The Champ's Is Here! - Box 5

Thankfully, this box didn't really have the dupe overload that the previous box did, giving plenty of candidates for the top 10.

#10:

Bob Bourne among the short prints in a 2015 release? That's worthy of squeezing into the box highlights.

#9:

A new Northern Wonder, and a beautiful sunset (or sunrise, which side is East in this photo?).

#8.

Another gold parallel, and another one of a player who it was a pleasure to see cards of in this set. This was the gold back parallel.

#7:

Silver parallel #2 of the box. Kyle Okposo isn't quite as easy on the eyes as Camille was, so he only gets the #7 spot.

#6:

Time for the hits to start. Of the three relics, Petan was probably the least interesting of the lot.

#5:

Back-to-back boxes with notable Ekblad cards.

#4:

And the bonus third of the promised 2 hits is one of the top rookies from this year's releases.

#3:

Beleskey's time in Boston wasn't the most spectacular. He was sent off to the Rangers as part of the Rick Nash trade, but has yet to see any action with New York.

#2:

It does seem like they're a season or two away from getting to toss the octopus again, but this is certainly a tradition worthy of a salute in this set.

#1:

It ends with a base card for the set, but this ranks in the #1 spot for being a card I don't need for the base set any more, as well as being a Gretzky pull. As I get to the second half of the case, cards that push me closer to finishing the set will end up higher on the list.

And there you go!

The Champ's Is Here! - Box 4

I'll keep working through the case - at this point it does seem like I'll go for it with 10 straight days of Champ's. That's not a bad thing.

10.

Unfortunately for my set build, this box had a lot of dupes among the SPs from box #3. This was the only one that wasn't a dupe.

9, 8, 7:

All those dupes lead to me highlighting all 3 of the fish cards in the box.

6:

Along with the Tatar shown earlier, this is one of the cards that I knew I'd be sending off to COMC to help pay for a small portion of the case. This is the gold-back variation as well.

5:

Although it wasn't from a previous box, even one of the hits was a dupe.

4:

The #1 picks come 1 per case.

3:

While this set doesn't include patches and low-numbered relics, at least this one included a seam.

2:

A new Traditions card for the subset! And my first card to reference In Flanders Fields on it.

1:

Yup. This is a solid #1 pick for a box. An on-card autograph of a future HOFer is always welcome in the collection. There are a lot of Iginla cards on the market, some not that expensive, but it is really nice to pack-pull one.

And there you go! 6 more boxes left!

The Champ's Is Here! - Box 3

As I continue working my way though the case, Box #3 has the toughest pull of the break.

But first...

#10:

I'll start this countdown with a non-hockey card from the SP portion. In a sport with a bunch of names that are a challenge to pronounce, this one easily surpasses any of the Scandinavian ones.

Perhaps it should just have just been Poundmaker on the front of the card, with Pitikwahanapiqiyin on the back. At least it might have made things easier for group breakers that came across this card.

#9:

If you can't pull a card for yourself, you might as well pull one for someone else. This is the gold front version of the Michigan alum's card.

#8:

#7:

Back-to-back cards of two guys that I was happy to land here instead of having to pick up the from the secondary market.

#6:

My second card in the top 10 with an Aboriginal theme to it. I do like that it isn't the typical 'scenery' photo that is used on the other cards in this set. If you search for Haida Gwaii boat on google images, this Getty photo is the first one that comes up.

#5:

Another Traditions card, but unfortunately for the collection, another dupe. Boo.

#4:

Mmmmm. Chicken wings.

#3:

Even though much of the 15-16 rookie class gets pushed aside for the spotlight of one player, here's yet another player that is developing into a solid NHLer.

#2:

Thankfully, his move to the Islanders hasn't bit the Senators in the arse. Yet.

But a Sens hit only in the #2 spot, with the auto already posted? What is #1?

#1:

I don't quite know.

Seriously. I don't quite know. All I know is that this is an oversized card, and it should be some sort of fishing relic. The actual subset is the Canadiana Oversized Vintage Fishing Relics, and these fall at a mere 1:2600 packs, or 1 in 13 cases. It looks like I pulled this just in time as well, since this redemption must be submitted before tomorrow.

So, it is off to watch the mailbox!

The Champ's Is Here! - Box 2

Top 10 cards from Box #2:

10:

While this still isn't the guy named Connor you want to pull, he's become a very solid netminder as the Jets work their way to the playoffs.

9:

Here's another member of the '15 rookie class that's developed into a solid player, making it more than just that guy named McDavid.

8:

Although a dupe, I still like adding these to my recaps, just so I have an excuse to scan them.

7:

The Traditions cards generally end up higher on the list, but this one is a dupe as well.

6:

The hit parade starts with a Sedin.

5:

Although it is a dupe, Lanny is always a player that I rarely need an excuse to scan a card of.

4:

Forbort's always a fun name to say out loud.

3:

The obligatory "base card I'm glad I don't have to purchase".

2:

The auto takes the #2 spot. While this probably should get the #1 spot, being an on-card rookie autograph of a good player...

1:

The oddball-ness of Champ's has to win out. A silver /25 parallel of a CrossFit athlete? Fine by me.

And there you have it. Box #3 tomorrow, and this one will have the toughest pull of the case. Sorta...

The Champ's Is Here! - Box 1

This was something I really wanted to do, and when I saw a decent price on this, I thought I should pick up a case of it before I could talk myself out of it. My goal in all this was to complete the regular insert sets, as well as the 1-315 base set. All in all, when combined with the boxes I'd busted previously, I ended up ten cards out. One trip through COMC later, and I'm one card out. I'm pretty happy with how things turned out on the whole.

I'm just going to do these in the order I busted the boxes, starting with the first box, and utilizing the top 10 cards format I've been using to this point when doing Champs posts.

Box #1:

10.

A fish card is always a great way to start off one of these posts, especially when it is the only one of the 4 in the box you needed for this portion of the set.

9.

Random Ginter-ish base card of an explorer.

8.

Hits should be higher on the list, but it is just a plain white swatch. At least it matches the photo, though.

7.

The Northern Wonders insert set, with its postcard-esque photos, are easily the most colourful of the insert sets in this.

6.

While he hasn't set the league on fire, or even emerged as the #2 name from the 2015 rookie class, I was really happy that I won't have to purchase this to complete the 1-315 portion of the set.

5.

The Traditions insert set makes a stop in Calgary with an award of sorts that is given to the hardest worker in each game.

4.

Mikko is having a pretty good season, being on a pace of slightly above a point-per-game, as the Avs are contending for a playoff position.

3.

Gold back parallels (I know you can't tell) fall at a rate of 2 or 3 per box. Getting one for my Rangers alumni binder is a sweet bonus.

2.

The Excellence of Execution!

1.

A tough pull for this set wraps up this post. I'm always hesitant to post a card I likely won't be keeping as the best in a box, but I figure something that falls at a rate of 1:1800 packs, (1:9 cases) is worthy of showing off. There are only 5 cards in this subset, with the Tatar specifically being 1:9936 packs.

And there's still an even rarer pull to come in a future box!