2018 trade package #14: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

It's been almost a month since I put up a non-football gameday post, but thankfully (see what I did there?) in addition to the trade package I showed off on TMV this evening, I've got a healthy heaping of seconds courtesy of Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store, a generous guy who's never sent me a turkey in his life.

While I eagerly await tomorrow's edition of The Game I can post a nine-spot of Wolverines Doug sent over the border:

As it turns out the seasons of all three sports he sent me this time are active!  We'll start with basketball, and first up is a Score Hoops RC of C Mo Wagner, the outstanding native of Germany who brought Michigan back to the NCAA title game this past year, then was drafted in the first round by the Lakers.  Sweet!

Joining him is another former Wolverine star, albeit one who's out of the league (which definitely makes him easier, or at least cheaper, to collect!):  Mitch McGary.  His card, a 2014-15 Panini Threads Rookie Threads Prime jersey (#18/25) features a very nice jersey swatch.  It's a classy addition and hit #6 of McGary in my basketball PC.

Sticking with basketball rules but switching sports we have another one-and-one.  Eagles DE/LB Brandon Graham, the man who sealed up Philly's Super Bowl victory earlier this year, appears on a base card from Panini's Prizm product this year.  I'll admit I had to check the back to confirm that because the styles kind of blend together.

On the relic front it's one of my many football PC guys, Braylon Edwards.  The former star WR has said a lot of stupid stuff about his alma mater since he left but everyone was sending good thoughts toward his family last week after one of multiple cheap shots by Indiana left his brother, transfer Berkley, motionless on the field for several minutes.  Fortunately the younger Edwards appears to be recovering well so far.  As for the older of Stan's sons to play in Ann Arbor, here he is on a very cool dual relic picturing him with two of his four teams, the ones with with he spent the most time over his career.  This 2011 Timeless Treasures Changing Stripes dual jersey, which includes a nice dual-color swatch from his Jets days, is card #273 in his collection and hit #74.

Doug will be proud to find out that hockey-crazy Wolverines fans now sing "Oh, Canada" a capella before each Michigan game, and why not?  They've sent us many great people and traditions, not to mention lots of very talented icers.  None of the guys in this post hail from our very friendly neighbor (neighbour?) but that's ok because my favorite trade partner keeps the canuck pipeline flowing himself.  Just check out this quartet of base cards!

Plus there's my biggest get on the day in this sweet high-end hit of talented Jet Jacob Trouba out of Panini's top-notch National Treasures product.  It's a Newfound Treasures Materials Autograph jersey auto (#44/50) comprising a super thick card, large jersey swatch covered by a clear plastic window, and a signature as the cherry on top.  Doug's sent me more Trouba cards than I can count right now but this one pretty much has to be the best of the bunch (though others were quite nice as well so that's saying a lot!).  I'm already at nine hits of Mr. T thanks to my Canadian friend/buddy/guy/pal Mr. C.

As always Doug, thanks so much for the cardboard generosity, which I'm hoping to pay back in spades with a package large enough to go under your Christmas tree!

2018 trade package #12: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

The theme of this trade package from Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store is "insane".  As it's insane that he's sent me 53 envelopes (and counting) that I've posted on this here blog, packages filled with a crazy number of cards that have filled sets and player collections.  What was so nuts about the latest one that arrived recently?

Let's start with the insane design on this 2017-18 Spectra Neon Green parallel (#19/49) of Chris Webber.  Not only is it the cardboard version of LSD, it also gave me a flashback to Upper Deck's HoloGrFx.  That's UD hallucinations in both posts tonight!

Former Michigan DE Frank Clark had freakish talent and put up some great numbers in college.  But Clark, pictured here on a 2018 Donruss base card, was insane to think he'd get away with doing and saying some terrible things towards women, behavior totally unfit for any human being, much less a Michigan Man.

The quantity and quality of the hockey content Doug's sent me over 50+ packages is insane, and at some point maybe I'll even go through each post and total it up to try to put a number on it.  But for now I'll happily enjoy more of the fruits of his bread-and-butter repacks.

