Chad Kilger Autograph Card

Draft day came and went, and so did July 1st. And there were still hockey pundits who justified a draft position or salary not on performance but on a mix of potential and size, and some ability - Benoît Pouliot's deal with the Edmonton Oilers comes to mind.

Pouliot had been a fourth-overall pick in 2005. Alexandre Volchkov was chosen fourth in 1996. As were Bryan Allen in 1998, Pavel Brendl in 1999, Rostislav Klesla in 2000, and Nikolai Zherdev in 2003. Going further back, Jason Bonsignore in 1994, Todd Warriner in 1992, and Darrin Shannon in 1988. Not all of them were the best choice, in retrospect.

Which brings me to the fourth pick of 1995, Chad Kilger. As of four years ago, he was the most popular fireman in all of Cornwall, Ontario, and would have been even without his career 714 NHL games and time spent playing for four different Canadian NHL teams (the Winnipeg Jets, Oilers, Montréal Canadiens, and Toronto Maple Leafs), if only because his father was a career politician in the city.

I don't have anything new to report, just came across this card of his when unpacking:

It shows him wearing the Anaheim Mighty Ducks' white (home) uniform, sporting #95 for the simple reason that it was at the draft and they'd just picked him. It's from Upper Deck's 1995-96 Be A Player set (card #S167, meaning it is the signed insert version of card #167 - which is part of the Rookie Quotebook sub-set - and is autographed on-card in thin black sharpie). They don't show the team's logo (nor reference it in any way) for the simple fact that while they may have had the NHLPA's permission to use photos of their players, they hadn't secure an NHL copyright.

His signature includes his jersey number with the Kingston Frontenacs (18), his junior team prior to being drafted.

Funny thing: as I was researching for news to use in this post, I came across this article about possible corruption and wrong-doings regarding his hiring as a fireman... which uses my card from my post 4 years ago without crediting me, who got the autograph in person (same over-cropped bottom, too):

Shane Doan Autograph Card

One of the many never-ending sagas this off-season has been ''the Shane Doan situation''. I touched briefly on the status of the Phoenix Coyotes yesterday, and the fact that their captain is taking his merry time before signing a new contract wouldn't be so annoying if every hockey blogger didn't write about it every day.

I understand sticking with the team through thick and thin - that's what makes Doan captain material. But the fact that he's contemplating signing 4-year deals elsewhere is puzzling, although not as much as teams offering him $7.5M per season when, at age 35, he has never made that much money - and is on a clear down slope, points-wise, going from 78 points in 2007-08 (28 goals) to 73 in 2008-09 (31 goals) to 55 in 2009-10 (18 goals) to a slight increase to 60 points in 2010-11 (20 goals) to another drop in 2011-12 with 50 points (22 goals).

Sure, with better players, he could produce a little bit more; on the other hand, on a stronger team, he probably wouldn't be on the first line anymore, meaning a drop in ice time may lead to a slip in production as well... and giving more than 10% of your payroll on a has-been isn't exactly the best use of cap space I've heard of.

Doan is a distant cousin to Carey Price, which may or may not matter, in the end. He shares another highlight with the Montréal Canadiens, as he was involved in a discussion with a teammate that degenerated quickly when the Habs took a 4-0 lead, and Doan looked at referee Michel Cormier and said to a teammate ''What do you expect? Four French refs in Montréal...'' implying that Quebecers, as a sub-race, couldn't remain impartial despite their jobs depending on it, while four English-Canadians in Toronto or Ottawa could. His teammate replied ''Fucking Frenchmen'', igniting a controversy that would span both of Doan's next Team Canada appearances (2006 Olympics and 2007 Worlds, where he captained the team).

In any event, Doan's a decent hockey player, and this is the ''signed insert version'' of his rookie card, from Upper Deck's 1995-96 Be A Player set (card #S172, the Rookie Quotebook sub-set). It's one of those sets that BAP had an NHLPA license for, but not one from the NHL, so the Jets aren't mentioned anywhere. Other cards had the team logos airbrushed out or hidden by a player's pose...