Shawn Horcoff: 4 Autographed Cards

It's the Month Of New Captains, I guess! After Brian Gionta and Shea Weber (a jersey card, but still!), these four Shawn Horcoff cards came in the mail today, a month to the day after I sent them to him along with a fan letter congratulating him on the captaincy and saying how confident I was that he and Ales Hemsky would be able to turn the franchise back into a constant contender by leading the next crop of kids like Sam Gagner, Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle.

All four cards were signed with a dying black sharpie - and what an interesting signature it is!

As usual, I sent cards showing him in different uniforms. The first one, the 'home' white jersey from the late 90s to the mid-00s:

It's a beautiful card from the always-top-notch 2007-08 Artifacts set (card #91), by Upper Deck. The Artifacts and Ice sets always have amazing graphics and textures, the are works of art. This particular card has a bronze-coloured foil imprint for the brand name, company name and the player's name, adding a touch of class to the already royal design.

There is also my favourite ''third jersey'' ever, created by Todd McFarlane when he owned the team:

The card is from Fleer's 2007-08 Fleer Ultra set (card #119), by Upper Deck, on the back of which we learn that he scored the game-winning goal in his 400th game. The jersey is reminiscent of the Gretzky-era Los Angeles Kings', but with a shade of dark blue instead of black that gives it its uniqueness. And that oil drop logo looks awesome!

And, of course, there are the Reebok atrocities... First, the white 'away' pyjamas (notice the Oilers' 30th Anniversary patch on the right shoulder that saves it from being too unprofessional), from Upper Deck's 2009-10 Victory set (card #81):

And the blue 'home' jerseys that look like practice uniforms, from the 2010-11 Black Diamond set (card #45) by UD:

A fourth-round pick (99th overall, hmm!) in the 1998 NHL draft, Horcoff has spent his entire career with the Edmonton Oilers, after four years at Michigan State and a third of a season in the AHL with the Hamilton Bulldogs. He can generally be counted on to score nearly 20 goals per season and account for roughly 50 points; his career highs are of 22 goals, 51 assists, good for 73 points, all achieved during the magical 2005-06 season, which included a Cup run where they lost in the Finals to the Carolina Hurricanes in 7 games. To this day, I still believe they could have reversed the tide by putting on the McFarlane jersey in one of the last two games and won the series on psychological edge alone, although the loss (to injury) of Dwayne Roloson was too big a gap to fill, and his shoes were indeed too big for Ty Conklin to fill.

Horcoff shares a record with Wayne Gretzky - of all people! - for the most points tallied in a single period by an Oiler, with 4, all assists. He has also appeared in three World Championships for Team Canada, winning gold twice (2003 and 2004) and silver in 2005.

He is a very good cornerstone upon which to graft young kids looking for a leader. These Oiler kids are in good hands.