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.

Chad Johnson Autographed Card

In the seven seasons from 2009-10 until 2015-16, Chad Johnson has played in at least one NHL game in six of them. For five different teams - the New York Rangers, Phoenix Coyotes, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders and now the Buffalo Sabres. He's also played in the AHL for the Hartford Wolf Pack/Connecticut Whale and Portland Pirates, so I'm guessing it was goal of his to play everywhere in New England at some point...

He is also an Adirondacks and a Rochester team away from playing all over New York State, and with one appearance with the New Jersey Devils could also include all of the NYC's hockey-represented burroughs. I mean, while we're at it...

He doesn't always look like a Vezina winner out there, but his .915 career save percentage and 2.42 GAA are decent for a backup goalie - and that's counting his sub-par season with the Isles last year where he went 8-8-1 with a 3.08 GAA and .889 save percentage in 19 games, which accounts for roughly a quarter of his career NHL games so far.

He won against the Montréal Canadiens tonight, in an entertaining 6-4 game that saw all kinds of goals (from one-timers to penalty shots to the puck hitting a linesman for a bad bounce), with three four players (Sven Andrighetto, Alex Galchenyuk, Marcus Foligno and Evander Kane) having two-goal nights.

It wasn't a stellar night for goaltending, and I had a bit of fun with my friends (one of whom quoted me on Twitter), joking that we were lucky to have two of the 500 best goalies in the world in nets - and that was before Ben Scrivens was replaced with Mike Condon:

"On est vraiment chanceux d'avoir un duel entre deux des 500 meilleurs gardiens au monde ce soir."
- @sebastianhell

— Martin Sasseville (@PuckTaVie) February 13, 2016

In any event, Johnson won, which brings me to card #54, from In The Game's 2010-11 Between The Pipes set (and Future Stars sub-set), which he signed in blue sharpie:

It shows him wearing the now-defunct Whale's green uniform; the team's since gone back to their former moniker, the Wolf Pack. That uniform was just... too green for hockey.

Louis Domingue Autographed 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)

I would like to congratulate Louis Domingue on obtaining his first NHL shutout against the New York Islanders last night, at a time when the Arizona Coyotes really needed it.

It was his first start this season. He'd also won in his first-ever start against the Montréal Canadiens, when he signed this card for me (and two others) in blue sharpie:

It's card #49 from In The Game's 2009-10 Between The Pipes set (and Future Stars sub-set), showing him wearing the Québec Remparts' classic red uniform.

Domingue plays a sound positional game that is made for his size (a smaller-than-his-contemporaries 6'2'', clocking in at 200 pounds of muscle), and he's relatively agile and has quick lateral movements from his strong legs. I foresee him being a starter some day, following in the footsteps of Jake Allen, another former LHJMQ standout currently starring for the St. Louis Blues. Allen was a 2008 draft pick, Domingue was drafted in 2010.

Brian Elliott Autographed Card

The St. Louis Blues just cannot catch a break in net; this time, their "goalie oft he future" Jake Allen has been taken out of training camp with back spasms, an issue that has a tendency to become chronic with athletes over time.

That means Brian Elliott gets to be top dog again, though with GM Doug Armstrong and head coach Ken Hitchcock, who knows how long that'll last. We are, after all, talking about a team whose goalie made it to the All-Star Game, was confirmed as a starter two weeks ahead of the playoffs, then was stuck to the bench when they came along. The same team that wasn't content with having playoff hero Jaroslav Halak because he'd never played over 60 regular-season games in a single season (and who has since made the New York Islanders into contenders).

Here's the thing with Elliott: is he one of the 10 best goalies in the world? No. But do you need a top-10 goalie to win the Stanley Cup? No. Sure, Jonathan Quick and Corey Crawford do rank highly in my opinion, but Antti Niemi doesn't; neither did Chris Osgood. And Henrik Lundqvist (the best in the world), Pekka Rinne (the runner-up) and Carey Price (the best last year) have all yet to see their names engraved on the famed salad bowl.

Do I think Elliott is good enough to be a starter in today's NHL? Absolutely. Here's a list of teams for which he'd be the clear #1 in my opinion: the Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, Arizona Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Winnipeg Jets, Carolina Hurricanes, and Minnesota Wild. And it'd be a close battle with the Detroit Red Wings and maybe even the Anaheim Ducks. He can stop pucks well, is what I'm saying.

I got this card in the mail at my old place, but I'm not sure who sent it to me (it's not a TTM return, as I've never owned this card in its regular form):

It's card #7 from In The Game's 2008-09 Between The Pipes set (part of the Future Stars sub-set), showing him wearing the Binghamton Senators' red (away) uniform. He signed it on-card in blue sharpie.

Jared Cowen: 2 Autographed Custom BG Cards

A few years ago, a very friendly trader/collector from Calgary with an extensive Wayne Gretzky collection, KC, sent me a hockey puck signed by Jared Cowen (I don't remember why, probably through one of our many trades), before taking some time out from blogging/posting; unfortunately, I never received it, but I don't doubt for a second that he sent it.

It was at that time that I started following Cowen's career more closely, as I'd only been aware of the giant defenseman through his suiting up for Team Canada at various minor-league competitions, such as his gold- and bronze-winning turns on the U-17 teams in 2008, and his silver medals at the 2010 and 2011 World Juniors, the latter as an alternate captain.

The Ottawa Senators' 9th-overall first round pick in 2009, Cowen now towers at 6'5'' and 230 pounds, which - in my opinion - is the main reason why he was suspended for a hit to the head of the Florida Panthers' Jussi Jokinen; he would have had to get down on his knees to hit him in the chest, the type of move that cost the Cats' Dmitri Kulikov a few games recently himself.

There's something to be said about all these giants getting drafted on defense and how they are sometimes at a disadvantage when it comes to hitting now that the NHL is cracking down on hits to the head to save face for decades of not doing enough to protect players from concussion-related issues. However, with his skill set - good foot speed, a good first pass, the ability to complete checks and extremely sound positioning, particularly at such a young age - he was a no-brainer to be chosen at his rank.

If he could only improve his stick-handling and decision-making with the puck when skating towards opponents (rather than, say, getting rid of the puck along the boards), he could actually develop into more than the #4-D he already is.

He's a nice building block for the Sens, having captained the WHL's Spokane Chiefs and having won the Calder Cup with the Binghamton Senators.

I picked up these two custom cards from Ottawa-area collector BG on Ebay a few years ago, from their 2010-11 Hot Prospects set (and Future Watch sub-set), both signed in blue sharpie and showing him having just been drafted:

The more I think about it, however, the more I think custom cards should find their own sub-set names rather than lift them from major manufacturers - particularly two different ones, as seen here.

Dustin Tokarski: 5 Autographed Cards (Part 2)

           (continued from the previous post)

I also sent Dustin Tokarski two regular-issue cards from earlier in his career, first in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals, from In The Game's 2010-11 Between The Pipes set (card #57, part of the Future Stars sub-set):

And his Rookie card, from Panini's 2010-11 Score set (#514, part of the Hot Rookies sub-set), showing him wearing jersey #40 from Tampa Bay Lightning's former white (away) uniform:

I like his style and demeanor, and I think once he starts seeing more consistent minutes, it'll get even better. I'm of the school of thought that thinks starters shouldn't play over 60 games anyway, and that a healthy and good enough backup should be able to play at least 25 if not 30 games, both for reasons of rest-versus-reflexes and to keep a healthy competition and relationship going. Come playoff time, the starter will be less worn out, and should an injury or a bad streak occur, the backup will be ready, not rusty - and the team will be able to adjust more easily should a switch be required.

Pekka Rinne Autographed Card

There were too many abnormal things happening in NHL news this summer, and the fact that the Nashville Predators and their former head coach Barry Trotz were talked about almost daily certainly fits in that category.

No offense, but this is a team that made the playoffs 7 times and won a grand total of 2 series. They have won 19 total post-season games in their 15-year history (it takes 16 in the same season to win a Stanley Cup).

They only have one player who won an NHL trophy while on their team: Steve Sullivan, winning the Bill Masterton for his awesome comeback from injury in 2008-09; and Mike Fisher (one of my favourite players) won the NHL Foundation Award for his contributions to charity in 2011-12. In fairness, Shea Weber deserves to have won a Norris at this point, and Pekka Rinne does deserve one of Martin Brodeur's four unwarranted Vezinas.

Which brings me to the superstar Finnish goalie who seems to have my home team's number. I first encountered him during the 2010-11 season, after a game where he shut out the Montréal Canadiens at the Bell Centre, at which time he signed this 2007-08 Between The Pipes card for me in blue sharpie (#42 in the set, part of the Future Stars sub-set) by In The Game:

It shows him wearing the Preds' AHL farm club Milwaukee Admirals' light blue (away) uniform, which is pretty awful. Notice the MLB's Milwaukee Brewers' logo / patch: the hockey team was purchased by a group that includes the Brewers' minority owner (Mark Attanasio), its assistant GM (Gord Ash) and former pitcher Ben Sheets; they made the Brewers the sole sponsor of the hockey team. Once in a while, the Admirals host a ''Brewers Night'', where they wear uniforms inspired by or referring to the baseball team's history.

Ironically, in baseball, Nashville and Milwaukee have the same affiliation, just reversed, where the country music capital is the Brewers' AAA affiliate.

I'm convinced Rinne will regain his Vezina form this coming season and make everyone forget his injury-plagued 2013-14 campaign. It's Tuukka Rask's throne to lose, though, and I don't see him giving it up easily. But Rinne is coming off a 2014 World Championships where he was named the tournament MVP as he led Team Finland to the silver medal...

Christopher Gibson: 3 Autographed Cards

Another cool return today, from a prized prospect I've been watching since 2010:

Christopher Gibson is a Finnish goaltender (with Jamaican heritage via his father) who plays a sound positional game, has a by-the-book modern-day technique but with the glove held lower (à la 1990s, the way I prefer it), quick to move from one post to the other and good at covering his angles. I like how he handles rebounds - kept to himself or sent to the corner, very rarely sent to a dangerous position.

He has found a way to adapt to every level he's played at. He moved to Canada at age 15 to play Midget AAA and won the national championship; he dressed for Team Finland and won a (surprising) bronze medal at the U18 World Championships in 2010; he registered an insane .920 save percentage in his second of four seasons in the LHJMQ - all with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, which prompted the Los Angeles Kings to make him their first draft pick in 2011, 49th overall in the second round (they didn't have a first-round pick as it was part of the Dustin Penner trade with the Edmonton Oilers).

The ''big knock'' on Gibson is a perceived lack of consistency, notably because his next two seasons in the ''Q'' had him post .893 and .902 save percentages, respectively - a huge drop that had harsh repercussions, as the Kings didn't even bother to sign him to an entry-level contract (the Toronto Maple Leafs quickly snatched him up, though, saving him from Finland's mandatory military service). That last year, though, his .902 was still good for 6th-best in the league. In. The. League. Put in perspective, that's not so bad, is it?

He played with Charles Hudon on the Sags, and his goalie coach was Jimmy Waite.

He started the 2013-14 season with the ECHL's Orlando Solar Bears and was particularly impressive in two playoff games, stopping 77 of 81 shots (.951) with a 1.94 GAA, earning himself a call-up with the Toronto Marlies in time for their own playoffs, after suiting up for them 20 times this year with a 2.44 GAA and a .916 save percentage.

I had sent him a fan letter and four cards - care of the Marlies - on April 9th, 2014, and got three of them back, signed in blue sharpie, with his jersey number tagged at the end - 37 for the Sags, 31 for Finland - on May 6th (2014), a 27-day return. Here's what happened for the fourth card, which he returned unsigned:

So, yeah, even custom cards can contain errors... (my apologies to the people who made the old O-Pee-Chee sets and the inaugural Pro Set for all my past snarky comments). You'll recognize my own Hell's Kitchen 2013-14 Series 2 design, and Gibson's is card #5 in the collection (with three variants, A, B, and let's call this one C).

Here's a look at the cards he did sign, first with the Team Finland variation of my custom cards:

And here are two with the Saguenéens' superb blue uniform:

On the left, another of my Hell's Kitchen 2013-14 Series 2 cards, and on the right, a 2010-11 Between The Pipes card (#7 in the set, part of the Future Stars sub-set) from In The Game.

I make it a point to travel at least once a year to the Saguenay (Chicoutimi) area to visit a dear cousin of mine who has moved there, and when I do, I usually catch a Sags game or two. Hudon and Gibson have made these road trips worthwhile for the past few years, and so I'm very happy with this return.

So far, I'm 20/71 (plus one RTS) in my 2014 mailings, which I feel is promising.

Ramis Sadikov Autograph Card

An undrafted goalie listed at 6'4'' and 230 pounds and whose AHL player page is suspiciously blank, Ramis Sadikov did get a few Detroit Red Wings pre-season games under his belt at some point, and even HockeyDB lost his trace after the 2011-12 season.

That did not stop In The Game from featuring him in this GoalieGraphs card from their 2010-11 Between The Pipes set (card #A-RS of the Future Stars sub-set), in his OHL Erie Otters uniform:

A tall hulking Russian, Sadikov liked to mix it up, trying to combine his idol Patrick Roy's butterfly style (notice how the black sharpie signature has the number 33 at the end), Martin Brodeur's stand-up style and Dominik Hasek's... whatever that was. With 13 Vezina trophies among them, I guess they're fine examples to follow, if you can make it.

I was more of a Roy-meets-Ron Hextall guy myself, with some Sean Burke in there as well. I didn't reach the NHL either.

Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers Autographed Card

In a battle with Devan Dubnyk for a roster spot with the Edmonton Oilers since 2007, the team made the tough decision to part ways with Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers - their second-round, 31st overall pick of 2002 - leaving him to pursue free agency in 2011.

He opted for the Anaheim Ducks, but with Jonas Hiller and Viktor Fasth well in place, they sent him to the Minnesota Wild last April. However, with Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding, both of their roster spots are taken as well.

It also marks the third NHL franchise he's a part of where there is another lefty ahead of him on the depth chart, Mathieu Garon having held that position in Edmonton.

This card is is from In The Game's 2007-08 Between The Pipes set (card #17, the Future Stars sub-set); it shows him playing for the Springfield Falcons in the AHL:

Ironically, I also have Dubnyk's signed.

JDD's a fine talent, and he has shown flashes of greatness at the NHL level, usually followed by long bouts of difficulties. If he can work on his consistency a bit, he might have a future as a back-up, if not, perhaps Europe will come calling. Then again, consistency goes both ways: if he could have some stability rather than keep moving from league-to-league and franchise-to-franchise, maybe that would help. In the one season he stayed in the NHL, he managed a respectable 3.26 GAA and .901 save percentage in 48 games - with an Oilers team that went 27-47-8, no less, a last-place team that scored over 100 goals less than the league's best and whose leading scorer - I repeat: LEADING SCORER - was Dustin Penner, followed by two guys who played less than 70 games. With eight players at -18 or worse.

I had sent him this card in 2009 or 2010, care of the Oilers.

Timo Pielmeier Autograph Card

Always a fan of journeyman goaltenders, I was more than happy to find this card in a pack of In the Game's 2010-11 Between The Pipes back in the day:

It's card #A-TP of the Future Stars and GoalieGraphs sub-sets, signed in black sharpie on a sticker. It shows German goalie Timo Pielmeier, a former San Jose Sharks third-round pick in 2007, seen here wearing the Syracuse Crunch uniform, at the time the Anaheim Ducks' AHL affiliate.

He played his only NHL game with the Ducks in 2010-11, letting in 5 goals in two periods for a 7.50 GAA, and played his Junior hockey in Québec's LHJMQ.

The Ducks sent him to the New Jersey Devils in 2011, who pretty much buried him in the ECHL, so last season he went back to Germany, played for the tier-two team Landshut Cannibals (yes, you read that right!), where he posted his best stats ever (including Juniors), playing in all 48 games, posting a 2.27 GAA with 4 shutouts and two assists, which earned him a promotion in the form of a contract offer for the top-tier team ERC Ingolstadt for the upcoming season.

His two assists aren't his best offensive feat, as he's actually scored a goal in the ECHL in 2009-2010, whilst playing for the Bakersfield Condors, the 10th-ever goalie to do so in league history.

Thomas Greiss Autographed Card

Here's what I predicted for the second-round series between the Stanley Cup champions Los Angeles Kings and fellow Californians San Jose Sharks earlier this week:

I don't make the rules, they're just there: The Sharks shall not win a Cup. And who better to knock them out than the reigning Cup champs? L.A. is the better team, with the better goalie, the better defense, the best offense, the best captain... but since emotions are high in this new Battle Of California, I think the Sharks could take a couple of games. Though I wouldn't be surprised to see the Kings sweep. Kings in 6.

Well, after their come-from-behind win tonight, trailing by one with a minute left and still winning in overtime, the Kings might, indeed, sweep. And I know that Antti Niemi was one of the best goalies in the league all season long, but sometimes you need an electroshock to spark your team, so maybe Todd McLellan will have to resort to employing Thomas Greiss at some point...

Greiss has been ok when used, with a career record of 16-12-3 with a 2.52 GAA and .911 save % in the regular season, and no decision in the playoffs, two goals against in two periods, for a 3.00 GAA and a spectacular .929 save percentage. He has represented Germany 8 times so far, including three in 2006 alone (World Juniors, Olympics, and World Championships). He has won his only game against L.A., stopping all 6 six shots he faced in 24 minutes of play in a 3-2 victory.

I got him to sign this 2007-08 Between The Pipes card (#51 in the set, the Future Stars sub-set) from In The Game in thin blue sharpie in December 2010, when the Sharks came to the Bell Centre (the Habs won):

It shows him playing for the Worcester Sharks, San Jose's AHL affiliate.

Robert Mayer: 4 Autographed Cards (Part 1)

Robert Mayer saw that there wasn't a future for him in the Montréal Canadiens' organization a few weeks ago and took a gutsy mid-season decision: signing in Switzerland for next season, making for a hectic half-week, between a win for his Hamilton Bulldogs, a call-up to the Habs, a demotion back to the AHL, and a Bulldogs game at the Bell Center to close the story.

Mayer is no fool: he knows it'll be nearly impossible to displace Carey Price as the Habs' top goalie, and instead of remaining buried in the organization, will play for the #1 spot with the HC Biel and maybe eventually get a real shot at the NHL.

So coming home to this 4-card return last night was great, as I might never get another chance to get his autograph. I'd sent these cards to him care of the Bulldogs on January 30th, so they came back in about a month, signed in black sharpie, each with the jersey number he's sporting on the card.

A (Swiss who happens to be a) native of the Czech Republic (although his first two cards say he's from Zurich, Switzerland), he came to North America to play Juniors, playing for the St. John Sea Dogs of the LHJMQ:

The card on the left is from In The Game's 2008-09 Between the Pipes set (card #42, the Future Stars sub-set) and sees him wearing the Sea Dogs' away jersey; the card on the right is from In The Game's 2007-08 Between the Pipes set (card #45, the Future Stars sub-set) and sees him in the team's white (home) uniform.

He was never drafted in the NHL, but the Canadiens signed him to a (minor league) free agent contract in 2008 and quickly threw him in the ECHL with their then-affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones, where he went 19-10-1 with a 2.81 GAA in 2009-10, earning him a promotion with the Bulldogs for the following season, which is where this card comes in:

From In The Game's 2010-11 Between the Pipes set (card #82, the Future Stars sub-set, sporting the Bulldogs' white jersey, taking control of the puck (possibly after play).

(continued in the next post)

Leland Irving Autograph Card

For six years, Leland Irving has been considered the Calgary Flames' top goaltending prospect, the one who will take over for Miikka Kiprusoff when he decides he's had enough. He even played 7 games last season, keeping a decent .912 save percentage (with a 1-3-3 record and 3.19 GAA, but still...) in the NHL.

This season, however, the Abbotsford Heat are leading the AHL, and with Danny Taylor and his 3-1-1 record and 1.97 GAA in 5 games, and Barry Brust's 1.00 GAA and .962 %, Irving has only seen action in one game so far.

Still, he's only 24, and he's paying his dues in the AHL. And he doesn't have to live with the burden of being The Next One and yet failing time and time again, for five years, to win a playoff series. Then again, the Flames boast one of the five best goalies in the world and haven't even made the playoffs since the 2008-09 season. But as a first-round pick (26th overall in 2006). he'll get all the chances he needs to make a lasting impression.

This card is from In The Game's 2011-12 Between The Pipes set (card #A-LI in the GoalieGraphs insert sub-set), and boasts a sticker autograph (in black sharpie) next to Irving in the Heat's white jersey.

Semyon Varlamov Autographed Card

It hasn't been an easy road to NHL stardom for Semyon Varlamov, but he's on his merry way.

His Juniors career went well, winning two silver medals at the World Juniors, and getting drafted in the first round (23rd overall) by the Washington Capitals in 2006. For the second of his two medals, he shared the net with fellow NHL netminder Sergei Bobrovsky. In Russia, his team was Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, for whom a week ago today marked the first anniversary of last year's airline crash tragedy.

His first few years in the Capitals' system were spent fighting other goalies for ice time, notably José Theodore, but when he was not re-signed, Michal Neuvirth became the de facto #1, making Varlamov expendable. In a genius move, Caps' GM George McPhee traded his rights to the Colorado Avalanche last summer for more than what he would have received as compensation had the Avs signed Varlamov to the same contract as an RFA (a first and a second pick).

In Colorado, Varlamov started the season as the team's starting goalie, but when the team's playoff hopes were dwindling, they turned to Jean-Sébastien Giguère to steer the ship, until an injury forced coach Joe Sacco to revert back to Varlamov, who ended the season on a high note, going 26-24-3 in 53 games, but more importantly, keeping a 2.59 GAA and .913 save percentage, both close to his career totals (2.48 and .915 respectively). I expect an All-Star performance on his part this year, and a place on Russia's 2014 Olympic team. He has a World Championship gold (2012) and silver (2010) to go with his Junior hardware, so he's pretty much a shoe-in already anyway.

Accordingly, this card from In The Game's 2007-08 Between the Pipes set (card #48, Future Stars sub-set) sees him wearing the beautiful Team Russia colours. He signed it for me in person, in black sharpie, during the 2009-10 playoffs, when my hometown Montréal Canadiens beat his Caps in the fifth-biggest upset in NHL history (comparing regular-season points between teams), and which marked the first time ever the eighth seed beat the first seed when down 3-1 in a series.

You'll notice the card spells his name ''Semen'' , but I titled the post ''Semyon''; it's because he registered an official spelling change with the NHL in August 2009, requesting all further appearances of his name be ''Semyon''. According to Wikipedia:

In the Russian alphabet, Varlamov's first name is spelled "Семён." The Russian letter (ё), equates to the sound (yo) in English.

Ben Bishop: 3 Autographed Cards (Part 1)

On a night where both his former team (St. Louis Blues) and his present team (Ottawa Senators) are both playing tie-breaking playoff games, it was great to receive these 3 Ben Bishop cards this morning, signed in black sharpie with his jersey number (30) tagged at the end. I sent him these with a fan letter, care of the Senators, exactly a month ago, on March 15th.

Bishop grew up in St. Louis, so it was only natural for the Blues to pick him in the third round of the 2005 draft with the 85th overall pick, and the tallest goalie to ever play in the NHL did not disappoint. As a matter of fact, at training camp before this season, he was the best Blues goalie on the ice; unfortunately, he was also the only one with a two-way contract, and he was sent to the AHL's Peoria Rivermen, whose jersey can be seen below:

That card is from In The Game's 2010-11 Between The Pipes set (card #49, the Future Stars sub-set) - the actual card has much brighter shades of blue and yellow, although it doesn't make it any prettier... the damn Rbk piping leading to the underarms still makes me cringe...

(continued in the next post)

Devan Dubnyk: 3 Autographed Cards

Devan Dubnyk is a top goaltending prospect from the Edmonton Oilers organization; he was so promising, in fact, that they chose him over Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers. I sent him these three cards and a fan letter - care of the Oilers - on March 25th, 2011, and got them all back, signed in black sharpie, with his number (40) tagged at the end (even though he wore #30 in two of the three pictures) on October 27th, 2011.

Pictured above are two different seasons' worth of Kamloops Blazers' home jerseys. The card on the left is from In The Game's 2004-05 Heroes And Prospects set (card #71), while the one on the right is from the 2005-06 Heroes And Prospects set (card #178). I like the consistency of these sets, in that they stay similar enough to be recognized, but different enough to figure out they're from different seasons. Kind of cool that he played for the Blazers and was drafted by the Oilers, who share the same uniform colours.

The third card is from In The Game's 2007-08 Between The Pipes set, the Future Stars sub-set (card #12). Sure, it's a poorly-lit low-resolution picture as the BTP sets often have, but where else are you going to find respectable AHL cards?

Dubnyk played 35 games with the Oilers last season, going 12-13-8 with a 2.71 GAA and a .916 save %; he's set to play more games this season, having already appeared in 27 games (10-12-1), with a 3.01 GAA and .908 save %, as they finally have playoff hopes.

Corey Crawford: 4 Autographed Cards

Let me start by saying I was very disappointed to see Corey Crawford not be nominated for the Calder trophy, as he put up elite-goalie statistics in his very first NHL season for a depleted Chicago Blackhawks team he nearly took to the second round  after casting former Olympian Marty Turco to the sidelines. I might even have nominated him for the Vezina instead of Pekka Rinne (although Tim Thomas is pretty much a shoe-in to win it).

''Crow'', as he is often called by teammates, had a longer-than-expected road to the NHL, considering how dominant he'd been at all levels: a 17-3-1 record and 1.92 GAA in Midget AAA leading to four exemplary Junior seasons in the QMJHL for the Moncton Wildcats where, apart from the first year, he always accumulated twice as many wins as losses, a GAA in the twos and a save percentage above .915 - including an incredible 2003-04 playoff run where he went 13-6, 2.15 and .940, showing the Hawks some promise after they'd made him the 52nd overall pick in the 2003 draft.

He holds quite a few Moncton records: best GAA (2.47 in 2004-05), most wins (35, in 2003-04), and most shutouts (6, 2004-05). He was twice named to the Q's second All-Star team (2004 and 2005).

With Nikolai Khabibulin and then Cristobal Huet with the parent club, Crawford was relegated to the AHL for his apprenticeship. His first stop was with the Norfolk Admirals, as evidenced by these 3 cards from In The Game:

The one on the left is from the 2005-06 Heroes And Prospects set (card #236); the one in the middle is from  the 2006-07 Heroes And Prospects set (card #72); and the one on the right is from the 2006-07 Between The Pipes set, the Future Stars sub-set (card #9).

When the Hawks changed their AHL affiliation to the Rockford Ice Hogs, Crow got to match his Hawks' jersey design with a logo reminiscent of the Iowa Chops - a superb combination, as can be attested by this 2007-08 Between The Pipes card (#8, the Future Stars sub-set):

I sent Mr. Crawford these 4 cards with a fan letter on March 29th and got them back on May 9th, all signed in black sharpie, all personalized ''À Sébastian'', in French, with his jersey number (29) added. It made my day, to say the least.

Craig Anderson: 4 Autographed Cards (Part 1)

Some are wondering if the Ottawa Senators were wise to sign Craig Anderson to a 4-year contract extension a few weeks ago but I, for one, think it could work out.

Sure, he and Michael Leighton spent years in the Chicago Blackhawks' system without being given a proper chance and both were pretty much thrown away like hole-filled socks, Leighton spending years on waivers and Anderson being dealt to the Florida Panthers, who already had an All Star #1 goalie in Tomas Vokoun.

Of those years in the minors, I kept this card as a memento:

It's from In the Game's 2006-07 Between The Pipes set, the Future Stars sub-set (card #10), where he's wearing the Rochester Americans' red jersey.

And as a Panther, I have this one:

It's card #126 in Upper Deck's 2008-09 Power Play Boxed Set and shows him with the same mask he wore on the AHL card. In his first season with the Panthers, he went 8-6-1 (2.24 GAA; .935 save %) in 17 games, the most impressive of which was a 1-0 win against the New York Islanders on March 2nd in which he set an NHL record for most saves in a shutout, with 53. In 2008-09, he went 15-7-5 with a 2.71 GAA and .924 save percentage, cementing his position as a goalie who could, perhaps, get the job done.

And that's what the Colorado Avalanche were banking on when they signed him to a 2-year deal, and they gave him every opportunity to shine, giving him the net for 15 straight starts to begin the season - a team record. He got a shutout in his second game and was the league's second star for two out of four weeks in October. He became only the fourth goalie in franchise history to record 30 wins in a season, and by season's end, he held team marks for games played, minutes played and saves made - beating the best goalie of all time, Patrick Roy, for all three. And as interesting as a 38-25-7 record, a 2.63 GAA and a .917 save % are in the regular season, his 2.62 GAA and .933 save % in the playoffs were even better.

                                       (to be continued in the next post)