjoyed picking up cards from the recent SeReal-produced KHL sets, and the 2013-14 edition looks pretty nice.
The cards were shipped in wrappers from a completely unrelated 09-10 Dinamo Riga trading card set. I just wanted to post a picture of the wrappers as well, because it's not something the average collector is likely to see!
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 SeReal KHL Martin Cibak
13-14 SeReal KHL Silver Martin Cibak (/275)
13-14 SeReal KHL Gold Martin Cibak (22/100)
13-14 SeReal KHL Kristian Kudroc
13-14 SeReal KHL Silver Kristian Kudroc (/275)
13-14 SeReal KHL Gold Kristian Kudroc (74/100)
Here are the base cards and parallels for the two KHL players I collect -- Martin Cibak and Kristian Kudroc. The parallel cards feature a foil overlay of the KHL's special 6th-season commemorative logo. The checklist on the SeReal website notes that the silver cards are limited to 275 copies each, while the gold cards are serial numbered on the front.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 SeReal KHL 5+1 Martin Cibak (192/300)
13-14 SeReal KHL 5+1 Kristian Kudroc (196/300)
Both players were also featured in this special insert set, which includes a commemorative patch version of the 6th-season logo. The name of the insert set is "5+1" -- which, I have to admit, seems a little awkward to me. Yes, 5+1 does equal 6, but I'm not sure why you'd want to put that arithmetic on the front of a trading card. Perhaps there's a reason I'm missing. Regardless, I do like these cards -- they are fairly thick and sturdy, and are serial numbered on the front.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Finnish Cardset The Captain C6 Eric Perrin
13-14 Finnish Cardset International Stars IS14 Eric Perrin
My next three pictures will feature five new Eric Perrin items I received from Tatu (MOGO89). Tatu has been my source for Eric Perrin cards from Finland for a long time, and is always willing to help -- that's something I truly appreciate!
The first two cards are inserts from 2013-14 Finnish Cardset Series 2. Perrin has now been featured on over ten different insert cards from Finnish Cardset, stretching all the way back to 2003-04.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Finnish Liiga Playing Card Eric Perrin (King of Spades)
13-14 Finnish Liiga Candy Can Sticker Eric Perrin
The next two items are a little bit more of the oddball variety.
The first card is a playing card from the current product year! Perrin was given a pretty lofty place in the deck -- the King of Spades.
The second item was very hard to find, so I'm glad Tatu was able to locate one. It's a promotional sticker that was released with a candy can product of some sort. All of the team captains and team logos were included in the sticker set. The back of the sticker (which is actually a second sticker) has the following text:
Mukana kerailytarra ja kilpailukoodi
Repaise Latka Auki Ja Katso, Oletko Voittanut!
Running this through Google Translate gives me the following:
Comes with a collectible sticker and competition code
Tear off the hockey open and see whether you won!
Although I'd love to see if I was a winner -- though I don't even know what I could possibly win -- I do intend to keep this sticker intact.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Finnish JYP Postcard Eric Perrin
The last card from Tatu is the yearly postcard produced by Perrin's team, JYP Jyvaskyla. Perrin has received postcards from the JYP set for the last three years (though I'm not sure if he was in the 10-11 set, or if there even was one).
Thanks so much for your help, Tatu!
However, this is not the final Eric Perrin card for this mail post. The last card from the Armchair Sports purchase also features the 2004 Stanley Cup champion.
-------------------------------------------------------
1998-99 Kansas City Blades 7 Eric Perrin
This card is a huge addition for my collection. It's at least as important as the Kochan and Podollan cards from earlier in the post, and perhaps even more so! It's the final North American card of Eric Perrin on my wantlist, leaving me needing two Finnish Cardset memorabilia cards that I am unlikely to acquire. Since it's an IHL card, it's even more important to me. It completes my Eric Perrin collection all the way through the 2011-12 season.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Upper Deck UD Canvas Alex Ovechkin
This card is a bit out of place, but it was added in as an extra with the final card in the mail post. It will be headed to my tradelist.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Upper Deck Day With The Cup DC-26 Alec Martinez
I'll close this post with one final player collection addition -- a very-tough insert card that highlights one of the greatest days in a hockey player's career!
Alec Martinez had his day with the Stanley Cup on August 31, 2012. He brought the cup to his home in Allen, Texas, and celebrated with his former teammates from Miami University of Ohio.
I acquired the Tim Thomas Day With The Cup card last year, which means that I now own the only two that I needed for my player collections. However, I do still have one more on my wantlist, as I'd love to pick up the card featuring Phil Pritchard -- the keeper of the Cup.
-----------------
News and notes:
** Coming soon in future posts: several very rare pickups for my Tim Thomas and Sergei Samsonov collections, an awesome insert set from Randy Gore, and a whole bunch of base cards and RCs from Dave Rearick.
** My teams made five acquisitions near the trade deadline: Nick Schultz, Ryan Callahan, Matt Frattin, Carter Camper, and Mike Kostka. Of those players, I'm currently most interested in higher-end RCs of Schultz, who earned a few moderately tough ones in 01-02. Otherwise, for the other players, I intend to play it patiently -- only picking up cards if the price is outstanding.
That'll be it. Thanks everyone!
--Andy
http://www.thegreatzo.com/cards/
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Mail Post #4 for 2014
-------------------------------------------------------
1999-00 Rimouski Oceanic Michel Ouellet
2001-02 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 7 Jean-Philippe Cote
2007-08 Quad City Flames 22 Curtis McElhinney
2004-05 Rimouski Oceanic 16 Eric Neilson
2004-05 Rimouski Oceanic 17 Marc-Antoine Pouliot
2007-08 AHL All-Stars 43 Clay Wilson
I'll start the Armchair Sports section of the post with a batch of AHL and junior cards, featuring current and former members of the Lightning and Blue Jackets organizations. Curtis McElhinney is the best of this batch -- he's the backup for Sergei Bobrovsky in Columbus.
-------------------------------------------------------
2012-13 Quebec Remparts Postcards Adam Erne (Signed)
2009-10 Oshawa Generals 16 Boone Jenner
2011-12 Brampton Battalion 5 Dylan Bujus
2013-14 Barrie Colts 3 Jake Dotchin
2013-14 Victoria Royals Patrik Polivka
The signed postcard of Lightning prospect Adam Erne is the biggest card here, in more ways than one. However, I also like the Patrik Polivka card in the bottom right. A friend who regularly attends Victoria Royals games got one of his game-used jerseys, which inspired me to pick up his most recent trading card. Yes, the uniforms are identical to that of the Tampa Bay Lightning's third jerseys -- they even have a white set to match.
-------------------------------------------------------
2012-13 Swiss National League SNL-051 Joel Vermin
2012-13 Swiss National League SNL-362 Reto Suri
Joel Vermin is a Lightning prospect, and Reto Suri has been on-again off-again linked to the Lightning organization as well. Perhaps one of these two players will come to Tampa in the next few years.
-------------------------------------------------------
1991-92 7th Inning Sketch QMJHL 236 Michael Gaul
This is the first-ever trading card of Michael Gaul, which fills a hole in my collection. Gaul is the only player in Columbus Blue Jackets history to never receive an NHL rookie card. He played two games for the Blue Jackets in the inaugural 2000-01 season, spending most of the year with the Syracuse Crunch. He also played one game with the Colorado Avalanche in 1998-99. This card finally gives me one item from every player in Blue Jackets history.
-------------------------------------------------------
2003-04 Lewiston Maineiacs Travis Mealy
2005-06 PEI Rocket Travis Mealy
Travis Mealy earns a spot in my collection by virtue of his birthday, which matches my own to the exact day! He's one of three players in my collection to have such wonderful timing -- Nathan Saunders is another, but the most well-known is Brandon Yip. Mealy played six games with the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League in 2011-12, but never made it any higher in professional hockey.
-------------------------------------------------------
1989-90 ProCards AHL 271 Steve Ludzik
1989-90 ProCards AHL 274 Mike Donnelly
From here, I'll transition to some Detroit Vipers nostalgia. The next batch of cards will go toward collections of players who I don't "officially" maintain collections of, but that I still remember fondly from my days as a fan of the International Hockey League's 1997 champions. Steve Ludzik was the coach of the championship team, and Mike Donnelly played a few games for the Vipers in 96-97 and 97-98.
