SPlurging on myself

 I never buy high end stuff. I want quantity of cards. But that doesn't mean I don't want to get the other sets, I just...don't. Usually. Earlier this month I was at my local card shop and decided to splurge on a box of 2022-23 SP Game Used. I always liked SPGU in the NBA, and I had never opened any in the NHL. I thought about it after the fact and I realized I last opened a pack of this brand in 2005, so it was nice to change that. 

First card out was the Red parallel of Marco Rossi. The SPGU set is weird because the base cards are lower numbered, the parallels are more common. Base cards are numbered to the player's jersey number, while the Red parallel is the player's age plus 200. Kind of strange but ok. I didn't actually get a base card from this box. 

Next was the Throwback insert of Pyotr Kochetkov. This uses the design of (I think!) 2000-01 SP Game Used, but I'm not 100% sure because I don't have any cards of the original design. This guy is a good goalie and has some great soundbites too. 

There are multiple layers of Red parallels, and this is the best one available- autographed jersey. Well at least I think it's the best one. This is a confusing set, haha. 

One of the more spectacular cards I've pulled in hockey, this dual patch is the last card in the production- 35 of 35. Although these are both Penguins players and patches, this is actually an All-Star card, since these are from the All-Star Game skills competition. At least to me it is. This is the Gold parallel of the All-Star Skills Dual insert. 

As if that wasn't good enough, I pulled a single All-Star Skills Fabrics insert as well! 

New Grooves is a different insert, and this is the Red Jersey Parallel of it. I have no idea what the basic version looks like, but reading the insert odds told me that's what this is. 

Finally, we end on a Purity insert of Marc-Andre Fleury, one of the most likable guys in the sport, and my Mom's all time favorite player. That's seven cards, even though the box advertises 6. In the fine print on the back it says some boxes will contain seven cards and I got one of them! Very cool. 

So, since I enjoyed the 2022-23 set so much, I did a little looking and found a box/pack of 2021-22 SPGU on sale, and decided to get one of them too. 

First up with the Throwback insert of Tanner Jeannot, using I believe the 2005-06 design. 

A Tanner Jeannot hot pack! Next card up was actually the only base card from either of the two boxes, SN to his #84 and also using holofoil stock. 

This Blue Autograph parallel was next, and I do believe this is my first Vegas Golden Knights autograph! To VERY briefly recap: I got into hockey because I wanted to see the Golden Knights logo, and got hooked on the sport. So naturally they are my top West team and I will always root for them- unless they are playing the Rangers. 

I really love these Banner Season inserts, and this is the first one I've ever pulled myself! Pasta is a great player too, and one of my favorite non-Rangers. He literally was late coming out for this very game because he wanted to hear the end of Aqua's "Barbie Girl" on the radio in the locker room. How can you not like that?

This is the Red Jersey parallel, medium tier between regular Red and Red Autograph/Jersey as shown in previous box. 

Finally, a Purity Gold parallel of insert of Benoit-Olivier Groulx.  Only 6 cards in this box.

Both are more than I'm usually willing to spend for 6 or 7 cards, but I really like these, and don't really regret the very rare splurge on myself. 

Black History Month Hockey Spotlight: Quinton Byfield

 Only one new addition to this Spotlight series this year, and that's Quinton Byfield, young star on the Los Angeles Kings. The second overall draft pick a couple of years ago, he suffered some injuries at the start of his career but has recovered now and become a key part of the Kings squad. I'm not a huge fan of the Kings so I have not spent a lot of time watching him play but he seems very good. 

I have 11 cards of him, of which 8 have been scanned, and I am going to post them all. 

This card is actually my newest addition, from 2021-22 Ice, and this card is much nicer in hand than it is in scans. It's die cut and sparkly. These inserts were one per blaster. 

2021-22 Parkhurst #329

2021-22 Topps Now #256. I believe this was my first card of him. 

2021-22 Upper Deck #488. I have not pulled too many of the big name Young Guns, but I was lucky enough to pull his from a pack myself. 

2021-22 Upper Deck Star Rookie Box Set. UD has brought back the Star Rookie sets over the past several years and I really enjoy them. For many of the players it's my first or second card of them. 

2022-23 MVP and...

2022-23 MVP Blue parallel from the factory set. Both cards #198.

2022-23 Topps #232

Hopefully by next year I'll both get some more and get some of them scanned. 

Black History Month Hockey Updates

 I have not been writing or scanning much lately, but I have not been inactive in the hobby. I spent most of January working on my Excel stuff, and I got that finished- finally- and for the first time ever I now know exactly what I have in my collection...for everything and everyone. How cool is that? It was a lot of work and left me more than a little burned out, but I just have to maintain it now going forward, which I will make sure I do. 

Feeling like writing, the first priority had to be my annual series where I spotlight Black NHL players in my collection. In previous years I've written about PK Subban, Jarome Iginla, Anthony Duclair, Ryan Reaves and K'Andre Miller. Here is a look at how my collections of them expanded in the past year. One thing to note...I had numbers for each of them that were provisional. I considered the numbers correct to the best of my knowledge at the time, but now I am 100% sure that the numbers are correct. Provided I didn't make any mistakes. 

I only added two cards of P.K. Subban to bring my totals to 47 cards. I actually had the number correctly listed for him last year. Of the 47 cards in my collection, 39 have been scanned, and only one of the two I added have been scanned to date:

His base card from 2022-23 O-Pee-Chee, #297. 

Next is Jarome Iginla, who like P.K. only saw me add 2 new cards during the year, bringing his total to 44, of which only 26 are scanned. And just like P.K., I've only scanned one of the two. 

From 2023 National Hockey Card Day. 

Anthony Duclair only had one new card added since last year, bringing my total to 19. I did not get it scanned yet. it's his base card from 2021-22 Upper Deck. 

Ryan Reaves also got two cards added, bringing my total of him up to 11. I only got one of them scanned, but it's a great one:

His Super Script level 2 Parallel from 2022-23 MVP, SN 17/25. I do not yet have any cards of him with the Wild or the Maple Leafs. 

Finally, we have K'Andre Miller, who I had 4 cards of last year, and now have 5. I only added one, and it's not scanned yet, from Topps Now. 

When I began this series three years ago I didn't foresee the slowdown in new card additions that was in my future, but this is certainly not the kind of update that is very encouraging. Maybe next year will be better.