1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Player Crests Orland Kurtenbach #22 Push-Out Insert Vancouver Canucks

Description

1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Player Crests Orland Kurtenbach #22 Push-Out Insert Vancouver Canucks The very first captain in Vancouver Canucks history closes out the checklist on this 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Player Crests Orland Kurtenbach #22 Push-Out Insert Vancouver Canucks, the final card of the beloved 22-card crest series. When the NHL arrived on the West Coast in 1970, it was Kurtenbach who wore the C, scored the goals and threw the punches that gave the baby Canucks instant credibility. Widely regarded by contemporaries, including Bobby Orr, as one of the toughest fighters of his generation, Kurtenbach was also a skilled playmaking centre who led Vancouver in scoring and was named the team's first most valuable player. He remains a folk hero in British Columbia, later serving as Canucks head coach and earning a permanent place in the franchise's Ring of Honour. For team collectors, this crest and his early-seventies O-Pee-Chee base cards are the essential artifacts of the franchise's birth. The Player Crests insert set was distributed one per 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee first series wax pack and never appeared in the American Topps release, making it a true Canadian exclusive printed in London, Ontario. Authentic bilingual English and French push-out instructions appear across the front; the reverse is the correct factory blank tan cardboard back with the embossed outline of the die-cut shield, so collectors should note this is not a printed bilingual back or puzzle back, which is exactly as issued. The push-out shield has never been removed and the perforations are fully intact, the critical condition requirement for this fragile set. the silver front is clean with bold shield colors and a strong portrait, light wear at all four corners with the bottom corners a touch softer, minor edge rub along the bottom border near the card number, centering slightly low within the frame, and no creases, wrinkles, marks or stains observed in either scan; the blank back carries even vintage toning with a well-struck embossed outline and no writing or paper loss. The grade assigned is deliberately conservative since the set's mirror-like stock exposes even gentle pack handling. A cornerstone card for any Canucks collection and the set's coveted final number. Grade Estimate: EX-MT 6