Let Me Introduce Myself.

Since I spurned my father's attempts at forming me into a Leaf fan very early on in life, I've always wondered how did I become a Montreal Canadiens fan in Leaf territory, Southern Ontario.

From an early age, I remember everything being about Montreal, but more specifically Patrick Roy. I remember vividly cheering for them during their Cup run of '93 as a 7 year old. I remember the few highs since '93, and the many lows since my favourite guy left for greener pastures in 1996. But I never fully knew how I got there.

 I finally asked my father recently what happened, how did I become a Habs fan when there was very little vocal support for the team from my mother's side of the family, which is Francophone, and when all of my buddies are Leafs fans, for better or worse?

My dad took me back to the Cup run of 1989. He said I was entranced by the Calgary and Montreal final. He said it's plausible I was just a little jerk who wanted to cheer for whoever my father hated, but he says that during the games, I would take a mini-stick and proclaim I was Patrick Roy, and force my dad to take shots at me in front of the old chesterfield. I seem to believe that second version a bit more.


My Roy collection has spanned at least two decades now. I remember receiving Le Collectioneur/The Collector magazine put out by Pro Set with it's 1991-92 release. Learning that Roy was a huge collector in turn made me a collector. And with my dad's help and money, the early 90s were an endless series of box buying and pack ripping. Those are some moments I will always cherish with my father.

What I've learned since I've started collecting again, is that the hobby for me is a long, fanatical, almost obsessive search for your favourite player and those last few cards of 4th liners and current AHLers you can't seem to track down. It's a compulsive habit that strikes both young and old at any given moment in time. I've also come to realize that it's also expensive. At 26, on the cusp of finally gaining full-time employment in my chosen path in life (Teaching - History preferably, French if I must) that I may be able to put a little extra towards those cards I long for, the ones that always seem to be a couple dollars more then I would like to spend. But in saying that, I realize that it can't be just about hockey cards all the time. I need balance and stability, two things which my lovely girlfriend of almost 2 years offers me daily.

Who knows what the future will bring in terms of collecting. It may be an up and down ride, it may be an endless streak of lucky breaks or it may be an endless streak of cursing boxes. But I'm ready for the ride. I hope to share some trials and tribulations, and a rant or two.

Re-discovering an old friend.

Hockey cards have been a big part of my life since I can remember. I recall some early birthday presents being hockey cards from my father. A hockey nut himself, he tried at a very young age to introduce me to hockey, and to a lesser extent the Toronto Maple Leafs. For better or worse, I stuck with this new hobby my dad was introducing me to, while developing a passion and love affair with a certain team, and more specifically, a certain player for the bleu, blanc et rouge. I was falling in love with Patrick Roy and his Montreal Canadiens. And that's when my hobby became an obsession.

Until I left for university in 2003, I was a pretty vigorous enthusiast, chasing deals, building sets, and adding to my personal collection of Patrick Roy cards. For whatever reason, financially being a big one, collecting took a back seat for me for almost a decade. I didn't give much thought of cards for awhile, and honestly didn't know if I ever would. My dad would ask me every now and then what I wanted to do with them, and I always told him I wanted to keep them, store them at the house. I never wanted to let go of them.

And I haven't. I entered teacher's college in 2011 not knowing what to expect. I was a newly turned 26 year old who had spent the previous year teaching English in Korea. But as the year went on, I found myself teaching grade 8 math to a predominantly male classroom. I  started to utilize my old baseball and hockey card collection to teach statistics, averages, fractions, and decimals.

The kids took to it and I found myself entranced by the feel of cards in my hands again, it was heaven. Since then I've been focusing on my Roy collection and found myself back in the game buying packs and boxes.

I'm glad I've gotten back into the mix, and with this blog I hope to not only show off a bit of my collection, but to also connect and meet other collectors, new and old, and share in the hobby.

Hope you enjoy.