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Collector's World 0208

The Hockey News Collector's World 0208

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012443/10350378-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="581" height="878"><figcaption class="caption-body">Patrick Roy</figcaption></div>1. PAVEL BURE (11)2. &rsquo;91-92 UPPER DECKfl)3. NICKLAS LIDSTROM (4)4. PATRICK ROY (8)5. PAT LAFONTAINE (6)6. KEVIN STEVENS (5)7. BRETT HULL (3)8. WAYNE GRETZKY (2)9. JEREMY ROENICK (10)10. TONY AMONTE (NR)11. GILBERT DIONNE (NR)12. MARK MESSIER (12)Number In parenthesis is last month&rsquo;s ranking. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

POWER PLAY

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN ALIEN</div>Potential first-round draft pick Ryan Sittier won a bronze medal and lost a golden financial opportunity while playing for the U.S. World Junior team in Fussen, Germany last winter.Card industry sources say Sittier probably lost between $20,000 and $80,000 because he has a card (No. 695) in the Upper Deck high number series as part of a U.S. World Junior team subset. He received nothing because his rights were secured by Upper Deck&rsquo;s acquisition of the rights of the USA hockey team.His Upper Deck appearance means non-licensed card companies no longer plan to bid against each other to secure an exclusive deal.&ldquo;Ryan Sittier is not a worthless commodity by any means,&rdquo; said Classic&rsquo;s Steve Charendoff. &ldquo;You still will want to make a card of him, but if you want to collect his rookie card, the Upper Deck is now the card.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011742/10350626-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="605" height="799"></div>Upper Deck acquired the right to use Sittier&rsquo;s picture through an agreement with USA Hockey.Brian Rolston, Peter Ferraro and Mike Dunham are other USA players who stand to lose money, too (though far less than Sittier) because their card is in the Upper Deck series.Upper Deck also acquired the rights to top young Russian juniors, such as Alexei Kovalev, picked in the first round by the New York Rangers last season, plus Darius Kasparitis, Boris Mironov, Alexei Yashin, Sergei Zholtok and others.Sittier, a student at Buffalo&rsquo;s Nicholls Academy, was not negotiating with any card company because he wants to retain his college eligibility. He can only make a card deal if he opts for junior hockey. He has signed a letter of intent with Michigan but is also considering the Ontario League.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know I was going to have a card,&rdquo; Sittier said. &ldquo;I signed a consent form but I thought it would be used in a poster or something. My dad (Darryl) told me about how much money was involved. 1 didn&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;Sittier said he isn&rsquo;t making a big deal about the situation because &ldquo;USA Hockey has been very good to me.&rdquo;American players in the Upper Deck series received none of the money. Sources say USA Hockey got only a token amount-about $500 per player-from Upper Deck for photo rights to U.S. players. But that was just a minor portion of a major $85,000 contract USA Hockey has with Upper Deck. USA Hockey banks on sponsors such as Upper Deck to subsidize its program.&ldquo;And I&rsquo;m sure Ryan Sittier&rsquo;s position with NHL scouts was enhanced by playing in our programs,&rdquo; said USA Hockey&rsquo;s Tom Douglis.Charendoff isn&rsquo;t opposed to federations getting the money provided players are made aware of what they are doing.&ldquo;My major point is that players are innocent bystanders in a fairly sophisticated business,&rdquo; Charendoff said. &ldquo;There isn&rsquo;t a long history to this business. And these are 17 and 18-year old kids.&rdquo; &#9632;

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YOUNG AMERICANS LOSE OUT ON CHANCE TO CASH IN

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011641/10351011-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"></div>When Collectors World published its first listings of pre-World War II hockey cards in Vol. 1 No. 6, we never imagined the overwhelming interest it would generate.Now, almost exactly one year later, we present an update on the oldest hockey cards in existence.As you will see in looking at the prices, every card and every set has increased in value since last year. For more on that subject, see Vintage writer and Price Guide researcher Wayne Hepburn&rsquo;s.story on page 17.We have catalogued 29 sets from the pre-WW II era, starting with the C56 set of 1910-11.Six new sets have made their first appearance in this Price Guide-1939-40 and &rsquo;40-41 O-Pee-Chee. 1910-11 Sweet Caporal Postcards, 1911-12 Victoria Cougars Postcards, 1935-36 Triumph and Champion inserts and the 1925 Dominion Chocolates hockey cards.Collectors World would like to thank the following card dealers and collectors for their help in compiling this guide:Alex Klenman and Ted Silverman of the Can-Am Card Company in Ganges, B.C.; Angelo Savelli of Canada&rsquo;s #1 Sports Card Collection in Hamilton, Ont.; Phil Smedly of Lan-caster Collectibles in Hamilton; Rob Pankiw from Calgary, Alta.; Paul Kenny of Canadian Sports Cards in Toronto, Ont.; Carlton McDiarmid from Montreal, Que.; and Andrew Pywowarczuk of Cartophillium in Sherbrooke, Que.All prices in this Price Guide are for cards in excellent condition. A premium of 50 per cent can be added in most cases for cards in near-mint condition. All prices are in Canadian funds. As of April 13, the Canadian dollar was worth 87 cents U.S.The regular Price Guide, listing cards from 1951-52 to 1991-92, begins on page 31 in this issue.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011401/10351004-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="2087" height="3741"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011578/10350997-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="7962" height="4400"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011593/10350990-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="7981" height="4400"></div> &#9632;

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PRE-WORLD WAR II PRICE GUIDE RETURNS

<h2>BEST SET</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011759/10350713-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="331" height="591"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOWMAN</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-021250/10350706-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="335" height="597"><figcaption class="caption-body">O-PEE-CHEE</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03871/10350699-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="337" height="596"><figcaption class="caption-body">PARKHURST</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04595/10350692-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="335" height="592"><figcaption class="caption-body">PINNACLE</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-05377/10350685-1-eng-US/f0020-052.jpg" title="f0020-05" width="334" height="595"><figcaption class="caption-body">PLATINUM</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-06311/10350678-1-eng-US/f0020-062.jpg" title="f0020-06" width="333" height="596"><figcaption class="caption-body">PREMIER</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-07257/10350671-1-eng-US/f0020-072.jpg" title="f0020-07" width="338" height="596"><figcaption class="caption-body">SCORE</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-08189/10350664-1-eng-US/f0020-082.jpg" title="f0020-08" width="338" height="594"><figcaption class="caption-body">STADIUM CLUB</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-09135/10350657-1-eng-US/f0020-092.jpg" title="f0020-09" width="339" height="597"><figcaption class="caption-body">UPPER DECK</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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HAVE YOUR SAY

