2024 trade package #8: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

Let's get roaring into May while completely ignoring that the calendar as I'm writing this shows that tomorrow is the last day of July!

The first trade package I received that month came from the most prolific of all of my trade partners: Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store. This envelope was definitely different than the norm in terms of dimensions and weight for reasons I wouldn't be able to guess until I'd ripped it open.

The cardboard content was uncharacteristically sparse, though plenty familiar as it starred three players from my favorite MLB team. Miggy's from a Topps on-demand product from 2023 called Game Within the Game, one of 10 art cards done by Paul Jennis. At 1,612 copies printed it's on the higher end of rarity, which is cool by itself, plus the card looks great.

"Whiffin'" Willi Castro left Detroit after the 2022 season and naturally became a quality player for the Twins, putting up 2.7 bWAR last year while getting on pace to equal or exceed that number as a 2024 All-Star. You see him here on a Topps UK base from 2022.

I did use the word "familiar" above when referring to the team these three cards share, though that didn't necessarily refer to the players. Rucker didn't ring a bell but I did find him on the lower end of Fangraphs' top Tigers prospects. He's a 3B taken in 2023's 4th round out of high school and therefore a reasonable choice for Panini's Elite Extra Edition product, like the 2023 base you see above.

That was it for cards but not the package itself, not by a longshot. No, friends, I was treated to not one, not two, but four beautiful autographed 8x10s of some excellent Michigan Hockey alumni.

Michigan sports blog MGoBlog recently put together a two-part series on the top 20 careers of Wolverine NHLers (part 1, part 2, and you should totally check these out if you love Michigan Hockey) and two of the four guys here made the cut, fairly impressive given the large quantity of quality Michigan icers to play in the league. I'll borrow a bit from those posts for those three guys and give my own thoughts on the fourth:

Andrew Cogliano: Ok, so I have to admit that of the four photos, this one stumped me for a bit because the auto wasn't a gimmie and the player's name doesn't appear anywhere. Eventually I compared the signature to cards I have and came up with LW Andrew Cogliano, a guy I tend to associate with teams other than the Oilers. His UM career started the the school year after I graduated--2005--but I still got to see him play in-person a bit.

Per the aforementioned Top 20 posts, 

"The recently retired Cogliano was the inspiration for this piece, a player who had a hell of a run as a middle six winger for a bunch of teams. That's not what he's most remembered for in the NHL, though. That would be his remarkable iron man ways, as Cogliano at one time owned the longest consecutive games played streak in the NHL at over 800 games. He did not miss a single game his first 10 seasons in the NHL and remained remarkably well conditioned into his mid-30s."

"He started out in Edmonton but found a home in Anaheim, a fixture of the Ducks' really good teams in the mid-2010s in the middle six of the lineup. A well liked guy everyone would have a spot on their team for, that allowed older Cogliano to make deep runs in the playoffs with Dallas (2020) and Colorado (2022), the latter winning him a Stanley Cup."

Also of note, this is my second 8x10 signature of Cogs courtesy of Doug, who previously sent me one back in November of 2019, the 33rd time I'd shown off cards from him here!

John Madden: Not the meathead NFL coach/announcer but the guy who won a pair of cups with the Devils and another with the Hawks, Madden was a four-year C in the mid-90s for some very successful NCAA teams including the 1995-96 champs.

Per the Top-20 list,

"By his second season in the NHL, Madden had built a reputation as a top tier penalty killer and go-to matchup center for the always-stingy Devils, winning the 2000-01 Selke Trophy for the best defensive forward in the NHL. Madden was able to put himself in contention for such an award by not just being a great defensive player and a scrappy, fierce forechecker, but because he provided some valuable depth scoring too."

"Madden won two Cups in NJ and then departed for Chicago in 2009-10, then age 36, and won a third ring with the Blackhawks as a gritty veteran 4th line center. Madden's unusual, versatile career and distinction as one of the top defensive centers in the NHL lands him here."

EDIT: Jon Merrill: Thanks to Chris for pointing out that I got the wrong Jon/John from the Devils! Merrill's name has popped up quite a bit here especially thanks to Doug but briefly, the D from nearby Brighton was a three-year Wolverine at the stat of the 2010s and was a second round pick by New Jersey. This past NHL season was his 11th and he's suited up for a total of five teams including Detroit briefly in 2020-21. I don't see him surpassing anyone on this list but a double-digit year NHL career is nothing to sniff at!

Al Montoya: Montoya's the odd man out here as he understandably didn't make the list, though said list includes only one goalie (Marty Turco), and that's in line with the alumni the Wolverines have produced at the position. To be clear, that's 100% based on his not-terribly-exciting pro career of 168 games (136 starts) over nine seasons with six clubs. You wouldn't have guessed that back in the mid-2000s, though, when he was a highly rated hot-shot freshman. His first year coincided with my sophomore year and first with season tickets, and he'd go on to win 86 games over his three seasons, highlighted by a charge to the Frozen Four in his first year on campus. While he didn't live up to his billing as the 6th overall pick in 2004, he was a blast to watch guarding the goal for some excellent teams while I was a student.

Brendan Morrison: Morrison is my favorite of this quartet despite the fact that he played at Michigan the same years as Madden and therefore before I was ever on campus, and even though he never hoisted the Cup. That said, he was arguably the biggest superstar in this group during his college years having won that NCAA championship I mentioned in Madden's blurb plus winning the Hobey Baker Award, a.k.a. hockey's version of the Heisman. New Jersey had drafted him in 1993's second round and he'd spend parts of three seasons with them before eight solid years with the Canucks. A few other destinations followed and over the course of his 14-year career he'd pot exactly 200 goals and 401 assists.

His Top-20 write-up mentions,

"Morrison was never going to be able match the heights he achieved in college in the vastly more talented NHL, where his skill level was not overwhelming in any way, but Morrison still cobbled together a successful career."

I'd say 14 years in the league after that kind of college career is pretty solid.

Many thanks to Doug for this amazing group of signatures that adds to a growing collection of of Michigan Hockey autos not just on cardboard but on some eye-popping pictures too! Your generosity never ceases to amaze me and I appreciate you finding these for me. Rest assured I'm taking my responsibility of maintaining diplomatic relations seriously and working on a return for you.

Everyone else can look forward to another blogger trade package next time!

2023 trade package #32: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

Hey, it's been a while, how about another trade recap?

Here's what a "Small Packet" envelope from Canada looks like:

Something this large and in charge and stuffed with goodness could only be from one person: Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store!

Here's a (very) brief overview of what he sent my way back in December:

Baseball was highlighted by numbered cards of Mr. Tiger and Barry Larkin. All hail Upper Deck! The other Tigers are great as well, including the Deckle Freehan, which isn't a dupe because this one has a blank back.

Basketball and football get short shrift this time in numbers but not quality. My first card of Mazi (rhymes with "Ozzie") is a Michigan uni RC out of Prestige. Sounds like the Cowboys enjoyed some of that quality Texas education when deciding to completely misuse him this year!

A pair of numbered UD Henne autos are among the highlights of the package, and I can never have too many of these! (But I'm not renaming the blog.)

The bulk as usual is hockey, starting with the much-improved Wings. I'm a big fan of the Lidstrom and Howard cards especially, with the former being a nice color match.

I don't know if these are from shows, repacks. elsewhere, or all of the above, but I was excited to have a bunch of ex-UM icers to flip through. This one already stars two hockey Mikes, not to mention a rare for me Beniers.

Hughes and Hyman have had nice years for their teams, and of course I love seeing Copp join the ranks of the WolverWings.

Another hockey Mike here, the John Madden I prefer, and I feel like I don't add Montoyas to my collection often enough. Plus there's WolverWing supreme Dylan Larkin, who's been fantastic this year for the home team.

I loved the plethora of Brendan Morrison cards and he remains one of my top hockey PCs, second only to a guy you'll see later in this post. Nystrom is a 2/14 baby meaning Doug and I both collect him.

MaxPatch is a Buckstorecards trade package stalwart, and Palushaj often comes along for the ride as well, but recent star Power is nice to see when it comes to some of the newer guys I haven't collected much of yet.

There's the #1 dude, goalie Marty Turco. He was featured on a lot of Pacific cards including an insert set of his own (card #3 above), not to mention the usual enjoyable stuff like the die-cut Crown Royale product. Goalies often simply get the best photos on cards, and Marty deserves it!

There were a few horizontal and odd-sized cards, covered here, plus a couple more hits. The two Topps minis of Madden have the same front image but different backs. Naturally Pacific brings the heat with more die-cut action including a numbered card (#d /290) of another hockey Mike: Comrie. A numbered swatch of Jack MF Johnson plus a Cup-shaped jersey of Blue Jacket Zach Werenski (wait, do I need a "hockey Zachs" tag too?) close out the cards portion.

But we're not done just yet because we go big AND go home with this signed 8x10 of four-year Wolverine and former Leaf/current Oiler winger Zach Hyman! (#HockeyZachs) This is a beautiful, high-quality photo signed with a very legible autograph plus Hyman's jersey number. He's been very effective for Edmonton since signing with them back in '21, establishing career highs in all three big offensive numbers. Based on those stats it's no surprise that he's pottted an absurd three hat tricks this season!

Thanks again to Doug for all of these goodies that arrived in plenty of time for Christmas. As always I appreciate the huge variety among sports, players, and designs, and of course the quality of the goods. I don't have a lot to send your way just yet but will be working on it as usual.

Next time, another trade recap!

TCDB trade roundup: five more for fall

No theme today, just five more transactions while I work on covering the ones I haven't shown off yet. Let's go!

First up this evening is abendermsu, who's a fan of that MSU, the team my beloved Wolverines will be taking on a week from this Saturday night. I sent a mix of 1995 and 1996 Donruss baseball base and a couple Spartan cagers in return for this Wolverine bounty:

Cronenworth's 2022 Topps base is the lone baseball entry here, and I'm hoping he continues where he left off in the NLDS, though so far the Phillies are threatening to dominate the series. On the football side of things there's some good offensive firepower with WR Derrick Alexander, TE Devin Asiasi, QB Elvis Grbac (x2), and WR/PR/KR Desmond Howard all represented. The '98 Playoff Prestige SSD Hobby set featured a pretty nice design that lends itself well to multiple colors, even if they aren't maize & blue.

As usual this scan is mostly offensive players as well, though it's nice to get a DL cameo too. College Football HOF G Reggie McKenzie represents the oldest set here with his '81 Topps base, including a photo that makes the then-30-year-old look like he was in his 50s. The awesomely named Kwity Paye gets two new cards for his collection including a Michigan uni action shot of the star DE. Flipping back to offense there's a ton of skill crammed into three last players: RB Biakabutuka, WR DPJ, and RB Wheatley. Not bad!

The smallest deal you'll see today came from BrewerAndy, who took a handful of Brew Crew cards in return for these:

You'll see more of the '84 Tigers like the Big Wheel and Willie pop up again in this post. I keep (the younger version of) Pudge with my Tigers and love me some 90s inserts as well. Andy was a great source for a couple Brewers Police cards of Mike Matheny (1998 above and '95 below with Cirillo). And two more Griffeys from '04 Donruss tied this PWE up in a nice bow.

Next, I sent member capper14 a small baseball/basketball mix and changed things up by going for basketball and hockey in return:

The trio of basketball cards up top all star Franz "Mo's Brother" Wagner, and better yet they're all Michigan uni cards, in this case from 2021 Panini Prizm Draft. There's also a mix of UM Hockey guys in Felsner (a RC), Norton (x4), and WolverWing A-A-Ron Ward (who didn't mess up, and is also a RC). Side note: for probably like 25+ years I owned a little plaque with a signed version of that Ward, but too much sunlight from hanging on a wall faded the signature and card. Oh well.

And why not add to the Wings fun with a sextet of Stevie-Y cardboard? These are some great looking cards from 1993-94, especially the Leaf and Stadium Club offerings, in my opinion. I haven't added all of my Wings to TCDB yet but did so for Yzerman so I count 62 in my collection so far.

