Top 30 NHL Players of All-Time: #28

The next two picks on my list were really really difficult to rank and I only knew they must be on my list. Many will think they need to be much higher and I probably agree with you. However, at the same time I feel they both may have been victims of just playing in an era with so many superstars.

#28. Steve Yzerman. Steve was a winner both individually and as a leader of a team. 3 Cups, Triple Gold Member and many other medals. He won the Selke, Pearson, Conn Smythe and Masterton showing he can do it all. Over 600 goals and 1700 points also prove his remarkable abilities. 


84-85 OPC Rookie

 How do you place someone so great on a list of other amazingly great players? I had a very difficult time with this. In the end I tried my best to weigh all factors. Offensively Steve was superb including a season I still am in awe (65 G, 90A, 155 PTS). For his career he's among all the elite (top 10 in all three offensive categories). As a leader he was also among the games best and perhaps as good as Messier if you ask me. Defensively, the man was top 5 in Selke voting 5 times and perhaps if underrated in any area it may be in this. He did an excellent job rounding out his game in the second half of his career earning him a spot among the greatest of the great and that's why he's 28th on my list.

So...why isn't he higher? One really surprising fact is Steve only was ever named to the year end AS teams once. I know guys like Wayne and Mario made it difficult for him to get the recognition he deserved but in the end I had to place him here and I hope to prove myself in the coming posts.

Thanks for stopping by, #27 is every bit as good as #28.

18-19 Upper Deck SP Evan Bouchard /25

Despite my previous post about the gamble with opening product, the truth is I still buy the odd pack here or there but much of what you will see has occurred over the past year and a half (and at a rate significantly less that I have at any point in my life). If I do buy a product it's usually where the cost is low or the promise of reward is congruent with my beliefs. One product that came out at the end of last year was Upper Deck SP. Not to be confused with SP Authentic.

The analogy that I will use is think of SP Authentic as Coca-Cola or Pepsi. It's the name brand flashy version of soda and SP is the RC Cola or Great Value version. Both have their markets and I personally think both are great. However, SP Authentic carries a pretty high pack and box price where SP can be had for much less. SP delivers some neat rookies and rookie parallels and offers a nice bang for your buck which had me drawn in. While they don't have the resale value of SP Authentic's Future Watch, I personally wasn't buying packs for that.

I bought a couple packs from my local Walmart and was fortunate to his this card:

18-19 Upper Deck SP Evan Bouchard Rookie Authentics /25

Simple SP Authentic inspired design here, sticker auto which is a detractor for some but not me. It's very low print run is one think all people can get behind. 

I love the back. Stats, vitals and a guarantee. Can't ask for much more.

Evan Bouchard was drafted 10th overall in 2018 and is considered a blue-chip prospect. He put together an excellent junior career playing for the juggernaut London Knights in the OHL and you can see his second last season on the back of this card. He'd return for more "seasoning" where he'd score 53 points in 45 games and another 21 points in 11 playoff games and another 8 points in 8 playoff games with the Condors. This past season he played all his games in the AHL and has put up a very respectable 36 points in 54 games which is good enough for a tie for second in team scoring and tops among their d-men.

This success is far from a given as many players who have done well in junior have had trouble translating it to NHL success, especially when a player has benefitted from other talent on the team. For example, Aaron Berisha scored 45 goals one season with the Knights (good enough for second just behind Christian Dvorak) would never get drafted, play university hockey in Canada before heading to Austria.

When it comes to Evan, I think he will make it to the point he will be an NHL player for good and a good one at that. He has the potential to be the best defenseman on the Oilers or at the best least their go-to offensive defenseman. When you add him with the weapons they already possess you get the feeling they could be as good as Sid, Gino and Letang were and still are. Time will tell but I do feel good about this prediction. Thanks for stopping by and see you next post.

A new minor PC - Blake Speers

How many PCs can a fella have? Probably as many as they want or can afford to chase/trade for, but in my case I usually stop ones and start others and while Brett Connolly is big in my collection and I will always follow along, I've officially stopped chasing his stuff and will just enjoy what I have accumulated. As a result I've started a couple small PCs to replace BC with and Blake Speers is one of them.