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012461/10350347-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Gartner and the players want assurances they own the rights to their images. Brian winkier/BBS</figcaption></div>The $11 million the NHL Players&rsquo; Association stands tomake this year from hockey cards may represent the lifeblood of the union but the issue as it pertains to the players&rsquo; strike is about much more than money.It&rsquo;s about the future of all licensing agreements and the ability of players to have control over their own images. And it&rsquo;s about a negoti-ating gamble that backfired on the owners.NHL president John Ziegler sounded convincing when he outlined details of the owners final proposals to the players at a news conference April 7. He called the owners&rsquo; proposal on the hockey card issue, &ldquo;one of the most historic moves ever in professional sports.&rdquo;What the owners offered was to grant a license to the NHLPA to sub-license card companies to use the players&rsquo; images on cards. The owners also released all claims to past, present and future money generated from hockey cards. If all the players had been concerned about was money, the proposal would have been accepted. Obviously, it was not.&ldquo;This idea that they own our faces is unacceptable,&rdquo; NHLPA executive director Goodenow said. &ldquo;Asking us to acknowledge their ownership of our very personal rights is unacceptable.&rdquo;It was the owners who first brought up the hockey card issue in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, even though their share of the money-about $8 million-is less than five per cent of their total revenues. There were charges Ziegler used the hockey card issue to make it appear as if the owners were willing to give something back to the players they already owned.&ldquo;Anybody that would have that opinion does not understand business and could not have been involved in these negotiations.&rdquo; Ziegler said April 7. &ldquo;Anybody who thinks that what was delivered by the owners today is not valued at $100 to $150 million, they don&rsquo;t understand anything about business.&rdquo;Yet, the players have received hockey card revenue for 20 years without a word of protest from the owners. There was a general feeling the players held squatters&rsquo; rights to hockey card money. When asked if he would have ever brought up the issue in negotiations. Goodenow said, &ldquo;probably not.&rdquo;What angered the players was Ziegler&rsquo;s comment the players took hockey card revenue without asking. &ldquo;The trading card position of the players&rsquo; association has never been collectively bargained,&rdquo; Ziegler said. &ldquo;Never. It is not in their collective bargaining agreement. They just took the money. Never came to us. What we&rsquo;re saying is, look, you took it, you never came to us, you never negotiated it.&rdquo;The players and owners earn revenue based on total sales of hockey cards. The players receive 8.1 per cent in royalties, the owners 6.1 per cent.American-based companies Pro Set, Score, Topps and Upper Deck are the four major licensees. O-Pee-Chee makes cards in Canada with the license granted to Topps and revenue from their sales also goes to the players and owners. Furthermore, companies such as Kraft Foods and Gillette have licenses to make cards and give them away with their products. As the number of non-hockey card companies making cards continues to grow, the players and owners will earn even more revenue.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021887/10350340-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="653" height="815"><figcaption class="caption-body">RAND SIMON</figcaption></div>The revenue stream will get even larger if more card companies are granted licenses. Fred Scalera of the NHL&rsquo;s licensing division, said the league is approached each year by companies anxious for an NHL license. Wild Card, Smokey&rsquo;s and Classic are card companies which are reportedly interested in an NHL license in the future.&ldquo;We want to continue to receive the money from hockey cards,&rdquo; said Mike Gartner of the players&rsquo; negotiating committee. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s probably the single-most important issue left.&rdquo;In terms of licensing, the issue extends far beyond hockey cards. Posters, T-shirts, pucks and other merchandise with players&rsquo; images could be a future source of revenue for the NHLPA. But if the players acknowledge they are only borrowing their images for hockey cards, it would set a difficult precedent for them to reverse.Aside from controversy, the hockey card issue produced its fair share of humorous quotes from players, owners and agents:&#9633; &ldquo;They&rsquo;re laying claim to our faces,&rdquo; said Washington Capitals&rsquo; goaltender Mike Liut. &ldquo;Please, let us have our faces.&rdquo;&#9633; &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t want to get to the point where you can&rsquo;t put the words com flakes on a box of com flakes,&rdquo; said Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; owner Norm Green, who is concerned players will want money to be on programs, media guides and promotional giveaway items.&#9633; &ldquo;A player should make cards of players and owners should make cards of owners,&rdquo; said agent Steve Bartlett. &ldquo;Let us see what a Bill Wirtz rookie card is worth.&rdquo;The owners argue that in order for the cards to be popular, they need both the players and the NHL-licensed logos. &ldquo;Their faces aren&rsquo;t worth much without our logo and our logo is not worth much without their faces,&rdquo; said Boston Bruins&rsquo; general manager Harry Sinden. But if collectors had to choose between a Pavel Bure card with no logo and a Bob Halkidis card with a logo, it wouldn&rsquo;t be a difficult decision.So, why did the owners make such a big deal out of all this if it wasn&rsquo;t a negotiating ploy?&ldquo;The players&rsquo; position on this is, &rsquo;give it all to us,&rsquo; and in that kind of approach, it creates resistance,&rdquo; Ziegler said. &ldquo;They say, &rsquo;you must give us this revenue or we&rsquo;re not going to play hockey.&rsquo; It is a matter of principle, it isn&rsquo;t the money so much.&rdquo;So while the owners were arguing over principle, the players were trying to secure their rights to their images. Of course, the owners could simply point to Section 8 in the standard players&rsquo; contract which says, &ldquo;the player irrevocably grants to the Club&hellip;the exclusive right to permit or authorize (anyone) to take and make use of any still photograph&hellip;and agrees all rights in such pictures&hellip;shall belong to the Club exclusively and may be used, reproduced, distributed&hellip;in any manner it desires.&rdquo;But when two partners have been doing business one way for 20 years regardless what a contract says, it&rsquo;s difficult to reverse that in one negotiating session. Especially when so much is at stake. &#9632;

