$5....$5 Printing Plate....of Getzlaf!

Two modern Ryan Getzlaf cards in one week!? The world must be ending for me to stray from my newer collecting goals, even for a stalwart of this blog like the former Ducks' Captain. In reality I simply stumbled upon a couple of awesome deals on limited cardboard of Getzy and couldn't resist adding them. The rarer of the two was listed at $9.99 or best offer and I threw a $5 offer out into the eBay seas.

The seller accepted pretty quickly and for a measly five spot I was able to reel in this 2021-22 Upper Deck Series 2 Canvas Yellow Printing Plate. I like the simple photo UD used of a smiling Ryan pre or post-game in front of the benches.

My targeting of Getz cardboard is very specific now but something along these lines, for this little cash, will always be of interest. This is easily the most recent card of Getzlaf I have come into.

Do you collect printing plates for your player/team PCs?

Ryan Getzlaf Dominion Add: Emerald /5!

My Ryan Getzlaf Collection has certainly suffered over the last four or five years. My love of his game and contributions to the Ducks hasn't changed or diminished -- my focus just shifted even more singularly to vintage and Archer before I added in tickets and Type 1 Photos. All that being said, a good deal is a good deal and I do have saved searches for some Getzy cardboard.

One such saved search is Dominion cards of The Captain and when this 2011-12 Dominion Emerald Parallel popped up on eBay I actually let it sit for some time. It continually went without bids and eventually the price was lowered to a point I just couldn't pass up.

It's numbered 1/5 and if I were that annoying kind of eBayer I'd call it a 1/1 since 1/5 easily equates to Ryan's sweater number of 15. But thankfully, I am not that annoying.

A Ryan Getzlaf Dominion Addition, Years In The Making: 8 Is Certainly Enough

The days of feverishly searching eBay for all of my collecting needs and desires has basically come to an end. I search for a few things every day and have some saved searches set up but I don't put the time into it that I used to. I have almost certainly missed out on things -- some of which I'll likely never cross paths with again -- but I've come to terms with that. Every so often, however, I land an item that I've chased for years if not near a decade and it feels just as good as it used to.

The above 8 Is Enough booklet -- numbered 10/25 -- is one such card that has been on my needs list nearing in on ten years. I would still love to complete the Master Set of 2010-11 Dominion cards for my main man Ryan Getzlaf but I have missed out on one or two cards that I've never seen again. I could not let this one fall into that category and pulled the trigger when this went up on eBay as a BIN.

The booklet has three versions (/25, /10, and /5) and features a lot of talent within it. This one is even numbered to former Duck Corey Perry's sweater number, but having Getzy on it was all I needed to chase it for just under a third of my life.

A High-End The Cup Dual Auto Card -- Stanley Cup Wins with Ryan Getzlaf!

I have almost completely strayed from chasing modern cardboard of any kind as it no longer brings me happiness despite the players still being guys I love(d) to watch perform. Modern cardboard is so plentiful I just can't stomach spending money on it. However, every so often a card pops up in my once in a blue moon searches that captivates me and I must seek it out and acquire it. Such was the case with this absolutely stunning 2013 The Cup Signatures Renditions Combos -- limited to just 15 copies with hard-signed autos -- of one Ryan Getzlaf.

Scanning this in properly took some doing but I finally figured out how to showcase thiccccker slabs. That Cup-winning Ducks' team will forever bring me joy as the first of my favorite teams to win in my lifetime. Getzlaf and Corey Perry made for quite the duo for years and years and this shot of them (with a cutoff Dustin Penner on the left) remains a cherished sports photo in my memory.

PSA returned this to me as an 8.

Ovechkin Is The Only Russian I Want

While I am a lifelong Anaheim Ducks' fan, I do enjoy the exploits of other hockey players. Alexander Ovechkin ranks among the top non-Ducks I have admired and when I added his John Hancock back in 2014 it was a joyous moment. I decided to encase it in plastic forever and here is the final result. 

I can certainly live with an 8 from PSA and the autograph itself landed a 10. Although it's a sticker graph the throwback Washington Capitals sweater is just all kinds of pretty. Combined with the limited print-run of 99, it more than makes up for the lack of on-card writing.

A Card I Wish I Never Owned.

