Life is Just a FANtasy...

Brad Ference
2003-04 In The Game Action -
NHL All-Star FANtasy Team Sets #495

It's funny how some things annoy me while other things offer amusement...

Never a fan of parallel sets (especially ones that are easily confused for the base set)...

Found this one in a re-pack years ago, and it caught my attention right away.

"In the game Action" has lots of great-looking cards.

Part of the reason I enjoy the card is the nostalgia of the Phoenix Coyotes uniform -
The funky green Kachina (in use from 1998-2003).

This is a really great jersey - Aside from the somewhat busy desertscape that isn't really visible in this shot (which probably makes it look better).

(They came out with a "Reverse Retro" version of the uniform in 2023, deciding that purple might suddenly spark the sales, but I digress...)




Back to the cardboard in question: Clearly stamped with an obnoxious silver foil logo of the 2004 NHL All-Star Game in Saint Paul, Minnesota

In my cynical adult mind, I assume they excess stock and decided to stamp the worthless pieces of cardboard with the All-Star Game logo right smack in the middle.
(rendering the card worthless? Or more valuable?)

Since the number of hockey fans in Phoenix is surely lower than the number of cards produced, they were unable to give them away so they ended up in re-packs.

This is purely my guess (and a bad one at that).

(If a card company s looking for advice on how to completely ruin a parallel set, check out Upper Deck MVP 2019-20 Silver Script for some inspiration)




Still, this card doesn't bother me because I could tell right away that the card was a parallel.
Therefore, it was relatively easy to look up.

It's actually kinda neat to have an oddity like this.
Now that I've confirmed what it is, some additional curiosity over where it came from.


2003-04 In The Game Action -
NHL All-Star FANtasy Team Sets
Total Cards: 624

Brad Ference
2003-04 In The Game Action -
NHL All-Star FANtasy Team Sets #495
(card back)

They must be relatively rare, because only about 5% of the images have been uploaded to TCDB.
(This certainly doesn't mean it's valuable, as they've done a remarkable job of flooding the market with incredibly rare cards of little value)


I'm going to stick up for this set because I like it. Overall it's fairly underrated.

True, the photographs may not be as epic as some of the one's we've come to expect from competitor Upper Deck...

But I'll give these cards a chance. I only have a handful of them in my collection, so it's not really a fair sample. Most seem to contain a photo that is scan worthy.


Just to add a bit of confusion into the mix, there's also a serial parallel set called "NHL All-Star FANtasy" (minus the "Team Sets" suffix).

Fortunately there's only 10 numbered copies of each card, so those particular specimens are highly unlikely to find their way into my collection. (The serial number is stamped on the front, in huge numbers beside the All-Star emblem to make the card even less desirable).

I'm Lovin It...

Mike Richter
1992-93 Upper Deck McDonald's #McD-25

Randomly picked up a few complete sets of McDonald's NHL Cards.

Always enjoy obscure card sets like these. With 25-40 cards total, quality control and attention to detail are important: All the cards have to look slick and cool.

Flipping through the 1992-93 Upper Deck McDonald's All-Star set, and this card caught my eye...

All of the goalie cards in this set are great, but I absolutely love this action shot of Mike Richter making a save- On Brett Hull, of all people. The puck is still suspended in the air, almost rolling off his goal stick.

Hull would be named MVP of the 1992 All-Star Game, while Richter defeated Vancouver's Kirk Maclean to earn bragging rights as the top goaltender in the skills competition.

The goaltending duel between Richter and Maclean served as a preview of things to come - Their respective teams would meet for a showdown in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, one of the most epic series in the modern era.

Richter was still wearing a regular helmet, and would soon don the Statue of Liberty mask that he's best known for. A goaltender with a Cooper helmet in an All-Star Game is just something you just wouldn't see today...

Brett Hull
1991-92 Topps #303

Just for fun, here's a Brett Hull card with a Mike Richter cameo. Richter looks thrilled to have Hull skating through his crease...

WTF Hockey Card: Vincent Dampousse (1990-91 Upper Deck #484)

Vincent Dampousse
1990-91 Upper Deck #484

Vincent Damphousse's All-Star Card from 1990-91 Upper Deck.

"Damphousse scored four goals in the '91 All-Star Game, and earned MVP honors for the game."

There's just something about a giant car key with a Bud Light logo that makes me want to go cruisin' with an ice cold beer.

1991-92 Upper Deck High Series

(200 cards: 501-700)

Recently picked up the Upper Deck "High Series" from 1991-92.
Having never purchased a "factory set" before, I wasn't sure what to expect.

Figured the cards would be in order, and they were.
One stack, split in two, checklist in the middle, cards all facing inwards towards the middle, numbers towards the outside.

Includes a few players from the "largest trade" in NHL history... The ten-man deal on January 2, 1992 that sent Doug Gilmour to Toronto. (The only set I know of that features all 10 players with their new teams is 1992-93 O-Pee-Chee.)