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CARD WARS

<div class="byline">BY RAND SIMON</div>So, who will be this playoff&rsquo;s Jon Casey? Who will be the player who lifts his team to unexpected heights and takes his card value right along with it?The Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; goal-tender entered the 1990-91 post-season as little more than an after thought in the eyes of most collectors.But after the Stars improbable charge to the the Stanley Cup finals, his cards were among the hottest in the hobby. Dealers who were selling his card for 50 cents when the play-offs began were getting at least five times as much by the time the Stars fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins.The key to identifying a good pre-playoff investment lies in predicting which team has the best potential to surprise the experts. Then pick the player who will be most responsible for that and you&rsquo;re investment will pay off. In other words, with the New York Rangers already favored to win the Cup, Mark Messier&rsquo;s card value won&rsquo;t go that much higher if the 52-year drought comes to an end.Here are some players to watch-one from each division-in the playoffs who just may be this season&rsquo;s Jon Casey.&#9633; Alexander Mogilny, Buffalo. The Sabres have the speed and fire-power to upset Boston and Montreal in the Adams Division. Mogilny had a terrific season, scoring 36 times in 64 games-a 45-goal pace over 80 games. He and Pat LaFontaine form one of the league&rsquo;s most dangerous offensive threats. His rookie cards in the 1990-91 sets are still very affordable for this future 50-goal scorer.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021779/10350409-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="600" height="826"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Canucks will go as far as Trevor Linden takes them.</figcaption></div>&#9633; Rick Tocchet, Pittsburgh. The Penguin right winger already has a fairly expensive rookie card ($13.50 in 1987-88 O-Pee-Chee) but it will go higher if the Penguins go back to the finals. In 15 games with Pittsburgh after a trade from Philadelphia, Tocchet scored 12 times. All 12 came in his final nine games when he was firmly established on Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s right side.&#9633; Trevor Linden. Vancouver. Collectors have shifted their attention from Linden to another young Canuck phenom, Pavel Bure. But if the Canucks are going to continue to confound the experts it is Linden who will lead the way. Linden&rsquo;s offensive production tailed off as the season went along but he&rsquo;s the kind of player who performs best in big games-like the playoffs.&#9633; Mike Modano. Minnesota. If the North Stars are going to repeat their playoff magic, Modano will be at the head of the attack. He didn&rsquo;t even score a goal in his first nine games so the fact he had 33 in 74 games is quite impressive. Despite showing flashes of brilliance in the second half of the season, his card have actually gone down in value. Now is the time to jump all over them. &#9632;

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FOUR WITH A CHANCE TO BE THIS SEASON’S JON CASEY

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-031145/10350440-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="585" height="867"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ron Hextali</figcaption></div>1. &rsquo;90-91 PRO SET (1)2. RON HEXTALL (5)3. RON FRANCIS (2)4. BERNIE NICHOLLS (3)5. ROB BROWN (4)6. SERGEI MAKAROV (6)7. THEO FLEURY (11)8. ERIC LINDROS (12)9. SERGEI FEDOROV (NR)10. &rsquo;90-91 PREMIER (9)11. &rsquo;91-92 SCORE (NR)12. JOHN CULLEN (8)Number in parenthesis is last month&rsquo;s ranking. &#9632;

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PENALTY BOX

These are some of my thoughts concerning your Collectors World magazine.First, 1 would change the name of the magazine-unless you intend to increase the scope to include other sports. 1 notice several full-page base-ball ads (ugh!) creeping in. Collectors World is non-specific as it fails to identify the content.To save space and allow for the inclusion of all the cards all the time, I would:&#9633; Not answer stupid questions. Forgive my bluntness but to many, reader questions are of no concern.&#9633; Not waste space putting common photos in the Q & A section or anywhere else.&#9633; Decrease the size of staffers&rsquo; pictures.&#9633; Eliminate the poster or at the minimum, cut it in half. It is dog-eared when it arrives and goes down-hill rapidly after that.&#9633; Only list cards worth at least 50 cents. There isn&rsquo;t an issue that goes by without someone bemoaning the sorry state of the hobby. CW should step forward and lead. Admit that any card less than 50 cents is a common. A minor variation in a 35-cent card that goes up to 40 cents, is moot. If CW is really just a guide and not a price list, then let the marketplace decide what low-price filler should sell for. It doesn&rsquo;t matter how many times CW states the Guide isn&rsquo;t a price list, it will continue to be used as such.&#9633; Delete from alternate issues the older, higher-priced cards. Most of us can&rsquo;t afford them so we think a $5 or $10 increase in a $200 card is meaningless.Consumers are your life blood, not dealers. Tell us via some of your reputable dealers what they want to see in products and players when we go in to sell or trade. When I listen at stores or booths, I frequently hear, &ldquo;Well, the edge is a little rough,&rsquo;&rsquo; when they&rsquo;re really saying, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m choking on that card, 1 got a million of them.&rdquo; Let the consumer know that just because a card is listed at $24 doesn&rsquo;t mean anyone wants it and therefore the card is worth, well, nothing.Jan PearMenominee, Mich.<h2>What about Bob?</h2>While collecting this season&rsquo;s cards, I noticed not a single card printed of Bob Johnson.If anyone is deserving to be commemorated on a hockey card, it is him.It&rsquo;s a great day for hockey, so let&rsquo;s hope someone makes a great card of Badger Bob.Darin Rose&nbsp;Whittier, Calif.<h2>Buyer beware</h2>After reading a letter from one of your readers in the March issue of Collectors World, I was compelled to write you this letter.I recently purchased two boxes of 1991-92 Upper Deck cards for $49.69 each in Edmonton, Alta. I was very annoyed to find that every pack had a small hole in the middle of the pack on its backside. Even though the box was sealed, all the packs had holes in them.I originally thought someone, presumably the vendor, was secretly looking inside the pack for holograms. But I later realized the holograms are at the front of the pack and that whoever searched the packs must have been looking for something else, possibly the autographed Brett Hull card.I found out from the Grade 7 students I teach that it is easy to find holograms in the foil packs by simply feeling for an edge in the pack, because the holograms are slightly larger than the rest of the cards in the pack. This was very successful three out of four tries-at times I was confused by the slightly smaller check-lists which are still larger than the other cards.Knowing this system to find holograms and having holes in all 72 of the foil packs in my &ldquo;sealed&rdquo; boxes makes me extremely leery of buying from dealers 1 don&rsquo;t know.I was thinking about ordering some cards from some of the advertisements in your magazine because they are cheaper than local prices but I&rsquo;m not quite sure anymore.I now feel buyers really have to be aware and somewhat distrustful of vendors.Don HelgelandSlave Lake, Alta.(Editor&rsquo;s Note: Card dealers are like referees&mdash;you only hear about them when there&rsquo;s a problem. It is possible a dealer was searching the foil packs or perhaps there was a problem at the Upper Deck factory. In any event, we have received very few complaints about any of our advertisers. There are bad apples in any business but most card dealers are honest people.)<h2>Helpful hints</h2>Here is a suggestion for your problem of not having enough space for the Price Guide.Don&rsquo;t reduce any of your listings for sets from 1951-52 to &rsquo;89-90. These are far too valuable to be left out in any issue.However, for the 1990-91 and &rsquo;91-92 releases, you could reduce the space at least in half by eliminating all the 10- and 15-cent cards. The difference between a common of six and one of 15 cents is so little, it&rsquo;s unnecessary to print these.Keep up the great work with the prices of the 1980s cards. This is the only guide I turn to for those.Christopher LoachCalgary, Alta. &#9632;

WELL, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU LIKE ABOUT THE MAGAZINE?

