Fall Expo Post #15 - The 2000's - Not that bad either

Time to go through another decade worth of Expo cards.

When you're Gordie and Colleen Howe, you get a card celebrating your 50th wedding anniversary. No complaints!

2004-2005 was a strange year for the Young Guns, as there really weren't too many players who would qualify for cards with the labour situation. So, UD got creative, and made young guns card of legends, as well as some legendary names. Lord Stanley was a Young Gun. So was Gary Throne. So was Cammi Granato. And so was Mike Keenan. A nice little not really but still an oddball.

Random gold parallel!

Let's show a player getting a slashing penalty!

Some random drawn cards out of Artistic Impressions. Chris Pronger looks like a zombie.

And some more team logo in the background cards - whether they're part of the card design, or part of a strategically placed team banner - I love 'em!

Last, but not least, here's a great celebratory photo. From a photo of a player who is not known for scoring, to a perfectly-framed dejected goalie in the foreground. Matt Cooke may not be one of the more popular players in recent history, but this is a beauty.

One more decade to go!

Fall Expo Post #14 - I Also Loved the 90's

The 90's weren't able to escape my dime box invasion, as there were a few cards from that era as well. I mean, there were truly some wonderful photos for the ages out there...

such as this mercifully short-lived uniform of the damned. Poor Teemu.

Or Paul Kariya's best side,

Dale Hawerchuk falling on his face,

Keith Primeau proudly sporting a Western Conference champs jersey and cap, since the Wings lost in the finals that year to the Devils,

and even a Pinnacle card featuring Petr Nedved without the jersey and with a derpy look on his face. And in 1997, Pinnacle also gave him a card without a uniform, but with still another filthy looking blue shirt. Did he annoy someone at the company? Enough so that they still had a grudge years later?

OK. Here's something nicer. These low angle shots hadn't made too many appearances in sets at this point, so this was pretty unique for the time (1996).

I had no idea what these were when I grabbed some from this set out of the dime bin. It is from a Finnish release with an international theme. I really like the Italian jerseys from whatever tournament this came from, the classic Azzurri blue but still with the flag.

And how about wrapping this up with a trio of autographs? That I picked up out of a 3 for $2 bin. It was a good thing I stopped with just these 3, as I'm certain I could have walked out of there with the entire box had I not controlled myself. Here, a trio of guys with decent careers, but only had certified autos in these releases. I thought Gord Muprhy might have showed up in a release from ITG, but apparently not. As for the others, that's fishermen intensive.

And that wraps up another decade.

Fall Expo Post #13 - I Love the 70's (and the 80's)

Back to the dime box again for some oldies but goodies.

Yet another hockey card where the player look like a serial killer. There are way too many of those in 70's sets. And I want all of them in my PC.

This one isn't so much a serial killer look, but more like the last expression on a man's face before Chris Hansen walks into the room and tells someone to take a seat. I hope he enjoys the sweet tea.

Technically, these aren't cards from the 70's or 80's, but Archives versions thereof are just fine for this post.

But these are actual 80's cards. Complete with creeper 'staches. That middle card makes me hungry for donuts for some reason.

And to end, here's not a card, but a sticker. It is out of a 1988 Esso collection. There was an album as well available. Are there 24 more people out there that want to split the cost of these?

And that shortens my miscellaneous Expo box by a bit.

Fall Expo Post #12 - The Trophy Room

For the most part, this trophy room post will feature one trophy only - The Stanley Cup. But what is this piece of hardware Mario is hoisting? I originally thought it might be from a world championship, but those aren't usually carried by the CBC, so they wouldn't have rinkboard advertising. My google-fu kicked in, and that is the 2004 World Cup of Hockey trophy. Seems a little fragile, but it really doesn't seem in that photo as bad as articles about it made out.

And now, it is time for Stanley. Whether in the air,

at someone's lips,

or hiding in a team photo, there really are no bad cards that feature the cup.

These cards do not feature a photo of the cup. The Cup might be part of the design on the final two, but it really isn't a photo. But they do feature stories about some of the people who have raised it. So, enjoy as the fine folks at ITG did the writing for me.

That final card was too recent to be in Gord Downie's Fifty Mission cap. Plus, it doesn't mention that the Leafs didn't win another until his body was discovered.

Fall Expo Post #11 - More Masks

Even though I don't do Masked Mondays any more, it can still be a suitable day to go through the rest of my additions to those binders.

Jacques Plante's early mask has shown up here before on modern masks, notably with Tyler Plante and Carey Price. So here's a third one, and one that doesn't envelop the whole head with a wraparound look.

Sure, the alternate Oilers logo is nice, but the  all-star jersey, complete with flag is the real star here.

More Titanium with the logo in the background, and Roman joining Jamie Storr in saluting Egyptian royalty on his mask.

It is a simple use of the the team logo on the paint job, but the symmetry with the uniform is a pretty nice co-ordinated look.

I actually had this card in my Rangers alum binder, but I also wanted it in this one. John Gibson shows his love for classic video games in his masks, and you can see Duck Hunt making an appearance here with the video game's dog. He's used Pac-Man in the past, and his most recent one is a Donkey Kong themed mask.

Minions! And a perfect idea to go with Buffalo's colour scheme.

Here's an autograph to go with it.

And one more autograph to wrap up another Expo post. In this 2013-14 Ultimate card, Pekka Rinne opts for the facehugger Alien enveloping his face. I'm not sure if I would go for a theme where it appeared I was being attacked, but to each his own.

And there you go...

Fall Expo Post #10 - Alumni

American collectors can collect professional cards of their local university team/alma mater. Not so much so in Canada, as there are precious few cards of their sports alumni. Maybe in CFL sets but you don't have very many options. But, if you have a local team in the O/W/QMJHL, there's an opportunity for a mini-collection there. And at the Expo, a dime box helped me expand my Kitchener Rangers collection.

I don't really see the Super Action in this photo, but it is still a nice Larry Robinson addition.

Born in Kitchener, and he spent his junior days with the Rangers. Now that's a local kid done well! All 3 of his sons have reached the NHL as well. Family business.

A nice card to commemorate Paul's 1000th assist.

I just grabbed this Paul Coffey to see if Shane over at Shoebox Legends needed it. He didn't, so this one joins the Rangers alum binder.

Robinson. Coffey. MacInnis. That's an impressive trio of blueliners.

And Scott Stevens makes 4.

Jay McKee isn't a Rangers alum yet, as he is currently with the team as their head coach. That still counts for the collection. There are a few more guys that I should get cards for the collection based on their time coaching, Jim Morrison, Rod Seiling and Ron Murphy also have NHL level cards from before their coaching days that will probably show up in my collection post COMC Black Friday.

A Rangers alum and a throwback to one of my favourite designs with 1998 Metal Universe. That's enough to make me overlook the Leafs-ness of this card.

Here's a pair of patriotic Special Edition cards out of 2013 Team Canada.

Because your collection could never have enough gaudiness in it, here's a Contours & Colours of Mikkel Boedker. To be more accurate, it is a Contours and Colours Teal Die-Cut. I guess some of it is teal.

Another pair of cards from the set, this being two blue parallels from 2015-16 Overtime.

Portfolio was such a fun set to look through singles of. This beautiful rinkside photograph lets the Joe Louis Arena co-star in this photo.

More Metal Universe in this post, this one featuring Radek Faksa.

I feel somewhat upset at myself for adding this one, being such a penmanship snob. But the cheapness of the card made up for adding this horrible looking signature to my collection. He's improved it somewhat since then, but even just adding a more distinctive 'R' to the signature is an improvement from that laziness.

And there you have it!