A perfect day for Expos cards

I was lamenting to myself that I really didn't have any 'scary' cards for a 10/31 post. And then the World Series happened. And that allowed me to head through my COMC to-be-posted box in search of Expos cards to post.

And all was well.

Does a Montreal based World's Fair card count? The World's Fair is an Expo. so obviously that's a yes! The Biosphere is now an iconic part of  Île Sainte-Hélène/Parc Jean Drapeau in Montreal.

Gotta include a new Vladdy!

Two legendary Expos! One card! Perfection!

El Presidente - El Perfecto. That's probably the greatest moment in the lineage of the Franchise until about 8 hours ago as I type this up. And since this is a card from Topps Kids, scanning the back is mandatory.

And for those who still desire a little baseball action, enjoy Vin Scully audio from the perfecto.

I'll open the mailbag again tomorrow.

Prospecting (with Heroes) - Part 3

I still have the 50 card update set to show off, which is 151 through 200 of the base set. As with the packs, I'll just hit my personal highlights.

#151 - Mark Olver - This starts off the set. In a nice surprise, the set was pre-collated in the box.

#153 - Bill Sweatt - I guess I should at least highlight the card of a guy named Sweatt.

#155 - Colin Greening - Sens content!

#157 - Bobby Butler - More Sens content!

#165 & #166 - Gabriel Bourque/Jake Allen - I like that these are next to each other to compare and contrast the nautical logos.

#169 - Ryan Strome - What can I say? I'm amused that the jersey-wearing dog on the logo also sports the crossed bones logo on the shoulder like the player.

#175 - Jordan Binnington - It took up until about 6 months ago, but this is likely the big card out of this set at this point.

#182 - David Honzik - The ever-popular mask design of the creature that is the team's logo devouring the face of the goaltender.

#193 - Mark McNeill - An alternate jersey.

#197 - Reece Scarlett - If I didn't see this card, I wouldn't have thought there was a person out there named Reece Scarlett. It just seems like the name of a character in an erotic thriller that is neither.

#198 - Morgan Rielly - Prior to Binnington's rise, this was probably the big base card in this set.

#199 & 200 - Eric Lindros & Theo Fleury - And you can't have a H&P set without a couple heroes.

And the relic? Impressively for a prospect themed set, he's still in the league almost 9 years after the set's release.

The same can be said for the player featured on the autograph. I've said this before about ITG, but they really did a wonderful job in making the sticker seem like it was part of the design instead of just a last-minute decistion.

Prospecting (with Heroes) - Part 2

The other half!

Pack 10:

Finally, the first hit of the box! Blum spent a few up-and-down years in the league with the Predators and Wild before heading overseas. Considering that there are guys in this product that never sniffed the league in the first place, that's a decent enough hit.

Pack 11:

A future Sen and a Kitchener Ranger player to start this pack off, and there's also one of the three cover boys from the box. The Voltigeurs is another favourite CHL logo of mine.

Pack 12:

Here's a pre-NHL card of the Nuge.

and this:

This was definitely worth the wait for the first relic of the product. The silver emblems aren't on-card numbered, but are supposedly limited to 3 each. And I will have no complaints if the guy that I end up with the relic of is PK Subban. Since the photo on the card is from the Canada/Russia challenge game, and that's what the swatch is from, you can actually spot the spot on the jersey where the CHL patch comes from - as it is visible right there on the shoulder. That's a beautiful relic card!

Pack 13:

Pretty much anything would be a step down from that last pack, so I'll just say this was a Quebec Remparts hot pack.

Pack 14:

Here's auto #2. I remember absolutely nothing about Martin Frk except the 'buy a vowel' quality of his last name. He's still playing on this stide of the Atlantic, and is in the Kings system.

Pack 15:

Another Rangers card. Also another alternate jersey, as several teams break ones out for the game closest to Remembrance Day, making this very similar to the Scott Glennie one from yesterday's post.

Pack 16:

You're promised 3 non-hit inserts in the box, and here's the final one. This is somewhat interesting, as Helmer was pretty much an AHL lifer at this point, playing in over 1000 games, but he did spend just under 150 games in the NHL. He's a member of the AHL Hall-of-Fame, and with there also being an insert set dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the AHL, it is kinda appropriate that this Calder Cup champions card is of him.

Pack 17:

Bonus auto! WOO-HOO! Not the most illustrious career, though, as his NHL experience was limited to one game.

Pack 18:

Well, two of the big cards in the set show up in the final pack with Subban and Kadri. There were no dupes as I went through this, meaning I was only about 10 cards short of the base set.

Here's the final hit. It might be a one-colour swatch, but it is supposedly a Senators swatch, so I like it as the final hit for the box.

And that's the box. But I still have the 50 card update set to post!

Prospecting (with Heroes) - Part 1

Along with the box of Rookie Anthology I showed off last week, I also went back a little further and grabbed a box of this. There's a pretty solid checklist of pre-rookie cards in this, including Karlsson, Galchenyuk, Bobrovsky and Subban. I love minor league baseball releases, so here's a largely minors themed hockey release.

As is usual, I'm not scanning everything, but will highlight at least one card per pack that interests me, for whatever reason.

Pack 1:

With Halloween days away, here's a horror-themed mask that I will probably look for a second one to add to the mask binder. That's Billy the Puppet from the Saw franchise on Clermont's gear.

Pack 2:

I've said in the past that the Sudbury Wolves jersey is a favourite of mine. While you don't see any of the front of it here, you do get a nice look at the simple shoulder patch is once sported.

Pack 3:

The first insert of the box, this coming from a multi-set release that saluted 100 years of collecting. Cyclone Taylor, shown here as a member of the Renfrew Creamery Kings, definitely qualifies for the Heroes portion of the set, going back to the early years of hockey, and being inducted in the HOF in 1947. He's joined in the pack my Shane McColgan, rocking another favourite CHL logo of mine, featuring Ogopogo.  (think Nessie in BC interior).

