Two Josh Gorges Autographed Cards

Unlike Maxim Lapierre, Josh Gorges signed each card by adding the correct jersey number on each, thus he wore #7 for the Kelowna Rockets, and #26 for the Montréal Canadiens.

The junior card, from his WHL days as captain of the Rockets is from In The Game's 2004-05 Heroes And Prospects series (card #82), after a WHL title, a Memorial Cup, a Western Conference First All-Star Team nod and a finalist for the league's top defenseman - as well as a participation at the World Juniors for Team Canada. He had been signed as a free agent (he had never been drafted) by the San Jose Sharks, whose uniforms were close in colours as the Rockets'.

The other card, where he is wearing the Canadiens' red jersey, is from Upper Deck's 2007-08 Series 2 collection (card #410), depicting him making a terrible butterfly pass to an unknown teammate, one of many bad plays resulting from being a part of a shocking mid-season trade to Montréal (alongside a draft pick that ended up being Max Pacioretty) for established whiner and coach-killer Craig Rivet. He has since found his game, and his niche on the team, and can be relied upon to step up and fill in at a higher level when one of the team's top three defensemen gets injured.

Both were signed at the Canadiens' jamboree prior to the 2007-08 season.

Two Maxim Lapierre Autographed Cards

From one #40 to another... Maxim Lapierre, promising third-line center for the Montréal Canadiens, my choice for the team's next captain, with two cards from the 2007-08 season.

On the left, an In The Game 2007-08 Heroes And Prospects card (#CC-05), from the Calder Cup Champions sub-set describing how valuable he was in the Hamiltom Bulldogs' championship run, participating on both his team's goals in the decisive game after having been reassigned to the AHL for the playoffs.

On the right, a 2007-08 MVP (#60) card from Upper Deck showing Maxim's stats in his rookie season in the NHL, mentioning that he scored in his first three games.

Both were signed at the team's jamboree prior to the 2007-08 season, both are similar, and both sport ''40'' after Lapierre's name, despite the fact that he clearly wears #26 on his Bulldogs card (the beautiful red jersey), showing he did not want to have to go back there, which of course he did just weeks later. But he came back with a vengeance, never to go back down again, a few weeks after being demoted.

I also like that he looks noticeably older in the AHL card than the NHL one, probably because of the beard, but considering players usually go to the AHL before the NHL and both cards being from the same year, it adds a nice touch.

Both cards also have him in just about the same position, with an open mouth, although he seems in possession of the puck on the MVP card and demanding it on the Heroes And Prospects card. Another noteworthy difference is not between the cards themselves but on the Upper Deck card, as the MVP series sported facsimile autographs on the front... and apart from the exact same 'M', the rest of the signature is completely different from the live one to the printed one. And since both live ones are so strikingly similar, you can wonder if UD didn't feel his actual signature was legible enough and asked him to re-do it more clearly...

Éric Chouinard Autographed Oversized Team Card

For years, from the late 1980s to the early-2000s, I always purchased the Montréal Canadiens' oversized player cards. While they all used to be taken in photo sessions with just about every player striking the same pose without a helmet on, the 1990s brought more and more action shots until all players were pictured during games.

Deadline issues have made it so that awkward situations would at times arrive, such as a player not wearing the same jersey number on the front as is indicated on the back, simply because the picture had been taken during the pre-season when the player's coveted number was not yet available but had become so as time passed.

Also of note on these cards were the facsimile autographs printed on them; in the 80s, the autograph was in front, while in the pictures above, it's on the back. It is fun to note that at times, during the late 80s and early 90s, the autographs differed vastly from players' signatures obtained elsewhere, which is not the case here. Indeed, Éric Chouinard's autograph, gathered by myself at a team-sponsored jamboree in 2002 - months before he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers - looks just about the same, the only difference being he signed his first name above his last name while the facsimile shows it in a straight line.

Chouinard was a Habs first-round draft pick from 1998, smack-dab in the middle of the worst decade in team history - both on the ice and at the draft table. Many have been critical of Chouinard having been chosen ahead of such impact players as Dmitri Kalinin (18th, Sabres), Robyn Regehr (19th, Flames), Simon Gagné (22nd, Flyers), Scott Gomez (27th, Devils), Jonathan Cheechoo (29th, Sharks), Mike Fisher (44th, Senators), Mike Ribeiro (45th, Canadiens), Brad Richards (64th, Lightning), Erik Cole (71st, Hurricanes), François Beauchemin (75th, Canadiens), Brian Gionta (82nd, Devils), Shawn Horcoff (99th, Oilers), Jaroslav Spacek (117th, Panthers), Chris Neil (161st, Senators), Andrei Markov (162nd, Canadiens), Pavel Datsyuk (171st, Red Wings), Michael Ryder (216th, Canadiens), and Karlis Skrastins (230th, Predators).

