creasecollector
Verified Trader ,
Hey everyone,
In true H.I. Holiday spirit, a new 'Top 10 additions of the year' thread is here.
This year was a fantastic year in the hobby for me. In addition to picking up some noteworthy pieces for my collection, I also made some memories that would last a lifetime.
I would also like to take the time to thank every single one of you for keeping this hobby as fun as ever. Without our fellow collectors, this hobby would not be what it is today.
In addition, I'd also like to thank you for your support of the podcast, too. It's been another fun year and we already have some fun episodes planned to end the year and in the new year as we enter 2023.
Thank you for supporting my collection over the past year and beyond. Seeing the support and outreach from other collectors is always very fun to see.
Without further ado, here are my Top 10 additions from 2022:
10) 2002-03 UD Mask Collection Nation's Best Triple Jersey Roy/Brodeur/Potvin
This set is one that I've always enjoyed, so finding this at the 2022 Fall Expo was a nice surpise. Easy decision to scoop this one up!
9) 2006-07 ITG International Ice Game-Used Jersey - Vladislav Tretiak
As a fan of the goaltending position, you just can't help but ignore Tretiak's impact when looking at the history of the game. I've always wanted to add a nice game-used piece of his, and I was finally able to do that near the end of the year.
8) 2008-09 Upper Deck Masterpieces Brushstrokes Autographs - Manon Rheaume
This card I picked up at the recent Spring Expo in Toronto. I've been after this card for many years now, but was always outbid or the asking price was too high. I was searching a table that I noticed had a few other cards for the set and boom, there it was. Happy to finally cross this card off the list! What a pioneer for the position and a true inspiration in sport.
7) 2022 President's Choice In The Crease Nameplate 1/1 - Jhonas Enroth
The first Enroth card in this top 10! With the recent In The Crease release, there was a nice surpise of Enroth cards to choose from, and this was near the top of my list. Glad to add another letter card to the collection.
6) 2016 Game-Used Toronto Maple Leafs Jersey Set (Home/Away) Jhonas Enroth
I way very pleased to add many jersey's to the collection this year. These are a few of my favourites. As a lifelong Maple Leafs fan, it's hard to beat this. Here's Enroth's only 2 game-used jerseys while with the Leafs, since he didn't play on the team for long. What's interesting to note about the white away jersey is that it was used in Enroth's final NHL game against the Calgary Flames. Pretty cool stuff.
5) 2013-14 ITG Between The Pipes One of A Kind 1/1 patch - Jhonas Enroth
Hard to beat a patch like this. Taken from a 40th Anniversary Buffalo Sabres jersey, it's one of the coolest patches in my collection. I had a lot of help from my buddy Eric to land this one, and it cracks the top 5 this year.
4) Game-Used 2012 Team Sweden National Team Jersey - Jhonas Enroth
When looking for game-used jersey's, nothing beats a national team jersey. I picked this up from another game-used collector who had a lot of Enroth items. This jersey was worn in 2012 during a few international tournaments with the Swedish national team. It features a lot of wear and tear, which is pretty cool.
3) 2022 President's Choice Solid Gold Jumbo Memorabilia 1/1 - Jhonas Enroth
Always nice to find a jumbo memorabilia card for the collection. This was a first for the collection and I'm glad Enroth received more cards this year. Thanks, Dr. Price!
2) The Vezina Collection Trophy Winners - Vezina/Kolzig
Hard to not love a any game-used piece by Georges Vezina. The Vezina Collection was one of the best products ever released in my opinion, and I'm glad I could acquire my very first piece of Vezina memorabilia from it. What a great card design, not to mention the sweet Vezina pad swatch. Normally, this would take the number 1 spot all day long, but my recent addition will make up for this.
1) 2022 President's Choice In The Crease Complete Logo 1/1 - Jhonas Enroth
A Game-Used NHL Shield card.
Simply amazing. As soon as Brian hinted at their being shield cards in this product, I was hoping Enroth would make the checklist. He did, and I managed to snag this shortly after the release date. Now it's home where it belongs! At this point in the game, I never thought I'd ever acquire a game-worn shield card, but I'm glad I finally did. What a way to end 2022!
Oh, and one more thing..... For those who forgot or who may have missed this experience earlier this year...
.....
.....
Honourable mention: The cards may not be anything to write home about, but it's the experiences that make the difference here.
For those who don't know, on January 5th 2022, I was able to meet Jhonas Enroth.
I was with my girlfriend visiting her side of the family (who mostly still reside in Sweden) and I had to drive one of her family members home to the city of Orebro, which they happen to live.