I really enjoyed his efforts at the 2017 WJHC and he looked really good last fall with the Devils and actually made the opening night line up. I suspect he will make it again this year but perhaps will manage to stick it out this time for the whole season. He's a very tenacious player who does very well at both ends of the ice and has lots of speed which seems to be the direction the Devils are going with their rebuild which makes him a perfect second/third line player.

16-17 Upper Deck Blake Speers Young Gun

 What every PC needs if the card exists is a Young Gun version. I don't have the acetate version yet but they are out there. I'd be willing to make a trade for one if anyone has one to part with.

15-16 Leaf Heroes and Prospects Blake Speers Prospect Auto /80

 Also who could start a PC without an autograph of the player? This one is fun because it's him in a Greyhounds jersey and represents him prior to being in the NHL.

There you have it a couple to kick off a minor PC. I do have a couple more I will share but those will come at a later date! Thanks for stopping by.

15-16 Trilogy Signature Pucks Nikita Kucherov Auto

It is difficult in today's era to "miss" a rookie when you look at the sheer number of autos and rookies the card companies pump out with each set but sometimes a star slips through the cracks. One classic example is Jonathan Quick. Try and find one of his rookies, you will see a few out there and the prices are insane on them. Try and find his auto rookie and you will find none. The reason is he's in so few sets and some of those sets have very small print runs making it difficult to land his cards because there is so much competition for them. 

Nikita Kucherov isn't exactly at the same level, but his rookies are relatively limited and there are no auto rookies that were printed during his rookie year. What makes that crazy is you look at some of the other auto rookies from that particular year 13-14 and you are left wondering wtf? Kucherov was a second round pick so there were some expectations but both Panini and Upper Deck didn't track him down or include him in any of their autograph sets/subsets. Since then Upper Deck had him sign some Young Guns for their buyback set but it still isn't the same.

It would be two seasons before Kucherov's auto would be available in packs and even this one below was in there was a redemption. It seems the card companies aren't the only ones at fault as Mr. Kucherov might be difficult to reach too. When this redemption finally arrived I was pleased to see it as I have grown into quite a fan while following the Tampa Bay Lightning and the best part is we may not have seen his ceiling as of yet! After scoring 30 goals this past season, Kucherov light up the playoffs scoring 11 goals in 17 games. I honestly see him settling into a 35-40 goal and 75 point per season kind of player and when combined with all the other Tampa talent, this is a team that will go far. 

15-16 Trilogy Signature Pucks Nikita Kucherov Auto

The puck signing things started back in the old Sweet Shot sets and it looks like it's here to stay in the Trilogy sets. While I'd love to have an auto rookie, not having access to any true ones, this card certainly is a nice consolation prize. I like that there are no stickers here but I am willing to guess that he likely signed a pile of "pucks" and then they were glued into place when they arrived at Upper Deck. Either way, I still like this card and perhaps I will land myself a more traditional auto of Nikita Kucherov some time in the future! Thanks for stopping by, my next post will be a mystery I was faced with and recently solved thanks to a follow collector!

Happy Belated Birthday To The Devils Greatest Coach...

Leading all head coaches in Devils history with wins it's Jacques Lemaire with 276 wins in the regular season plus a Stanley Cup in 1995 as head coach. As much as I loved all the Devils Cup wins, the first one was probably the most memorable and important as it turned our franchise from a Mickey Mouse one to a legitimate organization. This past week was Jacques' 71st birthday and I hope he is having a good time as the Special Assignment Coach with the Leafs. 

2012-13 ITG Forever Rivals Autos Jacques Lemaire

Oddly missing from my collection for a very long time was Lemaire's auto. I have autos from pretty much every member of that Cup winning team except the head coach (perhaps a few others I really should check). I came across this about 7-8 months ago at the LCS when the owner said he got a huge binder of these in and was looking to move them. I'm sure I could have found a home for all of them but this was the only one I bought. Now that I have this one crossed off, it takes care of part of my HOF project with him and my informal "let's get all the '95 Devils autos".

