Freaky Mask Friday (Ondrej Pavelec)

Ondrej Pavelec
2015-16 Upper Deck #196

Looking up at the right angle to get a look at the fighter jet on the mask of Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec.

Watch For Flying Pucks!

Mike Green
2015-16 Upper Deck MVP #50

Yet another instance of one girl looking up, the other looking down at her phone.

Jakub Voracek
2015-16 Upper Deck #391

Once again, we have a girl paying attention, the other distracted by her device.

What if a puck were to fly over the glass...?

Mike Raffl
2015-16 Upper Deck #397

Is that the puck?!
That HAS to be the closest I've ever seen a puck to the camera lens on a hockey card.

Jonathan Drouin
2015-16 Upper Deck #166

Another closeup on the puck - And it's from the same set!

Initially thought this was a Toronto card.

(Can't wait until Tampa Bay realizes they need to fix their broken color scheme...)

Holt 45 (+25)...

Brayden Holtby
2015-16 Upper Deck #438

Yet another goalie card that I could have sworn that I'd scanned and uploaded.

Definitely meant to, as I really like this card.

It's not even an action snapshot, and it looks cool.

400 Posts!

Henrik Lundqvist
2015-16 Upper Deck #382

"Clang!"

Have managed to scan and upload (at least!) 400 of my favorite hockey cards.

That's approximately 0.02% of my entire collection.

Dominik Hasek
1999-00 O-Pee-Chee #9

"Chainsaw and Hockey Mask" is just a fun project that increases my own enjoyment of the hobby, and serves as a quick easy place to store the never-ending tidbits of useless trivia.

Two of the best all-time NHL goaltenders prove that a bit of luck can make all the difference...

More Stanley Cup Stitchwork...

Jonathan Toews
2015-16 Upper Deck #44

Definitely a great looking card with Stanley Cup Finals action.
Somehow, I thought I'd already scanned this one...

Action at the side of the net, partially visible goaltender and a crowd of people in the stands.

Bonus point for badges visible on both teams.


This was only the second trip to the Finals for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks would win the series in six games.

Bird Watchin'

Ryan Whitney
2006-07 Upper Deck #159

Have just half a dozen cards from this particular set.

Spotted a Looney Toons Roadrunner ad with the Penguins on the road...

Really don't care what product he's shilling for.
Instantly becomes one of my favorite new acquisitions.

Beep! Beep!

Glen Wesley
1991-91 Upper Deck #370

Reminds me of this card, with an ad on the boards that features Peanuts cartoon character Snoopy playing hockey, dressed in full goalie gear.

Scot Stevens also makes a cameo appearance.
Two defencemen mixing it up... This has to be unusual on cardboard, I would think.

Taylor Hall
2015-16 Upper Deck #75

Add another cartoon character to the list...
It's Popeye The Sailor Man!

Who You Gonna Call...?

Cam Talbot
2015-16 Upper Deck #329

It's Freaky Mask Friday!

This time it's Cam Talbot with the Edmonton Oilers.

Normally I dislike cards where the player is just stepping onto the ice...

But getting a half-decent look Cam Talbot's Ghostbusters mask, this card instantly becomes a favorite within the set.

Is that Slimer on top of his helmet?

Seeing Double...

Alex Pietrangelo
2015-16 Upper Deck #157

Hadn't found any non-duplicates in a while, but finally got a 2015-16 Upper Deck card that I don't already have.

Original Fix...

Daniel Paille
2014-15 Upper Deck #266

Can't get enough of the Original Six...
Suddenly obsessed with modern cards featuring these rivalries.

Two more, from 2014-15 Upper Deck.

Boston and Detroit... At least we can see a Red Wings logo this time... Although we can't really see much of the Wings' players, it's still a neat shot.

Justin Abdelkader
2014-15 Upper Deck #316

Detroit and Toronto... Absolutely love this snapshot. Possibly my favorite card in the entire 2014-15 UD set...

Cards like this are the reason why I collect 'em in the first place... If only the puck were visible.

The guy in the crowd wearing neon green looks like a tennis ball from this angle.

Justin Abdelkader
2015-16 Upper Deck #318

The 2015-16 Upper Deck card also features the same matchup with Toronto at Detroit, this time with a wider angle of the rink.

Four Red Wings are visible in the shot.

Dan Cleary
2008-09 Upper Deck #321

Detroit at Chicago.
Action in front of the Hawks net.

Upper Deck Champ's

Evgeny Kuznetsov
2015-16 Upper Deck Champ's #74

2015-16 Upper Deck Champ's
Total Cards: 327


Had never even heard of this set... Apparently, the Upper Deck Champ's brand existed for only three seasons. (200 cards in 2008-09, and a 580 card set in 2009-10)

Seems they were attempting to capture the essence of "Old Time Hockey", something they've more or less accomplished with their "Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee" brand.

Evgeny Kuznetsov
2015-16 Upper Deck Champ's #74
(card back)

This is the first (and only) UD Champ's card that I've held in hand.  Would be interested to see some cards from the very first year (2008-09).

Cool Cards (2015-16 Upper Deck)

Marc Staal
2015-16 Upper Deck #129

A couple of recent acquisitions from 2015-16 Upper Deck (Series I).

The fans in the background seem to be amused by Marc Staal playing a game of "leap frog".

