BigBarracuda
Verified Trader,
It's been awhile, but your latest injection of green-ness has arrived!!! :taz:
This will more than likely be the final installment of the GToH. With so few cards left on the wantlist; and to-date, my Hartford Whalers grand total sits at 4,614. I still don't target one-of-ones, show cards, or buy backs (I do have a few in my collection but there aren't a priority).
On with the tour!!!!! And before we dive into the cards, I think I should start with a clean sheet of ice, no? (can you tell I'm struggling to find new things? LOL)
With those two out of the way, let's get to the goods! These first 2 cards carry huge significance to my collection:
This one single sticker (from the 1991 SEMIC Czech set) now gives me a 100% complete master set (280/280) that includes a copy of every single sticker EVER made, period. I was convinced I would never see one of these in the wild (let alone on FaceBook!):
And this one single (from the 1995 UD set, Electric Ice GOLD parallel) now gives me a 100% complete master set (2,982/2,982) that includes a copy of every single factory card EVER made while the Whalers were playing in the NHL (from 1979-1996). I have been looking for this card for so many years that I had pretty much given up, and then an old parallel ally (Boffa Benga) reached out to me and said he found this!!! I apologize as I know he is here in HI but I don't recall his user ID here.
Sticking with the vintage cards for a little bit, I also decided to grab these since I saw them become available. In my humble opinion, Dineen is one of (if not) the most memorable Whalers player. He may not share a similar hobby appeal as some of the Whalers, but as a player and a person, he tops my charts without question!
Going back to parallels for a bit, let's jump to the modern cards, and modern Whalers. Here is the progress I've made on the latest releases:
Turbo Teravainen (complete)
Tony DeAngelo (missing High Gloss)
Jake Slavin (missing High Gloss)
OK, so back to the singles. As many of you know, I've been challenged by some real life stuff that has really taken a bite out of me. I continue to work toward the upswing and things are starting to improve. While I was dealing with that, our Canada Post friends went on strike so many cards I had acquired didn't get delivered until recently. Here is one of those cards (National Treasures Prime (goes very nice with the regular version I have), apparently there is no "patch" version of the Gordie.
And I don't recall if I shared this before, but what the heck right? We collect to enjoy the cards we land! Form the OG of custom cuts....
Carrying forward with the Howe content, this next card a TRIPLE SOTT /15 is another cornerstone of my collection. For a few reasons, I had to lean on a good personal friend in the US to take delivery of the card, and hold onto it for me until Canada Post returned. This hobby will continue to miss him as he's shifted his collecting habits, but I thoroughly enjoy remaining in contact with ChuckNorrisFearsSid. If you read this bud, thank you on multiple levels!
And of course, that triple allows me to bridge to a few cards of the next Whalers player, the Franchise....Ron Francis!!! First up for Ronnie is a card that may become the butt end of many jokes, but I tell you, these cards are insanely unique, and deserving of being in any collection!!!
This next card is a Ronnie that I heard existed but I never had so much as a sniff on a real one. Then it showed up, on eBay. I had to have it, and is a great example of how my custom card work allows me to not hesitate on the few cards that I need. It's absolutely gorgeous!
This little gem is another long-sought-after card, and I'm super pumped to own one (finally)!!!!
And my final Ronnie addition is a card I've been after since the release of the product. I learned relatively early that someone was hoarding these, trying to corner them all (print run is 25). I heard the same from a few other collectors as well. I know of 3 of these in the wild, including the one I now own!! I am beside myself with being able to land this stunning piece at a decent price, and again an instant BIN because of the custom work.
Then there is this guy named Liut! I really wish UD would spend more time on cards for him, there is some incredible photography of him just begging to be used on cards. but alas, I'll take what ever they make! I got these two CUP beauties:
and 
That's about all for my Whalers cards, but I have done a little other collecting. I've dabbled "VERY" lightly in slabbed cards, keeping them to a very specific objective....I just need a Jarvis
And last but not least, I 've always loved the Allure product; and when I saw the Yellow Taxi parallels (available in Blasters only) I decided to collect the entire set. Mission accomplished!
In closing, I often see social media posts about being kind to one another because we really have no idea what the other person is dealing with. I am/was one of those people so the posts really resonated with me. Be kind, enjoy the hobby!
