Nathan Beaulieu Autographed Card

I told you back in December I'd be ready when Nathan Beaulieu scored his first NHL goal, and that happened tonight (just a few minutes ago, actually), in a 4-2 Montréal Canadiens loss to the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa. His goal came against rookie Andrew Hammond, who made 40 saves on 42 shots for the win, in his first NHL game.

Beaulieu started the season by playing just 10 minutes against the Toronto Maple Leafs after winning his job ahead of Jarred Tinordi and Greg Pateryn, and three times even spent less than 9 minutes on the ice, but since his last call-up, he's been a steady presence, surpassing the 20-minute mark three times and stepping up to fight the Leafs' David Clarkson after a dirty hit on his partner Sergei Gonchar last Saturday night.

It's nice to see he's coming out of his shell and entering a certain comfort zone - one in which he's comfortable in displaying his skill set, not one where he takes things for granted, like earlier in the season, earning him a trip back to the Hamilton Bulldogs.

His days of riding the bus and sleeping in cheap motels are probably over, as he'll need to clear waivers to be assigned to the AHL starting next year, but that just means guys who don't put the effort in sit in the press box, and those aren't fun times for players. Still, I'm confident he'll keep climbing the spots and progressing, probably to the #4 defenseman position next year, and #2 in three years' time, when Andrei Markov retires as a Hab.

Here's my favourite card of his, showing him from his time dominating in the LHJMQ with the Saint John Sea Dogs (in their white home uniform), from In The Game's 2010-11 Heroes And Prospects set (card #46):

It's signed in black sharpie, from a trip I made to Hamilton, in 2012-13, I think. My little brother got it signed because it feel weird to ask for autographs from kids when you hit the ripe old age of 30.

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)