David Desharnais: 2 Autographed Cards

This season, David Desharnais has arguably been the Montréal Canadiens' top center. A star playmaker since his days in juniors, where he captained the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, he went undrafted because of his diminutive stature (5'7'', 177 pounds) but was signed as a free agent after a tryout with the Habs, then promptly shipped to the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones, where he dominated, gathering 106 points in 68 games (plus 33 more in 22 playoff games) to win league MVP, Rookie OF The Year, First All-Star Team and All-Rookie Team awards and leading his team to the championship.

He then spent the next two seasons with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs, scoring 24 goals and 58 points in his rookie year in 2008-09, then 78 points in 60 games to lead the team in 2009-10. Last year, he had collected 45 points in 35 games with the Bulldogs before getting called up with the Habs, where he's been ever since.

The card on top, showing him in the Bulldogs' white uniform is from In The Game's 2009-10 Heroes And Prospects set (card #43), while the one on the bottom, in the Habs' white jersey, is from Panini's 2011-12 Score (card #252). Both are signed in blue sharpie, with his jersey number from the card tagged at the end, 36 and 58 respectively, both rare feats considering he generally wore #51 at all professional levels. The cards were signed in person at a pre-season game in Québec City (one before, one after); a fellow collector traded these to me in exchange for some basketball (2) and football (1) autographed insert cards.

I'm a big fan of this little man, and I hope to send him some TTM cards soon as well.