-------------------------------------------------------
1986-87 Chicago Blackhawks Coke Postcards Wayne Presley
1987-88 Chicago Blackhawks Coke Postcards Wayne Presley
Double vision? These two cards look almost identical, but there are a few subtle differences to help tell the two years apart. The background color on the left card is a little bit lighter, and the cards use a slightly different font for the stats and player name. Thankfully, Armchair Sports wrote out the correct years on sticky notes, and attached them to the two cards.
-------------------------------------------------------
1988-89 Chicago Blackhawks Coke Postcards Wayne Presley
1992-93 Buffalo Sabres BlueShield Postcards Wayne Presley
I'm glad that Presley's third Blackhawks postcard uses a different picture. The Sabres card actually lists the year on the front, which makes its identification much easier!
The Blackhawks postcards all measure 6.5" by 3.5", and the Sabres postcard measures 6" by 4".
-------------------------------------------------------
1983-84 Kitchener Rangers 16 Wayne Presley
1984-85 Kitchener Rangers 20 Wayne Presley
1984-85 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Wayne Presley
1985-86 Nova Scotia Oilers 16 Wayne Presley
Here are four of Presley's earliest cards, which have that distinct 1980s team-issue look to them -- posed photos and white borders. All four cards are slightly bigger than standard size. The top two are wider, and the bottom two are longer.
There is a listing for a 1982-83 Kitchener card, so I don't believe I own Presley's first.
Wayne Presley was part of the 1997 Detroit Vipers championship team, and was one of two players (along with current St. Louis Blues Associate Coach Brad Shaw) who did a tour of local radio stations with the Turner Cup shortly after the victory. I was invited into the studio of the radio station I had been doing call-in reports for, and got to spend some time -- at the age of 12 -- with Shaw, Presley, and the massive championship trophy.
-------------------------------------------------------
1999-00 Manitoba Moose 5 Mike Prokopec
This very-oversized card (9.5" by 6.25") is showing its age -- it includes a coupon that expired on November 30, 2000.
The card is numbered as part of a set, and contains a full printing of stats on the back. I will count this as a trading card, rather than a photo or program insert.
-------------------------------------------------------
1991-92 7th Inning Sketch OHL 13 Mike Prokopec
1993-94 Guelph Storm 16 Mike Prokopec
1994-95 Indianapolis Ice Mike Prokopec
1995-96 Indianapolis Ice Mike Prokopec
The 7th Inning Sketch card is one of two from Prokopec's first year on cardboard (91-92). I have a hard time believing that Edge Ice couldn't find a better picture for the 95-96 Indianapolis card (bottom right) -- it's entirely out of focus!
Mike Prokopec was a bit-player on the 1997 Vipers championship team, playing in just eight playoff games. However, after a year in the AHL, he returned to the Vipers and became an IHL all-star in 98-99. His career ended after the 99-00 season with Manitoba.
-------------------------------------------------------
1990-91 7th Inning Sketch OHL 220 Aleksander Stojanov
1991 Classic 6 Alex Stojanov
1991 Classic French 6 Alex Stojanov
1991 Classic 4-Sport 6 Alex Stojanov
1991 Classic 4-Sport French 6 Alex Stojanov
1991 Ultimate Draft 6 Alek Stojanov
1991 Ultimate Draft 62 Alek Stojanov
1991 Ultimate Draft French 6 Alek Stojanov
1991 Ultimate Draft French 62 Alek Stojanov
Alek Stojanov is famous for two things, neither of which have anything to do with the Detroit Vipers:
1) He was drafted 7th overall and did not develop into an NHL star.
2) He was traded for Markus Naslund.
Stojanov's offensive game never developed, even in the minor leagues. However, during his 70 games with the Vipers in 98-99 and 99-00, Stojanov gained a legitimate reputation for being a strong and feared opponent. He also shares my birthday, though he was born 12 years before I was.
