Randy Cunneyworth: 3 Autographed Cards

What a clear and beautiful signature! I sent Mr. Cunneyworth these cards and a fan letter on November 30th and got them back signed in black sharpie on December 23rd - three weeks later!

Randy Cunneyworth was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres after a 54-goal, 128-point season in the OHL, having played 67 games with the Ottawa 67's. Unfortunately, the Sabres never really gave him a chance, always relegating him to their AHL farm club, the Rochester Americans, so the Pittsburgh Penguins gave him a shot at a regular NHL spot in 1985-86. He spent 4 seasons producing regularly with seasons of 15, 26, 35 and 25 goals before they shipped him off to Winnipeg.

He didn't remain long with the Winnipeg Jets - 28 games - before they sent him to the Hartford Whalers, where despite being injured often, he made a name for himself through hard-nosed hard work and an average of a point per two games. He would often be a nuisance to my favourite teams, the Québec Nordiques and Montréal Canadiens.

After a short stint with the Chicago Blackhawks, he was traded to the Ottawa Senators and became only their second full-time captain. To this day, he is still the franchise's second-longest-serving captain, behind current owner of the title Daniel Alfredsson.

After Ottawa, he went back to the Sabres organization where, again, he spent time in the minors but at least played in the NHL playoffs. In the AHL, he was a player/coach, then was named the Americans' head coach for nearly a decade. After a short stint as assistant coach with the Atlanta Thrashers, he is now the Hamilton Bulldogs' head coach.

The card on the left is from the 1991-92 Pro Set collection (card #392), and the one in the middle is from the 1992-93 Parkhurst set (card #284), also made by Pro Set. The one on the right depicting him in a Blackhawks uniform is from Leaf's 1993-94 Donruss set (card #413), which came out late enough in the year that it has him with the team he started the season but didn't finish with; it should be one of very few cards of him in that uniform, seeing as most sets featured him with the Whalers and the following season's cards will have him as a Senator.

Milan Michalek: 4 Autographed Cards

Without making too much fuss, Milan Michalek has crafted himself a niche as a reliable top-six forward with four straight 20-plus-goals seasons and only one with a negative plus/minus differential. And last season was 22 goals in only 66 games, so he may have been able to top the 30-goal mark for the first time. He is no longer an afterthought in the Dany Heatley trade, he is its main component.

The first two cards have him as a member of the San Jose Sharks, the team he played his first 316 games with. Both see him wearing the team's early/mid-00s white uniform, with the card on top-left being from Upper Deck's 2005-06 Series 2 set (card #408, his rookie card) and the one top-right from UD's 2007-08 Victory set (card #179).

The bottom two cards see him as a member of the Ottawa Senators, with the one bottom-left showing him in the Sens' alternate jersey (black, with the word 'SENS' ruining the otherwise-beautiful front) from Panini's 2010-11 Score set (card #338) and the card bottom-right depicting him in the team's regular white RBK away uniform, which looks tame and empty in comparison, being from UD's 2010-11 Victory set (card #137).

The Sens will have a hard time making the playoffs this season, but with the type of players they have on offense and in nets, I see them making a deep playoff run should they make it. The cards were sent along with a fan letter on November 23rd care of the Sens and were received back on December 23rd - one month to the day, an amazingly quick return for an active player!

Rhett Bomar Jersey Card

When the CFL season came to a close (congrats again, Alouettes!) on Sunday, the NFL was left standing as the sole (American) football league whose play I actually follow, just in time for a playoff run.

This year, Rhett Bomar ended the season with the Minnesota Vikings, after two seasons of alternating between the New York Giants' practice squad and the third-string QB position. The quarterback position is, of course, the hardest one to become a regualr in, as only one can play at a time, as opposed to four or five linesmen, three or four receivers, and so forth.

This card is from Donruss' Rookies & Stars set by Panini, and is card #11 of the Dress For Success sub-set, a limited edition set for which this card is # 77/299. What I appreciate the most of this patch card is it denotes the exact date of wear on the back - you can't get more specific, nor authentic.

Jamie McLennan: 4 Autographed Cards (Part 1)

It's too bad Jamie McLennan chose to sign these with dry-erase markers coaches love so much, because he has such a distinctive and interesting signature, but unfortunately all 4 cards show various levels of smudging. I had sent the cards care of the Calgary Flames - with whom he is an assistant coach - on November 18th, and received them on December 23rd, right on time for Christmas.

But his remains a story that need be told, and to some extent, it begins in the WHL, with the Lethbridge Hurricanes:

This card is from The Score Board's 1991-92 Classic Draft Picks set (card #40), and shows the Hurricanes when they used to sport the Washington Capitals' colours. At this point, McLennan was runner-up to Félix Potvin as the CHL's best goalie, leading his team to the WHL Finals - a performance that would make him the 48th overall pick of the 1991 NHL Draft, chosen by the New York Islanders.

(continued in the next post)

Jamie McLennan: 4 Autographed Cards (Part 2)

(continued from the previous post)

Which brings us to these two terrific cards, showing him in unusual poses:

On the left, perhaps the card with his best signature on it, is from Leaf's 1993-94 Donruss set (card #458), where he seems to be looking up at the scoreboard. On the right, mid-movement after a save - possibly the most smudged card of the four - is from Topps' 1994-95 Premier set (card #143), the first Premier set not to feature the O-Pee-Chee brand.

During the mid-90s, McLennan was proving too good for the minor leagues, but the Isles' net belonged to Ron Hextall. He split the 1995-96 season between the Isles (3-9-1 record), the IHL's Utah Grizzlies (9-2-2, 2.39 GAA and .911%) and the AHL's Worcester Ice Cats (14-7-1, 2.81 GAA and .905%) before contracting bacterial meningitis. As is often the case, the Islanders took the wrong decision and opted nt to renew McLennan's contract at season's end, prompting him to sign with the St. Louis Blues, who sent him to the AHL upon his recovery to regain his game shape. By 1997-98, he was back in the NHL, playing in 30 games (16.8-2, 2.17 GAA and .903%) on his way to earning the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

In the 2000 Expansion Draft, he was claimed by the Minnesota Wild.

He looked good in the Wild's uniform, but expansion teams are rarely where one goes to improve on his statistics, so despite a 2.64 GAA and .905% playing in Jacques Lemaire's defensive system, he still went only 5-23-9 in 38 games, which led to his demotion to the AHL the following season. This card, #206 from Topps' 2000-01 Stadium Club set - a great-looking set on ultra-thick cardboard stock - is the only one I have of him as a Wild.

From then on, it was all back-up roles for McLennan, be it for the Calgary Flames (twice), New York Rangers or Florida Panthers - and a stint in Russia, followed by another one in Japan.

Upon retiring in 2008, he went back to Calgary, this time as director of goaltending development and scout; a year later he was named assistant coach to Brent Sutter - which is where we stand currently. In other words, he's now coaching Miikka Kiprusoff, who he has backed up twice.