Thursday, October 31, 2019

Mark Letestu Autographed Card

The bad news just keeps piling on for the Winnipeg Jets, following an off-season where they lost half their defense: Patrik Laine will be out for at least a couple of games with a lower-body injury, Dustin Byfuglien was operated on an ankle with or without the team's consent and will miss up to four months, and Mark Letestu has now been shut down for six months with myocarditis, which I know from watching House, M.D. is a viral infection to the heart.

Undrafted out of Alberta Junior "A" and then Western Michigan University, Letestu first signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins as a free agent, made his way to the Columbus Blue Jackets, then the Edmonton Oilers, an hours-long trip to the Nashville Predators only to be traded back to the Blue Jackets, a tryout deal with the Florida Panthers, a new deal with the Jackets, and this summer signed on with the Jets.

He has mostly played in blue in the NHL - even in Pittsburgh. Here he is wearing the Oilers' classic uniform of the same colour on card #192 from Upper Deck's 2016-17 O-Pee-Chee set:
He signed it in blue sharpie after a game in Montréal in 2018. He's wearing #55 on it, which is perfect for inclusion in my Oilers Numbers Project.

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Gabriel Landeskog Jersey Card

When healthy, the best line in the NHL is arguably the Colorado Avalanche's top line, featuring Hart finalist Nathan MacKinnon, young star Mikko Rantanen and captain Gabriel Landeskog. MacKinnon might start feeling like he's on his own for a while, because Rantanen was already out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, and now Landeskog joins him on LTIR with an ailment that head coach Jared Bednar describes as "longer than week to week". Ouch.

At least he'll be around to take care of his newborn baby for the next little while:
Landeskog was a leader and heart-and-soul talented middle-six player for most of his career, his point totals usually in the 50s but oscillating between 35 and 60, but playing on a line wit hRantanen and MacKinnon turned him into a point-per-game player and 30-goal scorer.

Having been drafted second overall in a 2011 class that included the likes of Nikita Kucherov, Johnny Gaudreau, Mark Scheifele, Jonathan Huberdeau, Sean Couturier, Mika Zibanejad, Dougie Hamilton and Vincent Trochek, Landeskog and first-overall pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins were increasingly looking at arguments beyond points totals to justify being picked ahead of those guys - although both are making a strong case this season that they may have just bloomed a tad later and not been surrounded as well in the beginnings of their careers.

Despite those two very important losses, I feel the Avs are strong and deep enough this year to keep playing acceptable hockey and remain in the playoff race until both star players are back and rested - which might just help them come playoff time.

Here is Landeskog wearing the Avalanche's white (away) Reebok Edge-era uniform with the ugly striping cutting the captain's "C" in half, on card #GJ-GL from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set:
It features a bright/dark blue game-worn jersey swatch that is likely from the home or third jersey.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Devante Smith-Pelly Autographed Card

Devante Smith-Pelly has been through it all: prized prospect, traded for prized prospects twice, World Juniors bronze medalist for Team Canada, grinder, healthy scratch, Stanley Cup Final hero, demoted to the AHL, training camp tryout that he gets released from, and now signing in the KHL with the Kunlun Red Star, alongside Gilbert Brulé, Spencer Foo, Adam Cracknell, Jake Chelios (son of Chris), David Bondra (son of Peter), Griffin Reinhart, Trevor Murphy, Ryan Sproul, Andrej Sustr, Mikaël Tam, Wojtek Wolski and captain Brandon Yip.

Despite a wealth of North American players and being coached by Curt Fraser, the Chinese team currently sits fifth in the Chernyshev Division and ninth in the Eastern Conference.

A former second-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks (42nd overall in 2010), he has also suited up for the Montréal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals for two seasons apiece.

In Montréal, he is mostly remembered as Alex Galchenyuk's partner-in-crime in extracurricular activities, notably one incident on January 10, 2016 where police were (allegedly) called to the scene of an orgy at a luxury half-apartment building/half-hotel involving alcohol and a lot of cocaine that Galchenyuk's soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend crashed which resulted in an arrest for domestic violence... eventually to Galchenyuk's ex. As the organization is known to do, they got rid of Smith-Pelly quickly and Galchenyuk eventually, as soon as the team finished sullying his name to part of the fan base by constantly publicly questioning his work ethic and moving him around so much he looked lost on the ice.

Fast-forward a couple of years and a Cup and teammate and Caps star Evgeny Kuznetsov tests positive for cocaine. I'm not ready to say the drug is rampant in the NHL as much as it was in the 1980s, but its usage has probably increased in percentage as much as it seems to have in society, which is a lot more than in 1995 or 2001.

I hope Smith-Pelly finds his game again in the KHL and comes back next year on a team that could use his skill-set, like the Philadelphia Flyers or his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. He's the type of unsung here that is easy to root for because he works hard and seems to leave his all on the ice.

Here he is wearing the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors' (now the Mississauga Steelheads) white (home) uniform, on card #176 from In The Game's 2010-11 Heroes And Prospects set:
He signed it in blue sharpie in November 2018, after one of two games against the Habs. He was shorter than I thought (he plays bigger than 6') but was affable and nice.

Monday, October 28, 2019

5-Pack Break: 2019-20 Upper Deck Tim Hortons

Once again, for a full review, click here. As more and more Tim Hortons stores run out of their Upper Deck 2019-20 Tim Hortons hockey cards, I'm tricked into believing I need to buy more of these overpriced cards.

I went for another five packs and landed these inserts, starting with a Gold Etchings card of Alex Ovechkin:
Of course, the scan is a little light on the gold foil, but the card looks great to the naked eye.