It is fun to note that 4 other Canadiens draftees of that year became regulars in the NHL (Ribeiro, now the centrepiece of Dallas' offense, Beauchemin, Cup winner in Anaheim now patroling Toronto's blue line, Ryder, twice a 30-goal scorer now in Boston, and the Habs' leader on the blue line Markov), that another one played for a few years longer than Chouinard (Gordie Dwyer), that three picks from other teams now play for the Habs (Gomez, Gionta and Spacek) while another pick from earlier that year, Tanguay, chosen 12th overall by Colorado, was the team's best forward last season before departing as a free agent. Also from the '98 draft, Cole, one of the current NHLers who has had the most success playing against the Habs.

Another side note, Chouinard, who wore #40 for the Habs, was traded to the Flyers for their second-round pick of 2003, which turned out to be Maxim Lapierre, currently wearing #40.

It's too bad he never panned out in the NHL, playing only 90 games in 5 seasons, because he had decent offensive skills and hockey bloodlines: his father played for the Atlanta Flames, and his cousin, Marc, still plays in the NHL and won a Stanley Cup in Anaheim.

Enid-Raye Adams Autographs

Here's a duo I'm very proud of - and that makes me hate myself at the same time.

I'll start at the beginning: Enid-Raye Adams is from Manitoba (Canada), where your chances of attaining worldwide success are slim-to-none, unless your last name is Bachmann or Turner. She moved to Vancoucer, BC (still in Canada) to become an actress - and it didn't work for her right away. So she wrote some material and toured the country as a stand-up comic, which eventually led to an agent taking notice, and film (but mostly TV) roles ensued.

Her sense of humour is wonderful - and she's a master at self-deprecating in real life, too.

I wrote her an honest letter around 2002, saying I was happy her career seemed to be going upwards, what with a Babylon 5 TV movie, a part in Slap Shot 2, one in Undercover Brother, appearances in hit TV shows like The Dead Zone, Stargate SG-1 and Taken - not quite Oscar-worthy (yet), but a definite step up from being the 15th or 20th name appearing in Canadian TV movie Trapped (with Meat Loaf an Callum Keith Rennie).

She could have just been happy I wrote in and done nothing in return, or could have sent a typed note saying ''thanks'' - or a facsimile autographed picture. Instead, she dedicated and autographed a publicity still with a note saying to ''Keep On Rockin' In The Free World'', both a nod to the fact that we're both Canadian but also that I'm a musician first and foremost (before being a blogger, writer and film-maker, that is) - and she added a Babylon 5: The Legend Of The Rangers postcard with a personalized message on the back - and what appears to be a ripped-off price tag!

So every day I can see these two pieces of memorabilia, admire them - and every day I can remember I'm an asshole for never writing back.

Mike Ribeiro - Patrice Bergeron Jersey Card

The Montréal Canadiens - Boston Bruins rivalry has spawned great moments for hockey fans (as well, apparently, as other seasons' SPX sets), and the Montréal-Québec rivalry has spawned countless arguments in Quebecers' families. Here's a card that puts both rivalries to good use - perhaps without even knowing it.

Montréal native Mike Ribeiro, seen here in his former team's jersey, the white Habs uniform, coming off a season where he led the team in points, shares the bill with Québec-born Patrice Bergeron of the Bruins - also in his team's whites.

This card (# WC-MP from Upper Deck's 2005-06 SPX series) is numbered 007/350, and what makes it so special is that Bergeron's side is actually comprised of two colours - back and white - which likely means it was taken from the stripe at the bottom of the jersey, or the sleeve, both of which hold a slimmer chance of making in onto a jersey card as, say, a piece of the chest or back.

Also of note is that this was to be Ribeiro's final year playing for his hometown team, as he was traded to the Dallas Stars before the start of the 2006-07 season, days after having agreed to a raise. In october 2007, Bergeron's playing days were almost over after he suffered a broken nose and 'Grade 3' concussion after a questionable hit from behind by Randy Jones.