Trade #4 – Edmonton

Westward… Ho!!!

In pack #4 that arrived at the homestead were two more pieces to my Hot Materials pursuit – Jonathan Cheechoo and Chuck Kobasew.

Between the two, the Kobasew is the more interesting. Why, you ask? Why would an also-ran be the better of a tandem that includes a former Maurice Richard winner? Simple – this is because the card features a two-colour swatch, a true rarity. Of the over 70 cards I have from the set, only two, including the Koby, are two-toned.

Now I could say this is because of the swatch size, but in all likelihood Upper Deck was saving the premium swatches for higher-end series, or at least those that didn’t have the hook that Hot Prospects did, which was the patch-auto rookie cards.

About Edmonton

There’s not much that isn’t already known about Edmonton. Nicknamed the City of Champions, the Alberta capital has a decorated history both in hockey (Oilers) and football (Eskimos). The city has a metro population of over 1 million and is home to one of the largest shopping centres in the world, West Edmonton Mall.

Fun Fact: Edmonton has four sister cities: Gatineau, QC; Nashville, Tenn., Harbin,  China and Wonju, South Korea.

Trade Map #4 – Anchor, away!

Jumping the que this time around to talk about a package I received from a boardie on SCF (Sportscard Forum). I don’t know what it is, but I’ve always had the most luck trading with those guys and gals.

This particular package was a big $ swap, in which a couple WWE autographs, which retain their value remarkably well, went to my trading partner in exchange for a couple patch/autos from many moons ago in football.

The cards I acquired were bonused with a few inserts from WWE Platinum. Bonusing is the fun part for most collectors – that little extra that puts a smile on the recipients’ face. I threw a couple goodies in for the other collector as well, but I figure I how him one now for the coolness he showed here. Pay-it-forward time draws nigh.

 

About Seaman, Ohio

Okay, get the giggles out of your system, I’ll wait.

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Good? Then let’s move on.

Seaman is a village (as defined by the good folks at Wiki) of just over 1,000 as of the 2000 census, including just 271 families. Translation? 2 kids per household.

Seaman is home to one hospital, Adams County Regional Medical Center, appropriately situated at 230 Medical Center Drive. The hospital was opened in 2007, which of course, begs the question of how it’s not number 1 on the Drive. My guess – a lot of pharmacies.

Seamon is also home to the Snappy Tomato Pizza Co., the Fireside Restaurant, and… unfortunately that’s about all the information I could dig up on the fly.

Next up… you’ll have to tune in to find out.

Trade Map #3 – Pickering

The latest trade comes courtesy of a trade from Pickering, Ontario and is the second in the trifecta of Hot Materials trades of late.

The key card for me this time ’round was a jersey of Andrew Raycroft. Again, there is no team ID on the back, so I’m left to assume (as dangerous as that is) that the swatch is from the Maple Leafs, as is depicted on the front. Raycroft started out looking like he would have a promising career after winning the Calder in Boston, but he fizzled and has been mired in futility for a few years now. Still, it’s another card for the set.

Additionally in this packet were two Artifacts cards. One was an 08-09 Stars card of Teemu Selanne #936/999. I was hoping that I needed this one for my growing Selanne collection (more on that in future posts), but alas it is a dupe.

The other card is of another Jets legend, and coincidentally is a Legends card – Dale Hawerchuk. this was also from 08-09 and is serial #’d 485/999. The photo used is one I’ve seen a few times, dating back to the 00-01 NHL Legends set (which, incidentally, was a really good set for its time; maybe I’ll start it up again…).

About Pickering, Ontario

Depep in the heart of Southern Ontario lies this happy city of more than 100,000 people (and only 3 city counsellors). Surprisingly, it was only established in 1974. Let  the Simpsons jokes start up, as the town is home to a nuclear generating station.

The biggest claim to fame may be that the town gave the NHL Sean Avery, who as we all know has represented his fair city with such class. Others who’ve dwelled within the city limits are Mr. Dressup and Neil Young.

Fun Fact:

Denis Leary and Kevin Spacey teamed up to shoot The Ref in Pickering.

Next Entry: Edmonton

Trade Map entry #2

With Heroes and Prospects landing in hockey, I’m expecting a few trades coming in fast and furiously. I’ve already either traded or have many of the cards I busted from 2 boxes pending on a set that year-in and year-out has a lot of activity right out of the gate.

Still fully available at this point is my Olivier Roy dual colour Subway Series black jersey and my PK Subban silver National Pride jersey. Hoping to get those towards the Cody Hodgsons from the series, for anyone who’s looking to swap.

Today’s entry, however, focuses on another set with the initials H and P – Hot Prospects. In particular, it’s the 07-08 Hot Materials jersey set.

This was a set that I started picking up a couple years back, but didn’t think much of doing as a full series initially. Afterall, it’s a 99-card monster set! However, once I got to 25 cards I dedicated myself to completing the series, and following a recent group of mailers, which I’ll be talking about over the next few entries, I am now over 70 cards into the set. (And for anyone who has cards from the series available, please email me at jonwaldman@shaw.ca)

The first one I’ll talk about is Dwayne Roloson’s card. Rollie the Goalie is best known for being the driving force behind the Oilers’ Stanley Cup Finals run a few years back, but he’s also one of a select few players to be on both sides of the Battle of Alberta (he started his career in Calgary). The swatch on the card is black, which means it likely came from the Oilers old 3rd jersey, which was designed by Todd McFarlane.

