1998-99 Upper Deck Choice Double Box Break Part 1

Wal-Mart was practically giving away these boxes of 1998-99 Upper Deck Choice at $8 a piece.  So I grabbed two of them with hopes of possibly completing the set and  maybe even the insert sets such as the Mini-Bobble Heads cards that I anticipated pulling from singles when I was about twelve.

36 packs per box, 6 cards per pack.  StarQuest Blue are inserted 2:1, Green 1:7, Red 1:23 and Gold are numbered to 100.  I have yet to see a Gold StarQuest in my life.  Mini Bobbing Heads are 1:4.  Key rookies from the set are Martin St. Louis, Milan Hejduk, Sergey Gusev, Mark Parrish, Oleg Kvasha, Michal Handzus, Tomas Kaberle, and Matt Cooke.

Every pack break from the first box is scanned and listed below.

Pack 1

SQ28 - Eric Lindros / StarQuest / Green.  First pack in and I pull my first Green StarQuest.

SQ25 - Paul Kariya / StarQuest / Blue.  The Starquest cards would have been much better if they had kept with the whole 'Star' rating system like they did for the 97-98 series.  I like the look of those Anaheim jerseys by the way.

BH8 - Eric Lindros / Mini-Bobble Head.  A Lindros Starquest and Mini-Bobbing Head in the same pack.  I remember these and still have a few hanging around somewhere.  They start falling apart at the slightest touch.

14 - Jason Allison.

50 - Dimitri Nabokov / Choice Reserve.

65 - Derian Hatcher.

DW1 - You get one of these in every pack.  For the life of me I could not find the contest winner or card online anywhere.

Pack 2

SQ2 - Pavel Bure / StarQuest / Blue.

SQ27 - Mike Johnson / StarQuest / Green.  I remember there was hype built up around Johnson after his 97-98 impressive 47 point rookie season, sadly we wasn't able to follow up and that would become his pinnacle year.

124 - Zdeno Chara. Chara's rookie year with the Islanders.  1 assist in 25 games.  Kinda weird to see him in an Islanders uniform nowadays.

163 - Daniel Briere.  Briere's rookie year with Phoenix, 1 goal in 5 games.  Loved him then, like him now.

1 - Guy Hebert.

305 - Jesse Boulerice / World Junior Showcase. First card from the World Junior Showcase sub-set, as I recall there are a few names in this sub-set worth pulling.

Pack 3

SQ3 - Patrick Roy / StarQuest / Blue.

SQ4 - Dominik Hasek / StarQuest / Blue. 

BH14 - Brett Hull / Mini-Bobble Head.  Another bobble-head card!  I'd like to pull the set of these if possible.

180 - Mike Ricci.

131 - Dan Cloutier.

44 - Daniel Cleary.  A Newfoundland native, Cleary seemed to always have strange cards back in his rookie year.

Pack 4

SQ23 - Martin Brodeur / StarQuest / Blue.

SQ24 - Mike Modano / StarQuest / Blue.



208 - Pavel Bure.  Future Hall Of Famer for sure.

152 - Eric Lindros.  Lindros looks like the beast he was on this card.

309 - Patrick Roy / Checklist.

193 - Stephane Richer.

Pack 5

SQ5 - Teemu Selanne / StarQuest / Blue.

294 - Daniel Sedin / World Junior Showcase.  One of the better players to come out of that years World Juniors.

SQ4 - Sergei Samsonov / StarQuest / Blue.  I had a love for Samsonov back in '98.

133 - Marc Savard.

100 - Jozef Stumpel.

30 - German Titov / Choice Reserve.

Pack 6

SQ1 - Wayne Gretzky / StarQuest / Blue.

SQ30 - Keith Tkachuk / StarQuest / Blue.

228 - Adam Foote / GM's Choice (Patrick Roy).  Boring sub-set.

123 - Bryan Berard.

162 - Nikolai Khabibulin / Choice Reserve.

68 - Jere Lethtinen.

Pack 7

SQ29 - Mark Messier / StarQuest / Blue.

269 - Daniel Corso / World Junior Showcase.

182 - Steve Duchesne.

31 - Valeri Bure.

12 - Dimitri Khristich.

SQ28 - Eric Lindros / StarQuest / Blue.

Pack 8

BH1 - Wayne Gretzky / Mini-Bobble Head.

SQ26 - Tony Amonte / StarQuest / Blue.

203 - Mats Sundin.

164 - Juha Ylonen.

71 - Igor Larionov.

SQ27 - Mike Johnson / StarQuest / Blue.

Pack 9

SQ20 - Peter Forsberg / StarQuest / Blue.

SQ19 - Mats Sundin / StarQuest / Blue.

35 - Jarome Iginla.

