SHARK WEEK (Day 8): Fish Heads, Fish Heads...

Evgeni Nabokov
2003-04 Upper Deck #163

It's the Shark Week Edition of Freaky Mask Friday!

Evgeni Nabokov 's Shark mask features what appears to be a skeleton feeding (or baiting) a Shark with fish heads.

Evgeni Nabokov
2003-04 Topps #168

Another card from the same year.
The teal-colored border really goes well with the Shark's uniforms.

Evgeni Nabokov
2004-05 Upper Deck Artifacts #83

2005-06 Upper Deck Artifacts
Total Cards: 242
(100 base cards, the rest are serial numbered, with rookies distributed through redemption exchange)

Only have six cards from this set - And FOUR of them are goaltenders!

Back of the card makes mention of his shutouts in previous seasons...
Nabokov managed an incredible 9 shutouts in 2003-04.

Four-Ten...

Mark Recchi
1992-93 Topps #410

En Guarde!

In this snapshot, it almost appears as if the players are dueling with their hockey sticks.


Recchi's facial expression also adds to the enjoyment of this card.

Don't Wear it Out...

1990-91 Topps #59

Just another common junk wax card that I didn't already have...

A welcome addition to my collection of 1990-91 Topps.

Will probably eventually end up buying the entire set for five bucks - But it's still fun to slowly acquire more cards, a few at a time.

This Vancouver team card also shows a player wearing number 10, but it isn't Pavel Bure.

I instantly tend to associate number 10 with the speedy Russian Rocket...



Thought it might be Geoff Courtnall, because I watched an old playoff game (possibly Los Angeles against Vancouver) from 1991 where number 10 was worn by Geoff Courtnall...

The pictured player is likely Brian Bradley, who wore number 10 with the Vancouver Canucks from 1988 to 1991.

A trade in January 1991 sent Brian Bradley to Toronto.

In March 1991, the Vancouver Canucks acquired Geoff Courtnall from the St Louis Blues in a big grade (that also included Sergio Momesso and Cliff Ronning).

Geoff Courtnall had been number 9 with the Blues... When he joined Vancouver, 9 was occupied by Andrew McBain, so Courtnall took the now vacant jersey number 10.

It appears that Geoff Courtnall chose jersey 14 the following season, when that number became available. (Number 14 had been worn by free agent Steve Bozek who joined the new expansion team San Jose Sharks)


This would once again leave jersey number 10 vacant when rookie Pavel Bure debuted the next season.

Pretty sure the NHL has a rule that the same player cannot change numbers midseason.

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...

Case of Mistaken Identity (Vyacheslav & Viktor Kozlov)

Always thought there was only one Kozlov in the NHL... Vyacheslav Kozlov (aka. Slava Kozlov) won two championships with the Detroit Red Wings. Didn't realize that Viktor Kozlov was quietly putting up points for teams like the Sharks and Panthers...

Vyacheslav Kozlov
2007-08 Upper Deck #423

Vyacheslav Kozlov (Left Wing)
Born: 1972
Drafted: 3rd round 1990 (45th overall)
Playing Career: 1992-2008
Teams: Red Wings, Sabres, Thrashers
Numbers Worn: 13

Scored 853 points in 1182 career games.

Vyacheslav Kozlov
1993-94 Topps Premier #494

Vyacheslav Kozlov was a member of the Stanley Cup winning Detroit Red Wings in 1997 & 1998. Was also on the receiving end of a devastating Scott Stevens bodycheck, known today as a "predatory hit".

Viktor Kozlov
1995-96 Parkhurst International
Emerald Ice #515

Viktor Kozlov (Center)
Born: 1975
Drafted: 1st round 1993 (6th overall)
Playing Career: 1994-2009
Teams: Sharks, Panthers, Devils, Islanders
Numbers Worn: 47, 25, 22

Scored 573 points in 897 career games.

