1991-1992 Upper Deck Hockey

 91-92 UD:  Brett Hull is a St. Louis legend.  Oh sure, he was a great hockey player.  But his drunk rendition of the Blues' anthem, Gloria when the Blues won the title in 2019 is legendary.  And Upper Deck did really well with this photo.

I'm not the biggest hockey guy and didn't remember this set or design.  I do like the design overall though I'd always be happier with a team logo.  Adam Oates is another Hall of Fame player who played with the Blues.  That Palffy is a 1991 Draft Choice.

Nice photo on the back of this card that has a photobomb from Brett Hull.

The backs are nice and similar from Upper Deck sets across football and basketball.  That Ellet photo is awkward looking.

I love Upper Deck Team Checklists from this era, and we get Tomas Sandstrom on this nice Kings checklist card.

 BREAKDOWN:
15 – Total Cards
1 – Team Checklist
1 – 1991 Draft Choice

2025 Favorite Cards and Action Figure

 

These favorite cards posts are one I look forward to every year.  This Eric Dickerson card takes top honors this year.  I really like the colors, the photo, it's a simple design, and the great look at Dickerson's eyes and goggles.  In June I posted this card and other Dickerson cards I got in a Eric Dickerson card lot on eBay.  There are a few good-looking cards in the lot.

This Giannis was close behind.  I thought this 2021-2022 Donruss card did a great job with the photo and subtle design elements making it feel like a show.  It was posted in March.

This 1992 Pro Set Racing card is one of Jeff Gordon's first cards and a big reason I picked up some packs to open.  It's very simple but a card I like.  This one was also posted in March.  

Cards found in this post are cards I posted in 2025.  I'll show of my favorite from each sport and non-sport as well as my favorite action figure.  Why I like them or choose them can be random and it doesn't matter if they are old or new.  

This cool looking card is from a 2024 Upper Deck Marvel Studios Series 2 Cinematic blaster that I also posted in March.  I like the retro lunchbox vibe, and the colors and design really work for me.  I like it.

This 2025 Topps Elly De La Cruz I showed off in August has a nice photo and framing.  A really good use of the horizontal cards from Topps.

This 2022-2023 Upper Deck Trevor Moore was in a June post.  I didn't post much hockey this year, but I kept coming back to this card.  It's the intensity of the bench players that really draws me in here.  Good job Upper Deck.

This Topps Chrome Rhea Ripley was posted in February.  Ripley is very photogenic, and this made for an easy pick.

This Baylan Skoll figure looks really good.  I posted him in May along with Shin Hati, both of the Ahsoka series.  He really captures the actor's looks and is a great addition to the collection.

These are so much fun. Everyone have a fun and safe New Year's Eve!

2024-2025 Upper Deck MVP Hockey

24-25 UD Hockey:  Game 4 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals is tonight with Florida up on Edmonton 2-1.  Leon Draisaitl has 4 points in the series.

I'm not a big hockey fan but I do enjoy hockey cards.  My daughter got me these as a gift and they are fun.  I think this is a solid design.  I do wish the team logo was in either of the corners on the bottom.

I'm never a fan of cards with no stats but these have a different take with highlights from the player's season.

Jason Polin hasn't made it in the NHL yet but does show up on this Rookies card.  Small pack but it is a fun one.

BREAKDOWN:
6 – Total Cards
1 – Rookies

2022-2023 Upper Deck Hockey

22-23 UD:  The NHL Finals start tonight so here we go.  Kyle Connor is still with Winnipeg and had his best season with 97 points.  Full disclosure I opened and scanned this pack in January of 2023.  I just don't do much hockey anymore.  Hard to keep it as part of my collecting portfolio.  That said I do really like hockey cards.  I just don't follow the sport enough to be fully invested.  

Upper Deck always does hockey so well especially in terms of their photos.  I do like that we don't have the player's names in foil in this design.  That's always so hard to read.  The fronts are missing the team logo.  It really has to be there in some way shape or form.

I like that we get horizontal cards.

I like the checklist cards.  Anytime we can get more photos of the starts it's a good thing.

The backs have a good aesthetic to them.  Of course we want complete career stats but at least they give us five seasons worth.

Nice photo.

I'm a Calgary Flames "fan", so I'll take pulls of their players any day.  I'm a big fan of the Maple Leafs' classic jersey but this alternate look isn't too bad.  The Centre of Attention insert is okay but doesn't wow me.  Enjoy the NHL Finals!

BREAKDOWN:
30 – Total Cards
1 – Checklist
1 – Centre of Attention

Random Wax: 1991-1992 Topps Stadium Club Hockey

91-92 Stadium Club:   First hockey pack of the year and we'll go old school.  Luc Robitaille played 14 seasons for the Los Angeles Kings but won a championship with the Detroit Red Wings.  He made the All-Star team eight times and is a member of the NHL Hall of Fame.  

