Author - StevenWelcome to my blog! I collect hockey cards since my godmother gave me three packs of 1991-92 Pro Set for my 7th birthday. After collecting sets when I was young, my collection now focuses only on Pavel Bure! Here I'll talk about some accomplishments, stories, and rants about the hobby. |
The fun part about collecting is connecting with people around the globe. It appears that a good Pavel Bure collector, Henrik Ringbert, is from that Country who produced some of the best hockey players in the history of the game: Nicklas Lindstrom, Peter Forsberg, Mats Sundin, Henrik Zetterberg, and the Sedin twins. We first meet each other a couple of years ago through Instagram. He sends me a message saying that he, too, is a Bure collector and send me a link to his website. I told him I already knew his site. It was one of my earliest sources when I started to write my checklist. He has so many oddballs that I didn't know the existence! Also, he has good knowledge of his earlier cards. Even though he collects him up until 1994-95 (he says that it was his prime time, which I kinda agree), he has some others in his collection. So he sends me pictures of all his doubles and there was maybe 50-60 cards I didn't have! We made a deal and that package made a significant boost to my collection. The card in question! Fast forward a couple of weeks ago, while scanning my collection, I made a post saying here's what I miss so far. He told me that he has a double of the 1991-92 Canucks Team Issue 8x10. I replied that I have a 1991-92 Canucks Winning Spirit Rookie of the Year 8x10. Soon enough, we made a deal! He receives mine 12 days earlier, but hey, at least I received mine as well!
So tack så mycket, Henrik! I'm sure that this is the beginning of a long tradition of trades between you and me!
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6/9/2020 0 Comments I did it! Card #2000 is here!I can't believe that this is happening. This number was so far when I jumped back into the hobby five years ago. If you'd told me that not only would I have made it, but that I'd surpassed that mark, I wouldn't have believed you. Two thousand cards. 2000. Man. It's an incredible feeling. So many hours dedicated to the search. So many trades, purchases, and sometimes, freebies. So many friends along the way. So many stories. One of the 42 cards package that arrived yesterday : A 2002-03 UD Top Shelf Sweet Sweaters /50! I was at 1982 cards a couple of days ago when someone reaches out to me saying he is selling his Bure collection. I told him that I take everything I don't have. The package arrived yesterday (Monday), but I wasn't able to get it at the post office. It was a 42 cards purchase, and I was so excited when it arrived! Plus the other one that came with this package, I'm now at 2025 different cards!
Thank you to everyone that helped me to get to this mark. Without your help, I couldn't do it. And now, you know what is the next mark, right? #roadto2100 So except a lot a photos in the upcoming days! With all the things that are going on in this world right now, let me tell you a story about an incredible act of generosity from a fellow collector. As my enthusiasm for the hobby began to decline with all these scams stories, a kind stranger put a healthy dose of faith. Here's why. A couple of months ago, a super collector of the Vegas Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault (@marchycards on Instagram), Georges-Étienne Bernier, reach out to me saying that there's a 2018-19 SP Game Used A Piece of History Patch /15 of Bure in a razz on a hockey cards group I wasn't on. So by the time the administrators accepted me, the razz was full. The famous card in question! Georges-Étienne had a spot in it. When I found the post, I checked the video, and he won it! Later, he told me that he would send me the card for free. At first, I cannot believe it. We kept talking from time to time, and I just received it today. I still can't believe it!
So please, do me a favor, and subscribe to his channel, I underlined it above. He's such a great asset to the hobby, and I still don't know how I'll be able to compensate him! If you have high-end cards of Jonathan Marchessault, that's your guy! Merci encore Georges-Étienne! I owe you one! Like I said in a previous post, I'll never quench my thirst for hockey card knowledge. Almost every week, I learn something new about my collection. This time, it was through a John Vanciesbrouck super collector. I love modern hockey cards, I'm not gonna lie, but I have a sweet spot for the junk wax era cards and the explosion in 1997-98 with the arrival of Pacific. So it's easy for me to follow collectors who had made a 90's player their personal collection. The main reason I think its because I can look at similar inserts I don't have, just to have the design in mind. While scrolling through his collection, I realize he had three different 1996-97 Be A Player Link 2 History cards. I was aware of the base and the promo, but he has a sort of refractor one, which I never knew the existence. He also has a refractor autograph version, besides the original and the silver. I reach him and ask if he has some info about it. The famous card in question. To my relief, yes! He tells me that this one came from a framed refractor set that came from Pinnacle. Only Vanbiesbrouck and Patrick Lalime have a refractor auto version though. This set is numbered to 250 copies only. Like the two others, this one has a gold border!