(1991-92 Upper Deck #528 Gary Leeman, #609 Alexander Godynyuk, #558 Doug Gilmour)

As I filed the cards into their permanent home inside a binder, I scanned some of my favorites:

Jarmo Myllys
(1991-92 Upper Deck #537)

From the looks of it, he's not 100% sure where the puck is, but it's still a cool photo.
The brand new San Jose Sharks logo shows up prominently on his jersey, while
a Blues player hungrily buzzes around the net, looking for a rebound....
Back of the card is also dramatic, with both players appearing to track an airborne puck.

Scott Stevens
(1991-92 Upper Deck #539)

Among the recently traded players, is Scott Stevens with New Jersey.
Almost looks like he's getting punched in the face...
It's unwise to provoke Scott Stevens.
It's just so weird seeing him in a NJD uniform without a "C" on his jersey.

Mark Messier
(1991-92 Upper Deck #545)

Messier, now with New York.

Great slapshot photo full of intensity.
The power of Pepsi, no doubt.

Rod Brind'Amour
(1991-92 Upper Deck #547)

Flying through the air, looks as if he's just had his legs taken out from under him.

Darryl Sydor
(1991-92 Upper Deck #549)

A young Darryl Sydor...
I tend to think of him as wearing either 5 or 55, but here he is wearing number 40.
Every championship team needs unsung defencemen like Darryl Sydor. He appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals on four separate occasions, and was on the winning side twice.

Grant Fuhr
(1991-92 Upper Deck #553)

Grant Fuhr Makes a save as a Maple Leaf.
Note the shiny, glassy ice in front of him.

Pat Lafontaine
(1991-92 Upper Deck #556)

I just noticed that Pat Lafontaine looks a bit like Danny Briere...

Tom Draper
(1991-92 Upper Deck #552)

Kinda like the simplicity of Tom Draper's mask...
Even though it obviously doesn't match the Sabres' colors.
I believe this is what he wore with the Winnipeg Jets.
From this angle, it reminds me of Ken Dryden's painted mask...

Dominic Roussel
(1991-92 Upper Deck #583)

Not sure if it's a stretch or a save...
A flyer leg is visible, facing away... And a player stick is near the butt of Roussel's goal stick.

Craig Billington RC
(1991-92 Upper Deck #559)

Great profile picture of Devils' goaltender Craig Billington.

Rollie Melanson
(1991-92 Upper Deck #575)

Before "Ollie the Goalie", there was Rollie the Goalie...
I'm sure he probably hated being called that.
My first thought when I saw the photo was that's a tall goaltender...
But apparently he's only 5'10.

Nicklas Lidstrom CL
(1991-92 Upper Deck #584)

This is actually the Young Guns checklist card...
Great portrait of a young Nicklas Lidstrom.

Jeff Odgers
(1991-92 Upper Deck #597)

Action in front of the net...
With another well-placed Sharks logo.





Now this is an All-Star lineup...
Gretzky, Hull and Robitaille played on a line together in the 1991 All-Star Game.

(1991-92 Upper Deck #621 Wayne Gretzky, #622 Brett Hull, #623 Luc Robitaille)

Had considered leaving proper spacing in the binder for series one, if I'm lucky enough to obtain it...
But decided to keep these 200 cards in a small binder, with card 501 in the first slot. I'm glad I did, because this is exactly how these three cards ended up, all together in the same row.

WTF Hockey Card: Joe Mullen (1990-91 NHL Pro-Set #343)

Looking through old hockey cards, it's hard to find ones that are perfectly centered... Some designs lend themselves to more leeway than others. As long as the centering is decent, it'll do if I need it to complete a set...  But this has to be the most off-centered card in my collection...

Joe Mullen
(1990-91 NHL Pro-Set #343)

In this Joe Mullen All-Star card from 1990-91 Pro-Set, you can see just how far the card was cut to the left... Mullen's number 7 is almost at the right edge... And on the the left side, the edge of another card's photo can be seen.

Joe Mullen
1990-91 NHL Pro-Set #343(Card back)

Looks worse on the back. The card itself isn't even square! The Pro-Set, NHL and NHLPA logos are even sliced through. Normally it would piss me off that one of my favorite players' cards is screwed up like this...

Joe Mullen
(1990-91 NHL Pro-Set #343)

Fortunately, I have a better quality double of the same card in my binder. In the bottom right corner of the photo is the opposing player's leg that can be seen on the bottom left of the defective card.

What would normally be an undesirable piece of cardboard becomes an oddity within my collection, with a cool insight into how the cards were made.



Probably the next worst cut card in my Pro Set collection is this one...

Petri Skriko
(1990-91 NHL Pro-Set #306)

The card is square, but poorly top aligned. The circle for the team logo and the NHL logo just barely avoid being sliced. The bottom of the card even has part of the yellow stripe from the card beneath it on the sheet.

Petri Skriko
(1990-91 NHL Pro-Set #306 card back)

The card number narrowly avoided being chopped... As did the Pro Set logo.
On the far right, is just a tiny portion of the black circle that surround the player photo.