Look Who Bought New Cards!

So I was working on getting out of the condo before 10.00am this morning when there was a knock at the door. It was my friendly neighborhood UPS guy. He had a box in his hand, woo-hoo! So much for going to see the Lightning practice in Brandon (didn’t really feel like driving that far anyway).

Inside the box was another box, the greatest kind of box of all. It was the kind that was filled with cards! As a present to myself for landing a new job (funemployment ends November 2nd) I bought a box of 2008-09 Upper Deck Black Diamond Hockey for about $50.00

A recently released, higher end product for less than $60.00 was right up my alley. So I commenced to ripping and here is what I received.




A mass of single diamond base cards. Nothing too fancy with these cards, basic photos with a little bit of etching on the top to make the cards feel pretty cool. Tactile cards are the best. The only major complaint I have with this set is the number of doubles. Out of 120 cards there were 22 doubles, all in the single diamond category. Boo!



The only cards with players pictured in a Lightning uniform - Vinny Prospal (cut in the off-season and now with the Rangers and Triple Diamond Rookie Vladimir Mihalik (a 6’7 defenseman manning the blue line in Norfolk for now).

There were 7 of the Double Diamonds



There were three Triple Diamond regular cards and 3 Triple Diamond Rookies. The Rookies (not pictured) were Mihalik, Brian Lee from Ottawa and Nikolai Kulemin from Toronto. Not quite Stamkos or Drew Daughtery, but some rookies are better than none.



I only received one Quad Diamond, I think one of other hits cancelled out my promised second Quad. Bobby Orr cards are always nice, look at the head of hair on that kid!



The Hits part 1:

Ruby Single of Andrei Markov 009/100
Premier Cut Single Jason Spezza (I’m a magnet for Spezza inserts)
Premier Cut Double Henrik Lundqvist

I really like the Premier Cuts, of course I get excited about any die cut cards, hey I’m easy like that.



The Hits part 2:

Gemography of Marc Antoine Pouliot
Quad Jersey of Olli Jokinen
Quad Jersey of Tim Thomas

I think the auto was the hit that replaced my extra quad diamond card. It’s a sticker auto, but the sticker doesn’t take away from the card.

The Jokinen card is nice, glad that a red swatch made it onto the card to break it up. As with a lot of Upper Deck cards of hockey players that move around he is pictured in a Panthers uniform but there is a Coyotes logo on the card. The uniform matches the photo which is nice.

The Thomas card is one of my favorite cards. Multiple color swatches, some striping, a goalie. It can’t get much better than that!

Overall, I like this set. I’m a little perturbed about the doubles, but hey it gives me some trade fodder for completing the rest of the set. For the price it’s a nice bargain, two relic cards and the chance to hit an auto as well for $50 bucks.

Of course I didn’t pull any Vincent Lecavalier cards, he is a quad diamond in this set. So if anyone out there has an extra one lying around let me know and I’m sure we can work something out. All of the hits are available for trade, or if you have nothing to offer I’m sure we can work out a nominal fee.