Viktor Kozlov
2002-03 O-Pee-Chee #132

Viktor Kozlov received votes for both Lady Byng and Selke Trophies. Impressive when a player can be considered for both awards.

John Tonelli Quebec?

John Tonelli
1992-93 Stadium Club #159

Organizing my early 1990s Topps Stadium Club cards, found John Tonelli playing for the Quebec Nordiques.

Didn't realize that he finished his career playing 19 games for the Nords.

A four-time Stanley Cup winner with the New York Islanders,
John Tonelli scored 115 points in 172 career playoff games.

Thunder Road...

Daren Puppa
1994-95 Select #45

Suddenly noticing all kinds of Tampa Bay Lightning VS New York Islanders within the cards of my collection...

Possibly because both teams were together in the Atlantic Division from 1993 to 1998, and a big chunk of my collection falls within that era.

Is that an Islander glove in the foreground?

Chris Gratton
1995-96 Topps #70

Always liked this card. Actually looks as if the defender is trying to get out of the way.

Patrick Flatley
1995-96 Topps #139

Just happened to pull an extra copy of this card from a re-pack...
As one of my favorite cards from the set, just had to include it.

Brad Richards
2003-04 O-Pee-Chee #221

Brad Richards won the Con Smythe trophy as Playoff MVP during Tampa Bay's first Stanley Cup victory in 2004.

Noah Welch
2009-10 Upper Deck #92

Possibly my all-time favorite Lightning uniform is the white "away" jersey from 2007-08, which were also used as third jerseys until 2011.

Shutout Club...

Mike Richter
1994-95 Topps Stadium Club #181

Another "subset" within the base set, this time featuring goalie shutouts from the previous season in 1994-95 Stadium Club (card numbers 178-190 of the 270 card set).


From Beckett magazine (June 1995 - Issue #56):

"Hockey historians will likely look back on 1993-94 as the Year of the Goalie. Just how good was the netminding? A puckstopper had to post at least three shutouts during the 1993-94 season to make this 13-card subset"

Patrick Roy (card #178) and Dominik Hasek (card #179) each had 7 shutouts. Darcy Wakaluk had 3 shutouts (card #187).


Mike Richter had 5 shutouts during the 1993-94 season.
Not to mention a Stanley Cup Championship with the Rangers.

Ron Hextall
1994-95 Topps Stadium Club #182

Also with 5 shutouts is Ron Hextall.
Still find it odd to see Hextall in a New York Islanders uniform.

Front and back, this is a really great card. Definitely hope to acquire more from this subset, possibly even the entire 1994-95 Stadium Club.

Ron Hextall
1994-95 Topps Stadium Club #182
(card back)

Was curious exactly how Hextall came to leave and return to the Philadelphia Flyers.

June 1992: Flyers trade Hextall to Quebec as part of Eric Lindros deal
June 1993: Islanders acquire Ron Hextall for Mark Fitzpatrick
September 1994: Flyers re-acquire Ron Hextall in exchange for Tommy Soderstrom

1992 Playoffs (Video Victory)

Sergei Federov
1991-92 Topps #401

History was made during the 1992 postseason series between the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota North Stars.

With the North Stars leading the series 3-2, Game 6 went into overtime.

From Wikipedia:

"Video replay was used to decide a playoff game for the first time in game six of the Detroit–Minnesota division semifinal.

Sergei Fedorov of the Red Wings appeared to hit the crossbar behind Minnesota goalie Jon Casey during the first overtime, but after the North Stars iced the puck immediately afterward, referee Rob Shick called for a video review, which determined that the puck had entered the goal just below the crossbar and caromed off the frame at the back of the net. Fedorov was awarded the goal, giving the Red Wings a series-tying victory"

As the technology was relatively new, the commentators were talking about how it would be something if a video review were to determine the outcome of a playoff game. Today it's just the standard. Pretty much everyone playing in the NHL today grew up in the age of video replay.

The Wings would go on to win the series in Game 7.

