2015-16 ITG Final Vault - 10 Box Case Break - The Vaultening (Live-ish)

**reoddai** · 04-07-2016, 07:56 PM

Hello Everyone,

I've got a 10 box case of ITG's final Vault to break. You can view all the photos here:
http://s240.photobucket.com/user/reo...TG Final Vault

Not all the cards will be there right away because I'm breaking this old school. One card at a time with reactions for each card in all their gory details. Feel free to chime in at any time or contact me via PM (or post) if you see something you like. Most will be available.

The goods:
10 box case of cards from OT sports. OT sports is a nice shop located in Vancouver & run by Derek. Paid $775x2 (half to reserve, half to buy), all in.

I was super happy with ITG's Superlative Vault where I also did a case break in this style. Lots of vintage and names of players I knew and didn't with a good amount of original 6 teams. In terms of Value, I was super happy and would do one again, but breaking one case per product I like is kind of my max. Because of that previous prodcut, I had to get in on the "Last Vault", if only to show some ITG support and get some ITG from product that I never had an opportunity to buy the first time around. I only started collecting in the tail end of 04-05 and missed Franchises and anything prior to that. While I suspected that there would be some stuff in there I wouldn't like (H&P), I had high hopes that there would be at least value and some fun stuff.

After picking up my case from Derek today, he showed me what a typical box might look like. I was less impressed as there was a lot more "H&P" and "no-name" goalies than I expected, but I'm still willing to take the plunge. Some other tidbits that Derek shared:
- there may not be a "case hit" (that will suck, if true)
- the last card always tends to be the "hit" of the box ("okay, but I prefer random hit distribution)

Some cards I want:
Montreal, vintage, goalies

Some cards I loathe:
Rookies

Anyways, without further adieu, let's see the first box I hit. This box was opened at OT Sports card because last time I did it, I had a wicked case. Let's hope for some OT sports luck.

**reoddai** · 04-07-2016, 08:23 PM

Box 1, Card 1

I'm actually really happy with this start. Its a good sign. Goalie, check. Turco, Check Check (and PC). Gold Mask version. Great. and a Silver /5 stamp. This was the first of the Masked Men where ITG showed the man behind the mask while wearing the mask and was a great year for BTP. I think that this was 08-09. Not blown away, but a very solid and PC hit.

Box 1, Card 2

Letang GU from Canada vs the world. I really like the Canada vs the world series and wish I had gotten more of it. Specifically, the Canadian complete jerseys. Those are some really nice piecs and I like that fact that many of these GU pieces (this one incl) say that the jersey piece was worn while playing for canada. That's a great type of card. Letang is not my type of player, but he's played with Pittsburgh a lot, has many international and a few NHL awards. Solid player, solid card. For those who want to know, green foil stamp (at least 3rd copy)

Box 1, Card 3

Robin Lehner. From what I remember, he was the Ottawa sens goalie for a time? Maybe?.... and apparently, he still is. Goalie piece - great! Current Goalie, Great! White swatch with a thingy sticking out of it. Probably trade bait. the H&P set doesn't help. Neither does the act that its a Black jersey (very common) with a.. I want to say "Teal" stamp (10th and last (?) copy). The teal stamp also isn't centred very well. Going down hill, but not too fast.

Box 1, Card 4

My first Montreal card! Huzzah! Bobby Smith who? Holy geez, this guy was apparently a good player who quietly put together a solid career. 1st round draft pick in 1978. Calder trophy winner for Minnesota North stars between Mike bossy and Ray Bourque, Stanley cup in 86 with Montreal, another stint with Minnesota. +1000 NHL points. Went on to GM Phoenix. This guy is probably the bext NHL player I've never heard of. And although you look better than me on the card Mr. Smith, its like they squeezed your face on the case. This picture is bad. Great guy, white swatch card, off to trade bait.

Box 1, Card 5

Urgh. H&P, Michael St. Croix. Selected 106th overall in 2011. Has not managed to crack the NHL. Good luck buddy, I hope that you make it. Your signature is awesome, but is likely a 1$ pickup.

