Like 1986-87 Basketball, Don’t Miss the 2005-06 Hockey Offerings. 

In 1986, Fleer released a comprehensive basketball trading card set, the first of which since Topps published a non-distinct offering back in 1982. As basketball had only been covered on cards sporadically by the obscure Star Company and their bagged team sets since that time, collectors had no traditional opportunity to collect or invest in some of the phenomenal new talents emerging in the burgeoning NBA.

And as the league’s popularity blossomed amid the epic rivalry of Bird vs. Magic, a new breed of high flying, t.v. ready ballers prepared to carry the league to new heights -literally and figuratively. By 1986, we had met The Dream, The Glide, Sir Charles, The Mailman and a Tarheel they’d soon call Air. Fleer’s inaugural 1986-87 set captured the best of a legendary generation, introducing and commemorating the amazing roster of luminaries between Bird/ Magic and Shaquille O’Neal.

Today, the seminal 1986-87 Fleer set has seen some mercurial price swings in an ever changing hobby yet remains one of the most celebrated modern issues. The Michael Jordan rookie is a defining card in many personal collections and high grades are the Holy Grail for collectors across the board. In many ways, the phrase “Jordan Rookie” is the layman’s utterance of the zenith in trading cards as compared to the astute collector’s “T-206 Honus Wagner” reference.

The 1986-87 Fleer Basketball set uniquely benefited from the sports’ absence on cards which allowed for a multi year bounty of rookie cards of future Hall of Famers and legends contained in one fantastic offering. It was a perfect storm of talent from the current and preceding seasons that included a crop of basketball’s true luminaries. The confluence of the aforementioned elements created an unparalleled collectible of historic proportions.

And it’s about to happen again.

The NHL’s labor problems, which cancelled the 2005 season and the implementation of scoring friendly new rules has created another opportunity for collectors to invest in a single card year yet reap the rewards of two fantastic, talent rich drafts. As the official NHL issues hit the street, collectors were breaking packs potentially containing both last years’ and this years’ number one overall selections, Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, among notable others.

As no NHL licensed issues were published last year, most collectors will treat 2005-06 cards of 2004 draftees like Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Andrew Ladd and other future superstars as rookie cards. Crosby's first card ever made was from 2003 Rookie Review but many collectors will call his future Upper Deck, Topps, Be a Player, and others rookies as well. His draft class also includes standouts Gilbert Brule, Guillaume Latendresse, Benoit Pouliout and more.

Crosby, for readers on the dark side of the media, is the kid they call The Next One. A fantastic presence on the ice who evokes memories of Wayne Gretzky, Crosby arrives at a time when the league is desperate for a superstar. Landing in Pittsburgh alongside Mario Lemieux certainly hasn’t hurt and new rules to make the game more enthralling and offensive should aid the Wizard of Croz in making his mark on the ice in a hurry.

So far, he hasn’t disappointed. Despite the fact that the new-look Penguins appear disjointed amid all the off-season(s) personnel changes, Crosby has been a bright spot, dishing assists in droves while putting the puck in the net. Through 59 games, Crosby is 13th in the league in scoring. Ovechkin is 8th in the league with 71 points.

Not bad for an 18 year old from a province not often thought of as a hockey mill and a Russian kid that had to sit for a year.
The parallels to the 1986 Fleer basketball set are clear. Both sets boast a multi-year harvest of rookie cards and the presence of future superstars and legends. Just as the NBA benefited from the sports’ explosion in popularity, hockey could also be on its way to a broader fan base with higher scoring games and kids like Crosby.
Smart collectors will pounce on this rare opportunity and buy packs, break boxes and sock away rookies of the 2005-06 NHL offerings

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