2004 NHL All Star Game Bobblehead

As I was going through some boxes of my bobbleheads I came across this one and had to grab a couple pictures.  Its a prototype from the 2004 NHL All Star Game that was held at the Xcel Energy Center in St Paul Minnesota.  Several teams had bobbleheads produced, similar to the 2003 MLB ASG Bobbles on Parade.  This one depicts the ASG with its surroundings, the Xcel Energy Center as well as other Minnesota themed things.  Probably one of the hardest Minnesota related bobbleheads out there.  

Mason Shaw Bobblehead - Iowa Wild

Today the Iowa Wild are hosting Mason Shaw Bobblehead day!  One of the first bobblehead giveaways of the year which is super exciting!  Iowa always does nice bobbles and its fun to see this one!! 

 

New Addition - Josh Harding Bobblehead

Here's on my newest additions.  Back in 2015, the Regina Pats of the WHL had a Josh Harding bobblehead night and the proceeds went to Harding's Hope (Josh's charity).  With a $5 donation (minimum) you scored a Harding bobblehead.  Needless to say, they went quick.  I've known about this bobblehead for a couple years.  In talking to some collectors from north of the border, the common theme was "you'll never find it."  I'm not one to lose hope very easily so I kept looking.  I reached out to a couple people and through one of them, I got lucky...super lucky.  It's an amazing bobblehead, plenty of detail!

New Addition - Alex Stalock - Iowa Wild

A couple weeks ago the Iowa Wild did their second giveaway of the season (read about the first one here).  This time around, its of local netminder Alex Stalock.  I'm a huge fan of goaltender bobbleheads, mainly because of the detail that goes into them.  This is an absolute...ahem...breakaway (see what I did there?!)!  From the form, to the sweater, and obviously the mask (which is removable) the marketing team nailed it.  

New Add - Gustav Oloffson - Iowa Wild

Back in January the Iowa Wild gave away Gustav Oloffson bobbleheads to the first 1000 fans through the gates.  These aren't regular sized bobbles but aren't minis either, they are a nice in between that a ton of minor league or affiliated teams do.  Even tho they are smaller, there is plenty of detail and that red sweater is sure to stand out! 

New Addition - Matt Dumba Red Deer Rebels Bobblehead

Another recent addition of mine, thanks to an awesome guy north of the border is this Matt Dumba SGA bobblehead!  It comes from the Red Deer Rebels (where Dumba played for a couple seasons) and was a giveaway in January.  Obviously since Matt plays for the Wild, this was a must have for my collection.  I'm so happy I was able to connect with a new Canadian friend.  

New Addition - Crash Bobblehead

Been a little busy lately (a 9 month old does that) so I haven't had a chance to share some of my recent additions.  Here's Crash, the mascot from the Iowa Wild.  I've been waiting for them to do one for a few seasons.  I had a tease about a year ago that it was most likely going to happen during the 2016-17 season.  It's a great looking bobble!

New Addition - Nino Niederreiter

Here's another new addition of mine!  Nino Niederreiter from the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL.  This is a mini bobble, but a damn nice one.  And from what I know, Nino's only SGA bobblehead.  Usually when it comes to these minor league bobbles, they are hard to find because of the limited release (guessing this one was limited to 500).  

New Addition - Kurtis Gabriel

One of my recent additions comes from the Iowa Wild.  They did a Kurtis Gabriel giveaway bobblehead, along with bobblefists!  I knew from the second I saw it that Success Promotions did this one.  It's their classic base (which I love) and also added in a nice touch by including the gloves on the "ice" or base of the bobble.  

Sneak Peek - Ryan Suter Madison Capitols

Here's a sneak peek of an upcoming bobblehead that many Minnesota Wild fans will love!  The Madison Capitols are giving away this Ryan Suter bobblehead (sponsored by Kwik Trip) on March 10th!  Suter grew up in Madison and is a local fan favorite!

New Addition - Nordy

As I'm watching the Wild game tonight (they are losing 2-1 right now...the streak is on the line) I figured I should blog about my most recent addition.  It was one of my biggest wants in terms of bobbleheads that I know about.  I believe this Nordy bobblehead was sold at the Hockey Lodge (inside the Xcel Energy Center) several years ago.  The weird thing (and I've always known this) is there were 2000 of these as its numbered on the bottom.  I've been looking for this bobble for well over 3 or 4 years.  Finally was able to find it and add it to the collection.  And I'm damn happy about that!  Go Wild!