This time that includes lots of this year's OPC (more in the next scan) such as stalwarts Mike Cammalleri and Carl Hagelin plus young gun JT Compher.  The latter is joined by fellow up-and-comers Zach Hyman and WolverWing Dylan Larkin from the last UD MVP offering.  As I said on TMV tonight that's my 20th Larkin card, a fun little milestone I'm celebrating.  New Penguins D-man Jack Johnson dominates this scan with a cool trio, and better-than-that-announcer-guy John Madden closes out the group.

Like I said, plenty of 2018-19 OPC, which was a nice boon to my collection this time.  Motte and Werenski have each only been around for a couple seasons while Trouba's a vet at this point and Patch is going into his 11th campaign, now as a member of the Knights.  It's crazy for me to realize that Pacioretty, seen here on another nice trio--has been in the NHL for more than a decade!

And at last we get to the craziest card of them all, a true 1/1 of WolverWing Luke Glendening from 2013-14 Panini Rookie Anthology's Prizm portion.  Doug continued his insane luck when it comes to breaking boxes (of this product and in general), and was also crazy generous in letting me have this Prizms Finite parallel as one of several super high-end cards he's sent my way.  Did I mention it's a true 1/1, as in not one in a set of four plates or something?  Simply amazing, and a great card to add to my small collection of Glendening (it joins an auto I bought and a relic Doug sent) and surprisingly large group of 1/1s (111).

I can't help but love the blurb on the back that highlights Luke getting to play hockey in-state at college, in the minors, and the NHL as well.

Doug, you are a crazy man with insane luck and I will do my damndest to pay you back with something (or -things) that equal or exceed the generosity you continue to send across the border.  Thank you, my Canadian buddy!

2018 trade package #7: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

As I mentioned on TMV this evening I was excited to receive an envelope from Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store that's become a yearly tradition: a pre-Expo trade package.  He's the type to load up on stuff for me before the show and send all that my way, then find even more cool stuff for people like me, which he also sends eventually.  Needless to say, I love Expo time, and I don't even go to that show!

That TMV post covered a couple cards that show up on both blogs so those two are repeats here but only add to the bounty I enjoyed.  Check it out:

As with baseball stuff in the other post, the basketball pickings were slim here but the quality sure wasn't lacking.  Quite the opposite, in fact, thanks to this super cool shoe relic of THJ from 2013-14 Panini National Tools of the Trade (at least I think I got that right--it was a bit difficult to catalog).  Hardaway returned to the Knicks this past season and put up career highs in most of the relevant stats, a trend I hope to see continue into next season.  Maybe I'll find more hits of him before then as this is just my second.

The hockey base stuff opens with this scan full of Hockey Mikes and Andrews.  The former includes enforcer-type Brown and former sniper Cammalleri while the latter pairs up Ducks F Cogliano and and young Jet Copp, who's made a bit of noise with three points thus fair in the playoffs.

And here's the rest of the non-hit hockey stuff, proving that Doug's repacks and Champ's case were very kind to my collection.  Hagelin's Pens are locked up with Washington at two games apiece as I'm writing this, and he's put up a pair of goals as his team shoots for three straight cups.  Hunwick is one of two player collections Doug hit in this package.  The Caps handled Johnson's Blue Jackets which is fine by me as he didn't play.  Patch had his worst statistical season, failing to score at least 30 goals for the first time in six years.  And Trouba's also potted a pair for the Michigan-heavy Jets.

Here's Copp again on a card that inducts him into my hockey hits collection, a 2015-16 Upper Deck Contours auto RC (#457/499).  This signature makes him the 53rd different player in that bunch, not to mention a nice start to a collection for another recent young Wolverine alum.  The die-cut design is very cool and I'm glad to see his signature is better than some of the effortless scribbles you see these days.

