Bobby Ryan Swatch Card

Did I say something about a ''last one in my batch of Panini's 2011-12 Pinnacle hits''? Well, thanks to Ebay, I landed another one for 99 cents - Bobby Ryan of the Anaheim Ducks, card #14 in the set:

Ryan is a proven goal-scorer with four 30+-goal seasons and a silver-medal Olympian (Team USA, 2010), but for a high-priced hockey player - his cap hit is evaluated at $5.1M - it is odd to notice that the closest he ever came to being a point-per-game player on a Ducks team that also includes Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne was in his rookie season, where he produced 57 points in 64 games.

In the playoffs, he is 10-5-15 in 26 career games.

Don't get me wrong - I'd likely take him on my team any day, and his numbers are worthy of having been the 2nd overall pick (in 2005) - and, at 26, he is likely to have his four best seasons ahead of him, but some guys who generate points at the same type of rate he does make between 3 and 4 million a year, is all I was pointing to.

All in all, this is a fine piece, with a nice, large black swatch, likely from the Ducks' home jersey - or the alternate jersey pictured on the front of the card. There's a bit of a dent in the swatch, likely partly responsible for having brought the card's price down a tad, but I find it adds value to it, giving more credibility as having been game-worn.