Johnny Boychuk: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

Two things here, yes this project is still not done, and yes, I am still very upset I didn't get to add to checklist this year. Who wanted to buy a bunch of 2019 Stanley Cup Champion Bruins cards anyway?

Johnny Boychuk never did get a certified auto in a Bruins uniform, so this one with a giant Bruins logo and an Avs jersey will have to do. Not an expensive card, but one that really hasn't shown up very often, and finally something I can remove from my saved searches.

Spoiling Myself, Bobby Orr Style

I recently ended up with a nice little bit of cash in my Paypal after doing some custom graphic design work, and instead of doing something responsible, or even saving it for the two boxes of 2016 Gypsy Queen I will inevitably buy, I sent out to spend it on cards I normally couldn't afford. Above was the first purchase and the one I wanted the most. I opened a few packs of Masterpeices when it came out and really liked it, and have always wanted an on-card auto of Bobby Orr, or Saint Robert as he is know in this house, so this was high on my list of "someday, maybe, I might own one of these" cards. It's absolutely gorgeous and is currently, and will be for a long time, displayed most prominently off all the cards in my collection.

Gregory Campbell: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto (Kind of)

Something I saw over at Baseball Card Breakdown, dressing up autograph cards. Gregory Campbell never got a certified auto with the Bruins, so here is the other option to peeling off the sticker, printing out a new card with a cutout to show the auto.

I am pretty happy with the end result, with the drawbacks being from the original card. First off the autograph is terrible, for a guy with 15 letters in his name, that is not much ink. Secondly, the auto is very close to the middle of the card, meaning it doesn't allow much room for the photo, and it's also off-center making it look even worse. The custom design is pretty simple, with a nod to the 1962 NFL set. The nice thing about this is, if I decide that I hate it, I can just try again and print a new one off. The original is below for comparison.

Black Friday Hockey

Not all Friday Black pick-ups, but all part of a COMC shipment that contained my Black Friday cards. Starting off with the most exciting card in the package. A dual sock relic of Pelle Lindbergh. This is not near as gross as it sounds as these are from the hockey socks (which are more of leggings really), and not actually worn on the feet. Lindbergh is a pretty tragic story, an All-Star and Vezina Trophy winner who died in a car accident at the age of 26. It does make you wonder where Upper Deck got hockey socks from a guy who last played in 1985. The only bad part about this card is that the sock portion really bulges out of the card, there is no real creasing, but it creates a really weird 3D kind of effect.

Mark Recchi: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

While I am not a huge fan of unlicensed cards, In The Game is an example of a company doing it right. The newest Bruins auto to the collection is Mark Recchi from the recently released "Lord Stanley's Mug" high-end set. The scan doesn't really do this card justice, it is a lot nicer in person with an on-card auto on foil stock. The only other two Recchi autos with Boston were redemptions that I don't think were ever made so I was pretty excited to see this card made 3 years after he retired. This is actually one of three Recchi autographs in the set, one for each Cup team he was on.

Recchi came to Boston at the end of the 2008-2009 season and stayed for two more seasons, winning the Cup in his final season, playing in 25 playoffs games with 5 goals and 14 points.

Chris Kelly: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

I really wanted all of these to be in Bruins jerseys, but guys like Chris Kelly don't really get certified auto's anymore. This is the only certified autograph that Kelly has, and it didn't set me back much so it's a worthy addition to the collection.

Kelly was traded to Boston by the Senators in February of 2011 and helped the Bruins win the Cup playing in all 25 playoff games with 5 goals and 8 assists.

Johnny Bucyk: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

A retro Bruins Stanley Cup autograph, of Bruins great and Hall of Famer Johnny Bucyk. The holder of most Bruins career records until Ray Bourque, Bucyk is still the franchise leader in goals with 545, and second in games (1,436) and points (1,339). A member of the 1970 and 1972 Stanley Cup teams, he also had his name engraved on the Cup in 2011 as a member of the Bruins front office staff.

These 2012-13 Panini Classics cards are among the best looking retro style sets I have seen, especially the card backs. Along with a legible and stylish on card auto, this ranks pretty high up in my auto collection.

Tomas Kaberle: Bruins Stanley Cup Custom TTM Auto Success

One of my goals for this year was to get a Through The Mail autograph. My most obvious choice was to try Tomas Kaberle as I needed his auto for the 2011 Stanley Cup team project and he was currently with Montreal so I could use Canadian postage for the SASE. So after sneaking into the post office so nobody would see this die-hard lifelong Bruins fan mailing something to 1909 avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal, the wait began. I had honestly forgot about this as it was mailed on January 24th, the Habs season had ended on May 9th, and Kaberle had lots of spare time only dressing for 10 games and none in the playoffs, but to my surprise the envelope I mailed away turned up in my PO box with the card inside and signed. Kaberle's lack of Bruins cards led me to try printing out a custom based on 1987 O-Pee-Chee baseball and it turn out pretty well, the scan is very light and the auto looks much better in real life with a thick black signature.Now to figure how to do TTM from Canada to the USA.

Zdeno Chara: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

In honor of hockey being back here is another 2010-11 Stanley Cup Champion team autograph, this time the Captain from the 2006-07 Be A Player Signatures set. This one is a part of the COMC mail-day and was just waiting for a reason to be posted, with the NHL coming back now seemed like a good time for a hockey post.

One of the league's elite defense men, Chara won the 2009 Norris trophy and was a finalist in 2011 and 2012. In the Bruins Championship season he lead the NHL in regular season Plus/Minus with +33 and in playoff with a +16 rating.

Daniel Paille: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

The "certified" auto's left in this project are almost done, and so far this has been the hardest to find, a 2010-11 O-Pee-Chee Signatures Daniel Paille courtesy of eBay. Listed as a short print, this is the first copy of this card I have seen and I was pretty nervous about getting it. Due to a move I was without internet access at home and this auction ended on a Sunday. So before leaving work on the Friday I put a max bid of $82.00 on it and hoped for the best. Come Monday morning at work I was happy to find I had won the auction for $24.50 shipped, a reasonable price in my books.

Paille was acquired by Boston from Buffalo two games into the 2009-10 season, the first trade of a player between the two clubs in franchise history. After playing in 74 games, scoring 10 goals with 9 assists in his first season in Boston, Paille only played in 43 regular season games due to injury and healthy scratches in 2010-11. Come playoff time Paille proved to be a valuable piece of a championship team, playing in all 25 playoff games with 3 goals, 3 assists while killing penalties and playing well in his own end. In game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Paille would have one of his best games, scoring a short handed goal and adding an assist in a 8-1 Boston victory.

Tim Thomas: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

2011-12 Panini Dominion Stanley Cup Championship Signatures

 NHL Hockey is currently on hold, but this project is not. I paid more for this that I wanted to and blew most of my October card budget on this card, but on receiving it, I am very happy with it. A super thick high end card with an on card auto picturing a bearded Tim Thomas holding the cup above his head. Thomas recently flaked out and is taking a year off, a decision that has been kind of a moot point with the lockout, but he will forever remembered for leading the Bruins to a Championship and becoming the second American to win the Conn Smythe, and for this save
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVY0qixzie8

Tyler Seguin: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

Tyler Seguin 2011-12 Ultimate Collection Ultimate Signatures

This is one that has eluded me for a while due to Seguin autos going for high prices, but this one was reasonable (30 bucks shipped) so I jumped on it. The Bruins drafted Tyler Seguin 2nd overall in the 2010 entry draft with a pick acquired in the Phil Kessel trade. He spent his rookie season with the Bruins and finished with 11 goals and 11 assists. After being a healthy scratch in the first two round of the 2011 playoffs, he earned his place in Boston Bruins lore by scoring a goal in his playoff debut, game one of the Eastern Conference finals, then scoring 2 goals and finishing with 4 points in his second game. Seguin would only pick one more point in the playoffs, an assist in Boston's game 4 win against Vancouver, but would end his rookie season by raising the Cup above his head. In 2012 Seguin would lead the Bruins in goals with 29 and points with 67 and looks to be a star for Boston when the NHL eventually resumes.

Milan Lucic: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

2008-09 Upper Deck Trilogy Young Star Scripts Milan Lucic

While 2010-11 was a breakout regular season for Lucic with 30 goals and 62 points, his playoff stats are a little underwhelming. Playing in all 25 playoff games he only scored 5 times with 12 points, but did finish second in the playoffs with 63 penalty minutes including 4 misconduct penalties. While with the Vancouver Giants, Lucic helped the Giants to win the 2007 Memorial Cup winning the tournaments MVP award.