There were also two Game Day Action cards, of Mark Scheifele and Auston Matthews:
I landed one "Red" parallel of Sebastian Aho:
And one "Special Event" card, of Sidney Crosby from the All-Star Game:
I've now spent $54 and am still far from a complete set set (55 singles, 5 doubles), which means I'm now up to these so far:

Base Set:
5: Mark Giordano
7: Brady Tkachuk
9: Jack Eichel
10: Jordan Binnington 
13: Johnny Gaudreau x2
15: Ryan Getzlaf
17: Victor Hedman
19: Jonathan Toews
20: Sebastian Aho
21: Brayden Point 
24: Jonathan Huberdeau
25: Nico Hischier
26: Blake Wheeler
28: Claude Giroux
29: Nathan MacKinnon
30: Henrik Lundqvist
33: Sam Reinhart
34: Auston Matthews x2
37: Patrice Bergeron 
39: Aleksander Barkov
41: Jake Guentzel
43: Anthony Mantha
48: Connor Hellebuyck
52: Chris Kreider
53: Bo Horvat
54: Jonathan Quick
55: Mark Scheifele
56: Devan Dubnyk
58: Kris Letang 
60: Drew Doughty
62: David Krejci
63: Brad Marchand
64: Eric Staal
69: Cam Atkinson
73: Mark Stone 
75: Frederik Andersen x2
77: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 
78: William Karlsson
79: Elias Petersson
83: Quinn Hughes
84: Evgeny Kuznetsov 
85: Leon Draisaitl
88: Patrick Kane 
89: Alex DeBrincat
93: Mika Zibanejad
97: Connor McDavid
99: Brendan Gallagher
101: Tyler Seguin
102: Jeff Skinner
104 Kyle Palmieri
112: Marc-André Fleury x2
115: Mathew Barzal x2
118: Jonathan Drouin
119: Anze Kopitar

Game Day Action:
HGD-4: Mark Scheifele
HGD-6: Johnny Gaudreau
HGD-8: Jonathan Toews 
HGD-10: Auston Matthews
HGD-12: Alex Ovechkin
HGD-13: Steven Stamkos
HGD-14: Nathan MacKinnon 
HGD-15: Sidney Crosby

"Red" Parallel:
DC-10: Sebastian Aho
DC-16: Patrice Bergeron
DC-17: Brent Burns
DC-30: Clayton Keller
DC-33: Steven Stamkos

Gold Etchings:
GE-4: Patrick Kane
GE-5: Johnny Gaudreau
GE-7: Patrik Laine x2
GE-8: Alex Ovechkin
GE-10: Sidney Crosby

Franchise Duos:
D-6: Johnny Gaudreau/Sean Monahan
D-7: Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl

Clear Cut Phenoms:
CC-5: David Pastrnak
CC-8: Patrik Laine 

Highly Decorated:
HD-7: Jonathan Toews
HD-12: Joe Thronton

Special Events:
SE-2: Tuukka Rask: China Games
SE-3: Nico Hischier: Global Series
SE-5: Patrice Bergeron:  Winter Classic
SE-6: Sidney Crosby - All-Star Game

I do not expect to ever have a complete set, so these will start being included in trades and mail shipments to get signed soon.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Nicolas Petan Jersey Card

There is a tendency in sports reporting that I don't like and is being normalized these days, which is to attack someone (or a group of people) at the bottom of the food chain to send a message to the entity or entities up top, and the worst of the worst - as always - comes from the Toronto media.

Not only do they concentrate on their own team too much, they also over-emphasize the importance of the Toronto Maple Leafs (far from the most storied franchise in the league, in fact more like the team with the most and longest sequences of irrelevance), but they live in a bubble where they keep repeating the same message over and over where it actually becomes a narrative and a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Too cryptic?

Think of last summer's narrative: The overpaid John Tavares and Auston Matthews inspired Mitch Marner to force the Leafs to hand him the same type of overpaid contract, but with the overpaid William Nylander in the mix, they won't have enough money to match the high-powered offense with a top-notch defense, and they will lack depth.

Fine.

On the other hand, teams with great defence (the Nashville Predators come to mind) rarely can afford 50-goal scorers and 100-point forwards (except maybe the Calgary Flames). Case in point: the Vegas Golden Knights and Pittsburgh Penguins.

But I digress. I was talking about the bubble: TSN (half-owners of the team) talks about the lack of depth, Sportsnet (half owners of the team and sole owners of the national TV rights) talks about a lack of depth; the Globe And Mail and sports radio talks about a lack of depth and hints at a general lack of talent; the National Post says it's the most disappointing Leafs team of the past 20 years; TSN gets more critical, Sportsnet gets more critical, Hockey Night In Canada points to why they're in a critical situation, sports radio wants GM Kyle Dubas' head while Sportsnet asks for head coach Mike Babcock's - the same Babcock they were so adamant was the exact person the team needed when they signed him - now that his patience and rebuild process and plan has come to fruition, and TSN Radio goes and says the team has "no talent".

They're not wrong on the initial, original premise: Tavares was overpaid to be convinced to leave the New York Islanders in the midst of his prime at age 28 because he was eventually going to represent a reasonable portion of the salary cap when the young guns also reach their prime; Matthews and Marner - at least a couple of years away from their prime - are already getting paid for what they'll be expected to provide when they're 25 and 26 years old; Nylander should never have been given that money, he'll likely never be worth it; there is less money left to hire 19 other players at a value that most pother teams will be spending on 19 players.

All true.

But some players accepted to play for their hometown team at a rebate - Jason Spezza, for instance, taking a 90% pay cut to join a contending club and provide leadership. Sure, he's far removed from his prime, but for what he can provide (he's coming off two straight 8-goal, 26-and 27-point seasons, so it'd be reasonable to expect 5-7 goals and 22-25 points on his part with favourable matchups), but you'd have to think the Montréal Canadiens or Ottawa Senators would have paid double for what he brings, to provide their young players with a lifetime's worth of experience from top-rated prospect to second-liner to first-liner to centre of the best line in the NHL to captain to depth piece to checking centre. Contracts like his enable so0me extravagance in other areas.

What I don't like is how it spirals into "no talent" territory.

1: Fuck You. 2: What?

