1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Don Lever #259 Rookie Card Vancouver Canucks

Description

1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Don Lever #259 Rookie Card Vancouver Canucks This is the key card of the group — the 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Don Lever #259 Rookie Card Vancouver Canucks fans consider a cornerstone of any early franchise collection, offered here by Alex Collect. Lever arrived in Vancouver as the third overall pick of the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft after a spectacular 126-point final junior season with the Niagara Falls Flyers, and the mustachioed young forward pictured against O-Pee-Chee's electric pink backdrop would go on to a remarkable 1,020-game NHL career. He wore the captain's C in Vancouver, topped 30 goals three times, and etched his name permanently into hockey trivia by scoring the very first goal in New Jersey Devils franchise history in 1982. He later spent decades behind NHL benches as a respected coach, making this rookie a card with genuine lasting relevance. The front features the iconic 1972-73 design with sideways VANCOUVER CANUCKS lettering, yellow nameplate and the original stick-in-rink logo, while the reverse is the authentic Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back — English and French biography, "1st choice in draft" cartoon, and the NOT IN N. H. L. career banner that confirms true rookie status. It is not a puzzle back; 1972-73 OPC used full bilingual player bios printed in Canada. this copy shows the characteristic rough factory cut on the top and bottom edges, with visible paper fibers that authenticate it as an untouched O-Pee-Chee product. Centering is respectable left-to-right with a slight downward shift, and the corners show light rounding at the upper right and lower left with the other two corners retaining decent points. The surface is bright with strong color and no creases or wrinkles found under angled light, and the back is clean, unmarked and evenly toned. Weighing the corner softening and edge roughness, we assign a deliberately conservative raw grade of EX 5 — the card presents closer to EX-MT at arm's length, but we grade to protect the buyer, not to flatter the card. With Lever rookies in graded holders commanding strong premiums, this raw example is a smart, wallet-friendly entry into a genuinely significant seventies rookie. Whether you are building the 1972-73 OPC set, assembling a Canucks captains collection, or hunting draft-class rookies from the famous 1972 draft, this card belongs on your shortlist. Secure it now before another vintage hunter beats you to it. Grade Estimate: EX 5