Cheers,
Glenn
This will more than likely be the final installment of the GToH. With so few cards left on the wantlist; and to-date, my Hartford Whalers grand total sits at 4,614. I still don't target one-of-ones, show cards, or buy backs (I do have a few in my collection but there aren't a priority).
On with the tour!!!!! And before we dive into the cards, I think I should start with a clean sheet of ice, no? (can you tell I'm struggling to find new things? LOL)
With those two out of the way, let's get to the goods! These first 2 cards carry huge significance to my collection:
This one single sticker (from the 1991 SEMIC Czech set) now gives me a 100% complete master set (280/280) that includes a copy of every single sticker EVER made, period. I was convinced I would never see one of these in the wild (let alone on FaceBook!):
And this one single (from the 1995 UD set, Electric Ice GOLD parallel) now gives me a 100% complete master set (2,982/2,982) that includes a copy of every single factory card EVER made while the Whalers were playing in the NHL (from 1979-1996). I have been looking for this card for so many years that I had pretty much given up, and then an old parallel ally (Boffa Benga) reached out to me and said he found this!!! I apologize as I know he is here in HI but I don't recall his user ID here.
Sticking with the vintage cards for a little bit, I also decided to grab these since I saw them become available. In my humble opinion, Dineen is one of (if not) the most memorable Whalers player. He may not share a similar hobby appeal as some of the Whalers, but as a player and a person, he tops my charts without question!
Going back to parallels for a bit, let's jump to the modern cards, and modern Whalers. Here is the progress I've made on the latest releases:
Turbo Teravainen (complete)
Tony DeAngelo (missing High Gloss)
Jake Slavin (missing High Gloss)
OK, so back to the singles. As many of you know, I've been challenged by some real life stuff that has really taken a bite out of me. I continue to work toward the upswing and things are starting to improve. While I was dealing with that, our Canada Post friends went on strike so many cards I had acquired didn't get delivered until recently. Here is one of those cards (National Treasures Prime (goes very nice with the regular version I have), apparently there is no "patch" version of the Gordie.
And I don't recall if I shared this before, but what the heck right? We collect to enjoy the cards we land! Form the OG of custom cuts....
Carrying forward with the Howe content, this next card a TRIPLE SOTT /15 is another cornerstone of my collection. For a few reasons, I had to lean on a good personal friend in the US to take delivery of the card, and hold onto it for me until Canada Post returned. This hobby will continue to miss him as he's shifted his collecting habits, but I thoroughly enjoy remaining in contact with ChuckNorrisFearsSid. If you read this bud, thank you on multiple levels!
And of course, that triple allows me to bridge to a few cards of the next Whalers player, the Franchise....Ron Francis!!! First up for Ronnie is a card that may become the butt end of many jokes, but I tell you, these cards are insanely unique, and deserving of being in any collection!!!
This next card is a Ronnie that I heard existed but I never had so much as a sniff on a real one. Then it showed up, on eBay. I had to have it, and is a great example of how my custom card work allows me to not hesitate on the few cards that I need. It's absolutely gorgeous!
This little gem is another long-sought-after card, and I'm super pumped to own one (finally)!!!!
And my final Ronnie addition is a card I've been after since the release of the product. I learned relatively early that someone was hoarding these, trying to corner them all (print run is 25). I heard the same from a few other collectors as well. I know of 3 of these in the wild, including the one I now own!! I am beside myself with being able to land this stunning piece at a decent price, and again an instant BIN because of the custom work.
Then there is this guy named Liut! I really wish UD would spend more time on cards for him, there is some incredible photography of him just begging to be used on cards. but alas, I'll take what ever they make! I got these two CUP beauties:
and That's about all for my Whalers cards, but I have done a little other collecting. I've dabbled "VERY" lightly in slabbed cards, keeping them to a very specific objective....I just need a Jarvis
And last but not least, I 've always loved the Allure product; and when I saw the Yellow Taxi parallels (available in Blasters only) I decided to collect the entire set. Mission accomplished!
In closing, I often see social media posts about being kind to one another because we really have no idea what the other person is dealing with. I am/was one of those people so the posts really resonated with me. Be kind, enjoy the hobby!
Cheers,
Glenn