Topps rolled out Stadium Club in 1991 across the sports, maybe in response to Upper Deck taking trading cards to a different level.  Plenty of good photos even on simple headshots like the Kirk Muller here.

Not enough stats on the backs for a Topps offering but it's still nice and colorful with a photo of the player's rookie card which is really cool.

I'm not a hockey expert but I enjoy hockey cards.  I think when done right, they can be some of the best in the hobby.

I just don't think of Topps hockey cards from the 80s but the photo here shows the '84 set followed a somewhat similar design as the 1983 Topps baseball design and there isn't anything wrong with that. 

Also get some nice horizontal offerings in the set and I like this photo.  It's not in game and just something different but still relevant.  I'll do more hockey later this year and look forward to it.

BREAKDOWN:

12 – Total Cards

1 – Hall of Famers

2023 Favorite Cards

Annual Favorite Cards:  Huge challenge for me this year as I look at my favorite cards from the year.  Cards shown today are from any blog post in 2023 no matter the year the card is from.  I'll show off my favorites from each sport as well as a non-sport entry.  Speaking of, this Stranger Things Upside Down insert is my favorite card of the year.  I know it doesn't scan well but I really like it. That combined with the fact Eddie is a character I really like from the show and this is maybe his shining moment in the series.  As such it gets the nod as #1 from 2023.  This one was appropriately posted in October.

I went back and forth between this one and Eddie for tops on the year.  This is from an April post of 2020-2021 Hoops.  I love the emotion and the photo.  There were other good cards to choose from but this card made it an easy choice as the best basketball card of the year.

This one barely edged two others competing for the top football card.  I really like the photo.  This is from 2021 Score which I posted in May.  In contrast to Saquon's athletic play, the player and coach in the background have no interest in what is going on.

Another card with great emotion, this Asuka card from a post in August is pretty cool.  The photo and emotion paint a great picture.  Not a surprise it is the #1 WWE card from the year.

In March I took a second look at 2021 Donruss NASCAR hobby box.  In the post I showcased this nice-looking Dominators insert of Brad Keselowski.  For winning the race, drivers receive a lobster which he shows off in the photo.  The mask he's wearing also takes us back to 2020 and the infamous look.  I like the look on this card and the lobster helping it be the #1 NASCAR card from the blog this year.

From a July post is this 2022 Juan Soto which has a nicely timed photo.  He's already celebrating with the bat flip while the fans and players watch the ball fly.

This '90-'91 Score Hockey card posted in October gets the top sport for the year in hockey.  I hope to post more hockey in 2024.  This card has cool photography magic going on.

Cards and the blog has been good to me this year.  Lots of fun.  I've gotten a little more organized and will continue to work on that in 2024.  I also hit 51 followers.  Not a lot to some but I'm very happy and very thankful for those who take the time.  Be safe tonight and have a Happy New Year!   

Random Wax: 1990-1991 Score Hockey

90-91 Score Hockey:  Hockey season has started so I'll throw out some hockey.  We'll start with a Luc Robitaille with some photography trickery.

Probably not a great design but it's one I enjoy.  I'm not a big hockey guy but I do like hockey cards.

The Tim Kerry photo is a good one.

Fun cards.  Enjoy!

BREAKDOWN:
15 – Total Cards
4 – NHL Prospects
1 – All-Rookie Team
1 – Hall of Famer
1 – First Team All-Star Team

2021-2022 Upper Deck Hockey

 

21-22 Upper Deck Hockey: Hard to believe but this is my first pack of these this year.  Probably due to delays.  Stanley Cup Finals start tonight so it's a great time to break this one out.  We'll kick it off with three-time Stanley Cup winner Sidney Crosby who highlighted this pack.

Show off one of my Calgary Flames.  Calgary had a great season winning the Pacific Division but was ousted in the second round of the playoffs by Edmonton.

Upper Deck always brings it with their quality photos.  This season is no different.  Showing some goalie love here but not much in the way of action.

Some horizontal goodness.  Wouldn't mind seeing a few more of these in packs.

I like the design this year.  At first glance I wasn't so sure but it is a good looking design in hand.

Wish we'd see more action in the shots.  It's consistently guys skating around.  We need more cross check, passing and shooting photos.  I know those are harder to get but still, this is what hockey photographers do.  Maybe just have other guys share the photos somehow to give us variety.

The orange parallel Dazzlers is my insert in this pack.  Orange and green are found in retail packs.  Could use another insert or two in each pack to help break them up.  Fun pack of cards.  Enjoy the back of that Crosby card which may be better than the front as you get to see what a crazy great career he's had.  I think I'll root for the Lightning in the series but no issues if the Avalanche take home the Cup.

BREAKDOWN:
26 – Total Cards
1 – Dazzlers Orange Parallel