Who plays for the Orebro hockey team you may ask? Well, as luck would have it.... Jhonas Enroth.
A few days prior to our trip to Orebro, I sent Jhonas a message to see if he knew any spots around the city. To my surprise, he then offered to meet up and go for some coffee and see the sights in Orebro...... I was shocked. He even offered to walk over after practice and directly to our hotel. Awesome dude.
Fast-forward to the day of, and we had arrived at our hotel with only about 15 minutes to spare. I'll admit, I was a tad nervous. After the time of our meeting, in walks Jhonas through the front doors in the lobby and greets me with a "Hey, Aaron! So great to finally meet you!".
After exchanging typical introductions, we then made our way to the heart of the city, which features Orebro castle.
In the background of this image, you can see a small portion of the Orebro castle as we walk towards it.
After reaching the coffee place, we then sat down and talked for about 2-3 hours. A little bit of hockey talk, a little cards, but the majority of the time he wanted to know about us. Where we were from, how we are liking Sweden so far, our family background, etc. We even got on the topic of cycling for a while, too. Since we both enjoy cycling as a hobby away from the rink.
After stopping for coffee/tea, Jhonas then took us to the main "touristy" part of the city a few blocks over so that we knew where to pickup some souvenirs for our family and friends. He even gave us a tip on where to watch the Orebro game the next night (we had tickets to the game, but due to covid restrictions couldn't attend) so we had to settle for a local pub, which was an awesome experience cheering on the team with the local fans in attendance.
Once this little tour was finished, Jhonas wished us both well the rest of out time in Sweden. He even offered to give him a shout if we needed anything during the rest of our stay. A class act for sure.
The old saying is to never meet your hero's. While I wouldn't consider any athlete a 'hero' per-say, this was a great experience with someone who I have appreciated their goaltending talents on the ice for about a decade now, and it's someone who I've made my main focus in my card collection. So to say this was a cool experience would be the understatement of the year.
I know there are probably cooler meet-and-greet stories out there, but this one takes the cake for me. An experience I will never forget, that's for sure. I even managed to walk away with a couple cards he signed (I brought a few on the trip just in case, since the original plan was going to the game. Glad I did!) to have something tangible to remember the experience, too. Hence this being included in a Top 10 additions thread.
I hope everyone had a safe and happy holidays. All the best in 2023 with your collections!!
:beer:
In true H.I. Holiday spirit, a new 'Top 10 additions of the year' thread is here.
This year was a fantastic year in the hobby for me. In addition to picking up some noteworthy pieces for my collection, I also made some memories that would last a lifetime.
I would also like to take the time to thank every single one of you for keeping this hobby as fun as ever. Without our fellow collectors, this hobby would not be what it is today.
In addition, I'd also like to thank you for your support of the podcast, too. It's been another fun year and we already have some fun episodes planned to end the year and in the new year as we enter 2023.
Thank you for supporting my collection over the past year and beyond. Seeing the support and outreach from other collectors is always very fun to see.
Without further ado, here are my Top 10 additions from 2022:
10) 2002-03 UD Mask Collection Nation's Best Triple Jersey Roy/Brodeur/Potvin
This set is one that I've always enjoyed, so finding this at the 2022 Fall Expo was a nice surpise. Easy decision to scoop this one up!
9) 2006-07 ITG International Ice Game-Used Jersey - Vladislav Tretiak
As a fan of the goaltending position, you just can't help but ignore Tretiak's impact when looking at the history of the game. I've always wanted to add a nice game-used piece of his, and I was finally able to do that near the end of the year.
8) 2008-09 Upper Deck Masterpieces Brushstrokes Autographs - Manon Rheaume
This card I picked up at the recent Spring Expo in Toronto. I've been after this card for many years now, but was always outbid or the asking price was too high. I was searching a table that I noticed had a few other cards for the set and boom, there it was. Happy to finally cross this card off the list! What a pioneer for the position and a true inspiration in sport.
7) 2022 President's Choice In The Crease Nameplate 1/1 - Jhonas Enroth
The first Enroth card in this top 10! With the recent In The Crease release, there was a nice surpise of Enroth cards to choose from, and this was near the top of my list. Glad to add another letter card to the collection.
6) 2016 Game-Used Toronto Maple Leafs Jersey Set (Home/Away) Jhonas Enroth
I way very pleased to add many jersey's to the collection this year. These are a few of my favourites. As a lifelong Maple Leafs fan, it's hard to beat this. Here's Enroth's only 2 game-used jerseys while with the Leafs, since he didn't play on the team for long. What's interesting to note about the white away jersey is that it was used in Enroth's final NHL game against the Calgary Flames. Pretty cool stuff.