Guess I found a new card to chase! After many failed attempts, this 1993-94 Classic Autographs is now mine! It's another one cross of my want list! At 900 copies, I thought that it's an easy one, but I was wrong. I don't see too many copies floating around. Many were overpriced in my opinion, but they were able to sell them anyway! I missed some auctions as well because I had a price in head and didn't want to pass past that barrier.
So this baby came into the mail today. I cannot be happier! Since I began this journey on January 1st, I updated my want list every time I didn't have the card in hand. I have most of his first five years in the league. I simply miss some oddballs. But I still have a want list, and at that point, I thought that it could take some time before I cross one of these. The low amount of cards needed on that list makes it a bit harder to land one. Man, I was so wrong! Today, I received one on that list! It's a rare 1993-94 Royal Ice Promo! I don't know why, but it's an incredible feeling to cross one item in a list! This one is a bit more enjoyable, probably because my list is on the web now!
Again guys, if you have any of the cards on my list, feel free to email me by my contact page. Always on the hunt for more! And you guys, how much do you like crossing a card from your checlist? Let me know! 4/23/2020 0 Comments Nice trade with Scott CampbellI don't know why, but it's very rare for me to trade cards with others, mainly because I don't have many traders (and I prefer buying). But sometimes, like last week, someone on Twitter posted a debate on what piece of the jersey his Pavel Bure card was. So of my friends tagged me saying I probably know the answer. While debating with him, we talked a bit about Pavel Bure. His name is Scott Campbell (@SoupyOnAir) on the Twitterverse. A couple of days later he sent me a message saying that he wanted to trade this 2013-14 Select Totally Certified Clear Cloth Green to me. He said that he wanted to have his name on my website for contributing to my collection. Well, Scott, this time has arrived! The card in question So we manage a deal where both of us were happy and I received it today! Don't worry Scott, your name will be below it when I reached this set on my website!
Thanks again for the trade! I'm on pace to reach 2020 cards before December 31st! I'm currently at 1934 different cards, so if you have some I need, feel free to use the contact page to message me, or you can use social media! 3/31/2020 0 Comments Happy 49th birthday to Bure!Happy 49th birthday to the one and only Pavel Bure! Born on March 31st, 1971, he shares his birthday with French mathematician René Descartes (1596), musician Johann Sebastian Bach (1685), pianist Joseph Haydn (1732), ex-goaltender Tom Barrasso (1965), and actor Ewan McGregor (same year).
Hello fellow collectors, I'm sorry for not getting with you guys lately. The last few weeks were overwhelming. I've been busy working, traveling, and have so many meetings that I wasn't able to publish. Now that all of this is behind me, I'm back! I've made a complete overhaul of the website and before posting new photos of the collection, I would like to take some time writing about an accomplishment I achieved this week: reaching number 1900 in my collection. So this 2014-15 Upper Deck Trilogy Tryptichs Patch /25 will be forever linked as the 1900th card in my collection. I just can't believe that I am only 100 cards away from 2000! So thanks to all collectors who helped me along the way. The search isn't over yet! Happy hunting and collecting guys! On route for 2000 now! For my first post on the blog, why not answer the number one question many of you wonder: If you are a super collector, why you don't collect Leaf and ITG products past 2003-04. Glad you ask!
Well, when I came back into collecting four years ago in 2015-16, I do collect every Pavel Bure cards ever produced. I updated my checklist (because I miss 12 years of the hobby, so my list was a bit outdated), and was ready to conquer this mission. As a super collector, your primary goal is to have everything. But as I compiled new entries, Leaf arrived with a new concept for their top tier products. Instead of two versions (the basic silver and gold version since they appeared on the map in late '90 with Be A Player), they put various low-numbered versions of the same card, like Pacific back in the days. Result? Of the 277 cards compiled in 2015-16, 214 of them belong to the declination of the many Leaf/ITG products! It's more than his first 5 years in the hobby and that number ranks 4th in his all-time playing years! That's insane! If we continue this exercise, here's the breakdown in the early days of 2020:
So two years ago, I made a decision: I sold all cards I own of Leaf/ITG past 2015-16. And a couple of months ago, I did the same, this time with cards between 2007 and 2014. I've completely lost the passion to pursue them all. However, I will continue to collect them in his playing years, because they had an NHL license during that time. The fact that they didn't have one today is less appealing to me, especially since they use the same 4-5 photos or the number and colors of his jerseys. |