Ryan Getzlaf Jersey Card

Of course, when I decided to buy some Upper Deck 2014-15 Series 2 cards, the first "hit" I got was a Ryan Getzlaf UD Game Jersey card:

I like that it shows him wearing the Anaheim Ducks' new white (away) uniform, which is the reverse of their home one, which used to me their alternate garbs. They're really nice; they could very well be my favourite Ducks uniform of all time. The swatch used is back, though, so it's clearly from another uniform, especially considering the fact that this uniform wasn't used until last season, when the set was technically produced.

Getzlaf and the Ducks have a sub-par season in the under-producing Pacific division; they were supposed to be Stanley Cup contenders (though, in my opinion, they're an elite defenseman away from doing that) this season and are instead fighting with the Edmonton Oilers not to finish last.

I believe they can make the playoffs and perhaps face the Los Angeles Kings in the Division Finals. They are a much better team than the San Jose Sharks, whom I see failing, and the Vancouver Canucks (who lack depth) and Calgary Flames (who are experiencing a sophomore jinx as a group after surprising last year); the Oilers round up the rest of the expected-to-win-some-games group, while the Arizona Coyotes should crumble to the bottom of the NHL standings soon enough and the Kings are at the opposite end of the spectrum, as the cream of the crop.

Ryan Getzlaf Jersey Card

I knew I had this one stashed somewhere!

After featuring swatch cards of his from this year and last year, here is one I had in a box of jersey cards I unpacked this week, from Upper Deck's 2006-07 Be A Player Portraits (card #FE-RG, part of the First Exposures sub-set):

It shows him in the final Mighty Ducks Of Anaheim jersey (before they became the Anaheim Ducks), with a white swatch from a rookie photo shoot.

The Ducks' captain finished second in scoring behind Sidney Crosby this year, and would be my choice for winner of the Hart trophy; cynics and critics contend that he's had more than just some help from Corey Perry in recording the best season of his career, to which I answer this: would the Ducks have won their division without him? And how come Crosby - playing with the 8th-leading goal scorer (35), golden Olympian Chris Kunitz - couldn't do better than fall 8 points behind the Boston Bruins, in the Eastern Conference, perceived as being much weaker than the Western Conference?

You've got to give credit where it's due, and Getzlaf deserves to be recognized.

Ryan Getzlaf Jersey Card

Currently second in the NHL for points and fifth in assists, and enjoying his most-productive goals season ever, off a gold medal win in Sochi with Team Canada, Ryan Getzlaf is having a hell of a season, as are his Anaheim Ducks, currently second in the Western Conference standings.

Getzlaf is currently helping me end up ''in the money'' in my main hockey pool this year, for the second time in three seasons, so believe me when I say I have become a huge fan of the 19th-overall pick of the 2003 draft, a two-time golden Canadian Olympian (2010 and 2014), Stanley Cup Champion (2006-07) and two-time All-Star Game participant.

He is nearly a point-per-game player both in the regular season (604 in 627 at last count) and the playoffs (59 in 69) and is as consistent as they come, with only three of his nine seasons below his career average, two of them being his rookie year and his sophomore season.

So I am more than happy to introduce you to the second jersey card of his in my collection, from Upper Deck's 2013-14 SP Game-Used Edition (card #AF-RG of the Authentic Fabrics sub-set, with a decent-sized game-used white jersey swatch):

Ryan Getzlaf Jersey Card

As Team Canada celebrated two victories today - a men's team winning the Spengler Cup in Switzerland and the under-20 team making it to the semi-finals in Ufa by beating Team Russia - I figured I'd feature a card from the national team, and I happened to have purchased this Ryan Getzlaf double-jersey card on Ebay last October. For less than $5, shipping included, I got this superb piece of 2012-13 Artifacts (card #146) by Upper Deck, numbered 91/125.

In person, the swatches are pinkish - my guess is the red faded into the white when they washed it. They're also from last May's World Championships - when Getzlaf captained Canada to a 5th-place finish in Finland, and was involved in a late-night/early morning altercation with some Finnish guys after chatting up Miss Finland (a.k.a. Sara Sieppi):

I usually prefer signed cards over swatches, but this one was too nice to pass up.

I had Getzlaf in all my hockey pools last year. In one, he had no impact as I crushed my uncle and his friends, but in the other, he cost me the victory over many of my musician friends; the musicians' pool was a ''keeper'', so everyone wanted to trade for him assuming hoping he couldn't have two awful seasons in a row - I'm betting the exact same thing.