The card itself is a nice on card auto in red ink. I don't have many red ink autos but given it's the main colour for the Devils and Habs I believe it's very appropriate to use it on this card. In all this was a very well done product by ITG despite no license. As the years have gone by I have been less and less into ITG for reasons I am not too sure of. Leaf seems to be running the ship and oddly I see less and less of their stuff in the LCS and in the media in general. Have you noticed that too? Or is it just where I live and it's more prevalent in the USA now? I'm curious to hear your thoughts and as always, thanks for stopping by.

10-11 Certified Red Pernell Karl Subban Auto Rookie /250

About 5 years ago I wrote Pernell asking for an autograph. Sadly he didn't feel I was worth the time or effort so I am not going to pump up his tires here either.

10-11 Certified Red Pernell Karl Subban Auto Rookie /250

I may have lost the card and time I put into my TTM request, but in the end I got my auto regardless thanks to the internet and despite my bad TTM experience, I still like this card because its a pretty cool modern design.

97-98 BAP Joe Thornton Auto "Rookie"

So with the playoff now underway and nearly all teams have played at least one game, my sentimental favourite to win the Cup is Joe Thornton. Don't get my wrong there are a few other teams I would like to see win the Stanley Cup over the Sharks (namely Chicago (my second team), Panthers (I enjoy their rise to success), Nashville (Ryan Ellis) ) but Joe has always been there in the NHL working hard and has done much of it with a level of class and professionalism (if you don't mind forgetting about Hertl's four goal game).

One project that has really hit the backburner is my attempt at all 250 cards in the 97-98 BAP autograph set. At the moment I am about half way there with a few of the big names missing and in the last year I was able to cross one off and with the Sharks winning last night I felt it was a good time to share this one.

97-98 BAP Joe Thornton Auto

I use the term "rookie" in quotes because while this card is from his rookie season, during the 90's it was very common for companies to try and poach rookies before they were rookies in the NHL. The most classic case is Eric Lindros but many others were poached by Upper Deck thanks to their license with Team Canada.

This is my second Thornton auto, my first is on coaster of his Junior B team thanks to an ex-girlfriend who was a high school buddy of Joe's. I like this card a great deal because it has his old number 6 on it and it helps me get one step closer to completely my set.

For those of you who's teams are no longer in contention, do you have any back up teams or sentimental favourites for this post-season?

A Pair of Killer Blueliner Autos

Growing up in the 90's provided me a chance to see the game of hockey change drastically. In the early 90's a point a game player was my mental cutoff between an offensive star and an average player. During the 92-93 season, 69 players scored 75 points or more that season giving nearly all of them a point a game average. Eric Lindros had 75 point in 61 games that year and Gary Roberts had 79 points in 58 games. Even Kelly Kisio who wasn't known as a superstar had 78 points in 78 games. By the end of the 90's, the 98-99 season would only see 15 players score 75 points or more and the scoring would never be much higher than that going forward. Even this season with the final week getting underway, we have 8 players who have 75 points and the potential for a couple more but that's about it.

What has not changed however for the past couple decades is the importance of having a defenseman who can make a difference at both ends of the ice and that is what today's post is all about. One of the best defenseman of all-time in Al MacInnis and one of the best in today's game with Victor Hedman.

2013-14 Titanium Game Worn Gear Auto Al MacInnis /50

Al MacInnis will always be remembered in my head as a Calgary Flame but I am more than willing to accept him as a St. Louis Blue too since he spent 10 seasons there. Al scored 10 goals or more 19 times which is very impressive and it would have been 20 probably had there not been a lockout shortened season in 94-95. Al is without a doubt one of the biggest reasons the Flames won the Stanley Cup in 1989 and he was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after leading the NHL in postseason scoring with 31 points in just 22 games.

