Frank Corrado Autograph Card

Things are going well for Frank Corrado these days: he's already learned he will be counted upon as the Vancouver Canucks will look to him to replace the injured Kevin Bieksa, and now he'll also have the honor to serve as the first official entry in my Canucks Numbers Project, representing #26.

The 150th pick of the 2011 draft, Corrado is a speedy defenseman who can feel free to pinch in offensively because even if he loses the puck, he's fast enough to recover in time to break up the ensuing play. He's been impressive at the NHL level, coming pretty much straight from Juniors to help shut down the San Jose Sharks a year and a half ago (I know, it's the Sharks, but in order for them to choke, they still need to be stifled, and Corrado did just that).

He wasn't a point-per-game defenseman in the OHL nor the AHL, so I don't expect him to be one in the NHL either, but if the 21-year-old can develop into a steady presence and contribute to the tune of 20-30 points while staying in the plusses and eating some minutes on the second pairing, he'll be a very valuable player who might even take a page from Dan Hamhuis' book and play for Team Canada some day (perhaps more at the World Championships than the Olympics, though).

He has 2 goals in 22 NHL games so far, so perhaps borderline players such as fellow right-handed d-man Yannick Weber should watch their backs from now on.

Here he is sporting the Canucks' current/pseudo-retro blue (now-home) uniform, from Panini's 2013-14 Totally Certified set (card #TR-FC of the Rookie Signatures and Dual Rookie Class sub-sets), featuring a thin blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph: