2019-20 Upper Deck Artifacts Hockey Blaster Box Break

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Upper Deck's 2019-20 Artifacts collection remains among the best-looking semi-affordable ($35 for 35 cards in this blaster box, in 7 packs (5 "regular" + 2 "bonus" five-card packs) sets of the early season - and althouygh I miss the times when they were printed on thicker, matte cardboard, the design still looks classy:

An action shot, some clever cropping, a great picture, and an elegant design. The stats are limited to the past five seasons, but at least just about every player gets a blurb that is different from those in other sets.

I pulled no rookies, no jersey cards or autographs, and my lone "insert" was a "Copper" variant of Max Pacioretty, numbered 158/299:

For me to be able to deliver a decent enough scan of the foil's colour, I had to tone down the brightness of the card's background, but it really looks nice, like broken 15th-Century art (think Renaissance/Sistine Chapel-type) with colours going from green to golden yellow to white.

This earns a 8/10 for me this year.

Nikita Kucherov Jersey Card

The NHL landscape is changing, with new stars making names for themselves among the best goalies (Matt Murray), defensemen (Mikhail Sergachev), and goal scorers (Patrick Laine), while others are cementing their positions at the top (Mark Scheifele, Connor McDavid, Vladimir Tarasenko).

Among the latter is a player who started out making up the lost production of oft-injured Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and just never let up when he got back, Nikita Kucherov.

After a 40-goal (good for second overall), 45-assist, 85-point (fifth overall) season in 2016-17, Kucherov is showing that his constant climb in points (from 18 to 65 to 66 to 85) is no fluke, as he's set lofty goals for himself this year, including trying to net 60 goals.

A case can be made that he's been one of the five best players in the game since last season, and his statistics since last February are pretty convincing evidence of that.

Although it's unlikely that he'll keep scoring at a 20% clip, and it's very possible he'll hit a 10- or 15-game slump at some point, he has a legitimate shot at 60 goals, 60 assists and 100 points, all of which are amazing milestones in this day and age where scoring is at a premium.

Here he is wearing the Bolts' white (away) uniform, on the "Copper" variant of the jersey insert version of card #13 from Upper Deck's 2015-16 SP Game-Used Edition set, which I got from a box of repackaged cards from multiple sports last year:

It features a blue jersey swatch that is certified to have been used in an "official NHL game".

Internationally, he has won silver (2012) and bronze medals at the World Juniors, and bronze (2017) at the World Championships, suiting up for Team Russia.

Kyle Baun Jersey Card

Following decent seasons, statistically, in lower-level Junior leagues such as the OJHL and the CCHA, Kyle Baun took his talents to Colgate University where his size and versatility proved more and more important as the years passed, leading to the Chicago Blackhawks signing him to a two-year entry-level free agent deal in 2015, which included a 3-game showing to finish off the 2014-15 season.

He got two more reps in the NHL the following year, but spent the majority of his first full professional season with the AHL's Rockford IceHogs, posting 1 goal and 8 assists for 9 points in 43 games.

He more than tripled that production last year, finishing second on the team with 14 goals, 20 assists and 34 points in 74 games last year and was traded to the Montréal Canadiens for Andreas Martisens in early October, meaning that the trade that sent talented forward Sven Andrighetto to the Colorado Avalanche at last season's trade deadline was a complete flop, as was Habs GM Marc Bergevin's entire strategy of adding heavy players last year, seeing that only Shea Weber remains from his "bulk increase"/Claude Julien-friendly moves, as no one among Martisens, Steve Ott, and Dwight King remain with the organization just 30 games later.

Baun, however, is on pace to have his best career numbers yet, with 9 points (2 goals and 7 assists) in 16 games so far with the Laval Rocket. The 6'2", 210-pound 25-year-old is developing into the power forward many saw in him, and even if he platoons as a half-point-per-game player in the AHL, that kind of skill can still be translated to a bottom-six role in the NHL.

In other words, he's doing alright. As long as the current administration doesn't ruin him, as the Bergevin/Julien duo seems to be able to do rather quickly these days.

Here he is sporting the Hawks' classic red (now-home) uniform, on the "Copper" variant version of card #181 from Upper Deck's 2015-16 SP Game-Used Edition collection and Authentic Rookies sub-set:

It features a small matching event-worn jersey swatch from a rookie photo shoot, and is numbered 377/399.

He is the grandson of former Toronto Maple Leafs star defenseman and Toronto Toros head coach Bobby Baun, who is in the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.

Roman Josi Jersey Card

Earlier this afternoon, I went ahead and predicted the Nashville Predators would finish second in the Central Division. Here's another, perhaps bolder one: following the retirement of captain Mike Fisher, the Nashville Predators will name Roman Josi as his replacement in the next few days.

It makes sense. He's one of the longest-tenured players on the roster, he and Ryan Ellis have known the highs and lows of the franchise and learned how to lead under the tutelage of Fisher and Shea Weber, and both are part of the best defensive unit in hockey with Mattias Ekholm and P.K. Subban. He and Subban consistently get Norris Trophy votes, and both perform extremely well under pressure.

But only Josi is cool-headed enough to not just lead by example - which Subban can do extremely well, too - but calm his troops down when needed. Not get too excited. Stick to the plan.

Josi is the only player to encompass all of those descriptions and should, thus, end up being the second Swiss captain of an NHL team, after Mark Streit with the New York Islanders.

Here he is wearing the Preds' yellow (home) uniform on the jersey version of card #29 (the "Copper" variant) from Upper Deck's 2015-16 SP Game-Used Edition set:

It features a blue game-worn jersey swatch.