2002-03 Quest for the Cup: Box 1

I will say that not only did I enjoy finding these two boxes at a Target store on the cheap, but they were really fun to open .

It also didn't hurt that the collation appears to be really good (or I was really lucky).   Here's the spoils from the first hobby box:

The Chasing the Cup inserts are seeded at 1:5 packs.  With a 24 pack box, it appears that 5 of these is just about right.  The cards look great, I like that the colors match the team color as well.  Even better for me is to see guys in old uniforms, such as Thornton in a Bruins uni, and Heatley in a Thrashers jersey. 

The Calder Contenders insert set is seeded 1:13 packs, so again getting 2 of these was just about right on the money.  I know that 3rd jerseys are/were a big thing in the NHL, but sometimes the design isn't worth the money spent on it.  The Oilers 3rd jersey of the gear with an oil drop in the center may be one of the worst alternates ever.

Now, not only was this my favorite insert set of the 3, but I beat the odds in this box as well.  The Raising the Cup insert was seeded 1:9 packs, and to pull 4 of these in a box of 24 is a good haul.  Not only did I pull 4 of them, but I managed to grab 3 HOFers, and a Peter Forsberg as well. 

I pulled the standard 5 rookie cards, numbered out of 950.  It's kind of funny to see Dennis Seidenberg in a Flyers uniform, I'm sure that the way he's played the past couple of years in the playoffs for the Bruins has made the Flyers braintrust wish they still had him.

 
The entire 150 card set also has a gold parallel, #'d out of 325.  As you can see, I didn't fare too badly with the cards I pulled, especially with the Rick Nash Gold RC.  I had forgotten about Marc Denis, whose career finished about 5 years ago.  Turns out that the 2002-03 season is one that Denis was very busy with.  Marc led NHL goaltenders in GP, minutes, shots, saves and goals allowed.

I like the jersey cards because they are understated.  Nothing flashy, and the swatches happen to be colored, not the standard white pieces we generally see.  10 years later, the Brent Johnson leaves a little something to be desired, but the Modano and the Blake cards are both good additions.   These are seeded 1:9 packs, so I did better than I should have, getting 3 of these in the box.

7, 31, 69, and 98 are the only 4 cards I need to complete the 100 card base set.  No doubles at all.  With my poor luck in putting together sets in modern products, opening a product like this was really fun. 

2 boxes worth of fun.   I'll post the next box in a day or two.

Thanks for reading, Robert