Next, though I sometimes avoid trades that have to be shipped to Canada, member Eriqulous, who leaves in nearby-ish Ontario, definitely made it worth my while. For a thick stack of '96 Fleer and a few other cards of guys he PCs, I got this Canuck-themed bunch:

The first seven cards here were all O-Pee-Chee needs, and they put a nice dent in some of my wants of that product. Simmons, Parrish, and Gibby all get a pretty good amount of exposure here, but I was especially excited to add new items of "The Bird" and yesterday's birthday boy Willie Horton. The  Canadian second-year of Ripken was a very nice get too, and I told Erick I was grateful that he included it. To those I added '87 Sportflics Team Preview cards of the Orioles (for Cal, of course) and Oakland (to add to my Tony Phillips PC). It's a very cool set and I think I've said before that I might just try to track down all 26.

Former UM/Twins P Gary Wayne represents the last of the baseball, and that's no ordinary '90 Fleer card you're seeing, but the Canadian version instead. I appear to have eight cards from the set with another 18 cards of PC guys still to locate.

The hockey content brought a really nice mix beginning with a fun new card of former UM player and coach (and Red Wing) Red Berenson from '91-'92 Future Trends. There's some cool inserts as well as some solid base. It's a bit hard to tell but the Morrison UD Choice card is the Reserve version with a cool holographic stamp background going on. Cammalleri's RC is also numbered /1650.

You just saw two of these three guys in the last scan, and they're back (along with Turco) in 2003-04 Pacific Atomic McDonald's form. Die-cuts plus food issues (I guess McDonald's is sort of food just like Denny's is, like, approximately food?) are awesome!

Finally this evening you get to see one of the biggest deals (in more ways than one) that I've made recently. Rockies fan mgratton proposed a deal to me on the first of September and after a week or two of counterproposals we came up with a trade I think we both really liked. I gave up a mix of some of the Colorado Refractors and other inserts from my Facebook collection purchase, a few hits I didn't care about (again, mostly Rox), and some other miscellany, and got this smorgasbord of amazingness:

The Abbott and pair of Frymans--Gold Rush and Sportflics!--are fun mid-90s entries. Griffey's only represented once this time but I'm plenty happy to let some of the others catch up to him. Gwynn was the big winner (Gwynner?) here with an outstanding 17 new items, many of which can be seen in the first two scans. I was glad to add food issues like the Post card and some lower-end but still cool inserts too.

Out of this bunch I think the Stadium Club Never Compromise insert is my favorite but the matte '96 Fleer base is a great piece. The last of his cards here is a 2011 Topps 60 Years of Topps insert that reprints his base from 1997, a set I've long admired, especially in the face of the poor base looks of the past 15-ish years. I also snuck a trio of new Larkin items in this deal, and the first of those is a 1990 boxed set issue.

Meanwhile this scan opens with his base from 1998 Zenith, the year with the "dare to tear" 5x7 inserts. I also grabbed five cool 90s inserts of Maddux, and you see four in this scan. The first is a '93 Pinnacle Team Pinnacle card pairing him with Mike Mussina from the AL. The way his '93 Ultra Award Winner scanned makes it look like a Panini Absolute card. And the reprint-ish item that ends his group here is a 2014 Topps Future Stars That Never Were, the most recently printed card in the bunch. I also snuck in a new Dean Palmer from 2003 Topps' HTA set. And then we have the first three out of nine Ripkens found in the package. He joins Gwynn in that Post set and I also added a total of four of his 1997 Burger King-issued cards. That set includes eight regular cards and the header so I'm on my way there.

This scan begins and ends with the other two BK Ripkens. Pudge gets another appearance thanks to 2003 Studio's beautiful die-cut/acetate Studio Stars set. The rest of the Gwynns include mid-90s goodness featuring a Bowman's Best base pairing him with speedster Brian Hunter for some reason. And Maddux's last appearance is a '95 UD Checklist.

Here's what I meant about the deal being "big" in more than one way. I knew the 1989 Topps Baseball Talk/LJN piece of Gibby was pretty large but when I added the '93 Donruss Masters of the Game Ripken to the trade--a set I didn't know much about--I didn't know what I was getting into. An oversized Dick Perez art piece? Yes, please!

I shouldn't leave out the smaller stuff, though. That includes four new 1990 Topps Doubleheaders of Abbott, Larkin, Tram, and Sweet Lou. All of them are in pretty reasonable condition including their plastic holders/stands, and of course I love any representations of the latter two players' '78 Topps RCs.

