Inserted Wings...

Ray Sheppard
1994-95 Topps Premier Finest #6

Find an occasional Insert Card inside random re-packs...
Including a pair of Detroit Red Wings, both from 1994-95.

The first one is Ray Sheppard, from 1994-95 Topps Premier Finest. Card number 6 of 23.

Dino Ciccarelli
1994-95 Parkie Gold #65

This one's from 1994-95 Parkhurst. One of the gold "Parkie" parallels.

Dino Ciccarelli in his favorite spot - Camped out in front of the opposing team's net.

Two of my Finest, Cheapest Cards (part 2)

Sergei Zubov
1995-96 Finest #171

1995-96 Finest
Total Cards: 191

I like the previous year's design just a tad more than this one... This one still looks cool, but I just don't understand why the word "DEFENDERS" needs to take up so much space... I actually thought this was an Insert Card.


From the back of the card:

 "Sergei will stand up to the puck carrier at his blue line to force the play. If he creates a turnover, Sergei will quickly get involved in a transition game."

Sergei Zubov
1995-96 Finest #171
(card back)

An alternate shot of the player on the reverse side, taking up half the card - Which isn't necessarily a bad thing... The stats and bio are quite good, though a bit difficult to read over the background.

Career stats are there, and there's something interesting that I've never seen before - The line that would normally contain the stats from last season has been replaced by the players statistics at that year's NHL All-Star break. When this set was printed, that info would have been more up-to date than other cards released that year.

Two of my Finest, Cheapest Cards (part 1)

Mark Tinordi
1994-95 Finest #25

1994-95 Finest
Total Cards: 165

More cards covered with a layer of plastic film. Both of them happen to be defencemen from two different years of the same brand, Topps Finest.

From the card front:

"TOPPS FINEST PROTECTOR
PEEL AND REMOVE COATING"

Just neat to have a couple of these relics in my collection (especially with the plastic intact), although I don't think I'd be interested in collecting an entire set or anything.

Mark Tinordi
1994-95 Finest #25
(card back)

Overall, the design is solid. Even the back of the card is colorful, interesting, has all the vitals and manages to squeeze in an alternate photo. It does all this without appearing cluttered. They only list the previous season's stats, but the card has enough visual appeal to make up for it.

The only thing I dislike is the placement of the card number. As a set builder, I feel that the card number belongs in the top left corner.