Spezza is a 1000-game veteran with over 900 points; Jake Muzzin is an Olympic gold medal winner with Team Canada; Alex Kerfoot will make more mistakes than your usual third-line centre, but he'll chip in for 40-50 points, 20% more than is expected from his position; Dmytro Timashov is 23, in his first NHL season, and was a two-point-per-game player in the LHJMQ; that "no good" Cody Ceci is a +6; Frédérik Gauthier is a former first-rounder who was always groomed to be a fourth-liner for this team, so I don't know what else people were expecting; Michael Hutchinson is in his fourth organization and third NHL team (he never played for the Boston Bruins but had a short stint with the Florida Panthers and played with the Winnipeg Jets in parts of five seasons), meaning three teams so far have seen him as a better option than their own current #3 goalies; Rasmus Sandin, just 19 years old, former first-rounder; Nick Shore, veteran of nearly 250 NHL games.

These aren't your beer league retirees or ECHL-caliber youngsters, these are ten of 700 players who will play in the best league in the world this year, possibly among the 1000 best at what they do on the planet. I know for a fact that no one in the National Post is among the top 1000 at what they do.

Which brings me to Nicolas Petan, former second-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets (43rd overall in 2013), acquired by the Leafs at last year's trade deadline and extended for two seasons near the league minimum who was quickly recalled early in the month. He has an assist in 4 games so far, which projects to 20 points over a full season while playing under 10 minutes per, but he was a point-per-game player in the AHL (52 points in 52 games) with the Manitoba Moose in 2017-18.

He has talent, he has guts, but Babcock won't play him because he's 5'9" despite his 180 pounds. But he's there waiting for his chance, like Martin St-Louis, Tyler Johnson, Yanni Gourde, David Desharnais and Paul Byron before him.

Journalists and pundits need to chill out and realize we're just 13 games in - time to reflect, time to prepare for the 20-game/quarter-season look back, but no time to panic or ask for heads to roll, especially those who have no stake in it.

Here is Petan wearingt the Jets' white (away) uniform, on the bronze insert version of card #150 from Upper Deck's 2015-16 SP Game-Used Edition collection and Authentic Rookies sub-set:
It features a dark blue event-worn jersey swatch and is numbered 241/399.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Nicolas Deslauriers Autographed Card

It was Nicolas Deslauriers' dream to one day play in the NHL for the Montréal Canadiens, and he got to live it through parts of two seasons for 106 games. Unfortunately, he came to the organization at a time where being a local kid is frowned upon by management, and where a single mistake means getting scratched by head coach Claude Julien for anywhere from three to 22 games.

He's now suiting up for the surprising Anaheim Ducks, providing energy, hard checks, a veteran example to follow and rest for other fourth-line grinders by eating up a few minutes here and there every other game. The Habs got a fourth-round pick in 2020 in exchange for his services, and both teams are currently fighting for a playoff spot, Anaheim one game above .500 (7-6) while Montréal is one below (5-4-1-1, for five wins and six losses).

He knew his time was up with the Canadiens and is happy he got to remain in the NHL instead of being demoted to the AHL's Laval Rocket, where hometown players seem to end up under this regime.

He signed this card for me in blue sharpie at a charity golf tournament this summer:
It's #208 from Upper Deck's 2018-19 O-Pee-Chee set, showing him wearing the Habs' classic red (home) uniform.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Nick Leddy Jersey Card

Nick Leddy made history earlier tonight as the first New York Islanders defenseman to score on a penalty shot as his three points helped his team win against the Ottawa Senators. Furthermore, it was thought for a while that he had joined Hall Of Famer Denis Potvin as the only d-men to score hat tricks for the franchise, but the (third) goal was given to Cal Clutterbuck a few minutes later when the NHL head office realized he'd actually deflected Leddy's shot ever so slightly.

Ever since coming from the Chicago Blackhawks in October of 2014, Leddy has been a steady offensive presence for the Isles, generally oscillating between 40 and 45 points per season except last year where he only collected 26, although his defensive play has sometimes angered the team's fans; one need only look at his stats from 2017-18 to understand their frustration: in 80 games, he scored 10 goals and had 42 points with just 20 minutes (not too bad for a defenseman who weighs 210 pounds), but his -42 ratio was unforgivable.

It's a far cry from the 10-goal, 37-point and +18 rating rating from 2014-15 that got him some Norris Trophy votes.

This year, he's again on track points-wise, with 5 points in 9 games, 2 penalty minutes and a +5 rating in part thanks to tonight's game. Head coach Barry Trotz seems to know how to best utilize him, too, because he was an even +0 last year on the team with the best goals-against average, so he's getting matchups where he can contribute and not put his team in a bad situation.

Here he is wearing the Isles' white (now-away) uniform on card #FA-NL from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Artifacts collection and Frozen Artifacts sub-set:
It features a bright orange (much brighter than the scan lets on) game-worn jersey swatch. Artifacts remains the best-looking set on the market year in and year out, in my opinion.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

2019-20 Upper Deck Tim Hortons: 5-Pack Break

As usual, Tim Hortons stores are running out of their Upper Deck 2019-20 Tim Hortons hockey cards two weeks ahead of time; they were initially supposed to be in stores until November 9th, but most are already sold out, which is why when I crossed a shop that still had some, I took bought packs. (For a full review of the set, click here.)

It's not the best decision I've ever made, but it's very far from the worst.

For instance, I landed two Gold Etchings cards, one of them Johnny Gaudreau:
Unfortunately, I already had a Patrik Laine, but maybe I can get one signed now.

I also landed two Game Day Action cards, of Gaudreau and Sidney Crosby:
And my final insert was of the Special Events type, namely the Global Series, of Nico Hischer:
In terms of collation, I only got one base double (Gaudreau), but I did find it odd that I got a double of an insert.