I also landed Topps coins of Gwynn (1988), Ripken ('87 and '88), and Tram ('88) to continue the oddball theme.

Since I still had a few more cards to show off, why not include the other sides of the Doubleheaders, all of which are the '90 Topps appearances of those players?

Finally, we'll end the post with four cards that went toward my set wants for '94 and '95 Finest. Thomas, Molitor, and Boggs are all HOFers so I consider them solid additions here. Those wantlists now sit at 18 and 39 cards missing, respectively.

Well, that was definitely a lot to cover from "just" five trades, but sometimes that's the kind of quantity and quality you can get with your TCDB deals! I'll try to be back with more soon.

2021 trade package #3: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

I'm back tonight with the last January trade package that I have in-hand (so far, at least!), another Canadian special from buddy of the blog Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store. For some reason he's generous enough to keep sending me packages even though I've owed him at least one for a while. Fortunately I just got one on its way to him, so things will start to even out a bit. I didn't hit him in time for Christmas (or anyone else, for that matter) but I think this one will get there before his birthday on 2/14 (send him some cards of guys born that day!).

Anyway, this was another multi-sport bonanza with a few things I knew would be included but mostly some outstanding surprises:

Let's begin with the Wings stuff, a nice red and white quartet. I'm glad the Applicator, a former Spartan, is no longer in Hockeytown, but his base card along with Nielsen's from 2020-21 Upper Deck looks fantastic. I'm glad UD is still around in some capacity because their designs are top notch! Turgeon's still a work in progress but his Upper Deck Ice RC, #d /999, fits in with the comments I just made about the brand's design chops, with Ice being a particularly cool motif. And then there's The Captain, a.k.a. The GM. The star of a Team Canada Juniors card made by--who else?--Upper Deck has his work cut out for him in terms of a rebuild, but what a great moment it would be to see the guy who captained the Wings to their first title after a long drought do the same from the front office!

Switching over to Michigan Basketball stuff, I enjoyed checking out this bevy of recent guys. NCAA tourney legend Jordan Poole leads the way with six cards, finally getting his collection to double digits, and that's thanks to a cool quartet of rookie-year issues, some of which are Panini Chronicles-related, and a nice Contenders college action card. A Nik "Sauce Castillo" Stauskas RC with a bit of a hardwood feel is another cool highlight. 

Then we get to a trio of cool hits. Poole features on a die-cut relic from a Crowne Royale set, a product known for that design feature. The Hoops sweater card where Jordan co-stars with Iggy Brazdeikis had me laughing and was perfect for ugly sweater season. And then there's one more Michigan uni card to enjoy: a Contenders auto (my first card of any kind, in fact) of Kentucky transfer Charles Matthews, who headed north to Ann Arbor for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. Those were coach John Beilein's last two years coaching Michigan and included reaching the title game in '18, losing to Villanova. I'm not the biggest basketball fan but this is a really nice bunch!

The football side of things was less voluminous but no less effective. On the left is LB and #60 overall selection by the Pats last year, Josh Uche. Doug's responsible for sending me my first card of the four-year Wolverine who put up 14.5 sacks his last couple years in Ann Arbor. That would be his RC from last year's Rookies & Stars product. I've never been a fan of that product's design but will definitely overlook its faults since it used a college photo!

The other is my 12th relic (and 35th hit overall) of former UM WR Amara Darboh, and it also hails from Panini's R&S. While he didn't turn into much in the NFL he was lots of fun to watch in college and I continue to enjoy collecting him. Darboh's no longer with Seattle, the team that drafted him, but since pretty much all of his cards were made during his rookie year of 2017, that's who he's pictured with here, and it comes with a nice Seahawks blue swatch.

And now we get to the usual main event: Michigan Hockey. Compher, Hughes, Hyman, and Trouba are all from the previously mentioned '20-'21 Upper Deck product that I'm already in love with, though Trouba's card features one of the funniest miscuts I've ever seen! I only have three cards of former RW David Oliver, but then he doesn't have many to chase, so this 1995-96 O-Pee-Chee card is great. And Patch makes yet another SCFtDS trade appearance out of '19-'20 UD Overtime, with the Vegas winger responsible for three goals in just six games this season.