Box 1, Card 6

Its all been freaking down hill here. but..... BTP auto of Matt Murray. When I pulled this at OT sports, Derek told me he's the current Penguins goalie even since Fleury went down. Sorry to see you go Fleury, but Keep doilg it Murray. Become the Stanley cup champion goalie and I'll keep your auto in my PC!

Box 1, Card 7

A very classy 04-05 Franchises autograph from Pierre Larouche. These cards just look awesome and his signature just all over the freaking place. As the 8th overall pick by Pittsburg, Larouche's career brought him to 5 NHL teams in total. Not as many points as Bobby smith, but this card is as classy as they come. Things are looking up! Is this box a Penguins box? Lemieux on the way perhaps?

Box 1, Card 8

Another Canada vs The World card and a great auto from Scott Niedermayer. I've pulled a lot of autos and great patches from this guy. Although he played for Anaheim for a bit, he was mostly with New Jersey and was like... CAnada's main D guy for the early 2000. HOF auto showing him in Canada jersey? really tempted to keep this as PC and I very well might, but it'll make me want to do the set. Things are looking way up. Penguins box and Canada vs the world case, lets keep it going.

Box 1, Card 9

Ron Francis green stamp (at least 3 copies) 500 goals card. Ron Francis was in Hartford for a long time, then the penguins when he hit his stride, then off to Caroline where he continued to produce, albeit at a lower rate. Its also where he hit his 500 goals, so I'm super happy that they showed him in a caroline jersey. Its way more meaningful. Back of the card also says that the jersey came from Carolina.

Box 1, Card 10

Hit of the box! Stickwork, Stick Rack triple stick of... not Pittsburgh, but Philly, their main rivals! and some well known guys to boot. I didn't buy any stickwork because it wasn't my thing, but I know that it was well received. Lindros, LeClair and Hextall. Hextall makes the card for me, but I know some people really love Lindros. Not so sure about Leclair. However, that Leclair lettering is great. If you look at it upside down, it kinda looks like "JOH" as in "John LeClair". Not sure what the scratching means on the Hextall, if anything, but its a great all around card. Not blown away, but still super solid.

Thanks for everyone's attention. Box #2 coming later!

**mq13** · 04-07-2016, 09:12 PM

Wow I hope they get better. I am a huge fan of ITG but not of H&P.

**Walter Sobchak** · 04-07-2016, 09:37 PM

Some decent hits so far. Ill be watching. I personally love H&P and have had some good luch with it but there can be a lot of "no name" players. Also Lehner IS a current goalie but for the Sabres, not for Ottawa :)

**reoddai** · 04-07-2016, 10:32 PM

I mixed all the boxes up, so Box 2 is not necessarily the second box in the case, just the second that I opened.

Box 2, Card 1

Masked Men 4 with a blurry picture of Rogie Vachon in a LAK uniform. Green vault stamp which could mean anything. Vachone was actually a MON player for a while near the beginning of his career, so I won't hold his LAK times against him. That being said, I don't want this card. The fuzzy picture really blows it for me and the poorer mask designs of the later years are really why I didn't purchase all that much BTP. That and the declining quality of checklists. A Clear picture is a must. Not a great beginning for this box.

Box 2, Card 2

Ohh... A Dual jersey. Rookie / retired from 1993-94. Looks like we have a Darren McCarty and a Dave Taylor. Darren I've heard of as a rough and tumble kind of guy and his 1500 PIM attest to that. Dave Taylor, I'm less familiar proably because he retired in 1994. He's a 1000 pt, 1500 PIM player, so a tough guy who could also produce. Its tough guys, so I'm not a big fan of them, but its an intereting card from the 1990s.

Box 2, Card 3

Andy Rogers..... Silver Emblem. A two shaded silver black affair. Who is this guy? Apparently, selected 30th overall in 2004, he never cracked the NHL and is now retired. May a thousand pucks sing you to thy retirement Andy Rogers, cause all I've got for you are snarky comments about another H&P I don't want.

Box 2, Card 4

Stanley cup Finals Chris Drury. I do like the art for this card. Chris was a solid player on a stacked Avalanche team when they won the cup, so this Stanley cup Finals turned into a winner. Nice purple swatch to match your purple stamp (at least 8 copies). Hey, from a non-HNL player to a stanley cup winner, that's a HUGE step up. The next has to be an even bigger step up, right?

