A new job.... and the "going away" gift from myself :)

Well, after over four years at my current job, it was time to move forward to a new challenge, and today was my last day. In celebration of that, I decided to buy myself a box of cards.

I chose the new 2005-06 Fleer (ok, UD with Fleer badging...) Hot Prospects. Not cheap by any stretch, and to be honest, I know very little about it, other than it has some good stuff in it. Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there.

Pack 1 - Turco, Raycroft, Nash, Nabokov, Kiprusoff
A goalie collector's dream. Different design, sharp photography with a nice emphasis on the player.

Pack 2 - Recchi, St. Louis, Zetterberg, Kariya, Richards
If I was paying $15 per pack, I wouldn't be happy. Thought I'd share that.

Pack 3 - Bertuzzi, Murray, Giguere, Gonchar, Hossa
Ok.

Pack 4 - Andrew Alberts Prized Prospects Rookie Auto Patch 239/349
One colour (black), and more initials than an autograph. Better than a kick in the teeth, but barely.

Pack 5 - Thornton, Weight, Kyle Brodziak RC 0598/1999, Sundin, Staal
Well, a rookie is a rookie.

Pack 6 - Koivu, Jackman, Hasek, Jokinen, Lecavalier
Into everyone's life, some commons may fall.

Pack 7 - Thornton, Jim Slater Hot Materials Jersey (blue), Marleau, Khabibulin
No idea who Jim Slater is. And for there to be doubles in a box of this size is kinda crazy.

Pack 8 - Kovalchuk, Hejduk, Mark Giordano RC 0980/1999, Malone, Roenick
A rookie is a rookie. But who ARE these people?

Pack 9 - Kolzig, Gaborik, Luongo, Drury, Ribiero, and an Upper Deck Store discount coupon
When will UD learn that most people don't want to pay $199.99 for an autographed Tiger Woods 8X10 with a cheap frame? Anyway.....

Pack 10 - Shanahan, McCabe, Nick Tarnasky RC 1216/1999, Fernandez, Hemsky
(takes another swig of beer) Mrs. Tarnasky is getting some mail. A hockey card of her son.

Pack 11 - Alfredsson, Bergeron, Brian McGrattan RC 0840/1999, Elias, Jagr
FINALLY a rookie I've heard of. A goon, but goons are worth something in the card world.

Pack 12 - Frolov, Belfour, Forsberg, Sullivan, Gagne
If I'm going to get commons, can I at least get a freaking Doan card???

Pack 13 - Lemieux, Miller, Corey Crawford RC 1897/1999, Horcoff, Sakic
(silence)

Pack 14 - Robitaille, Evgeny Artyukhin Hot Materials Jersey, Pronger, Modano
I've heard of Artyukhin. Had to look on the spelling though. And the Modano is cool. Can I get a Doan in pack 15?

Pack 15 - Heatley, Selanne, Svatos, Prospal, Joseph
Nope.

Verdict?
Well...... can't really complain about an auto rookie patch, 2 jerseys, and 5 numbered rookies in a box. I could have picked up a UD Series 2 box for slightly less, but I would have got less too, unless I managed to pull an Ovechkin. The auto patch was disappointing in the auto and small one colour patch, but it is what it is, and they're selling. Would I buy another box? I'd pay less on eBay for it, and.... yeah, I might. It's a little more expensive than most boxes, but there's some value here, and it's a fun break.

Where I give UD major points is that this is unique. And for UD, that's a MAJOR thing. Again, it looks like they need to sharpen the cutting blades a little, as there are some damaged sides, but the cards look nice, and the design is actually a different.

Grades out of 5:
ROOKIES: 4
- For quantity, not quality. And an auto rookie patch per box is a nice thing, especially considering SP Authentic's price versus value.

GAME USED: 3
- 2 per box is fine, and both were rookies (I think.... I don't know for sure.... and I follow hockey pretty closely). But small pieces, and photo shoot pieces. This late in the year, that's questionable a little.

SET BUILDERS: 4
- Looks to be a 100 card regular set, and a box puts you close to it, I think. But I got a double. And that bugs me. Call me petty if you must, but......

AUTOS: 2?
- Only auto was the patch (if you can call it an auto). I heard there was supposed to be 2, and there was one. So I'm judging hard.

OVERALL: 4
- I was going to say 3.5, but I'm assuming I got a bit of a dud box. It's a nice set, and while it's not necessarily cheap, nothing is this year, and this is pretty good value for the buck. I'd buy more. But definitely buy by the box, not the pack. As a warning, with the patch the only card in the pack, it's very very searchable. If you're going to buy packs, get them from a dealer you trust.