Laurent Dauphin: Two Autographed Cards

Needless to say, the Chicago Blackhawks have become masters at dealing with the salary cap after championship runs, but that fact also means losing players fans had been attached to. Many times, those players have come back years later, either to finish their careers with the team on low-paying salaries (Brian Campbell, Johnny Oduya, Patrick Sharp) or in trades that raise more questions than they answer.

One trade that may eventually make sense from a hockey standpoint was the one that sent Niklas Hjalmarsson to the Arizona Coyotes for defenseman Connor Murphy and forward Laurent Dauphin. As it stands, casual hockey fans see this as a salary dump mixed with a D-for-D trade, noting that Murphy had become a staple of the Coyotes' blue line last year, posting career-highs in assists and points at the age of 24.

However, the hidden chip in that trade - and the reason why I would have also done it in GM Stan Bowman's shoes - is the 22-year-old Dauphin.

You see, a couple of years ago, when the Hawks were winning championships every other season, their depth was as much of a reason they won as their offensive star power (Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane), stellar goaltending, except when facing the Nashville Predators (Corey Crawford) and, of course, elite play by defensemen Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Hjalmarsson.

But the third-line center spot was held down in recent years by the dependable Marcus Kruger, who had a heir apparent in Phillip Danault. The problem with Kruger was that he came with a $3M cap hit; the problem with Danault, whom the Hawks rightfully knew was going to come into his own and be able to produce at the NHL level, was Kruger was ahead of him, so he was traded to the Montréal Canadiens at the 2015-16 trade deadline. Danault posted 40 points with the Habs in 2016-17, playing in a first-line role he isn't suited for; Kruger was traded twice this summer.

Which leaves an open spot at the 3C position, one that was destined for Danault for years. Dauphin's statistics with the LHJMQ's Chicoutimi Saguenéens (186 points in 170 games) mirror those of Danault with the Victoriaville Tigres (251 points in 243 games), and his progression in the AHL (going from 0.25 points per game to 0.36 to 0.74) is even sharper than Danault's (from 0.36 to 0.54 to 0.33).

At 6'2" and 185 pounds, he just needs to add some 10 pounds of muscle to his frame to be a dominant third-liner like Jordan Staal and Nick Bonino have been in recent years. He isn't lights-out in any skill set, but he has no weaknesses either. He's a workhorse with good speed, good hands, terrific hockey IQ, good vision, and is already an above-average setup man. And he's sound defensively.

Here he is wearing one of the prettiest hockey uniforms of all time, the Sags' white (home) garbs, first with card #38 from In The Game's 2012-13 Heroes And Prospects set and CHL Rookie sub-set:

And here's an even better view of it, on the all-foil variant of card #58 from ITG's 2012-13 Draft Prospect set:

He signed both cards for me in blue sharpie in early May when he was in Montréal, tagging his jersey number (27) at the end.

Brandon Robinson Autograph Card

Brandon Robinson was an OHL first-rounder when the Brampton Battalion selected him prior to the 2011-12 season, and the fact that he played in the league for five full seasons is a testament that he knows how to play hockey, but also that he failed to meet expectations in the sense that not only was he never drafted by an NHL team, but that he also failed to secure a professional roster spot in the ECHL at 20 or 21 years old, though he did attend a Detroit Red Wings rookie camp.

In two and a half years with the Battalion and the same length of time with the Kitchener Rangers, Robinson never was a point-per-game player, despite playing a hard-hitting game with a good shot, and improving his skating nearly every year. His best season in Juniors was in 2014-15, when he scored 25 goals with 29 assists for 54 points in 62 games.

This season, he's got 9 goals and 5 assists for 14 points in 21 games so far with the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks.

Here he is wearing the North Bay Battalion's (the team moved prior to his third season) white uniform, on card #A-BR1 from In the Game's 2013-14 Draft Series set and Draft Prospect sub-set:

He signed it on-card in black sharpie.

Ryan Pulock Autograph Card

Ryan Pulock is one of the New York Islanders' strong prospects on defense that enabled the team to deal Griffin Reinhart to the Edmonton Oilers for two draft picks last summer.