Tuukka Rask: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

Of all the cards I have acquired in my Bruins Stanley Cup Auto, this is by far my favorite, a 2008-09 Upper Deck Trilogy Ice Scripts Tuukka Rask. I love acetate cards and have never seen one this thick before. The graphics are on the front and back of the clear card giving a slight 3D effect. Hockey seems to have embraced the clear cards while baseball has sampled in it but I haven't seen anything new for a while as it doesn't seem like it's something Topps is interested in.

After playing all 13 games in the 2010 playoffs, Rask has sat for the last two playoff years, including not seeing a minute of time in the 2011 Cup run, but being the second string goalie gets your name on the Cup. Rask has performed well when called upon over the past four seasons and will get a chance to prove he's a number one Goalie with Tim Thomas taking 2012-13 off.

Shawn Thornton: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

A card that has been posted here before but never had a post dedicated to it, a 2009-10 Be A Player Signatures #S-ST. Shawn Thornton had as much to do with the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup as any player despite only recording one point in the playoffs and being a healthy scratch for 7 games, including games 1 and 2 of the finals. Thornton replaced Tyler Seguin in Game 3 of the Finals with Boston down 2 games to none, and brought physical and energetic play that helped turn the series, with Boston winning 4 of the 5 games he played against Vancouver. This was Thornton's second time winning the Cup as he was a member of the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks Championship team.

Marc Savard: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

Marc Savard only played in 25 regular season games and none in the playoffs in 2010-11, but the Bruins petition to get his name engraved on the cup was successful so I am including him in this collection. This card is from the 2007-08 SP Authentic Sign of the Times set, it's a nice on-card auto and a decent looking card. Savard missed all of 2011-12 with the same concussion issues that have plagued him for three seasons, and his playing career is sadly, likely over.

Brad Marchand: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

Part of a recently COMC order, 2011-12 Panini Crown Royale Premiere Date Autograph numbered to 99. In his first full season in the NHL Marchand played a big role in the Bruins Stanley Cup season as a player that pretty much everyone but Bruins fans hates. His 11 goals in the playoffs as a rookie is tied with Jeremy Roenick for second all time behind the 14 that Dino Ciccarelli scored in 1981. Marchand starred in the finals scoring 5 goals with 2 assists in Boston wins including 2 goals and an assist in Game 7. His 7 points in the final round was tied for the team lead with Mark Recchi. He might be best remembered for punching one of the Sedins in the face a couple times (gif below)

David Krejci: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

New eBay pickup, a recently released 2011-12 Panini Titanium Reserve Autograph David Krejci. Decent card design, the photo could be bigger with the graphics smaller and it's a sticker auto, but the price was reasonable. Krejci led the playoffs in goals with 12 and points with 23 in leading the Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup, including recording a hat trick in Game 6 of the Eastern Finals against Tampa Bay.

Nathan Horton: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

Nathan Horton 2010-11 Panini Crown Royale Priemiere Date Signatures. Kind of a recurring theme here, key contributors to the 2011 Cup run missing from the 2012 Playoffs. Horton played in 21 playoff games in 2011 until he left the finals with a concussion. Horton scored 8 goals in the 2011 Playoffs, with 3 game winners including two overtime goals in the first round against Montreal. He was limited to 46 games in 2011-12 and missed all of the playoffs with continuing concussion issues.

Michael Ryder: Bruins Stanley Cup Auto

2011-2012 Upper Deck Signature Sensations Michael Ryder autograph. I paid a little more for this on eBay than I would have liked, but its the first Ryder Bruins auto I have seen since starting this project. It does say Stars on the front, but it doesn't have a team logo and he's in a Bruins jersey so it's close enough for me. Ryder's Bruins career was pretty up and down other than the 2011 Stanley Cup run, he scored 8 goals with 17 points in the playoffs, with two game winnings including an overtime winner against his old team Montreal. He also scored 3 goals in the 7 game final against the Canucks. The Bruins were ultimately unable to replace the offense provided by Ryder and the injured Nathan Horton leading to an early exit this spring.

This puts me at 6 for 22 in autos for Bruins who are named on the Stanley Cup for the 2011 Championship.