Worcester IceCats Collection Progress: Lubos Bartecko JSY/AUTO!

In this age of COMC, Photobucket, and Google Images, it's rare for me to find a card on any site without having already seen it 10 times (I'm sure many of you feel the same way). So imagine my surprise when my saved Ebay search of Lubos Bartecko recently brought up an epic jersey/autograph(on-card at that!) card starting at a 99 cent bid!

I knew Bartecko had both autograph and jersey cards according to Beckett. I did not realize that both of his jersey cards were also autographed cards, or that he had any autographed cards in a Blues uniform. Needless to say, I bid plenty enough to win, and a few days later this beauty was in my mailbox:
I know Lubos Bartecko is a no-name to most of you, even if you did watch hockey, but this card has instantly become one of my favorite cards in my entire collection. For one, I like to think it's cardboard done right. Nice imagery, beautiful auto that is on-card and includes a jersey number, and the jersey watch isn't distracting and is in a non-square window. Not to mention the color scheme here, especially with the blue ink auto - really ties the card together if you know what I mean. Not to mention Bartecko was one of my favorite IceCats as a kid, so this card holds some sentimental value as well. Not bad for a cheap Ebay pick up!

On a side note, I also just realized the Bartecko was born on the same day as me thanks to a post by Chronicles of Fuji. So that's extra cool - I wonder if I knew that as a kid and forgot it later on?

Bartecko's card marks the 11th '97-'98 IceCat card in my collection, as well as the 6th auto. I've seen some pretty cheap Ricard Persson and Justin Hocking autos pop up on Ebay recently, so hopefully my run of success will continue!