The right-shooting defender, who was chosen in the first round (15th overall) at the 2013 draft - ahead of Nikita Zadorov (16th), Curtis Lazar (17th), Mirco Mueller (18th), Kerby Rychel (19th), Anthony Mantha (20th), André Burakovsky (23rd), Hunter Shinkaruk (24th), Michael McCarron (25th), Shea Theodore (26th), Marko Dano (27th), Adam Erne (33rd), Zachary Fucale (36th), Laurent Dauphin (39th), William Carrier (57th), Eric Comrie (59th), and Anthony Duclair (80th) - is an offensively-minded defenseman in the same mold as current Isles Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk so, in comparison, he's in the same situation as Nathan Beaulieu with the Montréal Canadiens (behind P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov) or like Ville Pokka for the Chicago Blackhawks (behind Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook).

So far, he was a point-per-game producer in the OHL with the Brandon Wheat Kings, and is at half that pace with the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers, which is fitting for a kid who is 21. If he were to follow a normal evolution for someone of his pedigree, he could be an NHL regular by 23 or 24, starting with second-unit powerplay time and becoming a first-unit player by 26 or 27, and getting his 30-40 points even in the NHL by then. Barring any injuries, bad luck or attitude issues.

He's won a bronze medal with Team Canada at the 2012 U-18s, but has not competed in the World Juniors, which is rare for a first-rounder.

Here he is wearing the Wheat Kings' black uniform, in card #A-RP from In The Game's 2012-13 Draft Prospect set (and Autograph sub-set, the Silver Version variant):

I reviewed that set last May.

Ryan Kujawinski Autograph Card

Well, I do have some nice Memorial Cup autographs to share in the near future, but I thought I could remain in the CHL but send my eyes towards the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs and North Bay Batallion's Ryan Kujawinski, who signed an entry-level deal with the New Jersey Devils earlier today.

Kujawinski had been New Jersey's second pick (73rd overall, in the third round) at the 2013 draft, the Devils were probably hoping the 6'2'', 210-pound center would eventually develop into a hidden gem power-center - ideally a second-liner with grit, speed and play-making abilities in the same vein as Ryan Getzlaf but, obviously, not at the same level as the should-have-been-a-Hart-Trophy-nominee.

Except that in Juniors, he was never a point-per-game guy, not even this season as a 20-year-old playing against teenagers - and certainly not in the playoffs, where his totals spread over three seasons are 9 goals, 4 assists (13 points) in 26 games, with 15 penalty minutes. Still, speculation as to how he'd perform was very positive before the season started.

There have been games where he's looked unstoppable, but usually he's kept pretty quiet, considering the quality of opposition. In that respect, he reminds me a bit of the Montréal Canadiens' Lars Eller, who has the complete skill-set including size but somehow fails to find the consistency required to excel in the top-6 for a full season.

But bigger players usually take longer to develop, and Kujawinski might turn out to be a late bloomer. The Devils could certainly need the help offensively, though in my opinion he's easily a couple of years away from the NHL at the very least. Working in his favour is the fact that in the modern-day NHL, semi-stars and high-end grinders now have similar statistics in the 40-to-55-point range as most teams play a defense-first chess-like system that creates and limits chances (i.e. evens things out) no matter who is playing.

That being said, here's the reason why I know anything about him, from In The Game's 2012-13 Draft Prospect set (card #A-RK of the Autograph sub-set, the Silver Version variant), showing him in the Frontenacs' Boston Bruins-inspired (circa 1934-36) uniform:

It features an on-card autograph, signed in thin black sharpie with his jersey number (17) tagged at the end. Boxes of 12 cards sell for around $60, which is a bargain if you get a Nathan MacKinnon auto or Sergei Fedorov jersey card, but steep if you factor in the design that's similar to any of their usual Heroes And Prospects sets and the small amount of cardboard received in exchange for your hard-earned cash.

The card's nice, I'll give it a B+, but the set itself gets a C+ after factoring the cost.