Pack Break: 6 Packs of 1996-97 Leaf Limited Hockey

I posted Sunday about a recent trip to SMP Sports Cards in Grapevine.  I mentioned picking up six packs of hockey cards that looked VERY lonely and after I posted the piece, I decided to open them up.  I was really happy with what I got, from a PC standpoint.

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I hit this insert in the second pack I opened and was ecstatic!  I don’t go out in search of his cards, but I do keep any Eric Daze cards that I come across.  He debuted with the Blackhawks during the 1994-95 season and played four games.  During his first full season (1995-96) he scored 30 goals and looked like he would be the next big thing in Chicago.  After Jeremy Roenick (my favorite player) was traded to Phoenix in August 1996, Daze was cursed by being named my new favorite Hawk.  Unfortunately, Daze had steady back issues throughout his career and never quite reached the heights that some expected.  He was able to play just 601 games, but scored 226 goals in those games.  He was just 30 years old when he played his final NHL game.

LINK: What Happened to Eric Daze?

LINK: Chicago Blackhawks Legends: Eric Daze

LINK: Former Blackhawks star Eric Daze feeling good again

Taking any personal attachment out of it, I love this card for a couple of reason.  I love that it’s a card from almost 20 years (holy cow, I am old)  and if it’s not an “acetate” card, it’s the same concept.  I also love that it’s “rare” and numbered out of 3500.  Ah, how naive we were not too long ago.  We thought that was rare!

1996-97 Leaf Limited #86 Jeremy Roenick
1996-97 Leaf Limited #86 Jeremy Roenick

Speaking of Roenick, I just had to show this card because I don’t understand the photography.  I have no problem with using pictures that aren’t in the rink, but there’s just something that I don’t like about this card.  Perhaps it’s the fringe coming off of the handlebars.

1996-97 Leaf Limited Rookies #10 Jonas Hoglund
1996-97 Leaf Limited Rookies #10 Jonas Hoglund

I can’t recall if it was a weak rookie crop that season to know if Jonas Hoglund was an appropriate choice for this ten-card insert set.  I can say that I’ve never heard of him.  This was about the time I started college and I stopped following hockey for a few years.  Jarome Iginla is the only big name in the set that I could have hit anyway.

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I’m not sure what the odds on the gold parallels were, but I ended up with one of them in six pack.

The other cards from my packs:

7 – Wayne Gretzky

9 – Patrick Roy

15 – John LeClair

17 – Paul Kariya

18 – Paul Coffey

22 – Bill Ranford

23 – Scott Stevens

29 – Peter Forsberg

34 – Vitali Yachmenev (2)

38 – Pierre Turgeon

39 – Petr Nedved

48 – Grant Fuhr

51 – Craig Janney

56 – Joe Sakic

63 – Peter Bondra

64 – Teemu Selanne

65 – Mark Messier

71 – Doug Weight

72 – Stephane Fiset

82 – Brian Leetch (2)

85 – Mario Lemieux

87 – Martin Brodeur

88 – Vyacheslav Kozlov

All-in-all, I was very happy with how my packs turned out!

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