Sergei Bobrovsky Jersey Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

When Sergei Bobrovsky signed his three-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs last summer, it was widely believed the final year would be an anchor, perhaps the second year as well; a number of people (experts and fans) had doubts he would be able to return to form at 38 years old, but a majority were confident he would at least be an upgrade over what the Leafs had in place last season.

I was of the mind that regular-season Bob had only had three above-average years in out of seven with the Florida Panthers, but that playoff Bob had been elite for the past four tries (the last one being two seasons ago, in 2024-25), with three Finals and two Stanley Cups to show for it, so there was a risk I could understand starting in mid-April 2027, but from October 2026 until March 2027, he might even be a downgrade from Joseph Woll and Dennis Hildeby, two at-times promising young netminders who were dealt to make room for Bobrovsky.

Which doesn't take away from his first-ballot Hall Of Fame resume, it's just that his two Vezina-winning seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets are so far back they don't even show up in the rearview mirror.

And so am I surprised he's lost his last five games (courtesy of Hockey-Reference)?

No, not at all. It's to be expected. He's 38, playing in a new system after seven years behind one of the most accomplished blue lines in the league. Heck, even the move from Columbus to Florida took some time to gel:

So what I'm saying is: I wouldn't have made that bet, but if you did, this should have been part of it, and you probably need to see it play out. Unlike how the Philadelphia Flyers dealt with him, letting him have a very good rookie season and quickly turning their sights onto the new flavour of the day, Ilya Bryzgalov. Ironically, the Flyers traded him to the Blue Jackets for a trio of draft picks, and one of them became Anthony Stolarz, who backed him up in Florida and now again in Toronto.

Here is Bob in the Flyers' glorious orange 1970s-inspired uniform, on card #GJ-SB from Upper Deck's 2011-12 Series 1 set and Game Jersey sub-set:

It features a black game-worn jersey swatch.

Victoria Bach Autographed Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

There was a bit of news I missed out on three weeks ago, where former PWHL forward Victoria Bach was named North Halton Twisters U15AA head coach for the 2027-28 season; she had retired from playing at the end of the 2024-25 season, split between the Toronto Sceptres and Ottawa Charge. I loved what she had said at the time:

Dear Hockey, What a ride it's been. 20 years, countless memories, and so many lessons learned. From the first time I stepped on the ice at 6 years old, you've been my everything. You've shaped me, challenged me, and shown me what true grit and passion are.

Internationally, she has played for Team Canada, winning gold at the 2022 Olympics as well as 2021 and 2022 World Championships and 2014 World U18s, and a silver medal at the 2018 4 Nations Cup. Here she is wearing the red and black, on card #52 from Upper Deck's 2021-22 Team Canada Juniors / Women set:

It's signed in thin blue sharpie; I had sent it to her care of the Sceptres in the team's first year, before they had a name, even. This makes her #51 in My Team Canada Numbers Project.

My Team Canada Numbers Project

Well, I have Numbers Projects for so many teams now (my Habs Numbers Project, my Oilers Numbers Project my Sens Numbers Project, my Canucks Numbers Project, my Nordiques Numbers Project, my Flames Numbers Project and my Expos Numbers Project), I figured why not make one for Team Canada as well?

It'll be easier in some regards with all the national teams at all the levels (including but not limited to the World Juniors, the World Championships, the Spengler Cup, the Canada/World Cup, the Summit Series, and the Men's and Women's Olympic teams), but I'm again at a loss for #99 (Wayne Gretzky) and likely will be for my entire life.

The plan is to stick to hockey, but who knows, maybe I'll get to add some from other sports as well; it might be my only shot at a #99.

So far, I have featured 35 players representing a total of 26 jersey numbers.

Here they are:

1: Braden Holtby: check!
2: Meghan Agosta: check!
3: Eric Brewer: check!
4: Thomas Hickey and Chris Phillips: check!
5: Bryan Allen, Drew Bannister and Samuel Morin: check!
8: Laura Fortino and Pierre-Luc Dubois: check!
9: Anthony Beauvillier (also wore #21) and Joe Veleno: check!
10: Dale Hawerchuk, Brayden Schenn and Charles Hudon (also wore #16): check!
11: Zachary Boychuk: check!
12: Julien Gauthier: check!
13: Caroline Ouellette: check (and check again)!
14: Thomas Hickey (also wore #4): check!
16: Kerby Rychel, Jayne Hefford and Charles Hudon (also wore #10): check!
17: Marcus Foligno: jersey card check!
18: Jean-Pierre Dumont and Pierre-Luc Dubois: check!
19: Alexandre Daigle: check!
20: Guillaume Latendresse, Jason Ward and Louis Leblanc: check!
21: Anthony Beauvillier: check!
22: Frédérik Gauthier and Owen Tippett: check!
23: Jason Botterill, Rob Niedermayer and Daniel Audette: check!
24: Patrice Brisebois and Logan Couture: check!
25: Tessa Bonhomme and Raphaël Lavoie: check!
28: Nathan Beaulieu: and Victor Mete: check!
29: Marie-Philip Poulin: check!
30: Dustin Tokarski: jersey card check!
31: Geneviève Lacasse and Olivier Roy: check!
32: Charline Labonté: check!
33: Ann-Renée Desbiens: check!
37: Patrice Bergeron: jersey card check!
51: Victoria Bach and Ryan Getzlaf (jersey card): check!
97: Joe Thornton: jersey card check!