284 - Artem Chubarov / World Junior Showcase.  Interesting little fact about Chubarov, he is the first player in NHL history to begin his career with four consecutive game winning goals.

106 - Andy Moog / Choice Reserve.

126 - Robert Reichel.

Pack 10

SQ16 - Jaromir Jagr / StarQuest / Blue.

SQ22 - Brett Hull / StarQuest / Blue.

151 - Paul Coffey.

263 - Zenith Komarniski / World Junior Showcase.

96 - Yanic Perreault.

61 - Jamie Langenbrunner.

Pack 11

SQ14 - Peter Bondra / StarQuest / Blue.

SQ15 - John Leclair / StarQuest / Blue.

160 - Keith Tkachuk / Choice Reserve.

40 - Sami Kapanen.

299 - Chris Hajt / World Junior Showcase.

95 - Rob Blake.

Pack 12

SQ13 - Theo Fleury / StarQuest / Blue.

BH29 - Brian Leetch / Mini-Bobble Head.

SQ12 - Patrick Elias / StarQuest / Blue.

43 - Nelson Emerson.

212 - Todd Bertuzzi.

194 - Paul Ysebaert.

Pack 13

SQ11 - Joe Sakic / StarQuest / Blue.

295 - Henrik Sedin - World Junior Showcase.  Happy I was able to pull both twins already from this break.

SQ10 - Alexei Yashin / StarQuest / Blue.  Apparently he might be back with the Isles this season.

184 - Pierre Turgeon.

181 - Marco Sturm.

25 - Erik Rasmussen.

Pack 14

251 - Curtis Joseph / Crease The Lightning.  Something a little different from the set; hope I pull some more of these.  Only 14 packs in, I'm sure I will.  The photo on the reverse looks like worth a scan as well.

SQ8 - Saku Koivu / StarQuest / Blue. 

SQ9 - Brendan Shanahan / StarQuest / Blue.

111 - Brian Savage.

138 - Shawn McEachern.

104 - Vladimir Malakhov / Choice Reserve.

Pack 15

128 - Wayne Gretzky.

SQ29 - Mark Messier / StarQuest / Green.

SQ7 - Brian Leetch / StarQuest / Blue.

82 - Ryan Smyth.

219 - Calle Johansson.

271 - Jean Pierre Dumont / World Junior Showcase. RC

Pack 16

19 - Joe Thornton.

BH26 - Ed Belfour / Mini-Bobble Head.  They really should have kept the masks on the goalies; a) because let's face it - we all want to see close ups of their designs and b) Belfour looks like everyones Uncle apparently.

72 - Darren McCarty.

217 - Adam Oates.

SQ6 - Sergei Samsonov / StarQuest / Blue. (double)  With an odds of pulling 2 StarQuest cards in every pack, 36 packs, you are bound to pull two or three of the same Blue variations.

SQ5 - Teemu Selanne / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

Pack 17

SQ18 - Steve Yzerman / StarQuest / Blue.

SQ3 - Patrick Roy / StarQuest / Red.  Apparently holds a $20 book value.

278 - Mikka Noronen / World Junior Showcase.

70 - Larry Murphy.

143 - Chris Phillips.

108 - Dave Manson.

Pack 18

244 - Dominik Hasek / Crease The Lightning.  I wonder how many of these cards are in this sub-set; Hasek has a nice photograph on the reverse as well.

SQ21 - Ray Bourque / StarQuest / Blue.

SQ17 - Ed Belfour / StarQuest / Blue.  This completes the set of the StarQuest Blue variation.

52 - Jean Yves Leroux.

11 - Ted Donato.

121 - Zigmund Palffy.  One of my favorite players, loved seeing him represent Slovakia at the Vancouver Olympics.

Pack 19

56 - Peter Forsberg.

268 - Matt Cooke / World Junior Showcase. RC Currently hated by many in the NHL these days.

198 - Mathieu Schneider / Choice Reserve.

83 - Boris Mironov.

SQ8 - Saku Koivu / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

SQ7 - Brian Leetch / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

Pack 20



63 - Ed Belfour.  Not much in this pack break, Belfour wins because of the mask close-up.

301 - Jean Marc Pelletier / World Junior Showcase.

18 - Shawn Bates.

28 - Donald Audette.



SQ10 - Alexei Yashin / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

SQ5 - Teemu Selanne / StarQuest / Blue. (triple)

Pack 21

78 - Vyacheslav Kozlov.

13 - Sergei Samsonov.

218 - Richard Zednik.

290 - Mattias Karlin / World Junior Showcase. RC

SQ4 - Dominik Hasek / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

SQ3 - Patrick Roy / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

Pack 22

SQ5 - Teemu Selanne / StarQuest / Red.

158 - Jeremy Roenick / Choice Reserve.

BH10 - John Vanbiesbrouck / Mini-Bobble Head.