Pack 4:

This was an interesting pack, with a pre-NHL card of Sergei Bobrovsky, the younger brother of a star, and the second insert of the box. Toews was a third rounder of the Islanders, but never saw the NHL ice, and this was his only major release.

The second insert is another Hall of Famer, on a set commemorating the 75th anniversary of the AHL. He's in a Cleveland Barons jersey here, so this photo is from the early 1950s.

Pack 5:

Another card from the heroes portion of the base set, with the late Pelle Lindbergh sporting Sweden's colours.

Pack 6:

Now that is a jersey worthy of the team name Americans. Being worn by a Russian. I'm just going to assume that is an alternate jersey, since the more familiar one isn't quite as busy.

Pack 7:

A nice pack with a couple Kitchener Rangers cards in the mix. One is in the midst of a star NHL career, while the other is now in the KHL. Scott Glennie shows off s a nice alternate uniform as well on his card.

Pack 8:

The Lewiston Maineiacs was one of the punnier franchise names in hockey history. I don't get much of a chance to post Erik Karlsson cards now with him in San Jose, so I'll definitely highlight his appearance.

Pack 9:

Having a 'Tick' themed mask would definitely be one of the geekier ones in hockey history.

And that's the first half of packs. The rest come tomorrow, and with none of the promised 4 hits appearing in this first bunch, there should be some autographs and relics to come.

Immaculate Raptors (My best group break card?)

The long-delayed high-end set dropped a week ago yesterday, and I grabbed the Raptors in a case break of it. Although their rookie content was non-existent in 18-19 releases, I figured I had a decent shot at landing a nice card in this release, since there was more veteran content than most releases.

Yeah, that's a pretty nice Raptors card. Siakam had pretty much been relegated to sticker dumps over the previous two seasons, before the basketball world realized that there's a pretty special player that developed into a star in Toronto. I remember thinking after all the trades that I was elated that Siakam, along with VanVleet and Powell, were staying in Toronto. And he was a major factor in bringing the trophy to Toronto. It is a little hard to see in hand, but the front of the card has a shadowbox quality.

And that Siakam wasn't the best Raptors card in the case.

This was!

BAM!

I really didn't think I'd land a Kawhi autograph from his time in Toronto. I thought the closest I would come was asking and getting one as a replacement if my previously entered Kobe redemption didn't come through. I'm not upset at all that he still isn't a Raptor - there's a championship banner now hanging in Toronto. It was all worth it. With sticker autographs with Kawhi pictured on the Raptors going for about $200, luck was really on my side to land this, and the Siakam for a fraction of the cost.

There you have it! Up next, some Prospecting (with Heroes)!

Mailbag - Waiting 'til Next Year

Cracking open the mailbag again today, and a return mailer from Tom @ WTNY.

He had mentioned going to sportlots to hunt for some set builders that he was going to get sent via their mailbox feature. Around that time, I learned of this card and arranged to have it included in the shipment, especially since the only seller shipping to Canada charged $20 for shipping a single card.

I did a quick google search on Cara, only to learn she's now Cara Tuveo, and there were several references to Miami Dade Corrections. Fortunately, they are her employer, not her landlord. She's the second cheerleader in the 2/14 collection, joining Amanda from the Jags out of 2009 Topps.

This great WHA card was on my 'somewhat unreasonable' wantlist, until Tom knocked it off. Mike is doing his best impression of every high school drug dealer who'd sell out of his Camaro.  Sadly, Mike isn't the biggest fan of the photo. From Ken Reid's "Hockey Card Stories":

"A lot of people send me that card to sign. I always want to burn it but I always send it back."

Bah. This card is marvelous! Even moreso with the hint of team logo.

I'm staying with the 2/14 collection with this, and the second of two less-than-reasonable requests from that want list. This is my 6th, and likely final card of Wali Jones (or Wally) in the collection, as the only one left out there of him is a local release out of Philly. I'm also amused that this is a modern card, but that he is pictured with the Bucks, but listed as with the 76ers. Even stranger is that he played on the 76ers before going to Milwaukee, and not prior. So this doesn't even give you the vibe of a 'now with' card.

As I stated above, there were set builders in this. Sadly, not completers, as I was inept in organizing my list. But major damage was done to both 09-10 OPC and 18 Optic. I'm scanning this Holik, because I seriously had no idea he was still getting current cards in 09-10.

Thanks for all these, and I'll be hunting for Cubbies at the Expo, and can hopefully hit you with some 70s O-Pee-Chee!

Comfort Food - Part 2

Here's the highlights from the other 5 packs.

Pack 6:

That's a good way to start this second half. An auto/relic, and it is of a player who is still active in the league! With the dual rookie class, it could be a crapshoot. And both of these guys still are! In fact, Lee's the Isles' team captain.

Pack 7:

This is a little blander than the last one, but Corrado is a Kitchener Rangers alum, so it has that going for it.

Pack 8:

Rookie Selection auto/relics (which are technically considered base cards) fall one-per-box, and here's the one from this box. What a derpy photograph Jurco gets for his.

Pack 9:

Both of these players make a return appearance from the first grouping of cards, and both are a step down from the numbered Titanium card and the auto respectively.

Pack 10:

And Tyler Pitlick also makes a second appearance as well. This is a step up, though, as there's a sticker autograph attached to it on a dual Select card pack. Both players are still in the NHL as well, with Hunt in Minnesota and Pitlick in Philly.

There's the box. Pretty average RA box in terms of hits, but still there were a couple of nice cards with the Lindholm and the Datsyuk.

Mailbag up next!