Saturday 29 October 2011

1990-91 Upper Deck NHL Hockey High Series

I'm not sure how a pack of these found it's way into a Toys R' Us buck bin full of Victory, but I'm glad it did.  This was the first ever hockey release by Upper Deck and one of my favorite looking sets to date.  The most recent release from Upper Deck celebreated the 20th anniversary of this sets release by releasing parallels in the 2010-11 set featuring the same design that was used during this production.


12 cards per pack, let's take a look inside after the jump.


Chris Nilan #442 - We start this pack off with an enforcer; Nilan was best known as a tough-guy for the Montreal Canadiens in the mid 1980s.  He was penalized a record ten penalties; six minors, two majors, one misconduct and one game misconduct, for a total of 42 penalty minutes during a game against Hartford on March 31, 1991.


Scott Stevens / Campbell Conference #482 - An All-Star card of one of the biggest hitters to ever play the game;  lately with the uprising in awareness of headshots and concussions in hockey, I've heard Stevens' name come up a few times as a player who many people will think differently towards in the future as not just a big hitter - but as a cheap shot artist who cut short the careers of some of the leagues brightest stars.  Nice card nontheless; I'm really into cards that feature players in their All-Star jerseys.


Kirk Muller #267 - I recall Mullers career in a different red & white jersey more so than as a Devil, but this is where it all started for the boy from Kingston.  Muller was drafted 2nd overall in the 1984 Entry Draft behind a guy named Mario Lemieux.


Mike Vernon #254 - Nice card, look at that scuffed-up equipment.  Vernon hoisted the Cup as a Flame in 1989 and as a Red Wing in 1997, a year in which he would also win the Con Smythe as playoff MVP.


Brad McCrimmon #294 - McCrimmon played 18 season in the NHL between 1979 and 1997 and left the league ranked 10th all-time in +/- with a total of +444.  He died along with most of the Lokomotiv team, when the flight carrying the team crashed in Yaroslavl, Russia.


Kevin Lowe #214 - Lowe won a total of 6 Stanley Cups during his career; 5 as an Oiler and another as a New York Ranger.

Dave Taylor #214 - Taylor is the lowest-drafted player to net 1,000 career points, drafted in the 15th round (210th overall) of the 1975 NHL draft.


Chris Chelios #422 - Not the greatest choice of photography on this card.  This would be Chelios' first year as a Blackhawk.


Ulf Samuelsson #287 - I think it's possible that the majority of people wouldn't share this opinion with me but I've always liked Ulf, especially in his days as a Penguin - maybe just because he was a Penguin.  On another note, I always liked his the suit of armor-like padding he wore as well.


Tim Kerr #247 - Kerr put up some really stellar numbers when his season wasn't plagued with injuries.

Craig Janney #234 - I had a short stint as a Phoenix Coyotes fan so at one point in my life I was all about Craig Janney.  Not much else to say about this card other than I like the Bruins jersey.


Donald Audette #519 - This is considered one of Audettes rookie cards, in which he scored 31 goals - a mark Audette would only pass once with 32 goals during the 2000-01 season as an Atlanta Thrasher.

1 comment:

  1. I've always thought this was the best set Upper Deck ever put out. The full-bleed cards never did it for me. There are also more good shots in this set than in any two they put out later.

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