Box 2, Card 5

Sergei Gonchar in a Washington capitals jersey, with a kicking auto. I followed him mostly in his PIttsburgh days when he was one of their Main D. This guy was a monster points D guy right behind Nicklas Lidstrom, but I never remember hearing how hard he was to play against, like Nicklas. He played on a lot of high point teams, but I think his D may have been a little weak, but ™™™ do I know right? Not a bad card, but a solid "Meh", just like this box and case is shapping up to be. PLease be wrong about this... onto the next card

Box 2, Card 6

Another 04-05 Franchises Card of Wayne Carelton. Again, these cards look awesome and I'm happy to have them. Wayne Carleton's wikipedia entry seems to suggest he was best know for "being on the ice when Bobby Orr scored his famous Cup-clinching goal in the fourth game of the 1970 Stanley Cup Final". Kinda sucks that your most prominently known fact involves being on the ice when someone else did something. Sorry Wayne. your signature is full and classy and you played in the NHL, but someone needs to update your wiki entry... "Swoop".

Box 2, Card 7

Going for the Gold Danielle Goyette... this.. this looks like a Canada women's Olmpic winning team auto. She's no Haley wickenheiser, but apparantly she "It would be the first Canadian goal ever scored in an Olympic women’s ice hockey gold medal game." That pretty awesome in itself. These going for the gold autos were really hard to fid as I think they came in at one per box. Its also a nice photo of her celebrating although I cant' really tell from the photo... can anyne chime in from what year that photo would be from? Could it be a photo of that very first goal? If so, what an amazing card. Things are looking up.

Box 2, Card 8

This was was kinda Curvy and pretty thick. Its a nice Lord Stanley's Mug back to back cups of Jacques Lemaire. Montreal, A+. He played his whole career there and is now moslty known as their Coach for a couple seasons, then New Jersey's coach during the dead puck era and a long time coach of minnesota where he was endlessly criticized. Don't Worry Jacques. You're with Toronto now as an assistant. I hear their coaches are never subjected to scrutiny. Tee hee.

Box 2, Card 9

Ed Giacomin! A nice vintage Auto... that's I've probably pulled about 4 times before. At Least you're a hall of fame buddy, but known for the NYR instead of Montreal. Glad to have you. Onto the next.

Box 2, Card 10

"Vuthentic Memorabilia" (sic). The V stamp covered up the A. In this card, we get our second double of the pack from Brendan Shanahan and Martin brodeur. The good news is that these jerseys are from the Toronto All-star game in 2000. Its always nice to have specialty jersey pieces. I was hoping for a little more Oompf from the hit of the box, like the last one. Personally, I'm calling the Danielle Goyette auto as the hit of the box as its something particularly unique. Dual black jersey of a pair of NJD players.. well, its nice, but its not "belongs in my collection" nice. Onto the next box!

**reoddai** · 04-07-2016, 10:34 PM

Originally Posted by mq13 View Post

Wow I hope they get better. I am a huge fan of ITG but not of H&P.

Appreciate the well wishes. So far, about the same.

Originally Posted by Walter Sobchak View Post

Some decent hits so far. Ill be watching. I personally love H&P and have had some good luch with it but there can be a lot of "no name" players. Also Lehner IS a current goalie but for the Sabres, not for Ottawa :)

Decent yes, but I tended to buy ITG for the unique and right now, I'm seeing a lot of not. Perhaps because its a retrospective and so it literally all "has been done". Thanks for the correction on Lehner. I get lots of my NHL from the wiki.

**Johnny Appleseed** · 04-07-2016, 10:41 PM

I saw in your sig you were looking for the Turco card... and there you pull it right out of the gate (with the vault stamp). Can't tell if that's the universe teasing you or rewarding you.

These boxes definitely have a wide spectrum of very good and very poor. It looks like they're all the extra copies held over for redemption/replacement purposes. I've seen some very nice hits and a lot of "meh" but I guess that's to be expected when you have nine hits in a $100 box.

I'm already locked into a group break and will probably buy a box in the future. Thanks for sharing so far, keep it up!