We're going back to the 1989-90 NHL season, where young Gregory Ninepockets has been bitten by the hockey bug and is attempting to complete the current year's hockey sticker album. Previous entries in this series available here.
Summer is over, and the schoolyear is about to start for young Gregory. About a month after that, the NHL season will be here. While he waits, he's got more sticker packs to open. He's mostly excited about that.
You see, after the pack-opening debacle from last time (6 new stickers, 30 duplicates), Gregory is a little gun-shy about opening more. But that feeling only lasts for a minute. He's still learning a lot about the game, after all, and he's excited for more stickers—even if lots of them turn out to be duplicates again.
Gregory takes 6 packs from the bottom right this time, and gets to work.
Pack 19
It's a pretty good start! Mario Lemieux is one of the biggest stars of the game, and last year he came up one point short of 200. Ron Francis is pretty good, too. So are those Whalers jerseys. And on the right, it's a "Future Star" sticker back that Gregory needs for the set. Best of all? No duplicates!
Pack 20
Thanks to his hockey-loving friend at school, young Gregory not only knows the name Joe Nieuwendyk, he also knows how to pronounce it (NOO-wen-dyke.) That Trevor Linden Future Star sticker back is another welcome addition. In his rookie season of 1988-89, Linden totaled 30 goals and 29 assists for 59 points. He was named to the all-rookie team, and finished second in the rookie of the year race to Brian Leetch.
And hey—another pack without duplicates.
Pack 21
Speaking of Brain Leetch, there's his rookie base sticker! Young Gregory has also noticed that Patrick Roy seems to have a lot of different stickers in the set. This one celebrates his Vezina Trophy win (most valuable goaltender). On the right is Ray Bourque's all-star sticker back. He'd been named an all-star every season of his career to this point.
And guess what? No duplicates for a third straight pack! Could the streak keep going for a fourth?
Pack 22
Yes indeed! And better still, Gregory found the Trevor Linden base rookie sticker inside. Then he flipped the stickers over to check the backs, and wow! There's fellow New Yorker Joe Mullen on one, and The Great One on another. Sweet pack.
Pack 23
Yet another all-star sticker back, plus a Steve Yzerman base sticker. (Young Gregory figured out how to pronounce that name as well.) "Stevie Y" finished the previous season of 1988-89 third overall in league in scoring, with 65 goals, 90 assists, and 155 points. Only Gretzky and Lemieux had more points. And if the pack wasn't good enough, there was also a Brian Leetch rookie subset sticker inside!
Pack 24
There was also another duplicate in this pack, but those were the only two of the entire round. Can't be upset about that.
Favorite Page
Young Gregory finished his first page! It's the Philadelphia Flyers.
So, how do we stand on set completion now that we're halfway through the box?
Main Set (182 total panels)
New panels: 34
New duplicates: 2
Total panels: 109
Total duplicates: 35
Panels needed: 73
Set completion: 60%
Future Star/All-Star Backs (34 total)
New backs: 8
New duplicates: 2
Total backs: 21
Total duplicates: 6
Backs needed: 13
Set completion: 62%
Best Stickers
The Mario Lemieux base sticker and the Brian Leetch rookie base sticker. Let's also add the Ray Bourque, Joe Mullen, and Wayne Gretzky all-star sticker backs.
Overall, this round was great, and young Gregory is psyched that he pulled almost zero duplicates after the experience with the previous 6 packs. At the same time, he wonders about the next 6 packs. I mean, he's had a round with almost zero duplicates, and he's had a round with almost all duplicates.
Which were your favorite stickers this time?
Share in the comment section, and thanks for following along.
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