Earlier this season I tuned in early to watch the Montreal Canadiens vs. the Florida Panthers. I like to tune in early to see them introduce the goalie matchup where they show both netminders (usually unmasked) so I can pick the one who is cuter and cheer for his team during the game. This strategy makes watching dozens of games for which I have no personal investment in the outcome suddenly more entertaining and recommend more women hockey fans give it a try.
Analyzing the looks of each team’s starting netminder is a perfectly acceptable means of selecting a favorite to win the game. I’m having a hard time convincing my dad and some of his friends of this however. This particular matchup was a tough one, because Carey Price in my opinion is the best looking goaltender in the league (excluding some of the hot AHL goalies that get called up) and currently I have over 268 of Carey’s trading cards. I like Carry not just because he’s a hottie, but you never know what you are going to see from him on the ice. I’d like to see Upper Deck make a trading card for this memorable moment.
Now on to the Panthers goalie; Jose Theodore. A few months ago, I saw a photo of Jose Theodore that made me rethink what he is all about. Since finding that photo I have collected 131 Jose Theodore cards to add to my cute goalie card collection.
This game posed quite a dilemma for me and I wasn’t able to choose between Carey and Jose. I wasn’t surprised the game went into overtime with both goalies earning regulation shutouts.
Some people laugh at my interesting selection criteria for picking favorite teams and what cards to collect. Right now I primarily just collect cute goalies and Taylor Hall (I know he’s not a goalie, but he’s still a hottie. One person who isn’t critical of my cute goalie card collection is my Dad. That’s not to imply he’s an aficionado of good looking goalies, he’s just glad I’m collecting something I enjoy.
I was raised in my parent’s sports card and memorabilia store and was working the register at six-years-old. One question people always asked my mom and dad at the shop was, “What should I collect?” Their answer hasn’t changed in over 30 years, they say “Collect what you like. Buy what makes you happy and if the market takes a turn, your collection still holds value to you.”
I’m fairly sure this is why my Dad supports my collecting of cute goalies and even helps contribute to my collection. My mom on the other hand is glad I’ve taken up collecting something other than shoes, purses and Couture clothing, often expresses some concern. Especially when it comes to my collection of game-used goalie gear.
Speaking of game-used goalie gear, a lot of the new hockey cards have swatches of game-used jerseys, patches and sometimes sticks from players. Goalie cards often have swatches of game-used goalie pads, blockers and gloves. These are really fun to collect. I should also point out they are much less expensive and portable than collecting actual full sized game-used hockey gear.
My mom threw a fit when I walked into her store and showed off my recently acquired game-used Bryzgalov autographed goalie pads, especially after my previous purchase, an autographed game-used blocker & trapper set from Khabibulin.
She’d much rather I collect cards with game-used goalie gear and I’ll admit, she did have a point about me not having an appropriate place to keep Bryz’s pads right now.
I do get some slack from my dad and his friends about my Marc-Andre Fleury collection. Apparently we’re not too fond of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Philadelphia area, but I don’t think inter-divisional rivalry impacts how hot Marc-Andre is. My Dad won’t even let me wear a Fluery shirt to hockey games. I explained I don’t want the Penguins to win the game, I just want Marc-Andre to know I think he’s cute. This issue has yet to be resolved.
Jersey Girl runs the goalie stick blog and is always on the lookout for cards of her favorite goaltenders.