All told, I've spent $45 I'm still at one-third of the set (two doubles), which means I'm now up to these so far:

Base Set:

5: Mark Giordano
7: Brady Tkachuk
9: Jack Eichel
10: Jordan Binnington 
13: Johnny Gaudreau x2
15: Ryan Getzlaf
17: Victor Hedman
19: Jonathan Toews
20: Sebastian Aho 
21: Brayden Point
25: Nico Hischier
26: Blake Wheeler
28: Claude Giroux
29: Nathan MacKinnon
33: Sam Reinhart
34: Auston Matthews 
37: Patrice Bergeron 
39: Aleksander Barkov
41: Jake Guentzel
43: Anthony Mantha
48: Connor Hellebuyck
52: Chris Kreider
53: Bo Horvat
54: Jonathan Quick
55: Mark Scheifele
56: Devan Dubnyk
58: Kris Letang 
60: Drew Doughty
63: Brad Marchand
64: Eric Staal
69: Cam Atkinson
73: Mark Stone 
75: Frederik Andersen
77: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
84: Evgeny Kuznetsov 
85: Leon Draisaitl
88: Patrick Kane 
89: Alex DeBrincat
93: Mika Zibanejad
97: Connor McDavid
101: Tyler Seguin
102: Jeff Skinner
104 Kyle Palmieri
112: Marc-André Fleury x2
115: Mathew Barzal
119: Anze Kopitar

Game Day Action:

HGD-6: Johnny Gaudreau
HGD-8: Jonathan Toews
HGD-12: Alex Ovechkin
HGD-13: Steven Stamkos
HGD-14: Nathan MacKinnon 
HGD-15: Sidney Crosby

"Red" Parallel:

DC-16: Patrice Bergeron
DC-17: Brent Burns
DC-30: Clayton Keller
DC-33: Steven Stamkos

Gold Etchings:

GE-4: Patrick Kane
GE-5: Johnny Gaudreau
GE-7: Patrik Laine x2
GE-10: Sidney Crosby

Franchise Duos:

D-6: Johnny Gaudreau/Sean Monahan
D-7: Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl

Clear Cut Phenoms:
CC-5: David Pastrnak
CC-8: Patrik Laine 

Highly Decorated:
HD-7: Jonathan Toews
HD-12: Joe Thronton

Special Events:
SE-2: Tuukka Rask: China Games
SE-3: Nico Hischier: Global Series
SE-5: Patrice Bergeron:  Winter Classic

Some stars are included too often, no offense to Toews and Gaudreau, but it's ridiculous. One player shouldn't feel like he's 10% of the series.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Jacob Markstrom Autographed Card

Since taking over as the Vancouver Canucks' #1 goalie in 2017-18, Jacob Markstrom has done an admirable job, often standing as one of the lone bright spots on a team that looked desolate in present times and whose future was bleak.

Fast forward two years and the future is brighter with the likes of Elias Pettesson, Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes, and whether Thatcher Demko pans out or not in net, Markstrom is holding the fort admirably so far, having only surrendered more than two goals in a single game, a 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers to open the season.

At 29 years of age, he's got three more years of prime hockey and possibly two more of pretty good play after that, if he can mostly stay at or below the 60-game threshold per regular season (in addition to playoffs and international play).

Of course, he dons Team Sweden's Tre Kronor uniform on the world stage, so he already has gold (2013 World Championships), silver (2009 World Juniors) and bronze (2010 World Juniors, 2010 World Championships) medals and will be looking to add to that resume whenever he can; his team will be among the favourites every time.

Here he is from his silver medal days wearing Sweden's yellow (home) uniform, on card #200 from In The Game's 2010-11 Heroes And Prospects set and International Prospect sub-set:
He signed it in fading blue sharpie after playing great and stopping 31 of 33 shots in a 2-0 loss against the Montréal Canadiens last January.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Dale Hawerchuk Autographed Card

When Dale Hawerchuk took a leave of absence from coaching the OHL's Barrie Colts, they only said it was for "health reasons". But by leaving the door upon for a return, I thought it was something that impedes your day-to-day, but not this: it has now come out that he is undergoing treatment for stomach cancer.

Although his prime extended to 1994, I would say he's one of the ten best forwards of the 1980s; I'll go even as far as saying he ranks #4 in my book:

1. Wayne Gretzky
2. Mario Lemieux
3. Peter Stastny
4. Dale Hawerchuk
5. Mike Bossy
6. Denis Savard
7. Jari Kurri
8. Steve Yzerman
9. Mark Messier
10. Marcel Dionne

You have the best player of all time at #1, and the most talented of all time at #2. That they played in the same generation boggles the mind. Then you have Stastny, the decade's second-highest scoring NHLer despite playing on a team that was never a powerhouse - and the most complete player of his era, offensively and defensively, the Patrice Bergeron of his time, essentially, but better.

Bossy's one of the three best and purest shooters of all time - with Brett Hull and Alex Ovechkin. Savard was the most electrifying and spectacular player of the era. Jari Kurri was on the level of a Marian Hossa or Mark Stone if those guys had Steven Stamkos' shot.

Yzerman was elite, just below the level of a Joe Sakic - a top-10 of his era whether I like it or not. I was also looking for ways to leave Messier out of this list, but I couldn't. And Dionne - possibly the best player to never win a Stanley Cup - was elite in the 1970s and into the first half of the 80s as well, so he makes the cut too.

That means the likes of Michel Goulet, Bryan Trottier, Mike Gartner, Dino Ciccarelli, Bobby Smith, Ron Francis, Rick Vaive, Mats Naslund, Neal Broten, Joe Mullen, Brian Bellows, Charlie Simmer, Bernie Federko, and Pat Lafontaine didn't make the cut, and the same can be said of players who came into the decade late, like Luc Robitaille, Theo Fleury, Sakic, Hull (his impact came into the 1990s), and Joe Nieuwendyk.