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN ALLEN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-012073/10350495-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">He is only a rookie but Pat Falloon already casts a huge shadow in San Jose</figcaption></div>Pat Falloon, who was raised in the heart of Manitoba&rsquo;s wheat country, is making some hay in his first NHL season.With 23 goals before the strike, he won&rsquo;t challenge Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, Vancouver right winger Pavel Bure or New York Ranger right winger Tony Amonte for rookie-of-the-year honors. But the first-ever San Jose Sharks&rsquo; draft pick has enthralled Bay Area fans with a style that accents flair and dare. And he&rsquo;s just 19 years old.&ldquo;He scored a goal against us with a move that only a dozen guys in the NHL could have made,&rdquo; said Brian Burke, the Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; director of hockey operations.Likewise, Sharks&rsquo; general manager Jack Ferreira has a freeze-frame remembrance of Falloon&rsquo;s rookie season.&ldquo;Against Toronto, (Falloon) is 40 feet out and blasts one by Grant Fuhr on his glove side,&rdquo; Ferreira said. &ldquo;Not many can do that against Grant Fuhr.&rdquo;Falloon does many things others can&rsquo;t. Some-how on the rural roads in Foxwarren, Man., where tractors presumably have the right of way, the 5-foot-9 Falloon learned to play and survive in heavy traffic. He buzzes around the offensive zone like the incessant pest that refuses to go away.Ferreira admires his play for a different reason than he would have guessed in June when the Sharks took Falloon second overall.&ldquo;When 1 first started watching Pat I&rsquo;m thinking: &rsquo;Home run hitter,&rsquo; &ldquo;Ferreira said. &ldquo;1 thought he might have the potential to a be a Mike Bossy type.&rdquo;After watching him play for a season, Ferreira reassessed. &ldquo;He is as good, if not better, as a playmaker than he is as a goal-scorer,&rdquo; Ferreira said. &ldquo;Now 1 think he might score 40 or more goals, but he will be a 100-point man. He could get you 65 or 70 assists.&rdquo;Although Falloon is a natural talent, he is no stranger to hard work. Foxwarren, pop. 130, is a wheat-farming town 200 miles from Winnipeg. It is a place where kids do their chores first and play hockey at the Foxwarren District Recreation Centre second. There was rarely competition for ice time and Falloon and his friends could pretty well skate whenever they wanted.Falloon intends on returning home this summer to teach at a couple of hockey schools and attend some card shows but he&rsquo;s eager to get back to working the land, or at least his father is.&ldquo;We won&rsquo;t treat him like a hard man or anything,&rdquo; said Ron Falloon, &ldquo;but we&rsquo;ll likely get him on a tractor for a couple of weeks and he&rsquo;ll be doing some seeding. He likes doing that.&rdquo;Ferreira purposely downplays the notion he is sowing the seeds of the Sharks&rsquo; franchise around Falloon because on an expansion team that designation can weigh heavily. As it was, losing didn&rsquo;t come easily for a kid who counts his wins before his goals.&ldquo;It was a tough situation,&rdquo; Falloon said. &ldquo;When you have a record like we do (17-55-5 for 39 points), you get down once in a while.&rdquo;On the ice, Sharks&rsquo; coach George Kingston has been Falloon&rsquo;s guardian. Known as a quality teacher. Kingston has schooled Falloon daily. He has asked Falloon, literally, to shoot for greatness.&ldquo;We want him to shoot the puck a lot more often,&rdquo; Kingston said. &ldquo;Too often he looks for another player rather than shoot. I&rsquo;m not being critical here. I&rsquo;m being analytical.&rdquo;Kingston wants Falloon. who averages about 2.1 shots per game, to increase his frequency closer to six per game. That&rsquo;s a level usually reserved for Brett Hull and other elite scorers. Kingston believes Falloon could someday join the list.The order to &lsquo;open fire&rsquo; is a testimony to Falloon&rsquo;s talent. No one tells a molasses-slow runner he has a green-light for base stealing, or no one tells the brick-laying point guard to play &lsquo;bombs away&rsquo; from the three-point zone.&ldquo;His (shooting) compares with anyone in the league in terms of quickness, delivery and accuracy,&rdquo; Kingston said.Early concerns about his defensive ability have been eased by continual improvement. Kingston said Falloon&rsquo;s expected first-year flaws are more habit than talent-related. The Sharks aren&rsquo;t suggesting thuggery for Falloon.&ldquo;He plays more like Mike Modano. than Jeremy Roenick.&rdquo; Kingston said. &ldquo;But he could play with more determination &ldquo;That doesn&rsquo;t mean Falloon has to play a rough-and-tumble style. &ldquo;Defense is an attitude,&rdquo; Kingston said. &ldquo;Steve Bozek isn&rsquo;t very big. Yet he can eliminate an opposing player.&rdquo;Defenses are more concerned about eliminating Falloon. His 54 points for a low-scoring, losing team may be a prelude to domination.Late in the season, Falloon played with left winger Johan Garpenlov and center Dale Craig well. The trio worked well together. But many believe next season Kingston will at least try to reunite Falloon with junior teammate Ray Whitney. They played together in Spokane of the Western League and were dominant players on the 1990-91 team that easily won the Memorial Cup before the Sharks took them one-two in their first draft.&ldquo;But who then will play on the other side?&rdquo; Kingston said. &ldquo;Would it have to be someone like Link Gaetz to look after them?&rdquo;Considering Whitney is only about 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds there is concern a Whitney-Falloon connection could cause a small problem.Ferreira isn&rsquo;t pushing for a Whitney-Falloon reunification-even though the Sharks&rsquo; top-notch marketing department would embrace the idea with passion.&ldquo;I think (a Whitney-Falloon reunion) is over-rated,&rdquo; Ferreira said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a Hollywood story. The important thing is getting them on the team together so we have more depth.&rdquo;Falloon stays in touch with Whitney, who has been a star for San Diego in the International League. Whitney outscored Falloon in their last year of junior.Does Falloon view Whitney as his center of the future? &ldquo;I know Ray is a great player and I just hope he gets a chance next season,&rdquo; Falloon said. &ldquo;Hey, 1 wasn&rsquo;t even sure I could play in this league until I got here.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0013-01

