Musings of the past in the present

I first started collecting hockey cards at around age 8 (1980). When I bought packs in 1980, they were pennies on the dollar per pack. A box of 48 packs would cost a huge $12. In 80-81, there were team cards, and other subsets within the set, but no autographs, no game used, certainly no foil on the cards, and usually a lot of ridiculous paint-overs of jerseys for players on new teams. Lots of laughs, and just a lot of fun. Value was measured in your favourite team, and how well a card would knock others down against a wall to win more damaged cards.

For better and worse, the hockey card market of today is much, much different. There is a constant demand for bigger and better, and tons more value. I can't imagine looking ahead from 1980 and seeing a $10,000 rookie card, as the Crosby from UD The Cup is. I would be amazed at how far the hobby has come along, but probably a bit disappointed too. It's not a game anymore, it's a business.

So when I walked into my local card shop today and he showed me a box of 06-07 O-Pee-Chee - 36 packs for $40 - the nostalgia of the old days hit me, and I had to buy it. Besides that, when a 11 pack blaster is $25 and you get 44 commons, this certainly couldn't be any worse.

Until 1990, all I knew was O-Pee-Chee hockey cards. Topps existed, but only on trips to the US, and even then, finding it wasn't that easy. And besides that, there was no real reason to get it, as OPC was better. They were not perfect by any means, the quality left a lot to be desired, but they were cheap, fun, and a connection to your heroes. Sure, stickers left a bit of a dent in the wallet too, but finding cards was a big deal. OPC was bought out by Topps, then UD was allowed to take over the NHL market alone, and thus they bought it probably to gain a little nostalgia back.

In both 06-07 and 07-08, UD made OPC into large sets, as they were back in the old days, with inserts, some game used cards, and some autographs. It's certainly not a huge value set, but the price point is still reasonable, and they are clean cards that look good. It would have been nice for UD to go all out and put French on the backs of the cards, but UD going all out simply doesn't happen. They have no need to, they're the only game in town..... yes, so was OPC, and yes, they did some of the same things, but at 25 cents a pack, who cares. At $5 up to $500 per pack, it does matter.

Anyway....... this is one of the square 06-07 OPC boxes, not the typical long rectangular hobby boxes. However, I have been assured that the hobby also came in this format, and that this box will contain one memorabilia card. There IS one subset card per pack - should be rookies 1 in 2 packs - and autographs are one in every ten boxes. Main rookies are Malkin and Kopitar. Of course, as always, I'm looking for Doans and Dallas Star cards, and in a 700 card set with plenty of inserts, I should do fine here.

I've never done a 36 pack live break before, but here goes. I should have more comments than the Hot Prospects box, because I'll get more.

Pack 1 - Van Ryn, Commodore, Arnason, Sundin, Bonk, Dustin Boyd RC
Shiny bronze design, large O-Pee-Chee logo at the bottom, almost no reference to UD.

Pack 2 - Lang, Prucha, Cullen, Sopel, Gaborik, Alexander Ovechkin Capitals checklist
The checklist cards are also a limited subset, kind of the SuperAction cards of today. Oddly, the card list is on the back, and has a lot of extra empty boxes. Can I write my name in there? I may later in the break, but not on an Ovechkin card.

Pack 3 - Thornton, Armstrong, Schultz, Saku Koivu, Boynton, Adam Dennis RC
Decent photography, and the full NHL record on the back. I like that.

Pack 4 - Jason Smith, Ray Whitney, Brad Richards, Eric Staal, Zherdev, UD propaganda card, Marian Gaborik Wild checklist
Four players that I have to spell out in full because there are others with the same last name in the league. This entry will be long enough without that happening again.

Pack 5 - Sakic, Ladd, Wyatt Smith, Kapanen, Auld, Hall Worthy Dominik Hasek
Thankfully, Brian Sakic is no longer in the NHL, or I would have had to type "Joe". Whew. I wish the picture of Hasek was him on his stomach trying in vain to stop Brett Hull in the 99 finals. It's not. But he does look sad in the picture, so maybe he's thinking of that moment.

Pack 6 - Zhitnik, Thomas, Stillman, Fedotenko, Malholtra, Jan Hejda RC
Despite the constant bronze colour, no damage on the cards. A welcome change from other UD products.

Pack 7 - McKee, Ryder, Fahey, Grahame, Johan Holmqvist, Patrice Bergeron Bruins checklist, UD propaganda card
Upperdeckkids.com is a sad, sad website. "Hey kids, go buy $5000 in cards, then you can get an Upper Deck hat!!!!". They should be ashamed. Instead, they laugh like little girls......... no offense to little girls. But grown men should not dance like you unless you're dancing with them.