Mike Modano
1992-93 Fleer Ultra #96

From Wikipedia:

"This was the final playoff series played by the Minnesota North Stars. The next time that the Stars franchise made the playoffs was in 1994 when they were known as the Dallas Stars. Game six [1992] was the final playoff game played at the Met Center."

Ice Meets Metal...

Bryan Berard
1999-00 Topps Chrome #78

Wouldn't go out of my way to acquire Topps Chrome, but it's always neat to have a few...

Especially when it's a particularly good snapshot of an Original Six matchup.

Topps Realm...

Michal Handzus
1999-00 Topps #191

Really starting to like the 1999-00 Topps set...
Only have a handful of cards so far.

Can just barely see the puck through the nameplate, but it's still a great snapshot.

Manages to squeeze five players onto a horizontal card featuring the St Louis Blues in enemy territory.

Robert Svehla
1999-00 Topps #154

Defenceman Robert Svehla was part of the Florida Panthers team that went all the way to the 1995-96 Stanley Cup Finals.

His name always makes me think of Sheeva from Mortal Kombat 3 (released in 1995).

Club Cards...

Brendan Shanahan
1999-00 Stadium Club #106

1999-00 Stadium Club
Total Cards: 200

Damn... Had never actually seen any cards from this set.

Found a nice little stack for my collection.

Very first card in the deck was an airborne Brendan Shanahan, hell-bent on getting a shot off with the goaltender down and out.

Approximately 85 cards in total, which is nearly half of the set.
Simply could not get over the photographs... So many amazing snapshots.

Pavel Bure
1999-00 Stadium Club #9

Unsure whether Pavel Bure has put the puck in the net, or whether the goalie managed to grab it. Either way, it's a great-looking card.

In addition to the amazing photo, I couldn't help but notice the New York Islanders' goaltender wearing number 28. Not a common goalie number for this time period, so I had to look it up...

Seems that it would belong to Felix Potvin (his usual number 29 was already occupied by defenceman Kenny Johnsson).

Chrome Dome...

Nicklas Lidstrom
1999-00 Topps Stadium Club Chrome #10

1999-00 Topps Stadium Club Chrome
Total Cards: 50

Normally scoff at parallel cards for ruining the hobby...
(Can even blame Bettman for ruining the actual sport itself)

Topps Stadium Club Chrome is a 50-card parallel set of Topps Stadium Club. (Not to be confused with the completely unrelated Topps Chrome)

Found this one within a bulk acquisition, along with a copy of Nicklas Lidstrom's base Stadium Club card.

Featured players' card numbers don't line up with the main set beyond card number 10...

Lidstrom's cards just happen to have the same card number.

Nicklas Lidstrom
1999-00 Topps Stadium Club #10

1999-00 Topps Stadium Club
Total Cards: 200

The regular base card from Stadium Club.
Bonus point for having Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood in the picture.

"Old Time Hockey"

Peter Forsberg
2003-04 Topps C55 #1
(Full Length Variation)

2003-04 Topps C55
Total Cards: 155

Hidden within a bulk purchase of cards was a random handful of 2003-04 Topps C55.

Combined with a simple, old-time border design, it seems like player photographs have been rendered to make them seem appear as if they were illustrated.

For the most part, they look pretty good. I'm not keen on pursuing the entire set just yet, but would definitely like to find more of these.

Petr Nedved
2003-04 Topps C55 #39

One of my favorites... I just find it amusing to see a Nike logo on an old-fashioned card design.

It's also funny to consider that these are inspired by a set of cards originally designed to help sell tobacco - Introducing kids to the joys of hockey card collecting while getting their nicotine fix.

Mario Lemieux
2003-04 Topps C55 #66
(Closeup Variation)

Had collected a few of these back in the day, including Mario.

Mario Lemieux
2003-04 Topps C55 #66
(Full Length Variation)

In addition to the closeup shot, I was aware that variation cards existed for Forsberg, Lemiux, Nash and Kovalchuk (among others, ten in total).

