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!

2018 Adventures in Repacks - Part 13 - The Calm Before the Storm

Before things get a little busy around the blog, I might as well clear off two more Dollarama repacks. One $1 hanger and a Surprise bag. Which is pretty much the usual for me.

I'll start with the $1.

2017 UD - Matthew Dumba - Multi-image cards can be found in the regular ud base set this year, after returning to the Canvas portion last year.
1990 Bowman - Patrick Flatley
1996 Pinnacle - Alexei Zhamnov
1992 Pinnacle - Rob Pearson
1991 Pro Set - Paul Ysebaert

1991 Score - Wayne Gretzky - Even from the junk wax era, a Gretzky appearance is always welcome.

2000 BAP Memorabilia - John Madden - Of course I landed a Wolverines alum for a future TMM mailer. Why wouldn't I?

2000 BAP Signature - André Savage - An obscure Bruin sporting the Gentle Ben unis. That's worthy of a scan.
2012 Rookie Anthology - George Parros

1994 Parkhurst - Nathan Lafayette
1995 Stad. Club - Russ Courtnall
1991 Score - Trevor Linden - 3 straight Canucks! Repack collation can have such quirks.
1990 UD - Janne Ojanen

1991 7IS - Brent Watson - Those early Guelph Storm uniforms were something else...
2015 UD - Sean Monahan

Will there be a card worthy of the snap holder? Likely not, but I'll still dig into these.

Not one, but two HOFers in the HOF pack. Even better, that's a new Al MacInnis for the Rangers alumni collection. We're late in the season now, as there's the second UD card from one of this year's releases in this post.

#3 is in the 2010s pack. Great photo choice on it as well.

Even the miscellaneous pack wasn't too bad. 3 of the cards not being from the junk wax era was 3 more than I expected. And even the JW stuff wasn't too bad. It may lack the poofiness of Jagr, but that's a nice mullet nonetheless that Todd is sporting.

There you have it!

And, as for the storm I referenced in the title...

this should be a fun one.

2, 3 and Part 4.

Going through the box of cards from Jeff & 2*3 Heroes continues with some items destined for the mask binder. In terms of volume, this was the most significant portion of the mailing. At 50ish cards worth, I did opt to whittle it down to a far more manageable showing off of my faves.

I probably showed off this card when I was building the OPC set. Now that is committing to the whole throwback uniform deal. I just wish that OPC would have also gone all-in and used the classic logo on the card.

Doug Favell was the first goaltender to have his mask fully-painted. It was a complete orange paint job originally, supposedly as a Halloween prank.

The OPC Retros the past few years have provided really nice close-ups of the artwork, such as here with Jonathan Bernier.

This isn't the best photo, but an appearance of the alternate masks that make appearances during outdoor games are always worth scanning and posting.

Back-to-back cards featuring the Flyers vs. the Rangers! While this rookie rivalry may have subsided with Talbot's move to Edmonton, this might be the only card in this subset where not only are both players still in the league, but they are both playing significant roles with their current teams. The combination of Adam Henrique and Carl Hagelin is probably the only other contender.

And the other hit for the mask binder is also a relevant player today, albeit as a backup in New Jersey.

And there you have the highlights of the mask portion of the box. Just some 2/14 stuff to go, likely later this week.

2018 Adventures in Repacks - Part 12 - Cubism

Another trip to Walmart, another one of these repack cubes. The first one wasn't half bad, and landed me some nice cards, including a great Landeskog for the PC. What will this one yield?

To start off, the pack contents were the same - those being 1 pack each of 16-17 S1, 15-16 S2, 07-08 Ultra and 4 packs of 12-13 Score.

Naturally, the contents that comprised the 65 cards were different. This time, more than half the cards were 2012-13 Score. Although he's struggled lately, the best in this group was a rookie that is still relevant.

Second in terms of volume was a bunch of 2014-15 Black Diamond. A better variety there in terms of binder candidates, including a Sens card, a Rangers alum and two people you wouldn't expect in a 2014 release.

Also there, some 12-13 UD. I've posted this several times in the past, and it is still one of my favourite Alfie cards based on photo choice alone.

Finally, these parallels may be the most interesting part of the repack. I can't remember at all which packs these came from in the first place. Blasters? Tins? Either way, these were unexpected. The Pacioretty is already set aside for a future TMM mailer.

As before, I'll chronologically go through the packs. I can't really complain when I land both a Sens card and a parallel of HOFer among 5 cards.

There wasn't much that was interesting about the Score packs, so here are the gold parallels.

The 15-16 S2 pack did land me a rather garish insert.

The most recent pack landed me a hit! The pack in question appears to have originated from a tin, where relics fell at a rate of 1:240 packs. So, while this isn't a super valuable card. at least it proves that the packs in these repacks aren't searched.

There you have it! Back to the trade box yet again tomorrow.