AIM IS TO BE SIX-SHOOTER

<div class="byline">BY RAND SIMON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-012130/10350526-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"></div>In 1989 it was Upper Deck. Leaf took the honors in 1990. And Stadium Club was the winner last year.So which baseball card set will be the one to get in 1992?Well, your guess is as good as ours. The field is wide open with both Fleer and Donruss turning its regular card line into a premium product.With Upper Deck, O-Pee-Chee Premier, Fleer Ultra, Leaf, Score Pinnacle and Topps Stadium Club, there are now six contenders for what will emerge as the set to have this year.What we can tell you is what each company is offering collectors this year. Here&rsquo;s a look at the different sets which have been released so far in 1992. Look for Ultra, Pinnacle, Premier and Stadium Club later in the season.<h2>Donruss</h2>The numbers: Two series of 396 cards each.The subsets: Rated rookies (44), all-stars (20), bonus cards (eight).The inserts: Diamond Kings (27).The rookies: John Jaha, Pat Mahomes, Rob Maurer.The skinny: The Diamond Kings, especially Frank Thomas are hot. There are approximately four randomly inserted in each box. Key Diamond Kings-Thomas, Jeff Bagwell and Dave Justice are in Series I. New design with better card stock popular with collectors.The prices: Series I wax box $37; Series 2 wax box $33; Hand-collated set $44; Diamond Kings set $100.<h2>Fleer</h2>The numbers: One series of 720 cards.The subsets: Major League prospects (29), record setters (seven), league leaders (10), superstar specials (10), pro visions (six).The inserts: Roger Clemens (12); all-stars (24), Rookie Sensations (20).The rookies: Cliff Brantley, Jose Hernandez, Rob Maurer.The skinny: All-Star inserts are found only in jumbo packs which are quite scarce and expensive. Complete All-Star set is worth more than the entire 1988-1992 run of Fleer sets. Complete collated sets are inexpensive as dealers are opening packs to find the insert cards.The prices: Wax box $30; Hand-collated set $30; Clemens set $35; all-star set $70; Rookie Sensations $250.<h2>Score</h2>The numbers: Two series of 442 and 451 cards respectively.The subsets: Rookie prospects (67), all-stars (10), no-hit club (eight), highlights (five). Dream Team (13), award winners (seven), draft picks (12), memorabilia (five).The inserts: Joe DiMaggio (five).The rookies: Tyler Green, Manny Ramirez, Al Shirley.The skinny: Nice design and decent player selection hurt by what appear to be another year of overproduction. Still a great buy for the cost. Thomas Dream Team is key card.The prices: Wax box $19; Hand-collated set $30.<h2>Topps</h2>The numbers: One series of 792 cards.The subsets: All-Stars (22), record breakers (four), top prospects (nine).The inserts: Gold cards (792-one of each regular card).The rookies: Shawn Green, Calvin Reese, Brien Taylor.The skinny: Taylor exclusive makes set attractive-set&rsquo;s ultimate potential depends largely on Yankee hurler living up to potential. Green card popular with Blue Jay followers Prospects card with John Jaha, Ryan Klesko, Rico Brogna and Dave Staton is already $2 item. One gold card is found in each box, making it virtually impossible to put together a set. But some factory sets are available for about $500-700.The prices: Wax box $19; Hand-collated set $28.<h2>Upper Deck</h2>The numbers: Low number series of 700, high number series of 100, final edition series of 100 cards. Complete factory sets released around mid-season will be 800 cards as final edition cards aren&rsquo;t included.The subsets: Star rookies (28), team checklists (26), top prospects (26), bloodlines (seven), diamond skills (11).The inserts: Ted Williams Heroes (10 plus cover card), Deion Sanders Prime Time (one).The rookies: Shawn Green, David McCarty, Manny Ramirez.The skinny: Great selection of rookies and prospects despite losing out on Brien Taylor. Second-year card of Jeromy Bumitz is hot. Sanders card (continuation of SP series with Michael Jordan and Nolan Ryan/Rickey Henderson cards) is found in approximately one out of every two boxes and sells for about $12. More than two boxes needed to put set together by hand. Williams&rsquo; cover card tough to find for less than $5.The prices: Wax box $39; Hand-collated set $40; Williams set (including cover card) $ 18. &#9632;

f0016-01

STEP UP TO THE PLATE FOR SAMPLING OF 1992 CARDS

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE HEPBURN</div>Seventy-five years after Art Ross and Georges Vezina made their NHL debuts in Montreal, the value of their cards has gone through the roof.Same with Newsy Lalonde, Cyclone Taylor, King Clancy, Dit Clapper &hellip;all the great names and great players of the pre-Second World War era. In fact, over the past 12 months the value of Vezina and Ross cards has skyrocketed 100 per cent.Credit this boom in popularity to greater interest expressed by dealers and collectors. Quite frankly, up until last year not many collectors were aware of the availability of pre-Second World War cards.It was a year ago Collectors World published the first comprehensive listing since 1984 of pre-WWIl cards and photo issues. It contained an update on cards from 1910-1941 and a look at unlisted postcards.Since then, the cards have become hot. There is not one card from the pre-Second World War era that has not increased in value. Commons have risen by an average 40 per cent, while the average set has increased 50 per cent. What is stunning is the increase for the star player cards.Lalonde and Taylor&rsquo;s cards have increased 85 per cent in value. They&rsquo;re both part of the C56 (1910-11), C55 (1911-12) and C57 (1912-13) sets which are in high demand.In the 70 per cent increase range are cards of Lester Patrick, Busher Jackson, Nels Stewart and King Clancy. Cards rising by 60 per cent include Eddie Shore, Dit Clapper, Charlie Conacher and Joe Malone.Two former Ottawa Senator greats, Cy Denenny and Frank Nighbor, have rookie cards in the V145-1 set. A year ago their cards were 10 per cent above the common price. They&rsquo;re now double the common value of $100. The revival of the Senators no doubt played a part in their resurgence.The set values have increased according to the age of the cards. The three cigarette issues C56, C55, and C57 (1910-13) have increased 65 per cent while sets from the 1920s rose 50 per cent; 1930s and 1940s sets increased 35 per cent and 30 per cent.Why such exorbitant increases in a short time? Increased awareness is the biggest factor. Until the cards were listed a year ago a lot of newer collectors and American collectors did not know about them. The CW listing helped give collectors a benchmark.The low supply of these cards coupled with increased awareness means there&rsquo;s going to be greater investment potential. The low supply means you don&rsquo;t need a great influx of new collectors to move prices up.Four new listings are featured in this issue: Dominion Chocolates, Sweet Caporal postcards, 1911-12 Victoria Cougars postcards and the Triumph/Champion postcard set.The 32 hockey cards that are part of the 120-card Dominion Chocolates set and three postcard sets are listed separately at the end.The Sweet Caporal postcards of 1910-11 are the black and white photos which served as the models for the artist who painted the portraits which appear on the C55 cards of 1911-12.Not much is known about the ninecard 1911-12 Victoria Cougars postcards which includes one of Lester Patrick. They are even harder to find than the Sweet Caporal.The Triumph/Champion set of 20 postcards were promotions in the two British Boys Magazines. Usually more than one was inserted in each weekly publication. They were distributed in 1936 between Jan. 18 and March 7. Some of the great stars of the 1930s are included such as Clancy and Joliat. &#9632;