2013-14 Titanium Game Worn Gear Auto Victor Hedman /50

Victor Hedman and the Tampa Bay Lightning made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals last year and fell just short to the Chicago Blackhawks. Even with a healthy Tyler Johnson and co it's hard to say they would have had enough in the tank to take Chicago but it definitely would have been a closer series. During the postseason of 2015, Victor Hedman was a rock and he played some of the best hockey of his career. Statistically, he averaged nearly 24 minutes per game and finished 4th in assists with 13 during the Stanley Cup playoffs. He was also second in +/- with 11 just behind Conn Smythe winner Duncan Keith.

Al MacInnis had one of those careers that most people envy and any rookie starting in the NHL would love to live. Victor is just part way through his and how well it will end only time will tell. At the beginning this year it looked like Tampa could be a force to be reckoned with and for periods of time this season I would say it's true.However in the past couple days it looks like they will be making the attempt at a second straight Stanley Cup Finals without their marquee sniper Steven Stamkos who is out with a blood clot for a period of 1-3 months which could very well mean we have seen the last of him in a Lightning uniform. Thankfully for Lightning fans, Hedman is under contract for one more season before he too will hit the market as a UFA.

1996-97 Donruss Canadian Ice Mario Lemieux Auto /1200

Ages ago I made a small trade I regretted. In the trade I gave up two cards (one being my Lemieux autograph) I really liked so I could add a pile of cards that were OK and one decent card. I did it mostly to be nice but if I could do it all again I wouldn't. With that being said, I am sure some others have done similar trades with me so I guess it's the Universe balancing itself out or something like that. Anyway, Happy New Year all and what better way is there to start a new year than the see the Magnificent One?

1996-97 Donruss Canadian Ice Mario Lemieux Auto /1200

This golden foiled beauty is a very nice card in person, even if the scan disagrees with that statement. A nice on-card auto done with a (fine tipped felt pen?). You can actually see the impression of the signature in the card which I think is neat given today's day and age of sharpies and stickers. Thanks to a 90's release date and relatively high production run I was able to land this for a very affordable price and I definitely plan on keeping this one for a long time or until I do something stupid again! 

You will probably see this card again at a later date as it complete my Lemieux HOF trifecta and I hope to get back to those posts again because I have completed several over the past year. Thanks for stopping by and Happy New Year once again. I hope your year is filled with loads of cool additions to your person PCs and the best of health and happiness!

13-14 Artifacts Emerald Brett Connolly Team Canada /8

After a very long and much needed break to begin getting things taken care of I feel that I might be ready to come back and continue sharing my adventures and sharing in those of others. Thank you very much to all those who wrote me and have stayed in contact a variety of different ways including sending along PWEs (yes I am looking in your direction Jeff, thank you very very much).

I plan on easing myself back into this possibly with a post every few days but the truth is I probably will post whenever I feel like it and that will be possibly more frequent! I have loads of new additions and fun things to have shared that have happened to me in the collecting side of things over the past few months.

To kick things off, why not go with 2 of my three collecting loves. Brett Connolly and Team Canada. If only the Devils would make a play for this kid and offer Boston a young defenseman!

13-14 Artifacts Emerald Brett Connolly Team Canada /8

While the emerald foil has never been a love of mine, I think it isn't bad on this card. The patch piece is just fantastic. You may not see it that well but there is gold peaking out in the bottom right portion of the watch. Brett's auto features his number 8 from playing in junior and I am guessing UD used up all his 28 signature stickers on the UD Team Canada set.

This card was one I had been watching for quite a while and when the price creeped down to a reasonable number I threw them an even more reasonable BO and it was accepted! If only a couple others could do the same.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone who's kept checking out my blog and at least allowed the old hit count to grow slightly and those who may have discovered my blog in my absence. I hope to keep you all coming back and thank you for your patience!

Dave

14-15 Artifacts Gold Spectrum Evgeny Kuznetsov Patch Auto Rookie /3

Let's file this under reasons why you should ALWAYS go to your LCS on a regular basis. I stopped by a while back and just went to chat with the owner about this and that and as we were talking I spotted the below card in the showcase:


14-15 Artifacts Gold Spectrum Evgeny Kuznetsov Patch Auto Rookie /3

I was awestruck. The patches were fantastic, the signature is good and numbered 1/3!! That's pure ebay 1/1 gold! So to top it all off, he's a decent prospect and a rookie I've been looking to possibly add to the collection. The price....less than 2 packs of Artifacts! I know that's a lot of exclamation points but truth be told, they were totally warranted!

