Brandon Sutter Swatch Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

I guess I was destined to acquire this card... I participated in another Ebay box break last week, and lots were sold for two teams at a time. I took the lot combining the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes and ended up with Brandon Sutter, who is now a Pen after a trade last summer with the Canes.

Many, had they known they were going to ge a guy who played for both teams, would have set their sights on Jordan Staal - not me, not at all. The Sutters are hockey royalty, and I was a big fan of the first wave - already have autographed cards of Brent Sutter and Ron Sutter - and have been following Brandon's (Brent's son) career since the day he was drafted - the ninth in the family to have that happen. I was hoping he'd land with the New York Islanders or Chicago Blackhawks (like his father), or the Calgary Flames (where the family comes from, and a team suited right for their style of balls-out play), but really, it's a dream come true to get drafted, and beggars can't be choosers.

Now, onto the swatch card:

http://amzn.to/2ouNydpIt's from Panini's 2011-12 Certified set (card #31, numbered 21/399), and features a nice black swatch, either from the team's third jersey, or the sleeve or belt line of their home (red) uniform. The Certified cards have a long, white border that the swatch doesn't come close to filling, so perhaps I'll try to have the card signed some day.