07 08 Ultra Hockey Packs

Back after a short break.
Picked up some 07 08 Ultra for $1.49 each.

First Pack:

116 Noah Welch
54 Simon Gagne
59 Wade Redden
185 Zdeno Chara
23 Johan Holmqvist Gold Medallion (one per pack)



Not a bad pack, with some solid veterans.

Second:

184 Glen Murray
122 Joffrey Lupul
9 Brendan Morrison
Rookie Redemption (1:72)
157 Martin Havlat
193 J.S. Giguere Gold Medallion



I was happy to get the Redemption with 1:72 odds, hoped it was Kane or Lucic, but found out later its Marc Staal. The redemption is still valid, however. Martin Havlat is due for a big contract this off season, I believe he's an unrestricted free agent. I sure hope the Hawks can keep him.

Third:

50 Mike Richards
70 Mikael Nylander Gold Medallion
177 Jason Pominville
93 Saku Koivu
DM7 Mats Sundin Difference Makers (1:6)



Not a lot here. Richards is a future cornerstone in Philly. Difference Makers? These inserts are getting somewhat uninspired.

Anyways, for this price, I'll try to hunt down some more.

08 09 Champs Blaster

08 09 Champs Hockey Blaster Break, 12 packs for a total of 48 cards. Resembling the old time cigarette cards, all of the inserts are of the "mini" size. Unique to this set is the Natural History Collection inserts, which are animals, fossils, bones and the like.

I'll start with the regular size rookies: (1:2)



As you can see, nobody too thrilling, Voracek is having an ok rookie year.

Mini Rookies: (1:8)


Nodl has seen some time in Philly at LW while Frolik is a regular with the Panthers recording 42 points.

Natural History Collection: (1:6)

The Kakapo is a flightless parrot from New Zealand. They are on the critically endangered list, with 90 known individuals left.

CT-ZP Zach Parise Mini Threads: (1:24)

This is the 2nd Parise jersey for me this season. Quite possibly the smallest swatch I've ever seen.

These are nice cards, with a vintage design and an educational aspect with the Natural History Inserts. Thumbs up.

08 09 Black Diamond Blaster

Today's break is this years Black Diamond blaster, 6 packs for a total of 30 cards. Evgeni Malkin is on the front. As usual I'll just write about the highlights.

143 Dany Heatley, Triple Diamonds

These cards don't scan too well, as you can't see the players name and team. Heatley leads the Sens in goal scoring with 34.


6 Tim Thomas, Single Diamond

A Vezina Trophy candidate, he's been stellar in between the pipes for the B's this season, currently leading the league in goals against average and save percentage.

166 Nikolai Kulemin, Triple Diamonds Rookie Gems


Not a bad rookie season so far for Kulemin, 27 points in 67 games.

BDJ-ZP Zach Parise Quad Jersey

Parise leads the Devils in scoring, I only wish there was at least one other color.

112 Markus Naslund, Double Diamonds

Naslund joined the Rangers this season after several decent years with Vancouver.

16 Dustin Byfuglien, Single Diamond

For those who've never heard of him, his last name is pronounced BUFF-lin. Not BY-foog-lean.

So, not a bad blaster, all things considered.

Set Spotlight: 77-78 OPC Glossy Inserts

My buddy gave me a bunch of cards some time ago, and there were a few of these smaller cards from 77-78 OPC. According to the info I found, they were inserted one per pack. Featuring a facsimile autograph, a lot of the stars of the day were represented: Cheevers, Dryden, LaFleur, Potvin, Sittler, Perreault, Dionne, Clarke and others. While this 22 card set was included in both 77-78 Topps and OPC, evidently the previous year it was Topps only, with a Bobby Orr.


Great action shot for the Dionne, I hope he threw some big haymakers.

Card of the Day: Ray Bourque 90-91 Upper Deck

This was one of my favorite cards back in the day.

90-91 Upper Deck broke the hockey card monopoly Topps/OPC had with this set. A clean, classy design on both the front and back made this issue a winner. Plus there was a picture on the back which was unheard of then, at least for hockey. The photography was brilliant, featuring many great action shots like the Bourque here hopping off the bench at the Boston Garden.

08 09 O Pee Chee Pack

Picked up the last one at a gas station, 6 cards in these packs.

154 Mike Grier
335 Colby Armstrong

494 Jonathan Toews

At age 20, Toews is the Blackhawks captain and along with Patrick Kane are the Hawks future.

201 Marco Sturm

Sturm had 13 points in 19 games before being placed on injured reserve in early December. He is the lone holdover from the trade that sent Joe Thornton to the Sharks. Doesn't look like he'll be back on the ice before next season.

397 Peter Mueller

Another one of the leagues up and coming players, Mueller is the 4th leading scorer on the Coyotes with 33 points in 60 games.

187 Patrick Marleau (Retro Variation)



Nice looking parallel, with the design borrowed from the 79-80 O Pee Chee set.

So not a bad pack with 1 Bruin, 2 young stars and a decent Retro parallel.

Upper Deck 2 Blaster Break

The first break for the blog will be this year's Upper Deck Series 2 "Blaster" Box. That's Jarome Iginla on the front. Anyway, you get 12 packs in these blaster boxes, but the packs contain only 5 cards as opposed to the 8 in regular packs. Alright, on to the cards:

I really like this Niklas Backstrom card; the photography is typical UD in your face style. Great advertising for the "Montreal" brand of sticks.

Here's the only Young Guns I got, Nathan Gerbe of the Sabres. A quick check of his stats for this season shows 10 games played with 1 assist and 4 penalty minutes. I guess I'll hold on to this one.

Normally I don't like Victory Update cards in Upper Deck packs but I'm a Bruins fan so this Wheeler rookie is appreciated.

This is one of the inserts cards, Montreal Canadiens "Tales of the Cup," numbered TC6. Basically there's a story on the back about a Stanley Cup winning team. In this case, while changing a flat tire, the Cup was forgotten at the side of the road. When they came back, it was still there.

Here's the last of the non base cards, Ryan Smyth Favorite Sons FS1. This recounts some of the player's activities growing up in his hometown.

So, that was the highlights for this first box. Thanks for reading!