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Ultimate Set Build: 13-14 Score Hot Rookies Autographs

Apr 3, 2017 • 12:20 pm

Autograph…

Rookie Card…

Autographed Rookie Card!

A much better monetary and aesthetic combination than a pen, apple and pineapple, but admittedly less musically relevant:

1) They’re Rookie Cards! I say this in the sense that they are labelled as such, and that many out there, including yours truly, would consider them to be so! I lead with that odd sentence only because one could make a genuine argument that they are not a TRUE rookie given how rookie cards are defined (check out my article from back in the day here as to why [apologies for the non-existent picture links on what is now a 7-year old article, but I think the text drives the message home]), but I like to think there’s always a little room for flexibility! Within that wiggle room I find gems like these; the rare rookie. 2) First Year Ink! An autograph at any point in one’s career makes for a solid hit. The first year ink, however, adds a whole other level of intrigue given that we, except in the standout cases, often times can’t bank on whether the player we’ve landed will pan out in such a way that the autograph is going to become a cash grab moving forward. I managed to hit a bit of a solid one of the group in Tarasenko, which I know will hold value over time, but there’s a lot to be said for landing someone who was not drafted as a sure thing, only to see them, and the autograph value, jump as their player stock does! Only downside of this set? Stickered autographs, not hard-signed (directly onto the card). Small fries, though, unless you’re a stickler for this type of a thing, and certainly not a deal breaker given that they’re coming from an entry level product!

3) Short-Printed Excellence! All 59 of these cards are short-printed to a certain extent given how rare they are to pull. Within the set, however, they are differentiated even more in their print run, with eight cards (i.e., Gallagher, Etem, Grigorenko) being short-printed relative to the overall set, while another six (Galchenyuk, Hamilton, Tarasenko, Huberdeau, Granlund and Yakupov) are super short-prints, running less than 100 copies each. Rarity within rareness!

4) Solid Rookie Group I’m not going to say that each of the 59 players in the set are heading towards a Hall of Fame career! We already know that the “sure fire… rookie of the group, Nail Yakupov, is falling well below his projected career output. I’m also not going to suggest that this subset is teeming with exceptional talent, even with the gift of being a dual-rookie year as a result of the work stoppage carrying a whole set of rookies into the following years selection of available rookie cards. That being said, I think it’s reasonable to say that, amongst the checklist, there is a solid group of players who will be mainstays in the NHL for a few years, if not a few of them elevating to stars or superstars in their own right. A few names that pop out, for the sake of examples, include:

Alex Killorn Tyler Toffoli Charlie Coyle Sami Vatanen Brendan Gallagher Petr Mrazek Leo Komarov Emerson Etem Mikhail Grigorenko Alex Galchenyuk Dougie Hamilton Vladimir Tarasenko Jonathan Huberdeau Mikael Granlund

Again, I’m not suggesting it’s a bumper crop of top tier guys, but it’s a decent selection of talent to be certain. Solidified talent against the value of the card for some, progressive monetary upside for others.

5) Huge Value! Short and sweet: a $2.99 pack with anywhere from a 25x to 100x book value bump? Can’t beat it…

6) Basic Design I certainly don’t mean to throw shade by saying “basic… by any means. For this level of product, we cannot expect the world, and we don’t get it by any means. At the same time, what we are given is more than sufficient in the context of an entry level autographed rookie card. A clean, sharp design that isn’t overwhelmingly busy. We’re provided with a step above a typical player picture by way of a sharp looking portrait. Plenty of space for our stickered autograph, and a nice font that, in keeping with the overall design, stands out but in a positive way, not in an overpowering one. The back of the card maintains a “simple is better… approach, opting for an oversized team logo as opposed to another player picture, while the obligatory player blurb rounds out the presentation. All in all, a nice, simple yet classy design. At worst, I can only imagine it being described as somewhat underwhelming, but were that to be floated I would respectfully come back to price point as a context.

In sum, a nicely designed rookie card with the added autograph bonus, and at a price where even the most frugal of collectors can land a sweet hit! A fine dining hit with McDonalds pricing!

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Do you have a piece of treasured memorabilia that has a great story behind it? Let me know and you can be featured in an article. Doesn't matter how big or small the piece is, how valuable it may be, or whether it's a common item or more oddball. If you think it has a story, contact me via the information below and we'll chat. In the meantime, check out some previous "Display Case" articles via the links below to see what others have submitted in the past... ______________________________________________________________________

Shawn Gates

shawn.gates@hockeybuzz.com

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