1993-94 Upper Deck McDonald's All-Stars

The 62nd National Hockey League All-Star Game festivities are set to happen this weekend. Now who's excited!? *tumbleweed rolls by* Okay okay, so there seems to be a little negativity towards the All-Star Game over the past several years or more but to be honest I still genuinely enjoy it.

The break from the regular season games is nice and there's something warming about seeing all the top players in the league sharing the same ice surface for the weekend before they begin tearing into each other, fighting for that last playoff spot.

#McD-23 Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens

The 1992-93 hockey season was an unforgettable one. Upper Deck produced a 33-card set for McDonald's Canada based on the 1993 NHL All-Star Game. The set contained 27 base cards and six hologram-type cards honoring some of the most exciting players in the league at the time. The holograms were randomly inserted in the four-card packs along with instant win prizes that pertained trips to games, autographed pucks and sticks, etc. Also randomly inserted were redemption cards for oversized (4" by 5 1/2") Patrick Roy base cards that were limited to "just" 150,000 copies.

Upper Deck has confirmed that the unnumbered checklist card was short-printed. Kirk Muller has a corrected error card in the set as well, it is distinguished by his stick blade being partially cropped out. Also it's notable to mention that the set does not include Wayne Gretzky who captained the Campbell Conference.

 #NNO NHL All-Star Fantasy Pack Checklist

#McD-01 Brian Bradley, Tampa Bay Lightning

#McD-02 Pavel Bure, Vancouver Canucks

#McD-03 Jon Casey, Minnesota North Stars

#McD-04 Paul Coffey, Detroit Red Wings

#McD-05 Doug Gilmour, Toronto Maple Leafs

#McD-06 Phil Housley, Winnipeg Jets

#McD-07 Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues

#McD-08 Jari Kurri, Los Angeles Kings

#McD-09 Dave Manson,Edmonton Oilers

#McD-10 Mike Modano, Minnesota North Stars

#McD-11 Gary Roberts, Calgary Flames

#McD-12 Jeremy Roenick, Chicago Blackhawks

#McD-13 Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings

#McD-14 Steve Duchesne, Quebec Nordiques

#McD-15 Mike Gartner, New York Rangers

#McD-16 Al Iafrate, Washington Capitals

#McD-17 Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins

#McD-18 Pat LaFontaine, Buffalo Sabres

#McD-19 Alexander Mogilny, Buffalo Sabres

#McD-20 Kirk Muller, Montreal Canadiens

#McD-21 Adam Oates, Boston Bruins

#McD-22 Mark Recchi, Philadelphia Flyers

#McD-23 Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens

#McD-24 Joe Sakic, Quebec Nordiques

#McD-25 Kevin Stevens, Pittsburgh Penguins

#McD-26 Scott Stevens, New Jersey Devils

#McD-27 Pierre Turgeon, New York Islanders

#McH-1 Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins

Before the start of the Game, there was a tribute to Mario Lemieux, who was in attendance but could not play due to his treatments for Hodgkin's Disease. Mario's 1992-93 hockey season is nothing short of a storybook.

#McH-2 Teemu Selanne, Winnipeg Jets

Selanne entered the NHL in 92-93 and completely crushed the rookie record books; obliterating the previous markers for most goals and points scored by a rookie. He also set records for most goals, points and consecutive games with a goal in Winnipeg/Arizona franchise history - all of which still stand today.

#McH-3 Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings

Robitaille set league records for most goals (63) and points (125) in a season by a left winger. With Gretzky injured for most of the season, Robitaille assumed the captaincy and led the team in scoring, playing a key role in helping the struggling Los Angeles team clinch the playoffs. The Kings would reach the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history.

#McH-4 Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins

#McH-5 Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawks

#McH-6 Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks

Ed Belfour captured his second Vezina Trophy that 92-93 season posting a record of 41-18-11.

#McD-23 Patrick Roy Jumbo LTD Ed MVP 150000, Montreal Canadiens

Here's my original pack-pulled Patrick Roy oversized card from '93 in all it's cellophane glory. I probably thought this was going to be worth a fortune when I was a kid but you can pick it up still in the original wrapper for a few bucks.

