Snakebit!
One dedicated player collector’s take on how to enjoy the hobby.
By Andy Hatzos
...as published in Beckett Hockey Collector
Peter Ciavaglia. Keith Aldridge. Steve Walker. Evgeny Konstantinov.
No, they're not exactly household names – but they're my connection to the sport of hockey. These are the Detroit Vipers; my introduction to the game and my focus in the world of card collecting.
The Vipers began play in the International Hockey League's 94-95 season, and it was in the 96-97 championship-winning campaign that I gained a large interest in the team. I grew disgruntled with the lack of media coverage in "hockeytown” (insert a grain of salt here), and I began calling in scores and game summaries to a local radio station's morning show. Near the end of the 97-98 season (as I was turning 13), I found myself with press passes, and by the 99-00 season, I was a full-fledged volunteer reporter for the Royal Oak Daily Tribune. I held that responsibility until the Vipers (and the IHL) were forced to fold operations in 2001.
My years with the Vipers were the best thing a young hockey fan could ask for. Though I haven't gone on to directly utilize the journalism experience – I've recently begun my career in meteorology – it was the time spent with the Vipers players that defined my years with the team. It also, of course, provided me with the basis for my card collection: nearly 50 different athletes from as wide a spectrum as can be imagined. These were people with different nationalities, different skill levels, and different personalities. The one common thread was a tour of duty at the Palace of Auburn Hills. It didn't matter to me if the guys would ever touch NHL ice, or if the hockey world would even remember their names in a year or two. All that mattered were the connections I had built – subject to reporter, and player to fan. That's why, to me, my player collections are more than just a focus for an obsessive hobby – they're a tribute to the characters I was graced enough to spend four years associating with.
Players like Mikko Kuparinen, who shared a table with my family at the 2001 booster club banquet. A few weeks later, at the final game of the season, he remembered the event and gave his game-used stick to my brother. Or Kristian Kudroc, a recently-transplanted Czech who during an interview, jokingly called me "smart-ass" after being unable to understand my question on "team chemistry." Or Dale Rominski, who gave me a bunch of his old hockey equipment; items I needed for a DekHockey league I had joined. Or Steve Martins, who once sat me down in the locker room and offered me the post-game pasta; it was more of a dinner conversation than an interview. Or John Gruden, who always made sure to find me and say "hi" when in town, even after his move to the Grand Rapids Griffins.
My first draw, as seemed natural for many Vipers fans and hockey speculators alike, was to Sergei Samsonov. There was plenty to like about him – he had the only four-goal game in Vipers history, and captured the IHL rookie of the year award one year before doing it again in the NHL. The day I got my first Samsonov card out of a pack – a 97-98 Upper Deck Smooth Grooves insert – was the day I decided to dedicate myself to the hobby.
Samsonov became my focus at first, but I went on to steadily add players to my list as the years went by. Some of the players have disappeared from the sport entirely, while others have moved between teams, leagues, and even back and forth across the Atlantic. Tracking the progress of the players I collect has been a real challenge, and naturally, keeping up-to-date on their card issues has been quite difficult as well. Some players are in major NHL releases; some are in second-tier German league team-issues.
How have I kept up with a collection that now contains well over 2000 cards? It goes without saying that the Internet is my greatest tool. I would estimate that 90% of my player-collection cards, and 99% of my non-base collection items, have been acquired online. The importance of eBay, especially for NHL sets, is obvious. However, it’s hardly a great place to find minor league and European cards. Through a number of hobby message boards, I’ve developed a large set of contacts – with people in numerous countries. They have been an absolute necessity in helping me find certain cards for my player collections – sometimes, cards I did not even know existed! It’s a two-way street, though, and I’ve learned it’s best to be equally helpful in return. The hobby is much easier to manage when cooperating, rather than competing.
Starting out collecting at the age of 13 certainly made things difficult for me. During the late 90s, my only steady source of income was mowing the lawn of an elderly couple across the street for $10. That money meant that I could purchase a new limited-to-100 Samsonov card – if one would sell that cheaply. When I finally moved up in the world to cashiering at a local fruit market, I still found myself justifying cards bought by how many hours I had to sell bananas to make up for the purchase. I’ve had to learn how to build my collection on a small budget, and sure, I’ve missed a few important cards along the way. On the other hand, it’s forced me to be hard-working and resourceful. Most of my time at card shows is spent searching the discount bins – trying to find the elusive “one man’s treasure” that just might help me out down the road.
It is along these lines that my numerous collections have forced me to appreciate the “art” of numbered parallel cards. Ask any player collector – they likely have a wantlist full of turn-of-the-millennium Pacific parallels, UD Exclusives, and ITG Emeralds. Though 1/1s and 1/10s are tough, they aren’t the only show in town. If I could make one plea to my fellow collectors, it would be to list all of these types of parallels up – regardless of the set, print run, or player. In turn, I’ve focused my random acquisitions on these sorts of cards, and have even been tracking the sales from Upper Deck’s press plates. Among other reasons, these are ways I feel I can help out my fellow player collectors.
The prime factor that has kept me going in this hobby is that I’ve found something to collect that I’m passionate about. It disheartens me to see so many people latching on to hobby fads, and bowing out less than a year later. The foundation of the hobby is built on those with long-term commitments to certain sets, teams, or players. I certainly have that kind of commitment to the Vipers players I have focused my collection on. I do feel a sense of pride every time I update the stats on my website to account for another card acquired – knowing full well that the card, like my memories of the Detroit Vipers, will be with me forever.
Go Back