Christoph Schubert represents a new breed of player brought forth by the New NHL: a skilled player who is not quite of top-line caliber, but better than any checker on his team, so he is asked to play his original position (in Schubert's case, defense) as often as he is asked to contribute elsewhere (winger), in place of someone less skilled.
Ironically, for the moment, these players come relatively cheap, usually nearing the average salary, so in a cap era, come trade time, they are worth more than some star players. That is, of course, until the player himself becomes a highly-paid star, as is now the case with Mark Streit.
Unfortunately, Schubert now plays for the Atlanta Thrashers, where his fine play goes largely unnoticed by most of the hockey world, fans and media alike, case in point: despite having been a member of Germany's 2006 Olympic team, he didn't make the cut for the 2010 edition, despite there being only 7 NHLers on the roster - and many of them being role or reserve players with their respective teams.
Before being claimed off waivers by the Thrashers, Schubert had been an integral part of the Ottawa Senators for half a decade. In the team's skills competition, he is the second-hardest shot in team history (behind Zdeno Chara, of course) with a shot clocked at over 100 mph; he has also achieved first place in the puck-control relay portion.
This card is from Fleer's 2005-06 Hot Prospects set (card #208), the Prized Prospects sub-set, manufactured by Upper Deck, and is serial numbered 207/999. It consists of a blue sharpie autograph on a sticker that was later apposed to the card, in which he is sporting the beautiful, old-model Sens' white jersey.
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