About Niagara Falls

The Rollie emanated from the Canadian side of the Falls. Whether your a Canuck or Amerk, chances are you’ve been recommended to travel the Maid of the Mist and subject yourself to the wonderment and beauty of the Falls.

The Canadian city boasts a population of over 82,000, which is larger than the number of people who will take in a Phoenix Coyotes game this season.

According to the good folks at Wikipedia, Maryilyn Monroe shot part of her movie, fittingly titled Niagara, in the city. Here’s the funny part though. According to Wiki, this was “a major event for the city.” Apparently back then people didn’t like waterfalls.

Despite being a water city, Niagara Falls has provided the NHL with many players, including Derek Sanderson and Terry O’Reilly. Also a former city dweller of the Falls was Jay Triano of Canadian basketball fame, and some never-heard-of-that-guy movie director James Cameron.

Fun Fact: WWE still has a ride and shop in Niagara Falls.

January 18 – The return of the Map

Okay, last year’s attempt at The Trade Map fell apart when my ADD kicked in, but this year… well, we’re going to give it the old college try.

 

And so, to start the year off, we travel to Wallaceburg, Ontario, where, evidently, a Maple Leaf fan who hath shied away from his former heroes dwells.

 

The card picked up in my first trade of 2011 was of Carman, MB native Eddie “The Eagle” Belfour. Belfour is depicted with the Leafs on this card, the 2005-06 Upper Deck ICE (why I capitalize the set name I’ll never know) Frozen Fabrics jersey card of the former Vezina-and-other-trophies winner. Belfour was on his last NHL legs here, so it’s not a particularly memorable time in his career; yet it does two things for my collection:

1. It gives me yet another big mesh card (don’t ask where those swatches come from, I’d rather not think about it).

2. It allows me to put my dual Titanium jersey with Marty Turco on the block

In truth, Belfour’s hobby stature bottomed out around the same time that Pro Set went bankrupt, yet he played with enough teams that virtually every NHL fan will want him for their collection. This one’s inexpensive enough that I don’t mind holding onto it… though I believe this may be my second go-around with this card.

About Wallaceburg

Not a word of lie, Wallaceburg was named for William Wallace, the Scottish hero depited by Mel Gibson. Thus your conspiracy theory of the day – Mel Gibson painted his face blue in Braveheart. Did he do so because of William Wallace, or in tribute to Wallaceburg, only a couple stones throws away from Toronto…

Wallaceburg has just under 11,000 people in its town, which may seem small, but it’s still more than the number of people who go to Phoenix Coyotes games.

Wallaceburg Fun Fact: Doug Shedden (NHL semi-great) and Shawn Suisham (Steelers placekicker) both come from Wallaceburg.

Trades 4 and 5 – Canada and the U.S.

The next three trades to go up on the big board come from across  North America.

Number 4 arrived from Katy, Texas and was a gifted crop of cards. Collector generosity is surprising at times – whether it’s a freebie pack that gets sent from someone with a few doubles to spare or some extras thrown into the mix of a trade, the Pay It Forward approach to trading has been one that collectors have embraced across the hobby.

This was a case of generosity on SCF, but one that was a bit of a surprise in two respects. First, in discussions with the sender, I had noted I was going after the 2009 A&G National Heroes set, a series of cigarette-size cards that depict icons from various countries like Ghandi and Ben-Gurion. Instead, the cards that arrived were from the regular-sized National Pride series that commemorates players from the recent World Baseball Classic tourney.

That was Surprise #1 – a bit of a disappointment, but Surprise #2 was a silver lining. Two of the three card numbers corresponded to Canadians – Eric Bedard and Jason Bay, two players that I hadn’t pulled in my box break a few months back.

Hopefully I’ll be able to follow the PIF at some point during the year, but for now I’m going to enjoy this unexpected surprise.

Katy Fun Fact: Katy has only had 8 mayors since being incorporated in 1971.

Trade #5 arrived this past Friday and was anticipated.  Containing a couple Teemu Selanne cards and a couple Hot Prospects jerseys, the cards were neat little pick-ups that add to two of my peak obsessions that during a downtime in trading I’ll get into more about.

The Selannes, though, ended up being dupes of cards I already had. It’s an unfortunate part of being a player collector — sometimes you misread your need list and will end up doubling up on some cards. No matter — they end up making good trade bait when it’s all said and done.

Mississauga Fun Fact – it is this city, not Toronto, that holds the semi-annual Expos.

More trades are expected this week, so keep coming back for more!

Trades #3 and 4

The States pulls ahead again on my first two-arrival day.