Captains: Poulin, Hickey

Mustafa Johnson Jersey Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

The Montréal Alouettes are once again headed to the Grey Cup after beating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 33-23 yesterday. It wasn't always pretty, the Als let a 17-point lead at 20-3 reduce to 6 (26-20), but a Tyrice Beverette sack that turned into a recovered fumble put the final coffin in the Bombers' hopes of a comeback. The issue of trash talk was also front and center, as Montréal's star quarterback Davis Alexander was taunted about his late father, which Winnipeg players thought was fair game.

The Alouettes had the best record in the CFL this season at 14-4 (9-0 at home), on the strength of seasons for the ages for Alexander and wide receiver Tyson Philpot: Alexander led the league in completion percentage (72.1), touchdowns (35) and 30-plus yard completions (37) while finishing second in passing (5,257 yards) on his way to being named the CFL’s outstanding player, while Philpot set Canadian single-season records for catches (124, third-most all-time) and receiving yards (1,809) to go with 13 touchdown passes (up from his previous career-high of 5).

Defensively, the Als were also a powerhouse, with 11 different players registering at least one sack; Beverette led with 6, and two players tied for second-best with 5, Mustafa Johnson and Québecer Geoffrey Cantin-Arku. Johnson is a 27-year-old Colorado native who stands at 6'1" and 301 pounds, blending pure strength with good speed and above-average play reads, qualities that got him named as a 2023 and 2026 Eastern Division All-Star. The defensive lineman posted 36 defensive tackles, his third-best career mark (37 in 2024, 43 in 2023). Here is one of his sacks:
And here he is on the Game Jersey version of card #33 from Upper Deck's 2024 CFL series, showing him wearing the Als' dark blue (home) uniform, with a matching game-worn swatch:

He slots in perfectly as #94 in My Alouettes Numbers Project.

My Alouettes Numbers Project

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

It's been a while since I started another Numbers Project after my Habs Numbers Project, my Oilers Numbers Project, my Sens Numbers Project, my Canucks Numbers Project, my Nordiques Numbers Project, my Flames Numbers Project, my Expos Numbers Project, my Jets Numbers Project, my Whalers Numbers Project, and my Team Canada Numbers Project, so I thought I might start one for my local Canadian Football League (CFL) team, the Montréal Alouettes.

The goal is simple: to gather a special piece (jersey cards could work, but ideally an autographed card) from a player from every number worn by a member of the Als, regadless of era (I had to give myself a chance).

As you may know, the first iteration of the Alouettes lasted from 1946 until 1981, with its peak during the 1970s, winning three Grey Cups in six appearances in the Grey Cup Final during that decade. The team's owner would hit hard financial times in 1982 and would hand the team back to the league in May - roughly a month before the start of the regular season; Montréal Expos (and Seagram) owner Charles Bronfman would retain most of the team's sports staff, players and employees as the Montréal Concordes, but the team stank and was unable to draw a decent attendance; Bronfman briefly went back to the Alouettes name, but the team folded before the 1987 regular season got underway.

In the early 1990s, the CFL tried expanding in the U.S., and the most successful franchise in that endeavour was the Baltimore Stallions, who made the Grey Cup Final in their first season in 1994 and won it the following year. Unfortunately, Art Modell, owner of the NFL's Cleveland Browns, announced that he planned to move his team to Baltimore, which would have relegated the Stallions to a second-tier team (due to playing in a second-tier league) in their city; after negociations and legal procedures, Modell was awarded a "new" NFL franchise - the Baltimore Ravens - and was allowed to retain most of the Browns' staff and players, as long as he forfeited the Browns' history and trademarks; the Browns were revived in 1999. This, however, rendered the Grey Cup champion Stallions homeless; after attempts at moving them to Houston (after the loss of the Houston Oilers and before the arrival of the Houston Texans), the CFL (and its commissioner Larry Smith, a former Als 1970s legend) was able to convince the team to move to Montréal to become the third iteration of the Alouettes.

So far, I have featured the following players:

19: S.J. Green: check!
26: Tyrice Beverette: jersey card check!
37: Wesley Sutton: jersey card check!
94: Mustafa Johnson: jersey card check!

I understand I still have a ways to go, but one reason why I started is that I believe I have enough to at least make it fun!