Christopher Gibson Autographed Card

I talked last month about getting mail from an old apartment, and how I had a few pleasant surprises waiting for me there. Now's the time for another, this time from Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Christopher Gibson, who I've seen play in Juniors many times:

It's card #181 from In The Game's 2011-12 Heroes And Prospects set, showing him in the beautiful Chicoutimi Saguenéens blue uniform (which used to look better without the Reebok piping, obviously), in a relaxed/idle position looking at the scoreboard. It's signed in blue sharpie, matching his jersey and equipment.

I hadn't sent him anything since the return I got last year, so my guess is this was purely a gift.

I started following his career in 2010 while he was dominating in the ''Q'', and he has now elevated his game to the point of being one of the AHL's top goalies; he had a 2.44 GAA and .916 save percentage in 12 games in 2013-14 with the Toronto Marlies in a third-stringer role, and had a slightly better 2.42 GAA and .921 save percentage in 45 games (24-17-3) as the starter last season on an awful Marlies team, bad enough that the entire coaching staff lost their jobs this summer.

He still carries the unjustified and unfair ''inconsistent'' tag, so he'll likely have to repeat last year's performance this upcoming season before getting a shot at the Leafs' backup position, but I'm certain he'll prove his doubters wrong once more.

He already has a bronze medal with Team Finland at the 2010 World U-18 Championships and participated in the 2012 World Juniors, so I'm also confident he'll get to represent his country at future World Championships, although for the Olympics roster, he does have perennial Vezina contenders Pekka Rinne and Tuukka Rask well ahead of him on the depth chart.