Pack 8 - Michalek, Gionta, Hedican, Gerber, Robert Lang O-Pee-Chee Swatches jersey, Nate Thompson RC
Well, there's the jersey card. Certainly not the best pull of the lot, but looking at the checklist, I avoided Arron Asham, David Aebischer, Marc Denis, Manny Fernandez, Manny Legace..... I didn't get the worst one, but there are better ones out there.

Pack 9 - Cheechoo, Nilson, Michael Holmqvist, Cleary, Vokoun, Patrick Coulombe RC
I'm still mad at Cheechoo for putting out Stu Barnes in last year's playoffs. Without Stuuuuuuu, the Stars just weren't the same team. Speaking of the Stars, we're 9 packs in, and none have appeared aside from Richards and Johan Holmqvist in their Lightning jerseys.

Pack 10 - Kobasew, Thibault, Olli Jokinen, Matt Bradley, Sydor, Letang/Seabrook Rookie Showdown
Sydor is pictured in a Stars jersey. I still have a spot for him because of the Cup run and the Finals run the next year, but this incarnation of Sydor as a Star.... well, I don't acknowledge its existence. The Rookie Showdown card is very nice.

Pack 11 - Kozlov, Gelinas, Ott, Burns, Gomez, Peter Harrold RC
Steve Ott, Stars superpest! I noticed that there's no height, weight, hometown, and handedness on the back of the card, just another large O-Pee-Chee banner. That and the Ott card has stopped me from wondering who Peter Harrold is, and what he's doing in an NHL set.

Pack 12 - Gratton, Brule, Straka, McLean, Shelley, Wade Redden Stat Leaders
The Stat Leaders is an odd card. The font screams "Old Wyoming!", but there is a picture of an obviously drunk or coked-up player on there. Yes, Redden is rumoured to be a fan of the nose candy. Maybe now that he's in New York and Emery is in Russia about to be targeted by the Russian mafia, Redden will straighten up. Then again, he's rich and in New York.

Pack 13 - Alfredsson, Pratt, Wayne Primeau, Nash, Garon, Michael Ryan RC
Michael Ryan is an old draft pick of the Dallas Stars. 8 years ago. I wouldn't bet money on him being around the league long.

Pack 14 - Arnott, Wesley, Pandolfo, Fedoruk, Liles, UD propaganda card, Patrick Marleau Sharks checklist
Marleau is a fellow Saskatchewan-born person, so I hate to say bad things about him..... but why is he captain of the Sharks? Then again, it's him or Slow-Mo-Joe Thornton, so maybe it's a theme.

Pack 15 - Westcott, Morris, Laperriere, Goc, Bochenski, Alexei Mikhnov RC
It's a strange thing, but cards 4 and 5 in every pack are somewhat stuck together. It makes no sense, but it's a fact.

Pack 16 - Turco, Budaj, Jagr, Zubov, Selanne, Hall Worthy Sidney Crosby
Well this is a great pack. Two Dallas Stars, Selanne has been a favourite since the Jet days, and Sidney Crosby to value out the pack. Relish..... relish....... relish...... ok, I'm done.

Pack 17 - Nolan, Visnovsky, LeClair, Marchant, De Vries, Mike Card RC
I do not like Todd Marchant. I just don't. Maybe he is a great guy that saves kittens from burning buildings and recycles like a madman, but I just don't like him. I should meet him one day, and if he turns out to be a jerk, I'll just tell him that. It would be awkward if he cried after that. But somewhat funny too.

Pack 18 - Samuelsson, Halpern, Sturn, Jurcina, Sullivan, Thoresen/Steen Rookie Showdown
Patrick Thoresen...... I can't see that name without wincing. I wonder if he was able to keep his..... ummm..... boy? Loved how Glenn Healy called him out for being a wuss, then we found out Thoresen had an injured testicle. Hey Healy, let's shoot one at your wedding tackle and see if you fall. My money is on you puking and crying for your mommy.

Pack 19 - Hemsky, Bernier, Mellanby, Hordichuk, Sillinger, David Mckee RC
First pack of the left stack of packs nets little. But the 4th and 5th cards were NOT stuck together. Hmm....

Pack 20 - Schaefer, Heward, Tomas Kaberle, Markkanen, Crosby, Ilya Bryzgalov Stat Leaders
Crosby packs are always cool. Saved a really yawn-inducing pack.

