Old School: Upper-Deck 99/00 Gold Reserve

A few weekends ago I went in search of different card stores in the Calgary area. It happened to be the Free Card Day where participating card stores were giving away packs of the Canadian National Card series, which prompted the search for more card stores in order to acquire the full set. In this quest I came across a small shop that had boxes of older Upper-Deck cards for about $20 each. From their selection I decided on a box of 99/00 Upper-Deck Gold Reserve which I had never purchased before. The cards look OK and I pulled the entire set including sp's from the one box. The drawback was that I was left with numerous doubles, off cut cards, and zero subset or chase cards. Then again, the box was only $20.

Base Cards: From the one box I pulled all 135 of the base cards. The cards have a shiny foil design on the front with the player taking up the vast majority of the photo. The photos are fairly generic of action shots and often have the player's image slightly bleeding off the side of the card. Some of the shots are also off-center and the overall composition is uninspiring. The backs of the card are incredibly dark with a dark blue back ground and tiny, sometimes blurry white lettering. The cards are often off cut and the information is fills up the majority of the card whereby an off cut becomes more pronounced because the text is frequently cut away. This is probably one of the worst card designs I've seen but the product is cheap and it is fun to see older players when they were still actively playing.

Star Power: This is a short-printed set that continues the base card numbering. The design is very similar to the base cards and suffers from all of the same problems. The redeeming feature of the set is how it highlights older players such as Shanahan and Sakic.

Young Guns: Again the design is the same as the other cards and suffers all the same problems. What is special about these young guns, however, is that the Sedin twins and Luongo are featured in the set. It is great pulling their young guns but it is odd that their rookie cards were actually produced a few years earlier in other products. It's also annoying that the cards were over produced so while these are three of the biggest stars in hockey, these particular cards are virtually worthless. Nonetheless, it is fun to pull a young gun of these top players in today's hockey.

Upper-Deck Gold 99/00 is a somewhat fun product to break as a box provides you the full set of cards, including the sp's. The overall design is too dark and pretty bland, with numerous off-cut and damaged cards; it also doesn't help that the card stick together when opening the packs. Regardless of over production, damages, and dark designs, it is still fun to pull some classic players and suedo rookies of the Sedin twins and Luongo.

Signed Plekanec Card in the Mail!

The other day I received two autographed cards in the mail from Tomas Plekanec of the Montreal Canadiens! On November 26th, 2011, I had mailed out cards to various Canadian hockey teams such as the Canadiens. I had previously received an autographed card from Rene Bourque, of the Calgary Flames. This time, about one and a half months later, Plekanec mailed me back the two cards I sent him but with his signature on them. As a collector of sport cards, and virtually everything else, I am definitely encouraged to keep mailing cards in the hopes of having them signed!

To try having your own cards signed by a Montreal Canadiens player send a small note, a self-addressed envelope, and the card of your choice to the address below.

[Name of person]
c/o The Montreal Canadiens
1909, avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal
Montreal, QC, CANADA
H3C 5L2

Originally posted Jan 19th, 2012

Carolina Hurricanes Fan Pack

Earlier this week I received a fan pack from the Carolina Hurricanes. In the regular sized envelope were two stock photo cards, a 2011-12 schedule, a waterless tattoo, and a sticker. Both the sticker and tattoo featured the team's logo. Tattoos are not something I have found before in fan packs but it is a neat idea, and it seems every team sends out logo stickers which I quite like. The schedule, again, is something virtually every team sends out, but the two photo cards were pretty weak as they were bent in half (leaving a sizable crease down the middle). One of the cards features an unknown player with his head cropped out of the photo and the plain text 'Carolina Hurricanes' at the bottom; I don't really understand how such a generic photo card would get someone excited about a team, especially when it looks like garbage after being sent through the mail. The second card was worse as it again looked like garbage with a massive crease down the middle from being folded to fit inside the envelope. The worst part is that it features a minor player from the 2006-07 Hurricanes roster -Chad LaRose. I suppose the Canes want their fans to be excited about what they had accomplished in the past and not what they are attempting to do this year? Perhaps even more puzzling is why they wouldn't feature their big star, Jeff Skinner, who started his first year in the NHL with the Canes last year and finished the season off by winning the Calder trophy? Bizarre.

While I appreciate receiving a fan pack, this is one of the poorest fan packs I have received thus far. The Hurricanes would be much better off sticking to the tattoo, sticker, and schedule.

Send an e-mail to communityrelations@carolinahurricanes.com to request your own Carolina Hurricanes fan pack.

Originally posted Jan 15th, 2011

Vancouver Canucks Fan Pack Has Arrived!

It took a little while, but the other day I found a Vancouver Canucks fan pack in the mail! The fan pack consisted of a typed (stock) letter, a very sharp looking window decal, and 5 unique 'we are all canucks' 9.5x14 cm player cards that are dated to the 2011/12 season. This is also the first non-electronic fan pack I have received from a NHL team.

You can contact the Vancouver Canucks on their website for a fan pack of your own.

Originally posted Jan 6th, 2012

Rene Bourque Signed Card in the Mail!

As part of my attempt at receiving fan packs, I also mailed out a few NHL cards to particular players. I picked one player from each Canadian hockey team (except for the Leafs since they do not do this), and mailed the card to there team's address with the envelope saying 'attention: player's name'.

The first of these cards came in the mail today. I had originally sent a Rene Bourque off to the Calgary Flames on November 26th, and today the 15th of December, I received the card signed by him! I am really encouraged by this and will be sending off a few more cards to different players!

 

Originally posted Dec 15th, 2011