Today's post is one I wish I never had to write. This card belonged to my best friend at work, who suddenly and very unexpectedly passed away in May of 2021 at the age of 45. His wife sold his collection to fund a charity venture in his name that rescues dogs. I wanted to contribute and wanted to give some pieces from his collection a permanent and good home. He was a lifelong sports fan and collector and we bonded very quickly after meeting within my first month at PSA.

My friend used to write for the Carolina Hurricanes but after moving to California became a Ducks' fan, yet another thing we had in common. When I saw this dual autograph -- featuring Ryan Getzlaf and graded a BGS 10 -- was available I truly felt it belonged with me. I'm really happy I could give it a home and contribute to the wonderful charity she's starting in his memory.

Love you Neil, forever.

Ryan Getzlaf Pickup: Yet Another 2010-11 Dominion Ruby On-Card Auto /50

My love of 2010-11 Panini Dominion Hockey continues to this day. I still aim to finish off the Ryan Getzlaf Rainbow from the product although I've been down to the really tough and limited print-run stuff for so long I don't know that it will ever be completed. In the interim I still pick up Dominion cards of The Captain when I can.

Here's my 11th Ruby Auto from the inaugural release of Panini's high-end Dominion. This copy, numbered 13/50, was around half a blaster if memory serves. The design still holds up over the test of time and the on-card John Hancock is icing on the cake.

Congrats Alexander Ovechkin!

One of my favorite non-Ducks (despite the fact that he kills us basically every time we play, and we don't play the Caps very often to begin with) has finally won the Cup. He had a great playoffs and I'm thrilled to see him get to raise Lord Stanley and not get shit on by people.

Selanne, Kariya Make The Hall of Fame!

The two guys responsible for my love of hockey and specifically my love of the Anaheim Ducks just made the Hall of Fame, and quite appropriately made it together. Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya were so exciting to watch that I decided to root for the Ducks over the local Kings. Both teams were terrible at that time, but only one was truly enjoyable to watch even with the outcome usually a loss.

Congrats gentlemen and thank you for all the great memories!

Ice Ice Gibby

Here are a couple of cards Mike was kind enough to pass along recently.

The Martin is a new addition to my PC and the John Gibson is a sweet card from '14-'15 UD Ice. Mike told me the goalies were tough pulls that year so that is just icing on the cake.

Thanks as always!

2011-2012 Upper Deck The Cup 1/1 Black Printing Plate: Ryan Getzlaf

Ryan Getzlaf was again the best Duck during both the regular season and the postseason. While I haven't been buying a lot of anything recently I feel like I haven't picked up much of him in particular. Here's one step towards changing that.

For a penny over half a blaster I'm happy to add another 1/1 printing plate to the PC, especially when it hails from a high-end product like 2011-2012 The Cup.

My Top 10 Ryan Getzlaf Cards

Brian from Collecting Cutch fame is running a contest in which he has asked us to post our 10 favorite cards of our favorite player. I have a few favorite guys from different sports but with the Anaheim Ducks' season recently ending with a trip to the Western Conference Finals I figured I would focus on my top hockey player, Ryan Getzlaf. I would probably waver on a few of these on any given day but here is my current top ten.

Two of the key pieces on the only Cup-winning Ducks' squad. It's also numbered 15/25 and Getzy is number 15. I'm easy like that.

15/25 and The Captain is raising Lord Stanley's Cup? Sold.

A trend of raising the trophy, plus this is the most iconic shot of Getz.

I got this card after submitting a redemption so I lucked out that the patch I ended up with is so amazingly fantastic and patch-y. A webbed Duck foot is enough to get me excited.

One of the tougher cards I had to track down and the patch harkens back to the Mighty Ducks days. Lots of stitching always helps for me too.

The first certified auto of Ryan and it took forever and then some to acquire the card. Patience paid off though and I landed it for a stellar deal.

Part of a large and time-consuming rainbow I'm working on for my favorite hockey set of all time, 2010-2011 Panini Dominion. This is the 1/1 Tag Team and the Canadian flags are just really cool.

The RPG line was really fun to watch and I'm still a big fan of Bobby Ryan.

The true XRC of El Capitan and a mail-in redemption to boot.

A hard-signed rookie John Hancock to round out the countdown.

Happy 32nd Birthday, Ryan Getzlaf!