This set will always hold a special place in my collecting heart as they bring a large amount of nostalgic value to the table when the cards were cheap and people had no idea what a rookie patch auto card was.

2013-14 Score Jumbo Box

Over this past weekend, I picked up a 34-pack jumbo box of 2013-14 Score Hockey at a discounted price. I've liked this set since it's initial release; the checklist is solid and the photography gave Upper Deck's flagship a run for its money that year. Besides, you can't really go wrong with picking up a product that contains the Double Rookie Class.

#105 Andrew Shaw, Chicago Blackhawks

From the jumbo box I collated 267/650 of the massive base set + Hot Rookies SPs, no doubles. I'll throw up a wantlist in the near future and maybe reel in a few trades.

#TF-6 Patrick Kane The Franchise, Chicago Blackhawks

Score's 'The Franchise' insert set dates back to its sophomore release in 1991. Ever since Panini reintroduced Score into the market, the insert set didn't see much change in it's design which lead to a loss of interest in acquiring these cards for the most part. It would have been cool to see Panini throw it back to the original 'The Franchise' design featuring current players - I think it would have really worked.

#FG-1 Nail Yakupov First Goal, Edmonton Oilers

Sure, go ahead and call him the next 1st overall Draft bust but you have to admit he was a fun player to watch during his rookie campaign. He brought a ton of  enthusiasm and his goal against the Kings is probably one of the most thrilling Oilers moments in the last decade. It didn't work out for him in Edmonton so he was sent to the St. Louis Blues where he has been a healthy scratch for much of the season.

#556 Toews/Kane/Crawford/Bollig Team Leaders Gold Rush, Chicago Blackhawks

I pulled a small stack of these Gold Rush parallel cards - they're suppose to be a 1 per pack insert but there were a few packs in the box that contained up to three of them. I'm not a fan of parallels so the entire lot is up for trade if anyone is interested in putting it together.

#NC-12 Carey Price Net Cam, Montreal Canadiens

The 'Net Cam' insert set was introduced into the Score brand during the 2010-11 release of the product and Panini kept running with it year-after-year. With a lack of creativity in the theme and little change in the design of the card, it got kind of stale. When you compare the Price 'Net Cam' card from the first year of release to the card shown above, there isn't much of a difference.

#NC-12 Carey Price Net Cam, Montreal Canadiens (Reverse)

Despite the lack of uniqueness in the insert set, you couldn't do any better player-wise with pulling a Carey Price. I really liked the photo of Price on the reverse so I decided to give it a scan and post that as well.

#646 Dougie Hamilton Hot Rookies RC, Boston Bruins

If Hamilton isn't actually considered a number one defensemen right now, he will be soon. He has all the tools, and he's only getting better. He is leading the Flames in everything but minutes-played which will probably change much sooner rather than later, especially if his play from the first half of the season can keep up.

#647 Vladimir Tarasenko Hot Rookies RC, St. Louis Blues

Vladimir Tarasenko has been nothing short of a star in the NHL since his arrival. He has been a consistent contributor on the St. Louis Blues and an entertainment goldmine.

#SS-DO Dmitry Orlov Score Signatures, Washington Capitals

You receive one auto per jumbo box. I received Dmitry Orlov; undoubtedly the results could have been much worse given the weak checklist of the Score Signatures. Jeremy Duchesne, Linus Klasen, Mark Olver? Orlov has a nice looking graph at least and has been a mainstay on the Washington Capitals roster over the past two seasons.

 It wasn't a bad box for a low-tier product, I was pleased with the results. If I run into another one of these discounted jumbo boxes in the future I'll most likely pick it up and do some damage to the remainder of the checklist.

1995-96 Upper Deck Post Cereal Great Expectations

Lisa Marie Presley marries Michael Jackson, Kurt Cobain commits suicide, The Lion King, Tonya Harding attacks Nancy Kerrigan, OJ - It was 1994.