As a set builder, these variations drive me nuts... But since I'm not actively collecting this set, I was pleasantly surprised to find this "full length" shot, which is also conveniently numbered card 66.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere
2003-04 Topps C55
Award Winners #15 of 16

The team that loses in the Stanley Cup Finals is often forgotten... That's not the case with Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. He was THE story during the 2003 playoffs, and received the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP for his efforts. Really glad to be adding this one to my collection.


Somehow, I was under the impression that Ron Hextall was the only previous winner to be a member of a losing team... A total of four goaltenders and one player have received this honor:

Roger Crozier (1966 Detroit Red Wings)
Glenn Hall (1968 St Louis Blues)
Reggie Leach (1976 Philadelphia Flyers)
Ron Hextall (1987 Philadelphia Flyers)
Jean-Sebastien Giguere (2003 Anaheim Mighty Ducks)

(Reggie Leach of the Flyers is the only non-goaltender to win Playoff MVP in a losing effort)

1996-97 Topps NHL Picks - O-Pee-Chee

Bernie Nicholls
1996-97 Topps NHL Picks
O-Pee-Chee #131

Because the hobby wasn't nearly confusing enough at the turn of the century, this particular 1996-97 set had Topps produce the odd numbered-cards, while Fleer released the even numbers.

To make things even more interesting, this one's a shiny silver insert card from what I believe is an O-Pee-Chee parallel set.

An insert card, which appears to be a parallel of the main set. (As usual with shiny cards, the card looks much better in hand than scanned)

(card back)

My collection is without an actual card of Bernie Nicholls in a Sharks' uniform...

Somehow, they predicted he would score 75 points with his new team...

Coming off 51 & 40 point seasons with the Hawks, he managed 12 goals, 33 assists for 45 points in 1996-97.

Speak of the Devil...

Peter Sidorkiewicz
1991-92 Pinnacle #234

Seldom seen without a mask, this photo of Peter Sidorkiewicz looks a bit like Claude Lemieux...

Claude Lemieux
1992-93 Topps #43

Coincidentally pulled Claude Lemieux (1992-93 Topps) from the same re-pack.

Peter Sidorkiewicz
1991-92 Pinnacle #234
(card back)

Back of the Sidorkiewicz card (1991-92 Pinnacle) has a nice snapshot of what seems to be a glove save.

Flashing The Leather (Goalie Glove Saves)

Wendell Young
1993-94 Topps Premier #166

Just felt like scouring my collection for some nice glove saves.
Love this one, done with style.

Frank Pietrangelo
1993-94 Parkhurst #352

Not your ideal glove save, but I'm pretty sure he got it.

Ken Wregget
1995-96 Topps #190

A sweet save by Pens backup goaltender Ken Wregget.

Brian Boucher
2002-03 O-Pee-Chee #55

Brian Boucher of the Flyers with a nice underhanded catch.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere
2002-03 Upper Deck #2

Playoff MVP Jean-Sebastien Giguere scoops this one up.

Pekka Rinne
2009-10 SP Authentic #23

Casual no-look grab by Pekka Rinne.

Jon Gibson
2016-17 Upper Deck #1

Pretty sure this one just hit his glove... I don't think he knew where the puck was.

2003-04 O-Pee-Chee & Topps

Jamie Langenbrunner
2003-04 Topps #248

Have recently become interested in collecting an entire set from 2003-04 O-Pee-Chee or Topps...

Total Cards: 340

It would be the very last year for these brands... (Unless you count the OPC cards that are now produced by Upper Deck)

Zigmund Palffy
2003-04 Topps #260

When the CBA expired and the lockout ensued, Upper Deck pretty much took over the hockey card industry, swallowing OPC and forcing Topps out of the market.

Just happened to notice that 2003-04 Topps is ranked as one of the top 100 sets of all times according to the people who rated it on TCDb.