I'm fairly positive I haven't been as nervous as I was tonight in months. The Ducks advance to the Western Conference Finals on the back of The Captain, Ryan Getzlaf. Getzy turns 32 today and has had a truly dominant postseason thus far. I could show my 32 favorite cards of him, but I don't have that much energy. So here are a few I like quite a bit.

Golden Bison, French Getzlaf

Mike passed along a couple of new additions to my Kemp and Getzy PCs.

That Kemp is called a Golden Moments parallel. You learn something every day.

Thanks as always amigo!

Print-Run: Bane of The Player Collector

I picked up a card recently even though I already have a copy in my collection. The print-run was different, it was dirt cheap for an on-card autograph of my favorite player, and boredom can be a monetary drain more often than not.

Numbered 91/99, this Ryan Getzlaf John Hancock hails from 2013-2014 Panini Prime Hockey. It's a great looking product and pairs nicely with the copy numbered out of 25 I landed long ago.

The seller threw in random cards, highlighted by a base card of El Capitan.

Getzlaf and Gibby, Showcased

A customer broke four boxes of 2016-17 Fleer Showcase Hockey and left behind all of the base cards. They will be handed out to kids with the exception of two which now call my collection home.

They are, of course, Ducks' cards of Ryan Getzlaf and John Gibson.

Brandon Montour Young Guns RC

A customer left behind most of a box of 2016-17 Upper Deck Series 2 Hockey. I take those opportunities to give kids who come in some free cardboard, but one card in the lot was calling my name. Thankfully my boss is a die-hard Kings' fan so he let me snag the below for my collection without any hassle.

I've really liked Montour's game in his fairly limited action so far this season. He has a great shot, moves the puck very well, is defensively-responsible, and has not looked out of place at all in his first taste of action in the show. I'm excited to see him moving forward as part of a D-group in desperate need of consistency and I'm just as thrilled to not have to shell out 5 bucks to pluck this card from eBay.

Long Overdue Thanks To My BB4L!

Dennis from Too Many Verlanders fame sent along a great package of cardboard and non-cardboard during the holidays. Yes, I'm slow and well behind on things but I wanted to properly thank him for the awesome stuff he sent along.

Brand new additions to my Kemp, Kershaw, and Martin PCs kick things off.

Another new Mattycakes, who is matched with Martin and PTSIA favorite Chad Billingsley as well as old friend Hiroki Kuroda. Four Angels' swatches are on the back, but I wasn't wasting my time scanning in Halos. The most notable would be Long Beach State Dirtbag Jered Weaver and former Dodger Howie Kendrick. It's numbered 154/200.

A sweet quad relic, numbered 22/50, popped out next. Most notable among the Ducks are Hampus Lindholm and Emerson Etem, whom I saw drafted in-person and used to collect heavily.

The final card I scanned in features Dodger and Bruin Chase Utley. It's a gold parallel numbered 0297/2016 out of 2016 Topps Series 1 and I love that Chase is ending his career where it could have begun had he signed rather than choosing the collegiate route.

Thanks BB4L!!

Secret Santa Drops Off Stellar Cardboard

Everyone's favorite Matt from Bob Walk The Plank organized a Secret Santa this year. I decided it would be fun to join as I've never done it before, card-wise or in any setting. I received my goodies from my Secret Santa a few days ago and here they are, courtesy of Chris aka Raz of The Raz Card Blog.

Seager! This is one of those spiffy and appropriately-themed Snowflake cards found in 2016 Topps Holiday exclusive to Walmart. I like the design and any Corey rookie is good in my book, especially when my PC of the reigning NL ROY was lacking the card in question.

Chris was able to knock two cards off of my Most Wanted List, a rarity nowadays. First up is the Young Guns RC of Anaheim Ducks' goalie John Gibson, a personal favorite of mine. I've wanted Gibby's YG for a long time but never got around to finding one in my price range. I was stoked to see it fall out of the bubbler!

The Bison! This Kemp card -- 2006's Bowman Sterling RC -- has eluded me for years, though in fairness I never focused on actually getting it. But Chris took care of that and I enjoy Kemp rookies as much as I did years ago when he was still wearing Blue and not running into walls.

The final card is another Snowflake and another PTSIA fave: Russell Martin's 2016 Topps offering. This now gives me 335 unique Russ cards.

Thanks upon thanks for the fantastic cards Chris! Much appreciated!