John Carlson
2015-16 Upper Deck #188

I just love the intensity on this card... Carlson driving hard around the net, while a member of the Islanders is determined to cut him off.

How's My Portfolio?

Ryan Getzlaf
2015-16 Upper Deck Portfolio #51

2015-16 Upper Deck Portfolio
Total Cards: 340

Never even knew there was such a brand called "Upper Deck Portfolio"
Apparently it only existed for a single season, 2015-16.

Ryan Getzlaf
2015-16 Upper Deck Portfolio #51
(card back)

Card number 51 from this set is Ryan Getzlaf... Coincidentally, Getzlaf wore number 51 during the first couple seasons of his career. Has remarkably spent his entire career with the Anaheim (Mighty) Ducks.

Rod Brind'Amour
2015-16 Upper Deck Portfolio #184

Gotta feel old when the guys you remember as hockey players are becoming hockey coaches...

Rod Brind'Amour
2015-16 Upper Deck Portfolio #184
(card back)

Things go full circle... One-time captain of the Carolina Hurricanes, Rod Brind'amour now stands behind the Canes' bench as their coach.

2015-16 UD Canvas

Devan Dubnyk
2015-16 Upper Deck Canvas #C163

Not necessarily a fan of this particular subset, although I simply couldn't pass on a goaltender card.

Now that I think about it, I've kinda gotten away from pursuing any type of chase cards... So I guess UD Canvas is near top of my list, as far as modern insert sets go...

Randomly Inserted...

Nathan MacKinnon
2015-16 O-Pee-Chee #223
(Rainbow Insert)

My favorite thing about re-pack hockey cards is the chance to add something random or interesting to my collection... Especially if I've never seen a single card from that set.

Didn't even realize this was a parallel card... Problem with modern sets is that sometimes the entire set is glossy, holographic or reflective...

2015-16 O-Pee-Chee
[Total Cards: 600]

Nathan MacKinnon
2015-16 O-Pee-Chee #223
(Rainbow Insert - Card Back)

As a bonus, the back of the card is clean & white instead of dull cardboard.

Kyle Okposo
2018-19 O-Pee-Chee Platinum #122

A base card from O-Pee-Chee Platinum. I now have ten from this set in my collection.

2018-19 O-Pee-Chee Platinum
[Total Cards: 200]

Kyle Okposo recently scored his 500th NHL point.

After chasing the puck down the length of the ice, he was able to poke it past the defenceman, walk in all alone and score.

To make it even more exciting, Okposo's goal was part of a sequence where the Buffalo Sabres scored 3 unanswered goals in 91 seconds...

Jonas Hiller
2015-16 UD Full Force #35

Had never even heard of Full Force. Seems that there was only one release of this particular Upper Deck hockey brand.

2015-16 Upper Deck Full Force
[Total Cards: 123]

Card design is OK. Certainly not my favorite style, but there's nothing I really dislike about it. Team logo, player name and position are neat and legible on the front of the card, vitals on the back. At least they didn't completely overdo the graphics. 

Cool Cards: Frederik Andersen

Frederik Andersen
2015-16 Upper Deck #2

I really like this card... Frederik Andersen outstretched in a save attempt, eyes tracking the puck, with excited (Chicago Blackhawks) fans in the background...

For all we know, the shot may have missed the net, but it's still a great photo.

Frederik Andersen
2015-16 Upper Deck MVP #16

A Lego man is visible on Andersen's his mask in this snapshot.

(Only spotted it because of the graphic below, depicting Andersen's Lego Batman mask...)

It's not the same mask as above, but it would be awesome to find a card with a closeup shot of the Lego Batman mask.

2015-16 Upper Deck Portraits

A random mixed binder yielded a couple random insert cards: 2015-16 Upper Deck Portraits...
[Total Cards in Subset: 110]

Phil Esposito
2015-16 Upper Deck Portraits #P-51

The first one is Phil Esposito. He still holds the record for shots on goal with 550 shots in a single season (1970-71).

One of my favorite hockey quotes comes from Espo:

“It’s not how hard you shoot, how accurate you shoot, but how quick you get the shot off.”
-Phil Esposito

Other Legends included within this set: Lafleur, Gretzky, Brodeur, Lemieux and Bobby Hull.

Sam Brittain
2015-16 Upper Deck Portraits #P-108

Sam Brittain, drafted by the Florida Panthers (4th round of the 2010 draft) has yet to see any NHL regular season action. Still, I'm always a fan of cards featuring a closeup of a goalie mask.

In today's game, even the prospects don a fully painted team mask...

Cool Card: Corey Crawford (2015-16 Upper Deck #40)

Corey Crawford
2015-16 Upper Deck #40

While I've tried to avoid collecting "new" stuff, sometimes it's a package deal when you pick up a huge binder of random cards...

Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks lunges across the crease (with a number of Chicago Bulls Championship banners hanging from the rafters).

Cool Cards: Martin St Louis & Duncan Keith

Martin St Louis
2005-06 Upper Deck Power Play #81

More cards that remind me of each other, ten years apart...

Martin St Louis was a big part of the Tampa Bay Lightning cup winning team in 2004.

Duncan Keith
2015-06 Upper Deck #41

Ten years later, Duncan Keith celebrating a goal in the Stanley Cup Finals, helping the Chicago Blackhawks capture a third championship in six years.