As you may recall, '94 was also the year in which the NHL held their first lockout, which in turn caused the 1994–95 season to be shortened to 48 games instead of 84. Due to the unpredictability of when or even if the season would go ahead, the players wanted to keep their legs fresh. Some guys decided to play in various European leagues, others decided to remain in North America. As the work stoppage dragged into its second month, the NHLPA organized the  "4-on-4 Challenge" (four players and a goalie on the ice) - a tournament played over  the course of three days from the 10th to the 12th of November 1994;  all the games were played in Hamilton, Ontario's Copps Coliseum.

The tournament consisted of 4 teams; Team Ontario (white jerseys), Team USA (red jerseys), Team Western Canada  (yellow jerseys) and Team Quebec (blue jerseys). Team Ontario would reign  as champions of the tourney, which raised more than half a million dollars to support the Ronald McDonald Children's Charities of Canada and minor hockey associations throughout North America

#10 Patrick Roy Montreal Canadiens

Upper Deck and Post cereals in Canada released a 24-card set titled, 1995-96 Upper Deck Post 'Great Expectations' showcasing a selection of players who participated in the NHLPA 4-on-4 Challenge. The cards featured color action photos with the player's name in a black bar at the top. The backs carry a color player portrait and stats.

These cards were inserted one per specially marked boxes of Post cereals. You could also receive a complete set of cards by mailing in proofs of purchases along with some coin. These factory sets included the NNO header and checklist cards.

There were also 500 Wayne Gretzky autographed cards randomly inserted into the cereal boxes. Lucky collectors who pulled the greatest cereal box prize of their lives had the opportunity to call a toll-free number and have their find certified by Upper Deck.

There are cards featuring Wayne Gretzky, Kelly Hrudey and Felix Potvin included in the set but to my knowledge they did not participate in the NHLPA 4-on-4 Challenge. Their photos were most likely taken for promotional purposes or as part of a instructional video.You can differentiate between the NHLPA jerseys used in the 4-on-4 Challenge and those used in promotional shoots by the "Ronald McDonald Children's Charities of Canada" patch sewn to the 4-on-4 jerseys. The NHLPA sweater that Hrudey and Potvin are sporting also contain a visible Reebok patch on the arm which the 4-on-4 Challenge jerseys did not have.

#1 Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins

#2 Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils

#3 Steve Duchesne, St. Louis Blues

#4 Vincent Damphousse, Montreal Canadiens

#5 Eric Desjardins, Philadelphia Flyers

#6 Eric Lindros, Philadelphia Flyers

#7 Joe Juneau, Washington Capitals

#8 Luc Robitaille, Pittsburgh Penguins

#9 Mark Recchi, Montreal Canadiens

#10 Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens

#11 Brendan Shanahan, St. Louis Blues

#12 Scott Stevens, New Jersey Devils

#13 Jason Arnott, Edmonton Oilers

#14 Trevor Linden, Vancouver Canucks

#15 Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawks

#16 Paul Coffey, Detroit Red Wings

#17 Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings

#18 Doug Gilmour, Toronto Maple Leafs

#19 Kelly Hrudey, Los Angeles Kings

#20 Paul Kariya, Anaheim Mighty Ducks

#21 Larry Murphy, Pittsburgh Penguins

#22 Felix Potvin, Toronto Maple Leafs

#23 Keith Tkachuk, Winnipeg Jets

#24 Rob Blake, Los Angeles Kings

Surprisingly, there isn't much information on the web in regards to the NHLPA 4-on-4 Challenge. There hasn't been any rosters shared online but after some research I've found that the following players also attended the charity event: Brett Hull, Joe Sakic, Mike Modano, Pat Lafontaine, John Vanbiesbrouck, Donald Audette, Dave Elllett, Glenn Healy, Pat Verbeek, Curtis Joseph, Russ Courtnall, Geoff Courtnall, Craig Janney, Dave Andreychuk, Sylvain Lefebvre, Jeff Norton, Darryl Sydor, Phil Housley, James Patrick, Tony Granato, Norm Maciver, Gary Suter, Doug Bodger and Ray Ferraro. I'm definitely missing a few names here but as I mentioned previously, information on the tournament is difficult to come by.