As I mentioned I featured this card and the next one on TMV because they're both Wings.  Glendening's card is a 2016-17 SP Game Used Stadium Series Fabrics jersey, and the larger red swatch looks great next to the autograph of his I bought from COMC a couple years ago.

Favorite active hockey guy Dylan Larkin is next with his triumphant return on another Champ's card, this time a Rookie Jerseys relic from the 2015-16 UD product.  I'm very grateful to Doug for being a generous source for Larkin's stuff since it isn't easy to find at reasonable prices online, much less around the Detroit area.  And as I said, this will look great paired up with the super tough autograph he pulled from his case!

Lastly, Doug paired up the Holmstrom jersey you saw in the other post with another hit from 2010-11 Zenith:  this Team Logo Die-Cut Jerseys relic of the aforementioned Pacioretty.  Like the Glendening above it stars a bold red jersey swatch, this time cut into the shape of Montreal's logo.  That's a cool hit to add to my collection as the fifth of the former Michigan sniper.

Thanks again for a great pre-Expo package, Doug, and I look forward to seeing what you tracked down this time, both for yourself and for people you trade with (hey, that includes me!).  In the meantime, I'm celebrating my 50th package from you posted on this here blog!  (For real this time, I think.)  Thanks for being the first to reach that crazy number!

Too Many Plates! Part 4: hockey

Previously:  baseball, basketball, football

Between May and June I won eBay auctions for a total of 17 different printing plates at a cost of a bit more than $100 (not bad!).  14 of those came from one awesome seller (markaguirre22), whom I can't recommend highly enough due to his great prices, excellent communication, and super fast free shipping.  A fellow Michigan collector, he was unloading some of his better stuff, and I was able to take advantage of quite a few great deals.  Better yet, over the course of my purchases he threw in three extra plates for free, giving me a nice round 20 to show off.  Several separate purchases rounded out the run on rarity.

All of the players are Michigan alumni that I collect, and today's post is the final one in this series, with hockey being the only sport we haven't covered yet.  In honor of Stanley Cup champion Carl Hagelin (not featured today) and the 2016-17 NHL season, here's some icers to cool down this beautiful June day:

Jack Johnson 2012-13 Certified Fabric of the Game Printing Plates Cyan (1/1)

Of today's eight plates, I purchased seven from the seller I mentioned above, plus he threw in one more freebie (the third and final) you'll see shortly.  And like a number of them, I believe this one, representing a card from one year, may have been inserted into a higher-end product the following year to beef up the number of hits.

If this was a plate of a base card I'd have to dig through my Michigan box to see if I had a regular copy, but it's actually of a jersey relic I don't currently own, though I'd like to at some point.  Somewhere between $5 and $6 was a reasonable price for my first plate/1-of-1 (and 12th total hit) of Jack "MF" Johnson.

Al Montoya 2011-12 Pinnacle Printing Plates Black (1/1)

Alvaro!  Montoya (hit #6), the best goalie I got to see while owning season tickets, is the first of two players in today's post for whom I already owned a 1-of-1 but not a plate.  The photo used here is so cool I went to see if I had the base card handy, but I don't, so I need to track that down.  Also, kudos to Panini for bringing back the excellent Pinnacle name.  How many of you wouldn't throw down a minuscule $3 for this?

Brendan Morrison 2002-03 Pacific Heads Up Printing Plates Cyan (1/1)

The first card in my first post from this series (baseball) was a freebie of my favorite baseball PC guy, Rich Hill; bonus card #3 represents another favorite (quite a feat by this seller), Brendan Morrison, a guy I wish I could have seen play live.  He's the other player for whom I had a 1/1 card that wasn't a plate, and I believe both of those came from Doug.  Diversifying my Morrison portfolio, this is another one of those plates that I doubt was inserted into packs, plus it lacks an identifying sticker or stamp.  Still, I can clearly determine the product, and if that's any color it's cyan.  While I do own a couple Pacific-branded cards of the former Hobey-winner, I don't have this one, but what I do have is 26 of his hits, still second to Marty Turco's 33.