PRE-SECOND WORLD WAR CARDS SKYROCKET IN VALUE

<div class="byline">BY ALEX KLENMAN</div>Card store owners are familiar with the trials and tribulations involved in the distribution of sports cards. Either they can&rsquo;t get enough, they can&rsquo;t get what they want, or they pay too much.In Canada, there&rsquo;s a ravenous appetite for hockey cards. Of the five major manufacturers only one-O-Pee-Chee of London, Ont., is Canadian. The rest rely on distributors to get their product to the masses. Here&rsquo;s a look at some of the distribution problems Upper Deck, Pro Set and O-Pee-Chee have had this year.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-012005/10350595-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="671" height="825"></div>Upper Deck uses three Canadian distributors to get cards to collectors. Can Play of Oshawa, Ont., handles Upper Deck&rsquo;s national accounts. It sends cards to large department stores including K-Mart. Zellers. Woolco, as well as independent sporting goods and toy stores. Panini of Montreal sends cards to smaller comer stores and magazine wholesalers. And Game Day Distributors of Toronto sends cards to more than 1,000 store s/dealers.Until last fall, Upper Deck products were distributed exclusively by Toronto-based Legends of the Game. In November, however, Rick Hession-co-founder and then-president of Legends-left the company, partly because he was uncomfortable with the distribution arrangement.He opened Hession Group Sports in Kingston, while Upper Deck created Game Day Distributors to handle their product distribution.The move created widespread confusion among dealers. Many thought-and some still do-that Legends and Game Day were owned by the same company.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t know where they stand, wholesale, retail, we have no idea,&rdquo; said Stan Jaffe of Vancouver&rsquo;s Bizarre Bazaar. &ldquo;They (Legends) sent us a letter saying they&rsquo;re not in the wholesale business anymore, and that Game Day is. Well we just don&rsquo;t know what&rsquo;s going on.&rdquo;Upper Deck spokesman Bob Bove, said he is aware of the perceived conflicts but is satisfied the current arrangement is sound. He said Upper Deck is working to increase Game Day&rsquo;s image to make dealers more aware of its role.Upper Deck isn&rsquo;t the only company to experience distribution glitches. Pro Set also experienced problems this year.The Dallas-based company sends its Canadian card allotment to candy manufacturer Nielsen/Cadbury in Toronto. Like Upper Deck, distribution is broken down into three areas&mdash;hobby, confectionery, and department stores.Pro Set officials won&rsquo;t reveal what percentage of the Canadian allotment goes to each. But they do admit the base price is the same across the board, as all sectors pay the same box/case price.Pro Set was formerly distributed in Canada by Victory Productions of Mississauga. Ont. That relationship ended when Pro Set decided to switch distributors.An incident at a card show in Vancouver last November may have played a role the split. Pro Set secured corporate booth space at a large card show. Victory Productions was scheduled to run the booth but was unable to attend at the last minute.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021460/10350588-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="682" height="819"></div>Specialty Foods, a confectionery wholesaler from Burnaby, B.C., was brought in to run the Pro Set corporate booth for Victory. But Specialty used the opportunity to retail Platinum hockey boxes and cases to the public. The move didn&rsquo;t go over well with local dealers.Somebody also forgot to tell Specialty that Victory pledged it would &ldquo;never compete on a retail level&rdquo; with its customers.What made the incident hard to swallow for dealers at the show was the fact they were anxiously awaiting delivery of their own Platinum orders. A large shipment ended up in Specialty&rsquo;s hands and it retailed for $1.99 a pack and $40 a box.Another problem dogging Pro Set&rsquo;s distribution this year was the fact it has three issues to market-regular Pro Set, Platinum and Parkhurst.The sets were released too close together and had to compete on the shelves.Platinum I was released first, then, a few weeks later, Parkhurst 1. The Platinum series, a new product, needed time to gain recognition and popularity. In this case the opportunity was damaged by the quick release of Parkhurst. Pro Set must eliminate such oversights to ensure its products have a healthy future.O-Pee Chee has been making cards in Canada every season since 1968-69. To distribute its product, O-Pee-Chee deals with confectionery wholesalers, department stores and hobby stores. Unlike other manufacturers O-Pee-Chee deals directly with its hobby clients.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-031031/10350581-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="688" height="818"></div>But what was once the most accessible factory in the hobby is now fast becoming out of reach for most dealers. Recent revisions in O-Pee-Chee&rsquo;s distribution policy have made it much tougher for the average Canadian card shop to deal factory direct.O-Pee-Chee now determines how much product its hobby clients get by basing allotments on a percentage of purchases made in the last year.This means the amount of product a store can purchase in the future is directly related to how much product it purchased in the past 12 months. Stores that purchased 50 cases of the regular baseball issue will be offered more Premier hockey next season than stores that bought only the five case minimum.It&rsquo;s a marketing move that directly links the distribution of the more popular Premier products to the less popular regular issues. The aim is to move inventory and this is one way the company feels it can be achieved.Many dealers view the new policy as a form of blackmail. But Malcolm Bull, vice-president of marketing at O-Pee-Chee, said the company adapted the policy to fit a changing market-place. He added that the new policy is one way to keep the distribution operation running smoothly. &#9632;

f0018-01

GETTING CARDS TO COLLECTORS A LOT TOUGHER THAN YOU THINK

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-10103/10350765-1-eng-US/f0020-102.jpg" title="f0020-10" width="336" height="589"><figcaption class="caption-body">ARENA</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-1178/10350758-1-eng-US/f0020-112.jpg" title="f0020-11" width="335" height="592"><figcaption class="caption-body">CLASSIC</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-1261/10350751-1-eng-US/f0020-122.jpg" title="f0020-12" width="333" height="594"><figcaption class="caption-body">STAR PICS</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-1345/10350744-1-eng-US/f0020-132.jpg" title="f0020-13" width="335" height="593"><figcaption class="caption-body">ULTIMATE</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0020-10