5) 2013-14 ITG Between The Pipes One of A Kind 1/1 patch - Jhonas Enroth
Hard to beat a patch like this. Taken from a 40th Anniversary Buffalo Sabres jersey, it's one of the coolest patches in my collection. I had a lot of help from my buddy Eric to land this one, and it cracks the top 5 this year.
4) Game-Used 2012 Team Sweden National Team Jersey - Jhonas Enroth
When looking for game-used jersey's, nothing beats a national team jersey. I picked this up from another game-used collector who had a lot of Enroth items. This jersey was worn in 2012 during a few international tournaments with the Swedish national team. It features a lot of wear and tear, which is pretty cool.
3) 2022 President's Choice Solid Gold Jumbo Memorabilia 1/1 - Jhonas Enroth
Always nice to find a jumbo memorabilia card for the collection. This was a first for the collection and I'm glad Enroth received more cards this year. Thanks, Dr. Price!
2) The Vezina Collection Trophy Winners - Vezina/Kolzig
Hard to not love a any game-used piece by Georges Vezina. The Vezina Collection was one of the best products ever released in my opinion, and I'm glad I could acquire my very first piece of Vezina memorabilia from it. What a great card design, not to mention the sweet Vezina pad swatch. Normally, this would take the number 1 spot all day long, but my recent addition will make up for this.
1) 2022 President's Choice In The Crease Complete Logo 1/1 - Jhonas Enroth
A Game-Used NHL Shield card.
Simply amazing. As soon as Brian hinted at their being shield cards in this product, I was hoping Enroth would make the checklist. He did, and I managed to snag this shortly after the release date. Now it's home where it belongs! At this point in the game, I never thought I'd ever acquire a game-worn shield card, but I'm glad I finally did. What a way to end 2022!
Oh, and one more thing..... For those who forgot or who may have missed this experience earlier this year...
.....
.....
Honourable mention: The cards may not be anything to write home about, but it's the experiences that make the difference here.
For those who don't know, on January 5th 2022, I was able to meet Jhonas Enroth.
I was with my girlfriend visiting her side of the family (who mostly still reside in Sweden) and I had to drive one of her family members home to the city of Orebro, which they happen to live.
Who plays for the Orebro hockey team you may ask? Well, as luck would have it.... Jhonas Enroth.
A few days prior to our trip to Orebro, I sent Jhonas a message to see if he knew any spots around the city. To my surprise, he then offered to meet up and go for some coffee and see the sights in Orebro...... I was shocked. He even offered to walk over after practice and directly to our hotel. Awesome dude.
Fast-forward to the day of, and we had arrived at our hotel with only about 15 minutes to spare. I'll admit, I was a tad nervous. After the time of our meeting, in walks Jhonas through the front doors in the lobby and greets me with a "Hey, Aaron! So great to finally meet you!".
After exchanging typical introductions, we then made our way to the heart of the city, which features Orebro castle.
In the background of this image, you can see a small portion of the Orebro castle as we walk towards it.
After reaching the coffee place, we then sat down and talked for about 2-3 hours. A little bit of hockey talk, a little cards, but the majority of the time he wanted to know about us. Where we were from, how we are liking Sweden so far, our family background, etc. We even got on the topic of cycling for a while, too. Since we both enjoy cycling as a hobby away from the rink.
After stopping for coffee/tea, Jhonas then took us to the main "touristy" part of the city a few blocks over so that we knew where to pickup some souvenirs for our family and friends. He even gave us a tip on where to watch the Orebro game the next night (we had tickets to the game, but due to covid restrictions couldn't attend) so we had to settle for a local pub, which was an awesome experience cheering on the team with the local fans in attendance.
Once this little tour was finished, Jhonas wished us both well the rest of out time in Sweden. He even offered to give him a shout if we needed anything during the rest of our stay. A class act for sure.
The old saying is to never meet your hero's. While I wouldn't consider any athlete a 'hero' per-say, this was a great experience with someone who I have appreciated their goaltending talents on the ice for about a decade now, and it's someone who I've made my main focus in my card collection. So to say this was a cool experience would be the understatement of the year.
I know there are probably cooler meet-and-greet stories out there, but this one takes the cake for me. An experience I will never forget, that's for sure. I even managed to walk away with a couple cards he signed (I brought a few on the trip just in case, since the original plan was going to the game. Glad I did!) to have something tangible to remember the experience, too. Hence this being included in a Top 10 additions thread.
I hope everyone had a safe and happy holidays. All the best in 2023 with your collections!!
:beer:
