Box Break: 99-00 Upper Deck MVP Stanley Cup Edition

My box has finally arrived! This post can be considered another addition to "my firsts", this time it would be my first box break. And boy, did I enjoy it! I invited a friend over to help me get through all the packs (36 in total), to keep me company and to increase the unpacking fun. And fun we had.

I hoped I would be able to complete the base set and that goal was indeed achieved. The set consists of 220 base cards, two of which are checklist and 25 of them are Prospect subset. Here is how it looks like:

 

I honestly like the set, it has pretty sweet looking base cards IMO with decent, but not-so-awesome photographs and nice font, I also like the "net" below players' names. Moreover, the set includes the very same card with silver foil AND silver autograph, called the Silver Script. I got a couple of those. On other person's blog I read that also Gold Script and Super Script exist, but I got neither of those, so I don't think I'm gonna pursue those.

As for particular cards, I like the photos and equipment of Mike Dunham and Sean Burke, I shed a tear for Tomáš Vokoun, as he is not included in this set :-( Being a Eddie Belfour collector, I was really looking forward to finding his card in the pack. As I was opening the packs, Eddie was nowhere to be found. I was panic-stricken, for there was only one pack left. Believe or not, Eddie became my card number 360/360, the very last card from the box and I felt a HUGE relief and a little wink of fate when I found it. Not only it expanded my Belfour collection, it completed the base set as well!

I posted the Sedin twins cards from the Prospect subset to show how the Subset looks like - not much different from the NHL cards of the set. Sedins were the only two players from SHL, the rest was chosen from CHL, therefore the names of the rest are in red, not in yellow. What I find interesting is the Wayne Primeau card. Normally, his name should be in red area, as shown on Hašek's card, because they were both Buffalo players. If you inspect the card further, you will see that Primeau was traded to Tampa and therefore the color changed. Nothing strange, really. What IS weird is the fact, that Tampa cards use completely different color - dark blue, rather than turquoise. It is actually only used on San Jose cards. 

Below, you can see a selection of Silver Script cards. I find Terry Yake's signature particularly interesting. Look closely. What do you see? Looks like Terry uses one technique to write all the letters. We laughed out loud, when we opened the pack and saw this signature.

Let's have a look at the inserts now, shall we? :-)

 

This insert is called "Cup Contenders" and is very neat-looking. It is covered in shiny foil and gives the illusion of speed, using black and white dashes. Although it is not clearly visible, it uses team colors. In this box, I got

5 Cup Contenders:

Milan Hejduk, David Legwand, Marian Hossa, Vincent Lecavalier and Steve Kariya

I'm not sure about Steve Kariya being so elite though. 

 

 Stanley Cup Talent: 8 players

 I can be quite satisfied with the amount of cards I got here, the total number is 20, so I got almost a half. Not bad. I really like team colors again and half of the Stanley Cup on the left.

The players I got in this insert were:

 Ray Bourque (in Boston jersey, although he is shown wearing the Avs jersey in the base set), Patrick Roy, Brett Hull (who scored the cup winning goal in 98-99, which made me extremely happy, being the Stars fan :) )

nice looking Sergei Fedorov card, Jaromír Jágr, Jeremy Roenick,  Keith Tkachuk and Peter Bondra.

 Great selection of players indeed. Too bad Eddie is not included.

 

Golden Memories: 2 cards

Golden Memories tells the story of the players who managed to win the Cup and informs us about how valuable they were for their respective teams. I like this insert more then the previous two, because of the oval-shaped design, funky looking font (reminds me of some bar or something) and those little stories.

So far, I got Mike Modano and Martin Brodeur, both are players which I like a lot.

 

Second Season Snipers: 1 card 

Very modern-looking insert, covered in rainbow foil. It reminds me of the Matrix somehow. I like the gold foil used on the MVP logo, the dividing line and on the Snipers font, which looks also very cool, as if it was shot through by a bullet.

 

Clutch Performers: 2 cards 

 This type of insert is the nicest of the whole set IMO. Again, it doesn't really show on the picture, but the gold foil used on the frame looks just plain cool. It contrast with the background with enlarged and faded copies of players extremely well. And yay for me for getting Jaromír Jágr! :-)

Last, but not least...

