Jordan Eberle Jersey Card

I loved the Edmonton Oilers growing up, and when I stopped following regular-season hockey for a few years in the 1990s, they and the Colorado Avalanche were the only teams I followed closely come playoff time. So my love for the Oilers goes from the Wayne Gretzky/Kevin Lowe era, to the Ryan Smyth/Shawn Horcoff era, to today's generation.

And my favourite player among this crop is without a doubt Jordan Eberle. Clutch beyond comprehension, he is already a point-per-game player in the NHL in just his fourth season, at only 23 years of age, on a team that could very well finish last overall. He played in his first All-Star Game in only his second NHL season (and there hasn't been another one since).

He holds the Team Canada record at the World Juniors with a 12-game point streak, and his overall international stats read as follows:

Juniors, 23 games, 18 goals, 18 assists, 36 points
Senior team, 27 games, 9 goals, 12 assists, 21 points

During the lock-out last season, he played with the Oilers' AHL affiliate Oklahoma City Barons, leading the league in points at the time that NHL play resumed with 25 gals and 51 points in 34 games.

Already nominated for the Lady Byng Trophy once, he will likely win it a few times, seeing as his career-high in penalty minutes is 22, in his rookie season. He understands that he serves his team better on the ice than in the penalty box...

And so, I was more than happy to pull this card from a pack of Upper Deck's 2013-14 SP Game-Used (it's card #AF-JE, part of the Authentic Fabrics sub-set) last week, showing him wearing the Oilers' iconic blue-and-orange uniform and sporting the alternate captain's 'A', with a nice, big, dark blue swatch: