David Desharnais: 2 Autographed Cards

This season, David Desharnais has arguably been the Montréal Canadiens' top center. A star playmaker since his days in juniors, where he captained the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, he went undrafted because of his diminutive stature (5'7'', 177 pounds) but was signed as a free agent after a tryout with the Habs, then promptly shipped to the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones, where he dominated, gathering 106 points in 68 games (plus 33 more in 22 playoff games) to win league MVP, Rookie OF The Year, First All-Star Team and All-Rookie Team awards and leading his team to the championship.

He then spent the next two seasons with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs, scoring 24 goals and 58 points in his rookie year in 2008-09, then 78 points in 60 games to lead the team in 2009-10. Last year, he had collected 45 points in 35 games with the Bulldogs before getting called up with the Habs, where he's been ever since.

The card on top, showing him in the Bulldogs' white uniform is from In The Game's 2009-10 Heroes And Prospects set (card #43), while the one on the bottom, in the Habs' white jersey, is from Panini's 2011-12 Score (card #252). Both are signed in blue sharpie, with his jersey number from the card tagged at the end, 36 and 58 respectively, both rare feats considering he generally wore #51 at all professional levels. The cards were signed in person at a pre-season game in Québec City (one before, one after); a fellow collector traded these to me in exchange for some basketball (2) and football (1) autographed insert cards.

I'm a big fan of this little man, and I hope to send him some TTM cards soon as well.

Brian Engblom Autographed Card

A few weeks ago, I participated in a contest organized by the reference in hockey card collecting, Sal Barry. And I won, kind of: I did answer correctly, but wasn't the first to do so. He did send me this magnificent consolation prize, though: an autographed 1981-82 Topps Brian Engblom card (card #10 in the set manufactured by Topps).

It is signed in black sharpie and I'm pretty sure he got it through the mail, as can be attested by his other Engblom success, which includes a nice back story on how he's now a very interesting colour commentator. He mentions writing to him in the future, and that post does have the same card, but signed in blue, so I assume mine is from a later shipment.

I would like to thank Sal publicly - for being a really nice guy through contests like these, but also for being the reference we all follow through his Q&A section - as well as for the fact that he's always available to answer any new questions we might have.

And since I was born in the late 70s, I don't really have many memories of Engblom as a member of the Montréal Canadiens, with whom he won 3 Stanley Cups. Instead, I view him more as a King or Capital; thanks to Sal for making Engblom a member of my hometown team in my mind from now on!

Colin Kaepernick Jersey Card

Colin Kaepernick is a young quarterback with a cannon arm and his name in the record books already, for having passed 10,000+ yards and rushed for 4,000+ more - the only QB to do so in FBS history while with the Nevada Wolf Pack.

Now a member of the San Francisco 49ers, he will have a shot at joining the ranks of 49ers immortal QBs such as Joe Montana and Steve Young.

This card was a steal on Ebay at 99 cents. It is card #5 of Panini's 2011 Absolute Memorabilia set, numbered 6/50. It contains a piece of clothing - likely the pants considering the seam - that he wore at the NFL PLAYERS Rookie Premiere, specifically on May 21st 2011. I like that Panini went out of its way to include the date, it shows attention to the product and care for the fan - and an added touch of authenticity.

Mathieu Carle Autographed Card

For a few years, Mathieu Carle was considered the Montréal Canadiens' top prospect on defense, ahead of such players as Mark Streit, Yannick Weber and even P.K. Subban. Unfortunately, freak injuries at two three consecutive training camps where he looked poised for a roster spot have turned him into one of those ''probably-too-good-for-the-AHL'' players who'll never get a full-time position in the NHL because of a stall in his development and... a lack of experience caused by little more than bad luck.

The Habs traded his rights to the Anaheim Ducks in July 2011 in an attempt to give him a shot somewhere else. I would have loved for him to be sent to the Philadelphia Flyers, where he could have been paired with... their Matt Carle. ''Matt Carle to Matt Carle, back to Matt Carle''... that would have been priceless.

Here's what Hockey's Future has to say about Mathieu Carle:

Carle is a strong offensive presence from the blue line, with good skating and strong puck-handling ability. He can tend to get a little too focused on his offensive game, though, and will occasionally neglect his defensive responsibilities. When he does focus on his own end, he is willing to drop in front of shots, and is good positionally. However, that is when he does. Consistency and focus is an issue with Carle’s play. He has good size, and is willing to get his nose dirty from time to time, but will have to use his size more effectively, and more regularly, in order to intimidate the opposition. 

Carle has the talent to be a top four defenseman in the professional ranks. Whether or not he can get the focus to attain the level of his ability is another matter. He will look to further improve his defensive game, while cutting back on needless penalties.

This card is from Upper Deck's 2009-10 Series 2 set (card #472). He signed it for me (in blue sharpie, adding his jersey number, 72) after a practice at training camp prior to the 2010-11 season where he... suffered a freak injury for the third straight year.

Cam Talbot Autograph Card

Cam Talbot has spent the past 3 seasons changing leagues and jerseys more often than underwear. Undrafted, he went from the University of Alabama-Huntsville to the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack when the New York Rangers signed him as a free agent. He then split the 20110-11 season between the Wolf Pack - which became the Connecticut Whale midway through the season - and the ECHL's Greenville Road Warriors, earning a call-up with the Rangers but seeing no ice time.

He is currently #3 on the Rangers' depth chart in nets, after superstar Henrik Lundqvist and top backup Martin Biron. Some New York writers are having fun at his expense for always getting called up but never playing.

This beautiful foil card came in a pack of Panini's 2011-12 Certified (card #160) and is from the Freshman Signatures sub-set. It is signed on card in blue sharpie.

Mike Modano Jersey Card

Definitely one of the best American players of all time, Mike Modano retired at the beginning of the season when no team would offer him a contract. He spent all except one season as a member of the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise, with his lone season with another organization coming last year, his hometown Detroit Red Wings.

A staple of international competition, Modano played for Team USA 11 different times (which makes guessing which edition this jersey emanates from a useless endeavour), winning the silver medal at the 2002 Olympics as well as the 1991 Canada Cup, and gold at the inaugural 1996 World Cup (the Canada Cup's replacement). All this in addition to 2 Stanley Cup finals (one Cup, with Dallas, in 1999), an All-Rookie Team nod in 1990, and 8 All Star games.

This card is from In The Game's 2011-12 Canada Vs. The World set, the World Junior Grads insert sub-set (card #WJG-25). It is the Silver Version, but as with the Ryan Miller card, I have no idea how many were made.

Ryan Miller Jersey Card

Ryan Miller has probably been the best goalie in the world for the past 2 years, with a Vezina trophy and a silver medal at the Olympics to show for it. And he's from the famous Michigan Miller family, which has already produced 5 NHLers.

Sure, this season hasn't exactly started off on the right track - he was even yanked last night after surrendering 5 goals on 15 shots in just less than 30 minutes - but you can count on him to bounce back in a major way. And, as long as the Buffalo Sabres make the playoffs, with the team they have, they can beat any team there.

This card is from In The Game's 2011-12 Canada Vs The World set, the Global Greats jersey sub-set (card #GG-19), featuring a dark blue swatch of Miller's former AHL team, the Rochester Americans. And, yes, I find it weird that they took an AHL jersey rather than a Team USA one, but it's a nice big swatch, so that's that. Also, I'm aware that it being a 'Silver Version' means something about the number of cards produced, but I have no idea what it is and the product's webpage doesn't say.

Matt Carkner: 2 Autographed Cards

I've been following Matt Carkner's career since he was drafted by the Montréal Canadiens (my hometown team) 58th overall in the 1999 draft. It was a second-rounder, but he was the Habs' first pick because the New York Islanders' held the Habs' first-round pick (10th overall, they chose Branislav Mezei with it, not a big loss) from the Trevor Linden trade.

The Habs never signed Carkner, though, so after his time in juniors - all with the Peterborough Petes - was done, the San Jose Sharks signed him and sent him to their AHL affiliate Cleveland Barons, where he spent the better part of 5 seasons, dressing for just 1 Sharks game, in which he collected an assist and a penalty.

After a season in the Pittsburgh Penguins' system, he was signed by the Ottawa Senators, who assigned hid to their AHL affiliate in Binghampton for two years. Since 2009-10, however, he has been a full-time Senator, serving as the Sens' official enforcer and also a reliable presence defensively. In many respects, he reminds me a bit of Lyle Odelein, a former Habs crowd favourite.

This season, he has just played 4 games so far, as he was injured; he came back on December 10th.

I sent him the two cards, care of the Sens, on November 19th - the same day I sent these ones to former Senator Peter Sidorkiewicz - and got them both back, signed in black sharpie with his jersey number (39) added on the end, on December 14th - less than a month later!

The card on the left is from Panini's beautiful 2010-11 Score set (card #348), while the one on the right is from Panini's equally stunning 2010-11 Crown Royale collection, card #8 from the Achievements sub-set (numbered 399/499), celebrating his first NHL goal, which came 10 years after he was drafted, against the Islanders' Martin Biron. He also scored a triple-overtime goal in the playoffs against the Penguins' Marc-André Fleury that year.

Peter Sidorkiewicz: 5 Autographed Cards

An Adams division rival who played the Québec Nordiques and Montréal Canadiens often made it so that I could see Peter Sidorkiewicz in at least a third of the games he played when I was growing up, even though back then not all games were televised.

Born in Poland, Sidorkiewicz' family moved to Canada in time for him to play through the Canadian minor hockey system, culminating in his playing for the OHL's Oshawa Generals, leading to his being drafted by the Washington Capitals, who eventually traded his rights away to the Hartford Whalers, who let him perfect his game for 4 seasons with their AHL farm team, the Binghamton Whalers.

After splitting duties with superstar goalie Mike Liut for a season - earning an All-Rookie Team nod in the process - he was given the net full-time in the following season when the Whalers sent Liut to... the Capitals.

After 4 successful seasons with the Whalers, however, he was left unprotected for the expansion draft and he was the very first player chosen by the Ottawa Senators. The inaugural season may not have been the easiest, but Sidorkiewicz provided the team and its fans most of its brightest moments, as can be attested by his presence at the 1992-93 All Star Game. He was so good, in fact, that the New Jersey Devils traded for him at season's end - for 3 players, a goalie (Craig Billington), a forward (Troy Mallette), and a draft pick. Unfortunately for him, Martin Brodeur took the #1 goaltending job, and Sidorkiewicz only played 4 games over 5 seasons in Jersey, spending the bulk of his time in the minors.

Still, All-Rookie and NHL All Star - that's a heck of a career.

I sent these 5 cards and a fan letter to Sidorkiewicz's home on November 19th (2011). I got them back on December 7th, all signed in black sharpie. In my letter, I mentioned that I, too, as a goalie, used to wear more than one brand of gear, with Brian's also being my choice of glove, as can be attested here, when I played for the Bantam AAA Sens in a summer league prior to moving on to the Midget AAA level:

I did use Vaughn blockers, though, not Brown like him.

Onto the cards:

These three are of Sidorkiewicz in the Whalers' early-90s home (white) and away (green) jerseys; these would change a bit before their move to Carolina. Notice how the team's logo is white on their away jerseys - just like in their WHA and early NHL days - but that the home one has it coloured in green and blue.

The card of the left is from Upper Deck's 1991-92 Series 1 set (card #325), classy and simple with the white borders. I also like the picture on the back, making a glove save on a shot that's clearly too high, with Randy Ladouceur checking a New York Islanders player behind the net:

The card on the right is from Score's 1992-93 Score (Canadian) set (card #41), while the one in the middle is from Fleer's 1992-93 Fleer Ultra set (card #150) and despite showing him in the Whalers' uniform, has his listed as a member of the Senators. That's because 'premium' sets such as Ultra were produced later in the year, so they had enough time to update their data at least to Opening Day.

But the following two cards are the ones I prefer, not just because the signature fits with the uniforms, but because I actually really liked the Sens' original jerseys: black, red and white, how could you go wrong?

The card on the left, where he is sporting the home (white) uniform, is from Score's 1992-93 Pinnacle set (card #371). Pinnacle was Score's premium brand, and as the card market started to switch (93-96), they tried to re-brand themselves by changing the company's name to Pinnacle Brands, trying to market itself as premium-first, with Score becoming their lone low-level product.

The card on the right, with the dark (away) jersey, is from Pro Set's 1992-93 Series 1 collection (card #125).

Ironically, the face-only team picture on the back of each card has him wearing the other jersey:

I must say I really like how he went out of his way to sign all the cards at the bottom, keeping the integrity of the pictures and of his poses. And he took the liberty of putting the cards in penny sleeves - which I hadn't even included (here's why, thanks again Sal!). All of that in less than three weeks!

Adam Henrique Autograph Card

I went to a dollar store last week and they had packs of Panini's 2011-12 Score, which I had originally purchased two boxes of, and I figured at a buck apiece, they weren't all that expensive, so I purchased 5 packs.

35 cards in total, 4 Highlights cards, 5 glossy, 1 Net Cam and 3 Hot Rookies, plus the one pictured above of Adam Henrique, autographed (blue sharpie on a sticker). I like Panini's thought process here, to tack a sticker on the card for the autographs: it allows for a faster turnaround, enabling the cards to be in the packs rather than be sent redemption-style, plus it helps to differentiate between the cards you pulled up already autographed and those you'll collect yourself, which will likely be direct on the card.

As for Henrique, he is a stud. He plays for the defensively-minded New Jersey Devils and still managed to rack up 17 points (6 goals, 11 assists) in 22 games so far, including 6 in his last 5 games, 10 in his last 10. The former third-round pick (87th overall in 2008) has won the Memorial Cup twice in juniors, and a silver medal (with Team Canada) at the World Juniors. A winner just like the Devils like 'em.