Collector's Corner #8: Lee Stempniak, Cal Clutterbuck, plus an Avalanche worth of Stastny cards.

Derrick's 2005-06 Upper Deck The Cup Rookie Rainbow of Lee Stempniak. A thing of beauty for any player collector or hockey card enthusiast. How can you hate 05-06 Cup? Well, you just can't.

Super Collecting is a term that get's thrown around a bunch, but when you see one, you just know.

​Collecting one player is often enough for most, but what do you do when you have more than one favourite player? Well, in Derrick's case, you super collect them both, of course. 

Allow me to introduce Derrick and his two super collections of Lee Stempniak & Cal Clutterbuck:

Introduction

Hello all – name is Derrick aka geschrocks33 most places. I started collecting as a kid playing hockey because my dad and uncle both had sports cards/memorabilia. I remember being at a hockey tournament where someone had a table of hockey cards and I got my dad to purchase me a Patrick Roy
insert for $1 (my favorite player at the time) and that really pumped me up. I still have that exact card to this day. I started “seriously” collecting when I reached high school and started building a specific collection. I love the thrill of acquiring something that’s been on your wantlist for a long time, as well as the thrill of pulling something valuable or that you want. I don’t have the big gun traders or rip cases like other folks, but I think I’ve built a pretty good collection given the budget I stick to.

​What/Who Do You Collect?

​I’ve always just had a collector mentality. From when I was a little kid, I always had something. I think this comes from my dad, who when he was a kid had a bunch of HotWheels and models that he built and was also into racing so had a few die-cast. So as I was a kid I slowly started collecting things. First
just like my dad I would help with models, had a ton of HotWheels and 1:64 scale Nascar cars that I would create my own races with.

​On top of that, once I started really getting into cards, I started collecting all kinds of signed sports memorabilia. I obtain a lot of autographs myself and what’s interesting is I almost never sell any autograph I obtain. I either keep them or use them for giveaways/donations. So I have a little collection of signed jerseys as well which include goalies like Martin Brodeur & Patrick Roy plus many signed pucks and photos or various people including multiple former and current Sabres, but also have gotten to get a few legends as well.

As for the cards side of things, I collect a variety of things that I like, down to specific player PC’s. I have a collection of Buffalo Sabres and Colorado Avalanche stuff, as well as a variety of goalie cards, and a player PC of Paul Stastny. I also sometimes stash away various HOF or star player autos if they come my way and I enjoy the design of them.

My “super-collections” are Cal Clutterbuck and Lee Stempniak. I’d
give the advantage to Stempniak on that front. I believe that as of 2 years ago after I acquired a big chunk of my wantlist from another collector that I have the best Stempniak collection around.

​Why Did You Start Collecting The Player/Set/Team?

I’m from Buffalo so the obvious choice is to collect things from the hometown team. As far as the others, I’ve been a huge Colorado Avalanche fan since I was kid playing goalie (thanks Patrick Roy) and that also led to the collecting of goalie stuff. As a goalie myself, you learn to appreciate the great goalies
that have played.

I collect Paul Stastny because he was an Avalanche player that I really took to when I started getting serious with collecting. Even though he’s played for various teams now, I’ve still supported/collected him.

Collecting Cal Clutterbuck started almost as a bit of a joke, me and a buddy were playing NHL (​the EA Sports video game) and heard the name and I thought to myself “Wow, that’s an incredible hockey name” and I decided to pick up a rookie and an auto of him. Well that’s turned into an extensive PC that continues to this day, and I’ve learned to love the way he plays as a human wrecking ball on the ice.

As for Lee Stempniak, I collect him because he’s a hometown boy. He played his youth hockey at a rink that’s walking distance from the house I grew up in. When people think of Buffalo and hockey, they always gravitate to Patrick Kane as the hometown kid. Rightfully so as he’s got some good accolades
around him, but I always liked Lee Stempniak. Aside from being a hometown person, he’s extremely classy guy if you ever meet him in person, and just someone who seems to “just get it” as they say.