As for slotting him ahead of Bossy and Yzerman? Well, he was that good and a more complete player earlier than Stevie Y., as can be attested by Hawerchuk's presence as a "third-line grinder" on Team Canada at the 1987 and 1991 Canada Cups; not only that, but in the '87 edition, when the score was tied 5-5 in the third and final game against the Soviet Union with just over a minute left and a face-off in the defensive zone, it was he that coach Mike Keenan trusted to face the powerful Russian top line, flanked by Gretzky and Lemieux. He won it, Lemieux chipped it, and they scored one of the most famous goals of all-time on a three-on-one with defenseman Larry Murphy crashing the Soviet net. None of that happens without #10.

Speaking of which, this is what he looked like at the 1987 and 1991 Canada Cups wearing Canada's home (white) uniform, on card #88 from Upper Deck's 2018-19 Team Canada Juniors set and Alumni sub-set:
To this day, I still haven't actually purchased a pack or box from that set, but I do buy unsigned cards and send them by mail, which is how I got this one back after sending Hawerchuk a letter care of the Colts last season.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Peter Regin Autograph Card

There are five "known" Danish centres currently playing hockey. One put his professional career on hold and plays at the University of Guelph while furthering his education, Mikkel Aagaard; Lars Eller and Frans Nielsen are in the NHL; the other two are captains of their teams: Julian Jakobsen with the Aalborg Pirates in Denmark, and Peter Regin with the KHL's Helsingin Jokerit.

And Regin's started the season off on the right foot, with 10 points in 17 games so far in the ultra-defensive league.

He left North America after failing to earn a full-time roster spot with the Chicago Blackhawks prior to the 2015-16 season and proceeded to post consecutive 48-point seasons, but the last two had been sub-par, with only 8 goals and 31 points in 56 games in 2017-18 and 2 goals and 10 points in 29 games in 2018-19.

The Ottawa Senators' third-round pick at the 2004 draft (87th overall) is a fine skater, first-tier passer and smart player, but he never seemed to utilize his 6'2" frame and 190 pounds to create any space for himself in the NHL, although he was a decent point producer in the AHL, surpassing the 40-point mark both times he was sent there. In Europe, he can find a similar accent on strategy that best complements his abilities, I think.

Here he is sporting the Sens' red (home) uniform, on card #S-RE from Upper Deck's 2009-10 Be A Player set and Be A Player Signatures sub-set:
It features a black-sharpied on-sticker autograph that incorporates his jersey number (43).

Fun fact: the two goalies on Jokerit aren't playing at the same level so far this year, which may warrant a post or two on my part sooner rather than later:
courtesy of HockeyDB
Regin is six games away with Team Denmark from the century mark (100).

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Rafaël Harvey-Pinard Autographed Card

I've gotten so used to young NHLers entering the league taller than me at half my age that I was shocked to see how small Rafaël Harvey-Pinard was in person, perhaps smaller than his listed 5'9" and 161 pounds.

He had made the trek to the draft in Dallas for his first year of eligibility after a 76-point season (in 67 games) with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in 2017-18 only to be left undrafted; he earned an invitation to the Vegas Golden Knights' rookie camp, but ultimately couldn't stick with the team.

Instead, he went back to Juniors, was named the Huskies' captain, led them to the best record in Canada (59-8-1), collected 27 points in 20 playoff games to lead the team to the Presidents Cup (LHJMQ playoff championship) and had six points in five games as the Huskies went on to win the Memorial Cup as Canadian Juniors champions. The icing on the cake came when the Montréal Canadiens selected him in the seventh round (201st overall), joining Memorial Cup MVP and teammate Joël Teasdale in the Habs' prospects pool.

While he didn't stick in Montréal past the rookie camp, he enters his final year in the "Q" as captain of the Chicoutimi Saguenéens - his rights having changed hands over the summer - where he hopes to replicate last season's successes in his hometown, where he gets to sleep in his own bed in his parents' house. He has 10 points in 12 games so far, facing much more scrutiny from the opposition than in years past.

Here he is wearing the Huskies' old white (home) uniform, on card #235 from Upper Deck's 2017-18 CHL collection:
He signed it in (fading) blue sharpie at the Canadiens' practice facility this summer.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Elias Lindholm Jersey Card

Elias Lindholm had a breakout season with the Calgary Flames last year, posting 27 goals, 51 assists and 78 points in 81 games playing alongside Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau on the team's top line.

He is off to a similar start this year with 5 goals and 6 points in 9 games for the 4-4-1 Flames, but he may miss a step or even a few games following a mean slash from the Detroit Red Wings' Darren Helm last night. Both players were at it, and both went beyond the line, but only Lindholm got injured, resulting in Helm getting the maximum allowable fine of $5000.

Prior to coming out of his shell in Calgary, Lindholm had been the Carolina Hurricanes' first-round pick (5th overall) in the 2013 draft, and the ultra-defensive team lost patience with his 40-point production and shipped the 23-year-old out of town for more defensive depth (with Noah Hanifin, for Adam Fox, Dougie Hamilton and Micheal Ferland) in one of many questionable moves they've made since building their top-tier defense and lucking out with offensive production from Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho.

If only they had had a plan... and goaltending. Which usually comes with a plan.

Here is Lindholm wearing Carolina's black (third) jersey from a couple of years ago on card #GJ-EL from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Series 1 collection and UD Game Jersey sub-set:
It features a red game-worn jersey swatch that could be from any of their uniforms.

Internationally, Lindholm has won two silver medals with Team Sweden at the 2013 and 2014 World Juniors, as well as gold at the 2017 World Championships.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Ty Conklin Autographed Card

The Edmonton Oilers are unstoppable. I had them finishing fourth in the Pacific Division and fighting for a playoff spot - unrealistically hoping they could pass the San Jose Sharks in third place but ultimately falling just short, possibly by a single point. But you can never count out a team led by Connor McDavid, apparently.

I'm also extremely glad for James Neal finding the back of the net again; he is one of my favourite forwards, so having him on the team I followed the most as a kid, teenager and young adult meant a lot in itself, and his rejuvenated self is just (delicious) icing on the cake.

