Alex Galchenyuk Autograph And Swatch Folding Card

Nice way to start off the NHL season, as the Montréal Canadiens' young winger center Alex Galchenyuk scored the winning goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Playing behind Tomas Plekanec will relieve him of a lot of pressure - including playing against the opposition's top line - and having Alexander Semin as a winger will give him more space to maneuver, as opponents won't be sure if he'll be shooting or passing and will respect him a bit more than they did last year, when he was usually stripped of the puck with two adversaries directly on him as soon as he approached the other team's zone.

And should the Semin experiment fail, I'm fairly certain Michel Therrien will pair him with Max Pacioretty, so as to give him every possible chance at succeeding as a center.

I participated in a raffle last summer in which I won the following card after purchasing five of a possible 20 spots:

Inside/Front

Back/Front

As you can see, it is a fold-up card containing both an autograph on a clear sheet of plastic inserted in the card on one side, and an event-worn swatch on the other, with pictures from both his draft day (he went third overall in 2012) where he's pictured in the Habs' classic red jersey, and an action shot where he's wearing the white (now-away) uniform.

It's card #FR-AG from Panini's 2013-14 Playbook set (part of the Dual Rookie Class and First Round Edition sub-sets); apparently, it's already worth north of $60 on the open market.