Given his local connection, I decide to start the PC. However, I started collecting in high school which was about 2 years after his rookie year. When you consider that I started collecting him 2 years after his rookie cards were released, I think that makes my collection pretty impressive as I’ve essentially played
catch up the entire time. As of right now, if you exclude 1/1’s (plates, etc.) I don’t have a single card on my wantlist from Stempniak’s rookie year of cards.

​What’s Your Favourite Card or Item(s)?

​"This would be a huge list as I think it’s hard to pick favorites, but for Clutterbuck I’d have to say my 2
Limited “Manufacturers Mark” 1/1’s (2 different years), the Dominion Silver Ensigns Shield 1/1 (the only
shield in my collection), and the Young Guns High Gloss /10 which I think is just one of those staples in a
rookie collection."

My Stempniak PC is even harder to pick favorite’s, as I have a few 1/1’s in my PC that are just beauties, but I’ll narrow it down to a few below:
​

• 13/14 Black Diamond Sapphire 1/1 Auto

​ These cards are incredible in person if you’ve never had a chance to see them.
​

• 07/08 OPC Premier Rare Remnants Quad Patch Gold 1/1 – Kariya/Legace/Tkachuk/Stempniak

I added this to the list because of its rarity and the uniqueness of the card. It’s an intriguing
group of 4 players and finds Stempniak paired with some pretty great company.
​

• 05/06 The Cup Rookie Rainbow (RPA /199, RPA Gold /12, Plat. Rookie /25, Black Rookie 1/1)

To complete this entire rainbow given that 3 of the 4 are numbered to 25 or less is awesome to
me. The Black RC 1/1 changed hands multiple times and I would consider it my favorite card of
my collection.
​

• 2005/2006 Peoria Rivermen Game Used Jerseys (Both Home & Away)

I’ve added these, because they are my 2 favorite gamers in my PC. I have 5 Stempniak gamers including a playoff one, but these two are by far my favorite and the most unique.

I’ve had people offer me other gamers in return for one of these and turned it down because of how unique they are. To my knowledge, these are his only AHL game used jerseys which is why they’ve garnered interest from other folks. I was lucky enough to win them both from the same person at the same time,
and they’ve been in my collection since.

​Honorable Mentions: Boston Bruins Goal Puck (assisted by Bergeron and Marchand), 13/14 Prism Finite
Black Auto 1/1, 06/07 Autofacts Gold Auto 1/1, 05/06 Fleer Ultra Ice Medallion RC /25 (next to
impossible to find), and my custom created Upper Deck Young Guns RC for him as he didn’t have a YG
during his rookie year despite all of his other releases.

06-07 AutoFacts Gold 1/1

OPCP Quad Patches 1/1

Black Diamond Sapphire Auto 1/1

2005-06 Upper Deck The Cup Rookie Rainbow (4): Lee Stempniak.

​What's On Your Current Wantlist? Are there any ‘White Whales’ you’d like to add one day?

I won’t list my entire wantlist but rather list a few cards I’d like to get my hands on if anyone has leads on them.

Cal Clutterbuck: Long wantlist because of all his parallels released by Panini. One card I’d really love to get is the 2011/12 Panini Prime Ties 1/1.

Lee Stempniak: I’ll list a few:

-       OPC Blank Backs from years 11/12, 12/13, 15/16, or 17/18

- 13/14 Score Team Leaders Red Back – Calgary Flames (Glencross/Stempniak/Kiprusoff/Jackman)
​
-      10/11 Black Diamond Platinum 1/1

- 07/08 OPC Premier Rare Remnants Triple Patch Gold /3 – Kariya/Tkachuk/Stempniak

Contact Info: How can other collector's reach out to you?

​Hobby Insider/Sports Card Forum/ePack – geschrocks33
Email: gesch33@msn.com
Facebook: Derrick Geschwender
Twitter: @DGeschwender

Cards From Derrick's Player Collections:

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​If you want to get in contact with me about getting ​YOUR COLLECTION featured on my blog, feel free to leave a comment on this post below, fill out a contact form on my Contact Page, or send me an email at creasecollector@gmail.com and we will be in touch very soon. :)

​Happy Collecting,

​- Crease