Mikko Koskinen is also getting accustomed to the NHL ice surface and speed; he and Mike Smith are playing well in the crease, giving their defense a well-deserved confidence boost that they don't have to be perfect to win games.

Which brings me to another Oiler that tended goal some 15 years ago, Ty Conklin, seen here looking much happier when he still had a career .914 save percentage, 2.36 GAA and a winning record (19-14-4):
That's card #37 from Upper Deck's 2005-06 Ice set, which he signed in blue sharpie at a card show in 2017 or 2018.

He was chosen as the 2004 World Championships' Best Goaltender, helping Team USA to a bronze medal.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Victor Mete Autographed Card

Let's get a few things out of the way: Victor Mete is a good, young defenseman. The fourth-round pick from 2016 is in his third NHL season at just 21 years of age, playing a position where skaters hit their prime the latest - usually around the ages of 25-26 years old - and has been good enough to suit up for 127 games thus far, usually on the first pairing with Montréal Canadiens captain Shea Weber, facing the opposition's top six forwards.

He is a very good and pretty quick skater who makes a great first pass, and his shot is hard enough to make it to the net but usually better for deflections than an actual scoring threat, at least for now; he's been working at improving it all summer and will likely continue to do so for the next few years at least.

Defensively, although still learning the ropes at the second-hardest position a skater can have (centre being the first), he is good enough to make up for Weber's more-obvious-by-the-game lack of speed, and his skill and agility complement his partner's grit and toughness superbly in their own zone on most nights - they just have a hard time against teams that are all-skill-and-speed like the Tampa Bay Lightning.

It was a statistical anomaly that Mete hadn't scored a single goal in his first 126 NHL games, beating Mike Komisarek's old mark by four games. Komisarek may have been an All-Star, but he was a stay-at-home defenseman's stay-at-home defenseman; Mete is not of that ilk; in time, he will be a fixture on the Habs' powerplay.

So, yeah, Mete scored tonight, a nice goal from the slot that opened the scoring:

Since the Habs won 4-0, it was also the game-winning goal. It was the first time this season that Carey Price surrendered fewer than three goals, so he'll be glad the Western Conference's worst team, the Minnesota Wild, were in town to help him beat a shameful streak of his own, shooting a measly 17 times on the net-minder.

Mete's so good that he has suited up for Team Canada twice internationally, winning gold at both the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and the 2018 World Juniors, where he was named alternate captain; card #53 from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Team Canada Juniors/Women set shows him wearing #28 at the former:
He signed it in black sharpie - tagging his jersey number (28) at the end - this summer at the Habs' practice facility in Brossard, on Montréal's South Shore. I told him that not only was he due to score early in the season, but Murphy's Law would probably make it that he'd get a hat trick while he was at it. Maybe he'll just net game-winners, the same way the Buffalo Sabres' Victor Olofsson is only getting powerplay markers.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Tessa Bonhomme Autographed Card

Tessa Bonhomme and the rest of Team Canada's gold medal-winning team from the 2010 Olympics will be inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame at the end of the month. She was a star defender on the national team and the captain of the CHWL's Toronto Furies for the better part of four seasons, which she juggled with Olympic and World Championship schedules as well as full-time jobs on TV since 2011.

Indeed, she first started off as an analyst on Leafs TV, then played in two reality series - appearing in Wipeout Canada in 2010 and winning the 2012 Battle Of The Blades competition with Olympian figure skater David Pelletier. She's been an anchor and reporter for TSN's flagship show, SportsCentre, since September 2014.

Here she is on card #40 from In The Game's 2007-08 O Canada collection and National Women's Team sub-set:
She's shown wearing the team's red (away) uniform, sporting her familiar #25 jersey, which slots her perfectly in my Team Canada Numbers Project. She signed it for me by mail, after I sent her a fan letter care of TSN.

Her medal cupboard is filled to the brink with gold (2005 and 2006 Air Canada Cups, 2007 and 2012 World Championships, 2010 Olympics, and 2010 Four Nations Cup) and silver (2009 Canada Cup, and 2009, 2011 and 2013 World Championships) medals. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets a broadcasting award eventually as well.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Alex Stalock: Three Autographed Cards

Alex Stalock's biggest issue at the NHL level has been consistency; he's had full 24-game seasons as a backup where he's posted a .932 save percentage, but followed them with consecutive seasons well below that at .902 (22 games) and .884 (13 games), with the San Jose Sharks finally losing patience with him and sending him packing to the Toronto Maple Leafs before he signed on with the Minnesota Wild, where he's been since 2016-17.

And it's not like he's an AHL-level goalie, because he can dominate at times when he's down there, too.

He's just one of maybe 45 NHL goalies that you have to roll the dice on and hope the team in front of him gives him a fighting chance and the opposition isn't in a state of grace, and you let it play out.

He's been on the ball in two outings this year, surrendering a single goal on 11 shots in just under 25 minutes in relief of Devan Dubnyk in a 7-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and shutting out the Ottawa Senators for the Wild's first win of the season last night.

My high school teammate Ben Guité - now an associate coach at the University of Maine - played with him on the 2011-12 Worcester Sharks.

Stalock signed these three cards for me in black sharpie in 2012-13 when I went to see the Hamilton Bulldogs play a lot. First, here are two Future Stars cards from In The Game:
The one on the left is #2 from the 2009-10 Between The Pipes set, while the one on the right is #47 from the 2010-11 Between The Pipes collection.

The is also card #119 from In The Game's 2010-11 Heroes And Prospects set:
All three show him wearing the (Worcester) Sharks' black (away) uniform, with a different patch chest patch (none, Hyundai, and Be A Leader); they also have his uniform number (32) tagged at the end of the signature.

Monday, October 14, 2019

11-Pack Break: 2019-20 Upper Deck Tim Hortons

It was a long weekend, and I had many chances to visit Tim Hortons stores to score packs of Upper Deck's 2019-20 Tim Hortons hockey cards. For a full review, click here.