 

Great Combinations: 1 card

I was VERY lucky to get this card. Actually, I got it a week ago in one of the packs, but nevertheless, I waited for this moment to show off. That little black round thing in the middle is an actual game-used puck!

Design of the card is quite plain and simple, but most of the game-used memorabilia cards are. Still, a wonderful catch!

That's about it! I plan to finish my collection of every insert in this set, but I have no interest in collecting the "Script" cards, as they are just way too many and not so easy to find in our country. 

Tomáš Vokoun: 1997-98 Donruss Rated Rookie (RC)

I got a delivery a week or so ago that included this card. I wanted it bad, because it became my first Vokoun RC card. And what a card it is!

First of all, it is an insert card. Second, it's my only Montreal Vokoun card. Lot of people don't even know that Tomáš played for the Canadiens.

Actually, he played in just one game for Montreal. And his debut was not really that great - he played only one period, recorded 10 saves and allowed 4 goals, which set his stats at Saves percentage 0.714 and dreadful 12.00 goals against average. But nevertheless, it was a start.

The card itself is decent. It doesn't show on the scan, but those letter behind Tomáš are actually foil as well as the Rated Rookies logo. Take a look at Vokoun's mughshot - he has hair! :) I can't remember when was the last time I saw him with hair. His bald head became synonymous for him - that and the glove on his right hand.

His number is different - I don't remember him wearing 37 in NHL or in nationals, but one thing remained unchanged from the beginning - his loyalty to Sher-Wood sticks. I believe he is wielding Nike-Bauer nowadays, but he had been using Sher-Woods for a long long time.

Pack Break: 2 packs of UD MVP Hockey 2001-2002

I liked this pack so much, that I went back for more and bought two of them this time. I hoped for a goalie (Belfour, if possible), or at least one of Czech players, and this is what I got.

 

I was really happy to get Martin Brodeur, actually I discussed him with a couple of friends that day. Coincidence or fate? :-) Another pleasant surprise for me was Jaromír Jágr, the best Czech forward ever, here shown in the Washington jersey, probably shortly after being traded. Nice moment. Apart from that, I got one RC, Chris Nielsen. It seems that everytime I get a prospect in this set, it's a player that never really broke through in the NHL. I googled Chris Nielsen (as I never heard of him) and found out that he only appeared in 52 NHL games. 

Oh and I finally got an insert!  

I think it's kinda neat, I like the effective design, shooting Fedorov and shiny silver foil, that is, unfortunately, not scanned properly. I'm not a big fan of Fedorov, but this card just gets me.

By the way, my first box is on it's way, I am collecting the whole UD MVP 99-00 Stanley Cup Edition. I got about a hundred base cards so far and I look forward to my first big box break. 36 packs. Yay. Can't wait!

Tomáš Vokoun: My very first jersey card!

This is my very first jersey card and what's more, it features Tomáš Vokoun. I can't tell you how excited I was when I first took this card into my hands and touched the jersey parts. It didn't cost me much, but it's very valuable for me nonetheless.

Although Vokoun is pictured in a Panthers jersey,  the jersey is actually of Nashville Predators, where Tomáš spent a big part of his career. The photo is not really great, but I guess that's not what jersey cards are about.

I hope to add some more game used memorabilia in my collection, once I get enough funds, I'm buying a Belfour for sure! 

Pack Break: UD MVP Hockey 2001-2002

 

 This was the second pack purchased today. The contents of it were much more satisfying for me. Let's have a look at it.

 

First of all, I just LOVE the design, it looks awesome - silver lining, stylish frames painted with team colors, nice selection of players... What's not to like? 

I especially like the Chris Pronger insert card. The background resembles honeycomb, it's shiny and embossed... and it has Chris Pronger. A very beautiful card indeed.

The pack also included two rookie cards - Gregg Naumenko and Kirby Law. Unfortunately, neither of these players saw more than a couple of games in NHL. Still, they are a nice addition to my collection.

The rest of the guys are (or were) NHL stars, core players for their teams. There is one interesting fact about the Sami Kapanen card - the front states he is playing on defense, which is obviously not true. The information is corrected on the back though, stating he is a left winger.

Overall, it is a nice set and I'm considering buying more packs. 

Pack Break: Fleer 2006-07

 

I was walking past local newsagent's and saw a pack of Fleer 2006-07 cards. Not knowing the pack, I purchased it and here is what was inside: 

 

To be honest,  I wasn't that impressed with the overall card design. Sure, it has a distinct retro look and it is printed on a retro paper, but it just didn't strike me as a set I would like to complete. What I do like is the frame design, which I consider quite a neat solution. The photos are pretty normal, not too great, but not too bad either. I like the Bertuzzi photo though.

I was really happy to get not one, but two goalies, because I'm a goalie person, a pack without a goalie is just incomplete for me. What's more, I got Marty Turco, which made me really happy, being a Stars fan. Nabby looks also very cool in his cyan pads. Overall, I got quite pretty selection of players, including one Czech guy, Aleš Hemský. 

I also got one insert card, Total-O Dany Heatley, which is an OK insert, but I've seen better. The number, position and name are in gold, but my scanner can't get it right.

Tomáš Vokoun: Upper Deck 2001 - 2002

 

Let's have a look at Tomáš Vokoun card for a change. Tomáš is one of our national heroes, he is believed to be the best Czech goaltender since Dominik Hašek and that's why he is the second player I'm collecting.

So far, this is my oldest card of, UD 2001-02 base set, but a Montreal rookie card is on the way. The card itself is decent - nothing that would make you go ooh or aah, but it's definitely a nice card, because of some nifty details, like the silver lining (not really visible on the scan) on the lower part of the card. I also like Vokoun's pads, the combination of yellow and blue is very pleasant to my eyes, and his mask with shiny cage. All of my newer cards feature his mask with white cage, so that's why I like it.

The back of the card has a pretty, simple yet effective design. It has everything a good card should have by my standards - a photo, good design, complete stats and also some blurb about Tomáš. The card describes him as a good, perspective goalie and IMO he really lived up to the expectations.

Ed Belfour: Pro Set 91-92

Ahh, Pro Set 91-92. This again brings back great memories - I used to own nearly the whole set back at my elementary school days. The regular card features Eddie ready to play. It's not a terribly interesting card, but I like it anyway, it just screams early 90s. Eddie's 90-92 Eagle mask is clearly visible.

The second card, marked "Leader" portraits Belfour as a midseason leader in GAA for 91-92. Eventually, Eddie ended up with GAA 2.70, which was not bad at all.

Finally, the third card features Ed during his trophy harvest after a spectacular 1990-91 season. I really valued this card at the time and it is still great.

Ed Belfour: Score 91-92

These cards are from my old card collecting era, with the exception of the purple US one. At the time, I really digged the cards with trophies - they felt somehow more valuable. Now, I find these particular cards are quite plentiful, but I still like them for their nostalgic value.

I believe those are all the Belfour cards from the set, that could be obtained by "normal" way, i.e. by opening boxes and packages. According to hockeydb.com, the rest was National/Fanfest  and Young Superstars, which were quite impossible for me to get in my country at that time.

Eddie had a remarkable season in 1990-91. In his rookie season, he won Vezina, Calder and Jennings trophies, which is a feat not accomplished by many. Apart from that, he was a leader in wins (which set a new season record for Blackhawks) and goals against average. Those cards commemorate his terrific success and that's why I still love them.

The new beginning

Ever got that feeling of an unfinished business?

That is exactly what happened to me. I used to collect hockey cards when I was a lot younger, but I stopped about 12 years ago. Then suddenly, out of the blue, after all these years... it got me again. But it was a fresh start for me - all I got was my tiny collection of Ed Belfour cards, the rest was sold or given away. Then, as I was opening the first pack... it just felt so great, so fulfilling, so right. And there I am, sharing the joy. I plan on updating the blog with my new additions, as well as displaying my current ones.

Cheers,

Nigmak