75 - Sergei Fedorov.

200 - Alyn McCauley.

SQ2 - Pavel Bure / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

Pack 23

BH2 - Keith Tkachuk / Mini-Bobble Head.

55 - Claude Lemieux.

166 - Alexei Morozov.

113 - Scott Stevens.

SQ17 - Ed Belfour / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

SQ18 - Steve Yzerman / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

Pack 24

118 - Jason Arnott.

62 - Joe Nieuwendyk.

191 - Darren Puppa.

262 - Jesse Wallin / World Junior Showcase.

SQ19 - Mats Sundin / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

SQ20 - Peter Forsberg / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

Pack 25

105 - Saku Koivu.

174 - Jeff Friesen.

102 - Don McLean / Choice Reserve.

292 - Henrik Petre / World Junior Showcase.

SQ22 - Brett Hull / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

SQ21 - Ray Bourque / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

Pack 26

250 - Tom Barrasso / Crease The Lightning.  Finally something a little more exciting than Starquest Blue doubles and Choice Reserves.

86 - Janne Niinimaa / Choice Reserve.

5 - Travis Green.

6 - Steve Rucchin.

SQ16 - Jaromir Jagr / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

SQ15 - John Leclair / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

Pack 27

54 - Patrick Roy.

SQ26 - Tony Amonte / StarQuest / Green.

110 - Vincent Damphousse.

33 - Cory Stillman.

279 - Pasi Petrilainen / World Junior Showcase.

SQ14 - Peter Bondra / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

Pack 28

21 - Brian Holzinger.

266 - Mike Van Ryn / World Junior Showcase.

45 - Eric Daze.

156 - Craig Janney.

SQ8 - Saku Koivu / StarQuest / Blue. (triple)

SQ7 - Brian Leetch / StarQuest / Blue. (triple)

Pack 28

93 - Dino Ciccarelli.  So far, by far the most interesting looking photograph used in the base set.

235 - John Leclair / GM's Choice (Steve Yzerman).

36 - Gary Roberts.

92 - Dave Gagner.

SQ9 - Alexei Yashin / StarQuest / Blue. (triple)

SQ10 - Brendan Shanahan / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

Pack 29

SQ4 - Dominik Hasek / StarQuest / Red.

302 - David Legwand / World Junior Showcase.  Legwand would go 2nd overall in the 1998 Entry Draft behind Lecavalier.

141 - Alexei Yashin.

91 - Ed Jovanovski.

204 - Tie Domi.

SQ13 - Theo Fleury / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

Pack 30

BH7 - Martin Brodeur / Mini-Bobble Head.

153 - John Leclair.

46 - Chris Chelios / Choice Reserve.

148 - Alexandre Daigle.

SQ11 - Joe Sakic / StarQuest / Blue.

SQ12 - Patrick Elias / StarQuest / Blue.

Pack 31

144 - Daniel Alfredsson.

238 - Brian Leetch / GM's Choice (Steve Yzerman).

161 - Brad Isbister.

178 - Marcus Ragnarsson.

SQ1 - Wayne Gretzky / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

SQ30 - Keith Tkachuk / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

Pack 32

211 - Mark Messier.

122 - Trevor Linden.

125 - Kenny Jonsson.

265 - Cory Sarich / World Junior Showcase.

SQ28 - Eric Lindros / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

SQ29 - Mark Messier / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

Pack 33

SQ20 - Peter Forsberg / StarQuest / Green.

142 - Marian Hossa / Choice Reserve.

285 - Vitali Vishnevsky / World Junior Showcase.

85 - Doug Weight.

88 - Robert Svehla.

SQ27 - Mike Johnson / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

Pack 34

BH5 - Jaromir Jagr / Mini-Bobble Head.

171 - Robert Dome.

32 - Michael Nylander.

66 - Sergei Zubov.

SQ25 - Paul Kariya / Starquest / Blue. (double)

SQ26 - Tony Amonte / Starquest / Blue. (double)

Pack 35

10 - Byron Dafoe.

227 - Rob Blake / GM's Choice (Patrick Roy).

41 - Glen Wesley.

173 - Patrick Marleau.

SQ23 - Martin Brodeur / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

SQ24 - Mike Modano / StarQuest / Blue. (double)

Base 135/310  44% Complete

StarQuest (Blue) 30/30  100% Complete

StarQuest (Green) 5/30

StarQuest (Red) 3/30

Mini-Bobble Heads 9/30  30% Complete

Only pulled 44% of the base in this box, looks like it's going to be a long-shot to complete the set with the second box break.  Same goes for the Mini-Bobble Head collection, 9/30 pulled - looks like the odds are stacked against me.  Also wanted to note that there wasn't a single StarQuest Gold in the 36 packs, bummer.  Until next time.