The brothers Staal and some other numbers

It's been a bit since I've posted, something really disturbing happened at work last week and I haven't wanted to take the time to sit down and write a longer post about it.  I still really haven't decided whether I want to write about it yet...

So I stayed away for a few days until I got my COMC order in and decided to split it up into a couple of posts. 

The order came in today, and I kind of surprised myself with the amount of serial numbered cards that I had ordered for my Hockey SNI set.

I was actually able to group the cards together to discuss.  These two SP essentials cards from the 2010-11 SP Authentic set feature a couple of long time veterans of the NHL.  Mike Cammalleri returned to LA, where he started his career back in 2002.  Dan Boyle retired before the 2016/17 season after spending 18 years in the NHL and playing in over 1000 games. 

More veterans are in this trio of 2011-12 Panini Contenders, including the big off season free agent signing in Toronto, Patrick Marleau.  It's hard to believe that Patrick has already been in the league for 20 years, and if he stays healthy and plays every game over his 3 year contract in Toronto, he'll be in the top 5 all time in games played. 

I remember being disappointed when the Leafs bought out Mikhail Grabovski's contract a few years back.  He hasn't played a full season in the NHL since, and he's now one of those players who teams use to circumvent the salary cap. 

I like the trophy contenders cards from the 2012-13 Panini Contenders set.  None of the three players pictured have won the trophy that appears on their card.

Shiny always works.  Both of these cards came on the cheap, so I was glad to add some shiny to the envelope.  As you can see from the first few scans, I concentrated on teams that I didn't have a lot of cards for, such as Anaheim, Winnipeg and Montreal.  I still have a long way to go for the set, as I only have 270 out of the 1200 cards so far; however I'm trying to keep the teams relatively even as I go along.

This was a happy accident, purchasing 3 of the 4 Staal brothers.  Eric and Jordan are well known to many hockey followers, but I had totally forgotten about brother Jared, who only has 2 career NHL games to his credit.  Jared is currently playing in the Elite Ice Hockey League in the UK, for the Edinburgh Capitals. 

It's always funny how things work out.  Jordan moving from talent rich Pittsburgh to Carolina to play with his big brother Eric, only to have Eric leave the team a few years later in a trade to New York, and now to Minnesota on a free agent deal.  Eric seems to have found his scoring touch again in the mid-west, with 65 pts. last season, and 2 points in 2 games so far this year.

Jordan, who won one Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh, has now spent a half dozen seasons in Carolina, and was named co-captain of the team at the beginning of this season.  I'm curious now that he and his brother are playing in opposite locations again if Jordan may wonder what would have happened had he stayed in Pittsburgh for the last 2 Cup runs.

It was also interesting to learn that both Jordan and Eric were both selected in the same spot in the draft, 2nd overall.  Marc-Andre Fleury was selected first ahead of Eric, while Erik Johnson was selected first ahead of Jordan. 

I'm glad to be able to knock some more numbers off the list.  With hockey season in full swing, I'd like to keep knocking more out...

Thanks for reading, Robert