More Random Cards...

Sandis Ozolinsh
1997-98 SP Authentic #41

My first card from the very first year of SP Authentic...
Future incarnations of the product would be brilliant white, while the early years are "Ooh, shiny!".

The "SP Authentic" brand effectively replaced the original brand simply known as "SP" (which had three releases, 1994-95, 1995-96 and 1996-97)..

Since it's debut in 1997-98, SP Authentic has been released every single season.

Dominik Hasek
2018-19 SP #95

Seems they revived the regular "SP" brand in 2018-19 & 2019-20, after an absence of 22 years.

The card numbers and player photos are the same, but the SP Authentic set has considerably more insert cards...

My research suggests that it's basically a more affordable alternative to "SP Authentic". Perhaps the regular SP is more suitable for those of us who simply enjoy to collect the base set.

Tomas Vokoun
2010-11 Upper Deck #117

I'll always think of Tomas Vokoun as a member of the Nashville Predators, but here he is with the Florida Panthers.... Either way, he still has a vicious cat painted on his mask.

Just noticing that Vokoun catches right.

Eric Fehr
2013-14 Score #529

Always enjoy cards where a player has just scored a goal... This one has it all, from ecstatic fans to dejected goaltender.

Picked Up Soviet AK-27 (Alexei Kovalev - 1996-97 SP #104)

Alex Kovalev
1996-97 SP #104

1996-97 SP
Total Cards: 188

My very first card from the third-ever release of Upper Deck's SP brand.

From the back of the card:

"The first Soviet player taken in the first round of an NHL Entry Draft (1991), Kovalev is poised to put up career numbers for the Rangers in 1996-97."

It's a relatively good-looking design. The diagonal deadspace on the bottom left seems off balance, and always throws me off, however.

Team color also plays into the design. (Blue looks awesome for the New York Rangers... But the maroonish brown chosen for Buffalo looks weird)

I wouldn't mind collecting at least one of the early SP sets... This one might be a candidate, although the player's first name is more legible than their last name... Should be the other way around.

Alex Kovalev
1996-97 SP #104
(card back)

While I do enjoy the card design, I feel the back is a tad busy. Earns bonus points for including two alternate player photos.

Don't usually approve of seeing a player get knocked down on their own card (but for Kovalev, I'll make an exception).

SPecial Consideration (Tony Granato - 1995-96 SP #56)

Tony Granato
1995-96 SP #56

1994-95 SP
Total Cards: 195


Another card from the very first SP set. (Not to be mistaken for the 1994-95 Upper Deck SP Insert Set within the main Upper Deck set... Let the confusion begin!)

I really like the front design of these cards... Simple and classy. Just thrilled that I finally got one of these things to scan properly (without rainbow glare coming off the gold foil).

Tony Granato
1995-96 SP #56
(card back)

For some reason, I enjoy the back of the card even more. Large alternate snapshot, with a neat, appealing design. I even think teal, beige, brown and black color scheme works quite well.

Might be a good dose of nostalgia, but I love oldschool Upper Deck.

While I normally prefer to collect the flagship UD set, I think I'd prefer this SP set, as far as 1994-95 is concerned. (Actually had a chance to score a complete die-cut set. Still debating the decision, but I prefer rectangular cards)

As a set builder, only thing I dislike is the tiny card number (which could also be a bit more towards the top left). But I can understand keeping the card number small, not to take away from the beauty of this card design.

Feelin' Used?

Jason Pominville
2007-08 SP Game Used #89

2007-08 SP Game Used
Total Cards: 200

The "Game Used" brand name seems to imply that every card contains game-used material... (Of course only an idiot would expect that to be the case)

The set does contain a ridiculous number of insert sets, all of which appear to be jersey cards, letters, numbers, etc.

Someday, they might even claim that the actual rolls of cardstock were physically in an NHL arena while a game was taking place.

Either way, I don't mind settling for the faux jersey and stitching graphics printed on cardboard, which actually look kinda cool.

Wouldn't normally seek out cards from these sets, but just happened to find a random base card from SP Game Used in a re-pack.

Jason Pominville
2007-08 SP Game Used #89
(card back)

The back of the card is solid, and does use an alternate player photo. Needs a bit more space between the stats and bio...

Always nice to offer the jersey number and position - Although in this case, it's white on yellow (Could have had a black outline, a shadow or something). Overall, would give this card design a mark of "B" or even "B plus".

Jason Pominville scored 293 goals and 434 assists for 727 points in 1060 career games.

Know The Enemy...

Roman Oksiuta
1996-97 Skybox Impact #3

One more LA Kings goalie cameo. Had to do some research to identify the netminder who makes an appearance on this card...

Byron Dafoe
1995-96 SP #70

I believe it's Byron Dafoe, who wore number 31 & 34 while playing for the Kings. Just wish I had one of his actual cards that shows him wearing pads with stars on them.

Jere Lehtinen
1996-97 Upper Deck #398

Byron Dafoe also makes a cameo appearance on this 1996-97 Upper Deck card. In this cool snapshot, the goaltender and opposing player each make a frantic attempt to get a handle on a loose puck.

Byron Dafoe
2002-03 O-Pee-Chee #45

On my search, I also stumbled upon this card of Byron Dafoe with Boston. It's actually a pretty good looking card. Note the stars on his blocker.

Party Like It's 1994-95...

Rob Niedermayer
1994-95 Pinacle #168

Barely have any cards from 94-95 in my collection...
(Too busy playing hockey to collect hockey...)

Picked up a random mixed binder with a bunch of cards spanning 40 years...
(everything from 1989-2019)

Bryan Marchment
1994-95 Score #107

Going through the plethora of sets and years was a bit tedious, but it was fairly entertaining at the same time.

Al MacInnis
1994-95 SP #104

Part of my fascination with cards from 1994-95 is that I'd seen all this stuff advertised back in the day, but never actually got my hands on it. Now I literally have a handful from each set.

1994-95 was the first year for Upper Deck's SP brand. The cards look great (but the gold foil looks terrible when scanned).