Hockey hits? Hockey hits! The Ebbett (auto #6, hit #8 overall) is an ITG stickergraph, but the designers did a nice job of hiding that fact by placing it on an image of a rink. Andrew has an outstanding signature and even includes his jersey number, which is always cool. He played four full years in Ann Arbor starting my sophomore year so I believe I got to see every one of his home games and I'm glad to collect cool stuff of his like this auto.

Werenski's a much more recent guy, and the young d-man is fun to watch even if he plays for Columbus. He hit the 20-goal mark last year in his fourth season, and that was in fewer games than the others! This UD Game Jersey includes a very nice royal blue swatch from a Blue Jackets sweater, and I can't think of a better color for the former Wolverine's first hit in my hockey collection!

Last up here is a card Doug teased me with, and for once the scan may actually do it justice. Found in an Upper Deck product called Chronology, it's a gorgeous Jacob Trouba patch auto done up in the style of UD's Masterpieces, with a beautiful red border tying it all together. That goes especially well with his patriotic jersey colors now that he's with the Rangers. Oh, and the gold pen auto isn't bad either. I've got some nice cards of the young star defensemen in my collection, but nothing approaches the sheer brilliance of this one, probably my favorite card in the whole package!

But we're not quite done. He had to send these latest traders in a larger than usual envelope to accommodate one more item he teased, plus another that I believe was a surprise:

Upper Deck's Be a Player product offered a set called Portraits in 2006-07, and the titular items could be found signed by one to four players. One of my favorite PC guys, Brendan Morrison, made the cut for the checklist, and the result is this beautiful 8x10 that features a nice action photo and a dedicated space for a nice, large signature. What a cool item, one that's begging to be put up on the wall in a place of prominence in my card room. Fellow favorite dude Marty Turco can also be found here so his has gone on my wantlist, and I was disappointed to discover that the Frozen Four-winning pair didn't get a dual card to themselves. Anyway, very cool of Doug to both acquire this for me and deal with the logistics of shipping it.

And if he was already doing that, well, in for a penny, in for a pound, right? I was totally surprised to see this awesome signed 8x10 of another guy who starred at Yost Ice Arena for a couple years I had tickets, 2005-06 and '06-'07: Jack Johnson. Jack was a blast to watch during his college days, a major force on the ice, even if he sometimes took stupid penalties. It was no surprise when the #3 overall pick from the '05 draft went pro after a pair of seasons, and he's enjoyed some ups and downs over a long NHL career.

This photo is signed in blue (naturally!) sharpie and is from game action against the Lake Superior State Lakers of the former CCHA, Michigan's longtime pre-Big Ten league.

This information from the back wasn't as helpful as I'd hoped so I'm not sure if it came from one of two '06-'-07 games (2/16/07 @ LSSU, 2/18/07 in Detroit) or a pair of away games in Sault Ste. Marie in November of 2007 the following season. Either way, it's a very cool piece and a nice addition to my collection of Michigan autographed memorabilia!

Doug, thanks again for an extremely cool package of stuff--you always manage to surprise me with some amazing cards, and sometimes other items too! I hope the envelope I just sent you gets there safely and quickly and that you're just as geeked about your latest haul from our ongoing deals!

With all my incoming trades covered for now I think next time you'll be seeing my first eBay pickup of 2021 before I get back to the rest of my 2020 COMC haul.

2019 trade package #30: Card Boarded

Once again I'm celebrating a Michigan Football win on a lovely (if chilly) Saturday, even if the team didn't play as well as expected.  And I'm doing so with another package from Paul who lives in Sterling Heights, Michigan.  

But wait!  It's not buddy of the blog Paul who runs Scribbled Ink, but instead Paul who runs Card Boarded!  This Paul contacted me letting me know he had some Michigan Hockey dupes to send my way, and I said sign me right up, because I love trading with new folks, especially fellow Michiganders, and especially especially anyone that has Michigan stuff I can use.

So on a day dominated by football but also marked by Michigan's second contest of the season on the ice, here's a look at all the great hockey stuff Paul sent my way:

It was a very Hockey Mikes kind of package, and I would have used that tag if it would have fit, but Paul sent me a nice variety of players so there wasn't room.  Cammalleri (1 new card, 71 total) and Comrie (14, 41) are two such players, and the latter definitely got a nice boost.  You'll see more of him in a minute, but this first bunch of five gives you a good idea of the range of years and sets spread throughout the mailer, especially Pacific and Upper Deck MVP.  Cogliano isn't a "Mike" but did get three new additions to his collection (46).