Pack #1 (Bethel Park, PA) comes from a trade on the Spawn boards, and was a send-off of a Mario Lemieux triple jersey. Despite Lemieux being one of my favourites, I’ve traded away two Lemieux jerseys over the years, primarily because Lemieux jerseys aren’t hard to come by. Between ITG and Upper Deck, nevermind Topps and Pacific, Lemieux memorabilia is not exactly uncommon. I’ve kept one, the only pack pull I’ve ever had – an 01-02 BAP All-Star tog.

In exchange, I received a tri OPC card of Teemu Selanne, Saku and Mikko Koivu. Believe it or not, this is the first time I was able to get a multi jersey card that had Teemu and Saku together. All three appear to be from the pre-slimline era of NHL jerseys.

Bethel Park Fun Fact – Bethel in Hebrew is Beit El, meaning the house of G-d.

Trade #4 (Hurleyville, NY) was from Sportscard Forum and was a trade of WWE for WWE inserts. This one netted me two Heritage II Team cards (regular size) and a Big Show Turkey Red. Both sets are hard to do because the cards were so limited and anyone who busted WWE generally held on to everything as a set collector. The Turkey Reds are still a great concept and I’m glad that Topps is continuing to use the concept for its baseball inserts.

Curiously, or perhaps not, none of the Superstar Team members are still in WWE. Rory and Robbie of the Highlanders’ fate was sealed when Rory was spotted on a TNA broadcast sitting in the stands, while Paul London never really gelled in WWE. Brian Kendrick meanwhile, had a decent gimmick, but ultimately was too small for a Cruiserweight Division-less version of the Fed.

Hurleyville Fun Fact – Hurleyville was temporarily known as Luzon Station when postmasters had confusion issues between Hurleyville and Hurley.

So the U.S. pulls ahead 3-1, with New York now leading the way in individual states/provinces.

All the cards acquired today are

Trade #2 Chicoutimi, QC

Trade #2 has now arrived on The Trade Map and it’s from Canada this time.

This one comes from a generous boardie on Hobby Insider, who answered a thread I had posted about the Sidney Crosby re-usable “TimCard” for Tim Horton’s. The card shows Crosby holding his number 8 Timbits sweater inside an empty locker room. It’s a pretty cool piece, and are available at Timmy’s across our nation (and assuredly in the States too).

Here’s the kicker though. Because the card comes from Quebec, it’s the French version of the card. Yes, it looks like for the first time since the boom era, we’ve got a got a language variation for a collectible card.

Assumedly, the French versions are printed in a smaller quantity, so this one will be one to hold onto!

So Trade #2, you’re on the board. Merci beaucoup!

Chicoutimi Fun Fact: The Phoenix Coyotes’ mascot, Pierre the Fanatic Hockey Snowman, is said to have been born in Chicoutimi.

Trade #1 – Cedarhurst, NY

And so the year begins with a bang, courtesy of a trade emanating from Cedarhurst, NY.

This was a big trade, as I dealt my one and only He Shoots He Scores redeemed card (from a previous trade), of Bobby Hull no less, for a Ray Bourque Ultimate Collection jersey, a Glenn Hall Ultimate Memorabilia “Nicknames” glove (UM5) and a Roy Worters Ultimate Memorabilia jersey (UM5).

From the three cards I got, the Worters goes in the PC, no questions asked. Featuring a piece of New York Americans jersey (my first), the card is numbered out of 25 and just looks amazing.

It’s funny though — aside from a project on the backburner where I was trying to get a card from every set made, I hadn’t ever really been a fan of the UM concept. To me, cards, especially jersey cards, are something to be held. I couldn’t get the feel of the age of a sweater or pads with a glass holder.

I’m still not the biggest fan of them, but it adds a uniqueness to the card.

That being said, the horizontal cards like the Hall don’t display well. Almost makes you wish that there was a different casing used for these ones.

The Bourque I’m split on. It’s a huge swatch of yellow, which gives me one jersey with each swatch color from the Bruins of Ray’s (plus a patch), but part of me is also tempted, because of the swatch size, to send it to Ray for signing.

The Hall though is headed for the trade pile. The nicknames set is one that has been hotly pursued in the past, and should (help) land me one of my pursuit memorabilia cards, among them being Terry Sawchuk, Maurice Richard, Aurel Joliat and others.

So Cedarhurst, New York, congratulations. You are the first city on The Trade Map.

Cedarhurst Fun Fact: Cerdarhurst was one of the locations shot for the movie Married to the Mob.

One item I’d like to trade for – the torch!

It was bound to happen sooner or later, and in this case it’s probably sooner than a lot of people thought.

An Olympic torch has been sold on eBay from the Vancouver 2010 Games. Given the sheer number of torches being used in the cross-Canada run, it’s inevitable that a few will make it to the secondary market.

This torch sold for over $2,000, not a bad price. I can see them falling below two grand by the time the hype of the Olympics is over.

Could the seller have waited a few weeks and sold at a higher price once the games began? In theory, but I’m also guessing that will be when most pieces will be listed.

I certainly hope that someone makes mini versions of the torch. Even a keychain version would be a cool addition to my collection.

Original eBay listing:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/2010-VANCOUVER-AUTHENTIC-OLYMPIC-TORCH-USED_W0QQitemZ220532267292QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_SM_Fan_Shop?hash=item3358bf591c