In these eleven packs, I landed the following insert cards:

One Steven Stamkos "Red" parallel:
One Jonathan Toews Highly Decorated card:
Three Game Day Action cards, of Toews, Stamkos and Nathan MacKinnon:
Two Gold Etchings cards, of Patrick Kane and Sidney Crosby (both are available for trade):
Two Clear Cut Phenoms cards, of Patrik Laine and David Pastrnak (also available for trade):
And two Franchise Duos 3-D-type cards of the Calgary Flames (Johnny Gaudreau/Sean Monahan) and Edmonton Oilers (Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl):
$36 in and I'm at roughly one-third of the set (only one double, though), which means I'm now up to these so far:

Base Set:

5: Mark Giordano
10: Jordan Binnington 
13: Johnny Gaudreau
15: Ryan Getzlaf
17: Victor Hedman
20: Sebastian Aho
25: Nico Hischier
28: Claude Giroux
29: Nathan MacKinnon
33: Sam Reinhart
34: Auston Matthews 
37: Patrice Bergeron 
39: Aleksander Barkov
41: Jake Guentzel
43: Anthony Mantha
48: Connor Hellebuyck
52: Chris Kreider
53: Bo Horvat
55: Mark Scheifele
56: Devan Dubnyk
58: Kris Letang 
60: Drew Doughty
63: Brad Marchand
64: Eric Staal
69: Cam Atkinson
73: Mark Stone
77: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
84: Evgeny Kuznetsov 
85: Leon Draisaitl
88: Patrick Kane
93: Mika Zibanejad
97: Connor McDavid
102: Jeff Skinner
104 Kyle Palmieri
112: Marc-André Fleury x2
115: Mathew Barzal
119: Anze Kopitar

Game Day Action:

HGD-8: Jonathan Toews
HGD-12: Alex Ovechkin
HGD-13: Steven Stamkos
HGD-14: Nathan MacKinnon

"Red" Parallel:

DC-16: Patrice Bergeron
DC-17: Brent Burns
DC-30: Clayton Keller
DC-33: Steven Stamkos

Gold Etchings:

GE-4: Patrick Kane
GE-7: Patrik Laine
GE-10: Sidney Crosby

Franchise Duos:

D-6: Johnny Gaudreau/Sean Monahan
D-7: Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl

Clear Cut Phenoms:
CC-5: David Pastrnak
CC-8: Patrik Laine 

Highly Decorated:
HD-7: Jonathan Toews
HD-12: Joe Thronton

Special Events:
SE-2: Tuukka Rask: China Games
SE-5: Patrice Bergeron:  Winter Classic

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Mikael Granlund Jersey Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

Chosen by the Minnesota Wild with the ninth-overall pick at the 2010 draft, Mikael Granlund currently stands eighth in points in his draft class behind Tyler Seguin (2nd), Taylor Hall (1st), Jeff Skinner (7th), Vladimir Tarasenko (16th), Ryan Johansen (4th), Evgeny Kuznetsov (26th) and Mark Stone (178th), meaning he was one of the few that fell at exactly the right spot.

It took him a few years to learn how to utilize his talents in the NHL at top-line level, spending four seasons as the understudy to Mikko Koivu and then Eric Staal, but in his age 24 (2016-17) and 25 (2017-18) seasons, he cracked the 20-goal and 60-point marks both times, with a high of 26 goals and 69 points in 2016-17.

He was on his way to a similar type of production last year when the Wild traded him to the Nashville Predators for Kevin Fiala in what appears as both an eventual salary dump and a bet that Fiala may develop into the same type of player or better, but so far the results have been middling for both teams.

Here he is wearing the Wild's white (away) uniform, on card #GJ-MG from Upper Deck's 2018-19 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set:
It features a matching game-worn jersey swatch with two rows of stitching that appear clearly on the card but not on the scan. I got it on Ebay for a couple of bucks; Beckett values it at around $5.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Doug Wilson: Two Autographed Cards

Doug Wilson was one of the better defensemen of the 1980s, winning the Norris Trophy for the 1981-82 season in the era of Denis Potvin, Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey, Larry Robinson, Rod Langway, Borje Salming and Mark Howe, and earning top-five votes until 1989-90 in the era of Bourque, Al MacInnis, Coffey, Phil Housley, Brian Leetch, Chris Chelios and Al Iafrate.

And yet, no Hall of Fame nod on his resume so far, and no Stanley Cup.

Both may change eventually, as he's a better HoF candidate than many recent additions (Eric Lindros in general, Larry Murphy in particular at the same position), and he has been one of the NHL's best General Managers for the past 10-15 years, keeping the San Jose Sharks into contention year in and year out, rotating veterans out and bringing new blood in, usually all on affordable contracts that fit well under the cap.

And yet, this season seems like he's suddenly realizing Peter DeBoer doesn't have what it takes o coach this team over the hump and all of his moves seem panic-based, from re-signing Erik Karlsson to a maximum-term deal near the maximum salary (on a team that was already dangerously close to the cap if it wanted to keep everyone) to specifically saying he wouldn't sign former captain/current free agent and career leader in most offensive categories Patrick Marleau on September 4th to, well, signing him on October 8th when the team was 0-4 to start the season.

He could have easily saved face and said nothing in September, or even just take a "let's wait and see" approach. As someone who really doesn't like the team in teal, I was glad this blew up in their face, I'm just sad that it comes at the expense of a player I respected in his time - and the team's very first captain, to boot, which is ironic considering the Sharks' captain history since Wilson's been in the GM chair:
2003-04: Mike Ricci
2005-09: Marleau
2009-10: Rob Blake, playing on a one-year deal (Marleau still on the team)
2010-14: Joe Thornton (Marleau still on the team)
2015-19: Joe Pavelski (Thornton still on the team, Marleau leaves as UFA in 2017-18)
2019-20: Logan Couture (Thornton still on the team, Marleau back) 
It's like he gives his coaches too much leeway - or doesn't give the title the decorum it deserves.

Here he is the way most fans my age will always remember him, wearing the Chicago Blackhawks' classic red (then-away) uniform, on card #52 from Pro Set's 1991-92 Series 1 set:
And here he is wearing the Sharks' best white (then-home) uniform, their first, on card #551 from Score's 1991-92 Series 2 (High Numbers) collection:
He signed both in blue sharpie last year.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Cliff Floyd Autographed Card

I've been hearing rumours of the existence of a sport I once thought was extinct: baseball. Apparently, not only is it still going on, but we would be in the midst of their playoffs, and an imaginary team called the Washington Nationals would be a part of it; I can't wait for the New York Yankees to win the World Series so things get back to normal and I can focus on hockey and football again without having the sports highlights be interrupted by bat-glove.

In a former life, I used to go to the Olympic Stadium in the East end of Montréal to watch the Montréal Expos keep pace with the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies until early September, then just crumble like dead leaves as hockey training camps got underway.

One player I had a love/hate relationship with was Cliff Floyd, who was essentially there to replace my favourite player of all time, Hall of Famer Tim Raines, which was a no-no and a no-win, in my book - and that was just in his first stint with the team, back when it actually still was one.

You see, after the fire sale following the 1994 players' strike which possibly cost the Expos a World Series berth, fans stopped going to the games in protest against an administration it felt was just out to collect money without trying to field a winning team, essentially just developing players until they're good enough to be traded for more prospects, and eventually the team was sold to an American con man, who bought low, sold high, collected millions by the boatload in the years in between while not selling local TV or radio rights and went on to scam the good people of Florida out of money for a stadium and yearly guaranteed millions in revenue without having to field a competitive Florida Marlins team, all because MLB passed him over as owner of the Boston Red Sox for someone who wouldn't ruin their legacy. Sound familiar?

Well, while Jeffrey Loria moved on from the Expos and set his sights on the Marlins, MLB was operating the Montréal team, handcuffing its GM into not hiring or re-signing free agents, actually over-fulfilling the fan prophecy of the team being more or less the development farm team for the other franchises.

Then came the trade that sent Floyd back to the Expos - with utility pitcher Claudio Vargas, Wilton Guerrero, and cash - for workhorse reliever Graeme Lloyd, pinch hitter with two seasons batting at .280 or better in Montréal Mike Mordecai, Carl Pavano, prospect Justin Wayne, and Donald Levinski. The Marlins re-loaded two-for-one on equal or better talent than what they gave away.

Also: cash. The Expos didn't need cash, they were operated by the league. They could have printed money; instead, the owners of all other teams decided they just wanted a cut of what was left of that team, had them acquire cash and refused to let them use it.

But wait, there's more!

Floyd was back in town for just 15 games before moving on... to the Red Sox, with whom he batted for a .317 average in 47 games. In return, Montréal received Korean pitchers Seung Song (never played in MLB) and Sun-woo Kim, who appeared in a total of 118 games with four different teams in a six-year span. Another fleece in a series of questionable deals made that summer, the second involving the same power-hitting All-Star Floyd.

Here he is on card #154 from Fleer/Skybox's 1997 Metal Universe set, which he signed in black sharpie in 2003 or 2004:
At the time, Skybox was owned by Marvel, and many of its comic book artists had a say in the set's design, which incorporated comic book-type elements into the all-foil graphics. This card is not as "black" to the naked eye but remains quite dark, representing a stormy sky that ranges from purple to dark blue.

I have to say Mr. Floyd was very nice and gracious when I met him. We talked about the politics and economics of the sport, and he was both lucid and engaging the entire time.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Zach Bogosian Autographed Card

I started following Zach Bogosian's career when the Atlanta Thrashers selected him third overall in 2008, a strong year that also featured Steven Stamkos (1st), Drew Doughty (2nd), Alex Pietrangelo (4th), Luke Schenn (5th), Colin Wilson (7th), Tyler Myers (12th), Erik Karlsson (15th), Jake Gardiner (17th), Luca Sbisa (19th), Michael Del Zotto (20th), Jordan Eberle (22nd), John Carlson (27th), Jacob Markstrom (31st), Slava Voynov (32nd), Jake Allen (34th), Roman Josi (38th), Justin Schultz (43rd), Derek Stepan (51st), Travis Hamonic (53rd), Marco Scandella (55th), Braden Holtby (93rd), T.J. Brodie (114th), Gustav Nyquist (121st), and Cam Atkinson (157th).

At 6'3", 215 pounds, decent speed, a good shot and above-average passing, I expected a Jay Bouwmeester-like career trajectory for him - 30-35 points most year, a three- or four-year run at or around 40, fewer penalty minutes than would be warranted at his size and perhaps a Stanley Cup run or two in a 15-to-18-year career. I expected that, like Bouwmeester, some folks might feel he was drafted too high, but that he would carve out an interesting career regardless.

J-Bo's career currently looks like he could perhaps even reach the 20-year plateau while Bogosian's been struggling with injuries since 2010, affecting his stats line and standing, first with the Winnipeg Jets and now with the Buffalo Sabres. I would never go as far as this "fan" did on Twitter (kudos to Bogosian for the adequate reply), but I would understand if his salary was cut in half on his next deal (his $5.142M cap hit expires in June).

Still, we're talking about a guy who is young enough to play for at least five more seasons at the level of a #4D if he wanted to; he'll just have to decide if it's worth the trouble; maybe he'd even prefer playing overseas in a less aggressive, talent-first league, such as in Switzerland, Finland or France.

Here he is on card #538 from Panini's 2013-14 Score set, showing him wearing the Jets' white (away) uniform:
He signed it with someone else's skinny blue sharpie in late 2018 after a game against the Montréal Canadiens, and the #47 he tagged it with represents the number he wore in Buffalo at the time - he's currently assigned to sweater #4 - not the #44 he wore in Winnipeg, which is where I'm slotting him in my Jets Numbers Project.