Max Pacioretty 2013-14 Crown Royale Printing Plates Magenta (1/1)

I guess I really had to "P" in early May when I nabbed this plate, the next one up, and the one of J.J. Putz you saw in my baseball post.  Patch was the best of the bunch so it made sense to me that he would cost the most--still a very reasonable $5.  For that little, think I should get out the tin snips and make this a die-cut like the regular version I own?  Maybe I'll wait for another one as I still have just four hits of the talented sniper.

Aaron Palushaj 2011-12 Score Printing Plates Cyan (1/1)

You done messed up if you don't remember A-A-ron here.  He may not have played in the NHL for a few years, but this is now my 10th hit of the winger from my hometown of Livonia, Michigan, so you've seen a good amount of him here.  I don't think "Hot Rookie" was an apt description of his game--he totaled three goals and 11 assists in 68 games with Montreal, Colorado, and Carolina before heading to the KHL--but at least his card looks cool, and was just $3 too.

Greg Pateryn 2013-14 Select Printing Plates Black (1/1)

It's a run on Canadien Wolverines!  Would the Montreal Wolverines' fight song be "Hail to the Victours"?  Pateryn made his debut here with a cool Prizm autograph from (surprise) Doug two and a half years ago, and now I've doubled his hit count...with a plate.  Not a bad start to a collection, even if it's been this slow to build.  The d-man has a couple goals to his name, though he last suited up for Dallas after a February trade.  This was yet another $3 plate and it came along with the Montoya above.

Kevin Quick 2009-10 The Cup Printing Plates O-Pee-Chee Magenta (1/1)

These last two cards from Upper Deck's very high-end "The Cup" brand were just my second and third purchases in this whole plate run, back in mid-April.  Quick is the first of the pair, and he's a totally new guy to my collection.  I don't remember too much of him as he was with Michigan briefly about 10 years ago before being kicked off the team for credit card theft.  You might say his Michigan career was over "Quick", but then I'd correct you and say that it should be "quickLY", and then you'd roll your eyes and change the subject.  

Anyway, his NHL career amounted to six games with Tampa and that's it.  But he appeared in some products like this one, and I've often thought that the framed plate design was a cool one.  Plus here you can make out the "Marquee Rookie" logo that signifies that this one came from the O-Pee-Chee design, which it also helpfully tells you on the back.  For me it was easily worth just $5, and he becomes my 49th hockey PC player.

Danny Richmond 2005-06 The Cup Printing Plates Black Diamond Black (1/1)

Richmond's another guy whose hit count I doubled with a plate (for a bit more than $4), and a framed one at that.  Again, I love how clearly it tells you the exact set on the back.  Danny is another guy I remember a bit as his one college season coincided with my first year of season tickets, 2002-03, and he's pictured here as a member of the Hawks after being drafted by and briefly playing for Carolina.  As with most of these guys he didn't enjoy much NHL success or even longevity, but at least he made it onto some cardboard--or metal in this case!

And with that, this project is over.  20 new plates, giving me a new count of 87 1/1s(!).  Now I can get back to trade packages, show pickups, and my latest, greatest COMC haul.

2017 trade package #6: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

As I mentioned this evening on TMV, I went a bit more than two weeks without posting mainly for positive reasons, but I'm trying to put in some effort to give some great trade partners credit for sending me some fun stuff.

As usual, one of those folks is Doug from Sports Cards From the Dollar Store.  You may recall him from the more than 40 previous trade posts on this here blog alone (and more than 20 on TMV!).  I don't think I've even sent him stuff since the last time I posted cards from him back in February yet he fired another envelope over the border.  Here's what came my way this time:

Fun fact--Trey's actual first name is "Alfonso"--I didn't know that!  I mean, I knew "Trey" was a nickname, but never thought to find out what for.  Anyway, Doug sent my my very first signature of the former NCAA Player of the Year, #9 overall pick, and heralded NBA rookie in the form of this 2014-15 Panini Prizm Autographs Prizms Purple Pulsar auto, numbered #01/49.  It's a super cool signature of one of the biggest college stars to come out of Michigan, just my second Burke hit overall, and 70th card on my basketball collection, which isn't nearly as minuscule as it used to be.  Nice start!