BEST DRAFT PICK SET

Welcome to our second annual Collectors World Reader Poll. Including this issue, the Poll will run in four editions of Collectors World. The results will be published in the Summer issue (Vol. 2. No. 10).We&rsquo;ve made a few changes to our popular feature. Gone is the category of worst card and added is one for best non-NHL licensed set.For best set, we show the first regular card in each issue. Although Pinnacle hasn&rsquo;t been released yet, it will before the end of the sea-son-and before all poll votes are counted.In the category of best investment, we&rsquo;ve limited it to players who have rookie cards this season. So there&rsquo;s no Pavel Bure, Pat Falloon or Donald Audette. If you choose to vote for player other than those listed, choose one who has a rookie card this season.Simply check the box for your selection and mail or fax the page or a photocopy to: Collectors World Reader Poll, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100,Don Mills, Ont., M3B 2R2 &#9632;

SECOND ANNUAL READER POLL

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-1440/10350855-1-eng-US/f0020-142.jpg" title="f0020-14" width="335" height="593"><figcaption class="caption-body">TONY AMONTE</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-1534/10350848-1-eng-US/f0020-152.jpg" title="f0020-15" width="333" height="592"><figcaption class="caption-body">VALERI ZELEPUKIN</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-1628/10350841-1-eng-US/f0020-162.jpg" title="f0020-16" width="334" height="589"><figcaption class="caption-body">NICKLAS LIOSTROM</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-1723/10350834-1-eng-US/f0020-172.jpg" title="f0020-17" width="333" height="592"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEVIN TODD</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-1820/10350827-1-eng-US/f0020-182.jpg" title="f0020-18" width="331" height="592"><figcaption class="caption-body">VALERI ZELEPUKIN</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-1914/10350820-1-eng-US/f0020-192.jpg" title="f0020-19" width="334" height="591"><figcaption class="caption-body">OTHER</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0020-14

BEST INVESTMENT

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-2015/10350921-1-eng-US/f0020-202.jpg" title="f0020-20" width="335" height="590"><figcaption class="caption-body">STADIUM ACTON</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-2112/10350914-1-eng-US/f0020-212.jpg" title="f0020-21" width="334" height="595"><figcaption class="caption-body">UPPER DECK FLEURY</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-2210/10350907-1-eng-US/f0020-222.jpg" title="f0020-22" width="335" height="595"><figcaption class="caption-body">SCORE LINDROS</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-238/10350900-1-eng-US/f0020-232.jpg" title="f0020-23" width="340" height="592"><figcaption class="caption-body">PLATINUM GAGNER</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-246/10350893-1-eng-US/f0020-242.jpg" title="f0020-24" width="336" height="590"><figcaption class="caption-body">PREMIER ROBERTS</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-254/10350886-1-eng-US/f0020-252.jpg" title="f0020-25" width="337" height="588"><figcaption class="caption-body">OTHER</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0020-20

BEST CARD

<div class="byline">BY RAND SIMON</div>And now for something completely different&mdash;Pro Set Platinum.Traditional collectors may have reservations about the fronts void of player names or the backs without statistics. In fact, the fronts have no, information on them at all. The borderless cards look more like photos than anything. But they are popular with the new wave of collectors who like the cards glossy finish and high quality.Platinum is divided into two series of 150 cards. Series 1 includes most of the game&rsquo;s big stars but not a single rookie card. Series 2 is mainly players traded since Series 1 and rookies, who are identified on their cards as prospects.Among the prospects are Pavel Bure, Nicklas Lidstrom, Tony Amonte, Valeri Zelepukin and Michel Goulet. And here we thought the 32-year-old Goulet firmly established himself as a player when he reached the 500-goal mark earlier this season.The Goulet error aside, mistakes are kept to a minimum. Of course, with such little information on the cards and no statistics it cuts down the opportunities for mistakes.Also kept down are the production numbers. Pro Set didn&rsquo;t release the figures for Series 1 but the Series 2 numbers were 15,000 cases. It&rsquo;s a safe bet the Series 1 numbers were similar if not identical.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011409/10350959-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="629" height="816"><figcaption class="caption-body">Trust us, Ron Sutter is the only colorful thing about this card.</figcaption></div>But the small size of the set still makes for a lot of cards. With 20 boxes in a case and with each box containing an average of more than 2 1/2 cards of each player, there are more than 75,000 cards of each player.Overall player selection between the two series is solid with Gilbert Dionne being the only notable absence. Series 2 was produced too early to include players such as Joe Juneau and Scott Lachance, who joined NHL teams following the Olympics. Look for Parkhurst 2 to include those players.Picture quality is generally excellent but there are still some typically out-of-focus Pro Set photos. The photos were better in Series 2 than in Series 1.The best cards are the ones which combine color and black-and-white images. Cards of Terry Carkner, Brian Leetch (the back of his performance card) and Ron Sutter are particularly effective in showing the player in color and the other players and background in black and white. How about a complete set like that? It would be a big success.The best shots in the set are of Dave Gagner (always a good subject), Kirk Muller and Sergei Nemchinov and Jeff Hackett. The worst are less-than-sharp photos of Brian Leetch and Jeremy Roenick. Some of the photos on the backs are poorly lit. Most importantly, there don&rsquo;t appear to be any wrong player photos.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02915/10350952-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="635" height="822"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pro Set Platinum series 2 is Mr. Rogers&rsquo; neighborhood.</figcaption></div>Pro Set definitely proved with Platinum that it understands the concepts of photo sizing and cropping. The photos on the back are the largest ever on a hockey card, taking up nearly two-thirds of the area. Nearly all the photos were taken this season.Series 1 includes a six-card subset detailing the histories of the Original Six teams. The front of the cards show replicas of the teams&rsquo; original uniforms and other equipment.In each series, 10 Platinum Club cards are randomly distributed in foil packs. Series 1 contains cards for 1990-91 player-of-the-month performers and season leaders. The Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull and Sergei Fedorov cards attract the most interest.In Series 2, the 10 cards honor players who reached milestones this season, including Gretzky, Goulet and Bobby Smith.In keeping with Pro Set&rsquo;s desire to give collectors cards unlike any other, Series 2 has 12 cards of celebrity captains. Bure and Amonte still remain far better investment than the Capitals&rsquo; Larry King or the Penguins&rsquo; Mr. Rodgers but it&rsquo;s nice to get something different once in a while.One of the celebrity captains is actress Susan St. James, of the Whalers who becomes the first woman to have her own NHL-licensed card.In this era of too many cards looking too much like each other, Pro Set deserves credit on its Platinum effort. But with a better Pro Set product (Parkhurst) already in the market and with sets like Upper Deck and Premier getting more attention from collectors, you can&rsquo;t help but wonder if in a few years anyone will remember Platinum.It would be a shame if Platinum becomes the set that time forget since it is a series worth remembering. &#9632;