Fall & Winter Slow down

As summer fades into fall, it typically signals a slow down in the bobblehead world.  We all know baseball teams (all of them it seems, no matter the league) are the best at giving away bobbleheads. Last year, the Wolves did a set of 5 bobbleheads and a few years ago the Wild did a set of 5 bobbleheads.  Other than that, the fall and winter have been extremely quiet in Minnesota when it comes to new bobbleheads.  Unfortunately that will likely stay the same this time around.  The Wild have announced their promotional schedule and no bobbleheads are included in it.  I've heard from the Timberwolves that its unlikely they do another set of bobbleheads this season.  They'd have the foundation for a nice set, starting off with top pick Kris Dunn.  Then you could do tribute bobbles for Flip Saunders and Kevin Garnett and why not a dual Rookie of the Year bobble for Wiggins and Towns?  People would go nuts over it!

However, at this point, thats only dreaming and its not looking very good.  So...I deal with it.  Perhaps it'll give me some time (ya know, cuz I have all sorts of that with an 11 week old at home) to organize my collection.

New Addition - Dean & Rog Bobbleheads

I picked these 2 bobbleheads up recently, its a set of Dean & Rog, giveaway bobbleheads from the Houston Aeros (former affiliate of the Minnesota Wild).  Back in 2012, the Aeros did a giveaway of these 2 popular morning show hosts from the Houston area, I believe these are fairly limited but I'm unsure of the giveaway number.  They do lock together to make a nice little "dual" bobblehead!

Sneak Peek - Minnesota Wild Mascot Nordy

Here's a quick picture of a new Minnesota mascot coming out.  This is being produced by a fellow collector and I have to say - it looks absolutely awesome.  If you read my blog very often, you'll know I'm a mascot fan.  Hell, if I started collecting bobbleheads today - I'd focus on mascots.  Mascots are some of the best bobbleheads produced!  Introducing Nordy!

New Addition - Tyler Graovac

One of my latest additions to the collection is that of Tyler Graovac!  I won a bobble contest that the Iowa Wild did on Twitter.  On top of the bobblehead, it happens to be autographed too!  Lucky that I won and even better that its a bobble!

Wild Bobblehad

I hadn't seen this one before, so when I ran across it on eBay I bought it.  Reminds me of the Twins version that Forever Collectibles put out commemorating the 2003 All Star Game.  I'm not sure what other collectors call these bobbles, but I refer to these as "logo" bobbleheads.  Again, it's not a surprise to anyone out there that I'm not a fan of Forever Collectibles bobbleheads...this probably brings my total to a whopping 6 or 7.  It'll look good next to my Twins one!

Houston Aeros Bobblehead Jackpot! - Part 3

I'm saving the best for last.  I knew of these bobbles and actually had a couple of them.  What I didn't know was there was a 7 piece set.  I thought it was 6.  The Aeros did a promotional giveaway celebrating their 15th year with an "All-Aeros" team.  Very similar to what the Wild did for their "Year X All Time Team" where a 6 bobblehead set is made up of 3 forwards, 2 defencemen and 1 goalie.  What's the 7th piece of this set then?  Obviously its a mini-rink, who-freaking-knew?  I had never seen the rink before, but this set is easily one of the coolest "mini-sets" in my collection.  The players included are all mini bobbleheads and fit snugly on the rink!

                    Goalie - Frederic Chabot

Defenceman - Erik Reitz
Defenceman - Curtis Murphy
Forward - Brian Wisemen
Forward - Mark Freer
Forward - Derek Boogaard

Houston Aeros Bobblehead Jackpot! - Part 2

Part 2 of my Aeros jackpot includes a Curtis Murphy Bobblehead.  Murphy has 2 different bobbles, this one and a mini version that you'll see soon!  He did play for the Wild...but it was a pretty short stint...exactly 1 game!

Houston Aeros Bobblehead Jackpot!

It's funny how collecting works sometimes.  For instance there have been 2 different times I remember specifically where I finally said, "uncle" and broke down and dropped a significant amount of cash to purchase a bobblehead for my collection, and within a matter of days I've found the same piece for significantly less money.  And duh, of course I bought the cheaper one too.

In the past few weeks I've found several different bobbleheads from the Houston Aeros, former minor league affiliate of the Minnesota Wild.  The next few blog posts show everything I've added to my collection that are Aeros related!

Up first, a couple goalie bobbleheads.  Johan Holmqvist and Derek Gustafson.  Neither bobble is all that valuable but since they are Aeros bobbles, I wanted them for my collection!  A couple solid New Adds for me!

Want List - Nordy (Minnesota Wild Mascot)

In the past I've updated my Want List in its entirety within a few different posts, here's the first one I did back in November.  This year I plan on updating my Want List periodically as I run across bobbleheads that I want to add to my collection.  Hopefully my readers might be able to help me out in acquiring said bobbles!

Up first is the mascot of the Wild - Nordy.  This is a retail version but it's the only Nordy bobblehead. It is a Forever Collectibles bobble, which Im not a huge fan of (surprise, surprise) but I'll say, without seeing it in person, it's a pretty good FC bobble.  It was sold at the Hockey Lodge stores in the metro several years ago.  It's not all that rare but apparently is fairly hard to find!

Let me know if you have one that you'd sell!