One of two football entrants this time was this '90 Fleer base of Mike Kenn, an OL who played all 251 games of his excellent 17-year career with Atlanta.  I think he's still eligible for the Hall of Fame so I hope he eventually makes it in.

The remainder of the football content is this big-ass jersey (numbered 21/99) of former #1 WR Devin Funchess.  If ever there was a card that evokes "bunches of Funchess" then this is it.  Playing off the Clear Vision product name, the swatch area is covered by a clear plastic/acetate/whatever piece that includes the inset photo, giving the whole thing a shadowbox kind of feel.  The border colors really work well with the Carolina uniform too.  It's definitely a cool piece and a winner of a relic given how stale those have gotten.  Welcome to the collection, Funchess hit #5!

And of course, the hockey content.  I mean, these came from a Canadian, so why not include a pair of Canadiens?  One of those is a hockey Mike, in this case current New Jersey Devil Cammalleri.  The other, Max Pacioretty, just finished his ninth season with the Habs and put up 30 goals for the fourth straight season and fifth time overall.  Those two bookend cards of Jack Johnson (still with the pictured Blue Jackets) and the awesomely-named Jed Ortmeyer, pictured in his one season with the Sharks.

Last up is my favorite card of the package--yep, even with the cool autograph and giant relic present--this 1998-99 McDonald's Upper Deck issue of blog favorite Brendan Morrison.  And why shouldn't my favorite in this Canuck-sourced envelope be a card that was only available through Canadian McDonald's?  The design is fantastic, and while part of the card doesn't scan as well as it looks, the clear see-through photo--framed inside of a puck, nice touch!--really pops.  Cards like this one make me want to put more effort into my Morrison collection until I get enough to scan and show everything off.

Thanks again for another envelope full of Wolverine wonders, Doug!  I'm looking forward to returning the favor very soon.

2016 trade package #12: Dollar Store Hockey Mikes Galore (and more!)

If you're over here tonight chances are you already saw half of my haul from the latest package I received from Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store over on TMV.  Thanks for heading over to see the Wolverine half!

While the other half was all hockey--all Red Wings in fact--all four major sports are represented here, some more than others.  Nice variety is a hallmark of Doug's packages, though, so I wasn't surprised by that, just happy as usual with some great new additions:

Representing baseball is this Hal Morris that's entirely new to my collection.  That's not too much of a surprise--while I don't dislike '91 Fleer like many others seem to, I simply don't own any complete sets from that year, and it's the kind of card I'm more likely to receive in a trade instead of buying online.  Hence, this worked out perfectly for me.  That's #106 of the guy whose team had won it all the previous year.

Basketball kicks off with a very nice Prestige card of former star Trey Burke, heads back to a pair of sweet Donruss issues of Jamal Crawford and Juwan Howard, then finishes with a trio of C-Webbs.  I really like the look of the Donruss cards thanks to their full-bleed photos, retro-ish elements, and logo stamps.  Then again, I tend to prefer Panini's recent stuff to Topps' these days.

Birthday boy Tom Brady (happy 39, Twelve!) headlines a football trio that includes former #1 Braylon Edwards and a 2008 Score RC of blog favorite Chad Henne.  Hey, Tom's only six years older than I am, that gives me time to win four Super Bowls of my own to tie him!

Hockey continued to be very well represented in this side of the package, naturally, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  Hockey Mike #1 today is Cammalleri, who'll hopefully get back over the 30-goal mark with the Devils this coming season.  Talented C Andrew Cogliano ended his eight-year streak of double-digit goals this year but maybe the new season will bring more success for the Anaheim Duck.  Jack MF Johnson is looking sharp on a nice horizontal card that I didn't have room to scan in that orientation.  Hockey Mike #2 is Knuble, who enjoyed a nice long career and one Cup victory with Detroit.  And Patch brings us back to active players as he jumps his place in line (my fault, see next scan).

I'm not sure how that sticker of Hockey Mike #3, Komisarek, slipped behind the first of three Pacioretty cards, but once I noticed I was too lazy to re-scan.  Oh well!  Trouba is another talented current player looking sharp in his Jets uni.  And we close things out with another blog favorite, Marty Turco, both in Gold Medallion and sticker form.

And now the hockey hits, supplied generously as usual by Doug:

Mike Brown 2014-15 Upper Deck MVP Pro Sign auto

This recent MVP auto of Brown--Hockey Mike #4 today--is my second of the oft-traveled penalty machine.  In this case he doesn't appear with his whimsical mustache, so it's good I have one where he does.  He closed out last year with Montreal, his sixth team, and I'm curious to see what 2016-17 will bring for him.

Carl Hagelin 2013-14 Crown Royale Coat of Arms Materials jersey

And the Bork is back  Here's Hagelin on a Crown Royale relic that honors Pacific designs of yore.  As you might expect I was thrilled to see him win the Cup with the Pens last season after coming over from Anaheim.  He put up some nice numbers in the second half of the regular season, then 16 points (six goals) in the playoffs for the champs.  That makes this a nice time to add my seventh hit of the one of the former crowd favorites at Yost.

Thanks for all the fun new stuff, Doug, and I look forward to sending you an envelope that's already bursting at the seams whenever your mail service gets back to normal!

2016 trade package #10: Sports Cards From the MacGyver Store

It's that time again:  time for another Sports Cards From the Dollar Store trade package!  Doug's actually responsible for the most recent package I showed off here back in April.  This time he "MacGyvered up something" that would allow a couple cards he'd promised me (and more) to arrive safely, and in that (and the content) he did NOT disappoint!

Today's appetizer is this pair of 2015-16 Panini-branded cards of former Michigan star Trey Burke, and they couldn't be more different if they tried.  On the left is Complete, a throwback-type set with a more vintagey (as in non-glossy) card stock.  Just a white border, nice photo, the player's name, and some logos.  Meanwhile, Trey's Select Prizm (I believe this is the Tri-Color version) is shiny, in-your-face colorful, and has something more like a Chrome feel to it.  People can rag on Panini all they like but I'm still in their corner.

For the main course here are five hockey Wolverines cards.  Cogliano starts off with a base card from this year's UD release and a numbered parallel from 2013-14 (hard to see, but it's 048/100).  Wolverwing Dylan Larkin makes a much-appreciated appearance with this Red parallel from this year's O-Pee-Chee Update set, and I don't think they could have picked a better color for his team.  John Madden doesn't get a ton of airtime around here so I make sure to show off stuff when folks like Doug include him.  And finally, Max Pacioretty makes the first of two appearances today with a Blue parallel (#d 086/499) from this year's UD Countours product.  Again, a very nice choice of color that goes well with Montreal's unis (not to mention Michigan's!).

Max Pacioretty 2015-16 Upper Deck Game Jerseys jersey

For dessert, also from this year's UD flagship product (seeing a theme?) is a nicely-done jersey relic of Patch.  It's my third hit of the sniper in my hockey PC and a nice way to highlight his third straight and fourth overall 30-goal season.

And for an after-dinner snack, here's the card that required MacGyvering:  

1997-98 Beehive was a Pinnacle product that honored a series of photos produced between 1934 and 1967 (click here to learn more about them).  The whole set measures in at 5x7 making these pieces larger than average and that much cooler because of it.

Naturally I'm thrilled to get Morrison's card, not only because it's obviously an amazing piece, but also because it counts as a rookie.  Oh yeah, and the back mentions his career at Michigan, including one of my favorite moments:

As you can see, the front takes advantage of the extra space with a great photo while the back goes with a second, black-and-white image, typical bio info, a short write-up, and a trivia question, with most of the text available in English and French.  Nice!

Doug, thanks once again for some fun additions--and careful packaging!  Whenever my latest COMC package arrives I'll have some interesting things to send over to your side of the border.

2015 trade package #16: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store and the tale of Clear Carl and Mini Max

It's been too long since I showed off some loot from a Sports Cards From the Dollar Store trade package, but that's 100% on me since Doug sent this envelope my way a few weeks ago and I've been lazy about posting for the last couple months.  I suppose putting something up every 10 days or so will create that kind of backlog!

Anyway, here's the goods from the land of the loonie and twonie:

Darius Morris 2012-13 Panini Rookie Signatures auto

Nice autograph or foreshadowing of a future package?  According to Doug, his most recent COMC package means that "If you've ever considered wallpapering a room with Darius Morris autos, you might have the chance."

In the meantime I'll be happy with this very nice looking stickergraph from 2012-13 Panini.  It's a simple card that does nice things with the Lakers' colors, and Morris chips in with a solid signature.  This is just the second Morris I have to show off in my basketball PC.

Denard Robinson 2013 Topps Chrome 1986

Just one football card in this package as well, but it's a Shoelace!  This 1986 Topps-style insert is my third of Denard from the product as I already have the '59 and '65 versions.  Maybe I'll track down the '69 card to complete the quartet.  This is another fine addition to my football inserts collection.

And once again the hockey portion dwarfs the rest, which is totally cool by me considering everything Doug digs up.  Cammalleri and Cogliano should be pretty well known around here, and their cards hail from 2014-15 Upper Deck, which is a very nice looking set indeed.  Ebbett, who's also been seen around these parts before, appears in the form of a 2009-10 Panini sticker.  

Hughes, however, is a total n00b to the blog and my collection.  The back of this 1982-83 OPC base card mentions that he played hockey at Michigan, which makes it much easier to realize he should be a part of my collection.  The winger played three seasons in Ann Arbor, 1973-76, during Michigan's WCHA days, and put up some pretty good numbers.  That got him drafted in '75's third round by Montreal, with a pair of teammates picked in later rounds.  In parts of 11 seasons he played for six total teams and was on three Cup-winners.  Quite a career, so I'm happy to add him to the collection and look for more of his stuff!

Carl Hagelin 2014-15 Upper Deck Ice Glacial Graphs auto

Moving on to the other hit in this package, is this not one of the nicer autograph designs you've ever seen?  UD's produced some variations on the Glacial Graphs set over the years and they're hands down some of the best looking autographs you'll find.  The area that looks white-ish in the middle third of the card is mostly clear, with the exception of the player photo (including dasher, which shows up better in the scan) and a background like snow under the autograph.  This is so see-through that you can make out quite a bit of the writing on the back.  Carl's signature is icing (pun intended, eh?) on this cake, and this is easily my new favorite of four Hagelin hits in my hockey PC.

That's it for the card content of the package, but Doug surprised me with a very, very cool oddball item--check this out:

From a company called Oyo Sports comes this awesome mini figure of Max Pacioretty!  This scan probably isn't too far off from actual size, and the see-through window gives a bit of a glimpse at what's inside, which I'll get to in a second.

Here's the back of the package, which gives you an idea of all the little accessories that come with each mini figure.

Here's what you see once you remove the shrink wrap and slide the cover off.  The figure sits in a plastic tray with compartments holding the accessories.  Yes I opened it--this was too cool to let languish in its packaging somewhere in a closet!

Again, somewhat close to life-size, here's mini Max with his helmet and skates attached and stick/puck in his hands, all connected to the provided stand.  100% awesome and a great find, Doug!

Thanks again for another fun package, my friend!  I look forward to seeing what you think of the latest stuff I sent your way as I work on the next one.  Until then, keep spending those bucks at the Dollar Store!