Pack 21 - Chara, Lilja, Hasek, Axelsson, Dupuis, Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers RC
4th and 5th cards were stuck together again. And why would you saddle your kids with the handle of the guy at the end. Not only is he a "who's that", how will they fit the name on a jersey? I'd say his mom likes him, but that might not be true considering how she let the name happen. Hopefully he has a girlfriend who will make him choose the name. Unless he's already married and his wife made him take her name too. Then he needs his testicles back from her purse. A world of possibilities, I say.

Pack 22 - Bergeron, Miettinen, Daniel Sedin, Ward, Cammalleri, Stastny/Svatos Rookie Showdown
I get cards of the Sedin sisters like you wouldn't believe. Stastny and Svatos are on the Divealanche, but it's a decent card.

Pack 23 - Wellwood, Handzus, Justin Williams, Lapointe, Lukowich, Martin Houle RC
Just realized that you can see through the back of the pack. Squint for the name, and you can avoid pulling Martin Houle cards.

Pack 24 - Olesz, Clemmensen, McCabe, Gleason, Winchester, UD propaganda card, Hall Worthy Eric Lindros
Ok....... much will be made about whether or not Eric Lindros is a hall of famer. Many see him as a bust. However, in terms of hall of fame membership, do we measure what a player did, or what a player didn't do that we thought he should have. 865 points in 760 games. Dominant for a few years. Cam Neely had 694 points in 726 games. Lindros has a Hart trophy, a Pearson trophy, and 6 all star games in 13 seasons. Neely had 5 all star games in 13 years, no trophies. Not necessarily comparing them, but there are many who say Neely is a hall of famer and Lindros absolutely is not. I say there isn't much difference in the two, aside from expectations. Although Lindros is pictured as a Dallas Star in this card, so I may be a little biased. Anyway.......

Pack 25 - Mikko Koivu, Floppa Forsberg, Martin Biron, Dempsey, McClement, Stefan Liv RC
Got both Koivus now. That's a relief. I was getting worried there. Yep. Downright frightened even.

Pack 26 - Yelle, Zidlicky, Taylor, Huselius, Stefan, Hall Worthy Keith Tkachuk
Keith Tkachuk vs Eric Lindros as a hall of famer? Tkachuk is American, so he's in.

Pack 27 - Bell, Zednik, Nieuwendyk, Rucchin, Wideman, Jean-Francois Racine RC
Any Stars Conn Smythe winner is good in my books. But there haven't been any Shane Doans in this box. Now THAT I'm getting concerned about.

Pack 28 - Kuba, Vyborny, Ryan Whitney, Boyle, Guerin, O'Brien/Beauchemin Rookie Showdown
Many teams have signed Bill Guerin to huge contracts expecting miracles. Instead, he contributes disappointments and a willingness to disappear without even being asked! Yet on the back of the card, after a 40 point season, the card back says "Guerin continues to be one of the most feared offensive players in the league". He must have a very good agent and an excellent PR team.

Pack 29 - Morrison, Breezeby, Lebda, Kelly, Lombardi, Alexander Edler RC
A decent rookie that I've heard of. With 100 rookies in the set, I can see how there would be a few commons. But this has been a little crazy.

Pack 30 - Pronger, Sjostrom, Tanguay, Begin, Salo, Ilya Kovalchuk Thrashers checklist
At some point in the near future, Atlanta will lose their hockey team due to the fact that they should not have been given one in the first place. At that point, Kovalchuk will go to a real team and be a force. That's a good thing.

Pack 31 - Stajan, Walker, Kilger, Holmstrom, Ranger, Drew Stafford RC
There's a good rookie. I'm still not thrilled, but......

Pack 32 - Khabibulin, Prospal, Mike Johnson, O'Donnell, Orpik, Bourdon/Phaneuf Rookie Showdown
Very sad about Bourdon's death. He was ready for a breakout season, and threw it away so he could ride a motorcycle. I don't get it. Yes, he was just a kid, but he was a kid with a future most can only dream about.

Pack 33 - Larose, Fisher, Hamrlik, York, Corvo, David Booth RC
I just have nothing to say. I hope there's a Doan in the next 3 packs.

Pack 34 - Hartnell, Kapanen, Carney, Numminen, Conroy, UD propoganda card, Curtis Joseph Hall Worthy
Hey, Larry Murphy and Bernie Federko are in the hall. Any NHL player should take solace in that.

Pack 35 - Eaton, Havelid, Lindros, Ponikarovsky, Sanderson, Michael Blunden RC
A pack full of people who have played in the National Hockey League. How splendid.

Pack 36 - Pettinger, Dandenault, Savard, Jovanovski, Zubrus, Mike Modano Stars checklist
Cool on the Modano! But yet another Doan-less box.

Well, I don't have much to say anymore. I had fun opening it, got a bunch of rookies and inserts, which is more than I can say for most of the stupid retail blasters I open. However, I can say with confidence that if I went back to the store tomorrow and did this with another box, I probably would do better than this. Then again, who knows. I can't say I'm that disappointed, but I'll have to go buy a Doan card on eBay to make things a bit better. Nonetheless, if you're a dedicated pack ripper, a box of 06-07 O-Pee-Chee satisfies the craving. There are worse boxes to open, that I will say. If you need to open packs, give one a try.

Packs and packs and packs

So last time I bought packs, it was a 12 pack of random retail with "one game worn jersey or autograph" per plastic pack. Got pretty much nothing, and upon seeing the ones at my local Toys R Us tonight that were messed around so you could see the jersey/auto...... well, I wasn't going that route again. Instead, another 11 pack blaster of 07-08 Fleer Hot Prospects, two retail packs of 07-08 MVP, and one retail pack of 07-08 Artifacts. Not expecting much from the packs, and I've already reviewed the Hot Prospects, so it's time to open!

Artifacts pack - Tucker, Kariya, Vanek, Frolov, Latendresse
I guess it was $1.98 for a reason. Still, very nice LOOKING cards.

MVP pack 1 - Arnason, Campbell, Spezza, Kessel, Pronger, Biron, Vlasic, Matt Ellis RC, UD propoganda card
.......... it's best we move on from this.

MVP pack 2 - Jagr, Sillinger, Jackman, Boyle, Marleau, Huet, Rookie Redemption Card!!!!!, UD propoganda, Zach Stortini RC
The redemption card is good for a 3 card pack of rookies from the 07-08 season. There are 30 cards in the set, and some good ones.

On to the Hot Prospects packs......
Pack 1 - Fedorov, Stafford, Vokoun, Marleau
Stafford is an ex-UND Sioux player and Marleau is a fellow Saskatchewanite, so that's cool. I'm reaching. Far.

Pack 2 - Kopitar, Zetterberg, Lehtonen, Perry
Moving right along......

Pack 3 - Blake, Hejduk, Bernier, Latendresse
Bernier is the newest Vancouver Canuck............. uhhhh.......

Pack 4 - Emery, Brodeur, Alfredsson, Lundqvist
Alfredsson..... every time I think of him, I think of Mike Richards from the Fan 960 radio station in Calgary. They get someone to do a mock Steve Armitage from CBC that's absolute gold. To fake Armitage, Alfredsson is just "Alfred". Bad story on my part, but worth a listen.

And the first four packs have been crap.

Pack 5 - Luongo, Giguere, Briere, Toskala
3 goalies! We're almost halfway, and that's not a good thing.

Pack 6 - Tucker, Fleury, Jagr, Ovechkin
Ovechkin is the best card I've pulled so far. I've also not fallen down the stairs today. I'm equally excited about both.

Pack 7 - Radulov, Lecavalier, Gagne, Pronger
I'm starting to sweat.

Pack 8 - Turco, Horton, Savard, DiPietro
The first Dallas Star of the packs!!!

Pack 9 - Spezza, Staal, Samsonov, Drury
No comment.

Pack 10 - Huet, Sakic, Naslund, Satan
One more left.

Pack 11 - Miller, Sedin, Getzlaf, Phaneuf
Anger.

Far and away, that is the WORST blaster I have ever opened. And that is saying something, because I have opened some duds in my time. In fact, the "one game worn/auto guaranteed" per plastic pack would have been a far better choice. The only thing that saves me anger is the rookie redemption card, and that's not exactly huge.

I like the blaster boxes because they're relatively inexpensive. But increasingly, they are providing little to no value, or big value - you get a home run, or absolutely nothing. And more often then not, it's nothing. In this one, there isn't even an insert card. Just 44 commons. And I suppose if you look at it as 50 cents per common, it's not as bad. But it's still not worth the money I paid for it, because these commons mean nothing to me.

I have to take my own advice - I have to stick to eBay, and instead of buying blasters, buy hobby boxes, and sometimes, the prices are similar......