Stojanov was featured on a plethora of these Classic and Ultimate Draft cards, and to be honest, they're very difficult to tell apart. My favorite card here is the 7th Inning Sketch card, which is Stojanov's first.
If anyone has any of the Stojanov autographs from the Classic or Arena products, I'd be interested in acquiring them.
-------------------------------------------------------
1995 Signature Rookies 58 Byron Briske (/45000)
1995-96 Tri-City Americans Byron Briske
1993-94 University of Maine Black Bears 46 Patrice Tardif
1999-00 Grand Rapids Griffins John Emmons
2001-02 Providence Bruins 11 John Emmons
Here's a mix of additional players who were on the Vipers during my time as a fan of the team. There are few cards with logo-block-outs as obvious as the first Byron Briske card pictured here!
-------------------------------------------------------
1994 Classic 4-Sport Gold 154 Geoff Sarjeant
1995-96 Collector's Edge Ice 147 Geoff Sarjeant
Geoff Sarjeant only played eight games with the Vipers, and is perhaps better known for his stops in Cincinnati and Peoria. He played for five different teams in 1998-99, and four of those teams (including the Vipers) were in the IHL.
That's almost everything from the Armchair Sports batch, but I'm saving one more card for later in the post.
-------------------------------------------------------
1996 Collector's Edge Ice Crucibles Michal Pivonka
The next few cards all came in from ebay transactions. Here's one of the two Detroit Vipers players featured in the Crucibles insert set from the Collector's Edge Ice product. This card is numbered "0530" on the back in dot-matrix printing, but there is no denominator, so I have no idea what the print run is. One ebay auction noted (without citation) that the set's print run was 2000 copies. Given that I saw another serial number in the 1400s, this seems reasonable.
I still need the Peter Bondra card from this insert set.
-------------------------------------------------------
93-94 Spokane Chiefs Jason Podollan
94-95 Spokane Chiefs Jason Podollan
I can't overstate the importance of these two items -- two of Jason Podollan's earliest appearances on cardboard! These tough junior-league issues have been on my wantlist for years.
My Podollan collection is now up to 24/26. The only cards I am missing are the Signature Rookies Autograph Promo (/23), and an impossible-to-find German DEL promotional card that was given away at a local bakery in Mannheim.
-------------------------------------------------------
98-99 B.C. Icemen EBK Sports 19 Dieter Kochan
Dieter Kochan earned several NHL cards in 00-01, but his six cards from the 90s have been very tough for me to find. This card is from one of two sets that the BC Icemen of the UHL released in 98-99, with the other card being much easier to find. This one is from a set produced by EBK Sports, and supposedly (according to the seller) has a print run of only 50 copies.
Note that the B.C. in the team's name stands for Broome County, New York -- home of the Icemen, who were based in the city of Binghamton.
-------------------------------------------------------
09-10 Dinamo Riga Card Wrappers
The next three pictures contain items I received from an ebay user in Latvia. I have enjoyed picking up cards from the recent SeReal-produced KHL sets, and the 2013-14 edition looks pretty nice.
The cards were shipped in wrappers from a completely unrelated 09-10 Dinamo Riga trading card set. I just wanted to post a picture of the wrappers as well, because it's not something the average collector is likely to see!
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 SeReal KHL Martin Cibak
13-14 SeReal KHL Silver Martin Cibak (/275)
13-14 SeReal KHL Gold Martin Cibak (22/100)
13-14 SeReal KHL Kristian Kudroc
13-14 SeReal KHL Silver Kristian Kudroc (/275)
13-14 SeReal KHL Gold Kristian Kudroc (74/100)
Here are the base cards and parallels for the two KHL players I collect -- Martin Cibak and Kristian Kudroc. The parallel cards feature a foil overlay of the KHL's special 6th-season commemorative logo. The checklist on the SeReal website notes that the silver cards are limited to 275 copies each, while the gold cards are serial numbered on the front.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 SeReal KHL 5+1 Martin Cibak (192/300)
13-14 SeReal KHL 5+1 Kristian Kudroc (196/300)
Both players were also featured in this special insert set, which includes a commemorative patch version of the 6th-season logo. The name of the insert set is "5+1" -- which, I have to admit, seems a little awkward to me. Yes, 5+1 does equal 6, but I'm not sure why you'd want to put that arithmetic on the front of a trading card. Perhaps there's a reason I'm missing. Regardless, I do like these cards -- they are fairly thick and sturdy, and are serial numbered on the front.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Finnish Cardset The Captain C6 Eric Perrin
13-14 Finnish Cardset International Stars IS14 Eric Perrin
My next three pictures will feature five new Eric Perrin items I received from Tatu (MOGO89). Tatu has been my source for Eric Perrin cards from Finland for a long time, and is always willing to help -- that's something I truly appreciate!