f0021-01

PLATINUM PROVES IT’S GOOD TO BE DIFFERENT

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011569/10351042-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0028-01

COLLECTORS WORD INTERNATIONAL GUIDE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0031-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011423/10351213-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg"></div>The Hockey News Collectors World Price Guide is an accurate reflection of the purchase price of hockey cards.Remember, the Guide is just that-a guide. You may not find these cards at exactly these prices. Prices are in Canadian funds. As of April 13, the Canadian dollar was worth roughly 87 cents U. S.We present our listings with indicators to show whether the card or set has changed in price since the previous issue. A + sign indicates a price increase; a - means a decline in price. Key rookies in each set are highlighted in bold type.As always, we present all cards made by Parkhurst, Topps, O-Pee-Chee, Bowman, Pro Set, Score and Upper Deck from 1951-52 to 1990-91.We also include the 1991-92 Bow-man, Pro Set Series 1 + 2, Platinum Series 1 + 2, Score Canadian 1 + 2, Score American, O-Pee-Chee, Parkhurst 1, Premier, Stadium Club, Topps and Upper Deck issues. The other &rsquo;91-92 issues-Pinnacle and Parkhurst 2-will appear once they are released to the hobby.Also in this issue is our pre-World War II Price Guide. That begins on page 22.We would like to thank the following hobby dealers who helped in compiling this month&rsquo;s Guide:Lenny Wiess of The Puck Stops Here in West Bloomfield, Mich.; Herman Raulino of Collage, in Cambridge, Ont.; Joe Filion of Cartomainia in Cheneville, Que.; Tom Stewart of Stewart&rsquo;s Card Kingdom in Orillia, Ont.; John O&rsquo;Mara of Card-board Heroes in St. John&rsquo;s, Nfld; Travis Daley of Joe Daley&rsquo;s in Winnipeg; Mike Jestadt of Big Time Sports Cards in Regina, Sask.; Nigel Spill of Oldies and Goodies in N. Hollywood, Calif.; Stu Gauthier of The Card Guys in Nanaimo, B.C.; and Ted Silverman of Can-Am Card Company in Ganges, B.C., who also helped with last month&rsquo;s Guide.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011557/10351206-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="2135" height="3796"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011368/10351199-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="2253" height="3800"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011579/10351192-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="3997" height="4400"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011446/10351185-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="3997" height="4400"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011485/10351178-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="3997" height="4400"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011304/10351171-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="3642" height="2161"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011440/10351164-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="3997" height="4400"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011305/10351157-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="3766" height="1897"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-011036/10351150-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="3997" height="4400"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01893/10351143-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="3690" height="2188"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01966/10351136-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="3997" height="4400"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01918/10351129-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="3997" height="4400"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01847/10351122-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="3327" height="1822"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01735/10351115-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="3607" height="1862"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01761/10351108-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="7985" height="4400"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01545/10351101-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="7979" height="4400"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01536/10351094-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="3344" height="2155"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-01400/10351087-1-eng-US/f0051-012.jpg" title="f0051-01" width="3728" height="2303"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-01418/10351080-1-eng-US/f0052-012.jpg" title="f0052-01" width="3997" height="4400"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-01380/10351073-1-eng-US/f0053-012.jpg" title="f0053-01" width="3784" height="2218"></div> &#9632;

f0031-01

BEST HOCKEY CARD PRICE GUIDE AVAILABLE

The condition of a card is a crucial consideration when establishing its price. A card may be damaged in subtle or dramatic ways.Although condition is actually a grading scale (there may be a card &iacute;that is less than near mint but better than excellent, for instance) there are some common standard conditions.Mint (M): A perfect card, free of any defects. It should be perfectly centered with perfect color registration. All four corners should be sharp, pointed and there should be no creases or folds. Nor should there be any gum or wax stains on the front or back of the card. The card should not be altered in any way. There should be no pencil marks on the card, not even on checklists. The edges of the card should not be faded or discolored. Mint cards from the last 10 years command 100 per cent of guide price. Prior to that, there is a 10 to 50 per cent premium on mint cards.Near Mint (NM): An almost perfect card. One small defect or two very minor defects is enough to change a mint to a near mint. An elastic band indentation or one dulled comer on an otherwise perfect card or a &ldquo;perfect&rdquo; card which is fractionally off-center would be a near-mint card. A near-mint card is worth 60 to 75 per cent of mint price.Excellent (E): A card showing obvious wear or having a large defect. A badly off-center or off-registered card or a card with clearly dulled (not rounded) corners would be an excellent card. Very minor creasing near the comers but no heavy creasing nor foreign substances other than gum or wax stains are common excellent card: defects. An excellent card is worth; 30-40 per cent of a mint card.Very Good (VG): A very good; card could have significant creasing; but no rips, holes or tears. The cor-; ners could be rounded. There could be a number of defects that in total make a card very good, such as a badly off-center card with dulled comers, a small crease and a wax stain on the back. A very good card is worth 15-20 per cent of mint price.Good (G): A good card is basically intact with little else going for it. Heavy creasing, ink or pencil marks, badly rounded corners, extreme fading and/or discoloration are marks of a good card. A mint or near-mint card with a hole or rip is also considered good. A good card is worth five to 10 per cent of a mint card. &#9632;

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