Nick Foligno Autographed Card

Earlier this season, outspoken head coach John Tortorella said that he was disappointed in his Columbus Blue Jackets' lack of leadership. Nick Foligno is the Jackets' captain. With the team now out of playoff contention, Torts was asked if he had given thought to revoking Foligno's captaincy, perhaps in favor of Brandon Dubinsky, who used to play for him with the New York Rangers and does have a fairly big presence in the dressing room... but the coach said no.

I guess the question was asked because, back in his Tampa Bay Lightning days, he'd stripped Vincent Lecavalier of the "C", and old habits die hard, particularly on a hard-ass. But the one thing about Tortorella is he knows what buttons to push and who to push which buttons on. And he seems to be communicating with his current captain, which means he's taken a liking to him and wants to see him grow into the role. Probably.

Still, like for the Montréal Canadiens' Max Pacioretty, it hasn't been an easy season for the first-year captain, with his team standing at 31-40-8 for 8th in the Metropolitan Division (after starting off with an 0-7 start under Todd Richards), and with his personal stats line showing nearly a 50% drop from last year:

2014-15: 31 goals, 42 assists and 73 points in 79 games
2015-16: 9 goals, 25 assist and 34 points in 68 games thus far

Sure, he's no longer playing with Ryan Johansen, but he's got Seth Jones feeding the offense from the back end, though.

I have quite a few Foligno signed cards to feature, but I'll start with this stand-alone one I got in the mail over a year ago showing him with the OHL's Sudbury Wolves' beautiful white uniform:

It's card #280 from In The Game's 2005-06 Heroes And Prospects set, which he signed in blue sharpie with his jersey number (16) tagged at the end. He was chosen 28th overall by the Ottawa Senators later that year at the NHL draft.

Benoit Pouliot Autographed Card

Benoît Pouliot - the name's been on everyone's lips in Montréal since November 23rd (2009), when he was traded for Guillaume Latendresse, and, while Latendresse has been making his mark with the Minnesota Wild, Pouliot's been finding the back of the net with the Montréal Canadiens - a trade that has made both teams, and both men, very happy.

Pouliot was born in late September, 1986, in Alfred, Ontario, and grew yp nearby in St. Idsidore. He took the relatively long route to the OHL, by first passing through Junior B and the CJHL. In 2004-05, he was named the OHL's Rookie Of The Year after netting 67 points in 67 games for the Sudbury Wolves, and was also named to the All-Rookie Team and to the Second All Star Team. That summer, he was drafted 4th overall by the Wild, just ahead of the Habs' Carey Price (Latendresse was chosen 45th). The following season, he garnered 65 points in 55 games while winning the gold (with both Price and Latendresse) at the World Juniors. Things were looking up.

However, Pouliot was not ready to begin playing with the best players on earth in the NHL (also something that can be said for Price and Latendresse, incidentally) at age 19, so he was sent to the AHL every year before the current season. The biggest knock on him was his lack of consistency - in his first two 'seasons' in the NHL, he scored a grand total of two goals in 14 games, both in the same game.

So far, though, playing on the Habs' first line with Stanley Cup-winning veterans Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta, he has foud the twine more often than both of his linemates and seen his point production skyrocket. We'll see how long it lasts, but, for now, he's helping maintain the Canadiens in playoff contention with his strong play and terrific hands.

This is card #134 from In The Game's 2005-06 Heroes And Prospects series, showing him in his beautiful, dark Wolves jersey, entering the season after being drafted by he Wild. It is signed in thick black sharpie and was gathered by mail by a friend of mine who collects Wild players (and had two of these made). He also sent me a Brent Burns card, while I sent him a bunch of Martin Havlat cards.