The first two cards are inserts from 2013-14 Finnish Cardset Series 2. Perrin has now been featured on over ten different insert cards from Finnish Cardset, stretching all the way back to 2003-04.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Finnish Liiga Playing Card Eric Perrin (King of Spades)
13-14 Finnish Liiga Candy Can Sticker Eric Perrin
The next two items are a little bit more of the oddball variety.
The first card is a playing card from the current product year! Perrin was given a pretty lofty place in the deck -- the King of Spades.
The second item was very hard to find, so I'm glad Tatu was able to locate one. It's a promotional sticker that was released with a candy can product of some sort. All of the team captains and team logos were included in the sticker set. The back of the sticker (which is actually a second sticker) has the following text:
Mukana kerailytarra ja kilpailukoodi
Repaise Latka Auki Ja Katso, Oletko Voittanut!
Running this through Google Translate gives me the following:
Comes with a collectible sticker and competition code
Tear off the hockey open and see whether you won!
Although I'd love to see if I was a winner -- though I don't even know what I could possibly win -- I do intend to keep this sticker intact.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Finnish JYP Postcard Eric Perrin
The last card from Tatu is the yearly postcard produced by Perrin's team, JYP Jyvaskyla. Perrin has received postcards from the JYP set for the last three years (though I'm not sure if he was in the 10-11 set, or if there even was one).
Thanks so much for your help, Tatu!
However, this is not the final Eric Perrin card for this mail post. The last card from the Armchair Sports purchase also features the 2004 Stanley Cup champion.
-------------------------------------------------------
1998-99 Kansas City Blades 7 Eric Perrin
This card is a huge addition for my collection. It's at least as important as the Kochan and Podollan cards from earlier in the post, and perhaps even more so! It's the final North American card of Eric Perrin on my wantlist, leaving me needing two Finnish Cardset memorabilia cards that I am unlikely to acquire. Since it's an IHL card, it's even more important to me. It completes my Eric Perrin collection all the way through the 2011-12 season.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Upper Deck UD Canvas Alex Ovechkin
This card is a bit out of place, but it was added in as an extra with the final card in the mail post. It will be headed to my tradelist.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Upper Deck Day With The Cup DC-26 Alec Martinez
I'll close this post with one final player collection addition -- a very-tough insert card that highlights one of the greatest days in a hockey player's career!
Alec Martinez had his day with the Stanley Cup on August 31, 2012. He brought the cup to his home in Allen, Texas, and celebrated with his former teammates from Miami University of Ohio.
I acquired the Tim Thomas Day With The Cup card last year, which means that I now own the only two that I needed for my player collections. However, I do still have one more on my wantlist, as I'd love to pick up the card featuring Phil Pritchard -- the keeper of the Cup.
-----------------
News and notes:
** Coming soon in future posts: several very rare pickups for my Tim Thomas and Sergei Samsonov collections, an awesome insert set from Randy Gore, and a whole bunch of base cards and RCs from Dave Rearick.
** My teams made five acquisitions near the trade deadline: Nick Schultz, Ryan Callahan, Matt Frattin, Carter Camper, and Mike Kostka. Of those players, I'm currently most interested in higher-end RCs of Schultz, who earned a few moderately tough ones in 01-02. Otherwise, for the other players, I intend to play it patiently -- only picking up cards if the price is outstanding.
That'll be it. Thanks everyone!
--Andy
http://www.thegreatzo.com/cards/
-------------------------------------------------------