I mentioned Paul added 14 cards to my Comrie collection, and here's most of the rest.  Pacific makes a couple more quality appearances with designs I like--no surprise at this point in its run.  This scan includes the first of a number of Victory cameos you'll see in the next few, plus a shiny (a.k.a. difficult to scan but good looking) Parkhurst.  Jack Johnson (52) gets a newbie from UD, a brand also included in Comrie's count.

Here's our other Hockey Mike:  former Wolverwing Knuble (2, 24), pictured with his fourth (and sixth) team, the Flyers.  As you can see, 2007-08 MVP's base cards came with the silver signatures instead of making them an insert, which seemed pretty cool to me.  Then we get into another nice run for a single player:  John Madden (10, 29).  The three-time Cup winner (two with the pictured Devils, once with the Hawks) got a nice boost with this selection, including more Pacific goodness, Victory and MVP, and one of a couple appearances of a very cool UD Victory design, right down the middle.

After a couple more Maddens, from previously seen Victory and Ultra sets, we move on to a singular Al Montoya (17), the goalie for the first team I watched with student season tickets.  Then we go to one of my biggest hockey PCs in Brendan Morrison (11, 94), big enough that he has his own Google album in my collection.  Ranked #2 after a guy you'll see in a couple scans, he was also the beneficiary of many of the same sets we've seen already, which is a great thing since I like how they look.  2001-02 Topps makes its third and final appearance, plus there's the beautiful 2000-01 UD Vintage, once again, to its left.

Four more Morrisons lead to a singular cameo for Max Pacioretty (51) on a 2013-14 Score Gold parallel I'm surprised I didn't have (though I do have the base version).  It reminds me of the look Topps used to use on its own Gold inserts until recently.  Then it's back to the crease for yet another big player run:  Steve Shields (14, 31).  These were a huge boon to one of my smaller collections that I'm happy to be growing, and, as is often the case with goalies, there's some terrific shots.

Nothing against the rest of the cards you're seeing today, but this scan and the next are my two favorites, and I think you'll see why as you look them over.  The 2000-01 Pacific base that ends the last scan includes an outstanding photo, but that same year's Stadium Club design, leading off this one, can't be beat.  Then we're back for the Vintage design I keep mooning over, and the shiny Parkhurst look from 2003-04.

We'll get back to Shields in a minute, but first we have a couple other players to cover here.  The first is top PC guy Marty Turco (7, 126), who also gets some good crease shots.  He stars on one of the coolest cards in the whole envelope, a solid (acetate?) base card from a 2005-06 Upper Deck Trilogy subset numbered 092/599.  I don't think I'd see these before, but the Frozen in Time cards are quite thick, and the see-through aspect is always a plus.

Zach Werenski (9) then pops up on the newest card in his small collection.  We'll see if the Columbus D can score 11+ goals for the fourth straight season.

This penultimate scan is my other favorite because it includes some excellent looking stuff, plus everything's horizontal.  Comrie, Madden, and Morrison all return for their final appearances before we come to the conclusion of the Steve Shields show.  And what a show it is with some cool designs, including a sweet 2001-02 Atomic Premiere Date parallel of the already die-cut base set (#03/90) and my first Shields relic in nine hits:  a 2000-01 Black Diamond Game Gear goalie pad.  That's much cooler than the traditional jersey swatch and I think it's awesome.

Last up today is the remainder of the Turcos, and why shouldn't the #1 PC guy get to send us home?  His three horizontals are from 2002-03 MVP, 2003-04 Pacific's In the Crease, and the same year's SPx.  The Pacific insert somewhat reminds me of other inserts the brand did on the baseball end while the SPx design brings to memory the product's earlier emphasis on holograms.  Those are joined by a mini from 2001-02 Private Stock's PS-2002 insert.

Paul, thanks for reaching out and sending me some great looking, useful stuff for a bunch of my hockey collections!  I'll try to start piling up more Wings/Preds/goalies/etc. so we can do this again soon.