What to do with this card? I know I can sell it and make a handsome profit, I know I could trade it and probably do well there too. But for the meantime, I think I'm just going to enjoy it. I asked the owner how he came across this card and he said that the guy who pulled it buys packs all the time and usually just leaves stuff behind in exchange for more packs. I guess there are collectors like that out there but given the cost of the card, he probably wouldn't have been able to trade it for much which boggles this blogger's mind.

Kuznetsov had his first full NHL season this year and finished up with 11 goals, 26 assists and 37 points in 80 games. He then put another 5 in the net during this past post-season and was electric at times. While his numbers seem small, taking time to adjust to the NHL is expected and of all the top 10 players in rookie scoring, Evgeny had the second fewest average time on ice per game behind Kevin Hayes. But towards the end of the season, Kuznetsov put up a very respectable 13 points in his final 16 games. I believe there will be a bright future in the NHL for this particular Russian and hopefully Ovi will help him blossom into a superstar.

12-13 ITG Superlative III Glenn Hall Jersey Auto /30

Well this is probably my last post for the year, but don't worry a new one should be a few days away! I do want to end the year on a great note so here is a nice card I added to my collection this year. 

12-13 ITG Superlative III Glenn Hall Jersey Auto /30

This isn't my first card from the set. I added a really nice Tretiak one a year or two ago which made getting this one much easier knowing it would be a quality product. This card gets two points in my HOF project because it features a game used swatch from his Blues days and a very nice on-card auto.  In case you aren't too familiar with Mr Hall, he is without a doubt one of the NHL greats and his consecutive games streak for a goalie will never be broken. Here is a great little bio on him that I would just be ripping off if I tried it myself.

It was a great year for my collection, made new friends and lots more trades. I have a great trade story for you in the new year which was an international one and I look forward to sharing that story! It was a sad year too as Panini lost its NHL rights for one reason or another. While their time was short, they weren't afraid to take chances and some were amazing and other were flops. I hope Upper Deck uses this to help inform them in the future for their releases because even though they have exclusive rights, we as collectors decide if we want to buy the product or not! I am curious to see what is coming out in the new year, I still haven't seen a product that speaks to me yet but I am hopeful for 2015. ITG will always be there I hope and at the very least we can see products like Superlative out there putting a tiny bit of pressure on UD to hold high standards and not get lazy!

I wish everyone out there a fantastic 2015 and I hope to have a chance to meet many of you someday!

12-13 The Cup Enshrinements Dale Hawerchuk Auto /50

Picked up three cards from one guy on HI and this is the second of three with the first being the Jagr booklet. 

The card is very much like Dale Hawerchuk's career in my opinion. It isn't very flashy but man it is beautiful. The more you look at it, the minor details jump out at you and you just are in awe. The foil front his just enough luster to draw your attention but it isn't over powering. The photos are great, you almost envision one is from his rookie/draft year and the other action shot is from the midpoint of his career when he was putting up HOF numbers. The autograph is featured in a nice spot with the signature being on card. Lastly, it is numbered to 50 which puts it well within most people's budget but still won't be found in the dollar bin someday. 

12-13 The Cup Enshrinements Dale Hawerchuk Auto /50

Most of my readers know Dale is definitely among one of my favourite players of all-time and while he didn't sign his number on the card (the only flaw I could find), it is a very nice auto and on par with the quality his signature usually can be found in.

I don't know if someone busted a tin of The Cup and was happy or sad to find this in there, but I personally am very pleased to add this to my other Hawerchuk cards!

14-15 Upper Deck Team Canada Juniors John Quenneville Patch Auto /199

Well it is that time of year again and as much as I love Christmas, I nearly equally love the WJHC! Sadly one of our top prospects didn't get an invite to join the team, but that doesn't mean he won't get some love here!

John Quenneville, yes he is related to THAT guy and former Devil Joel Quenneville who is apparently a cousin!

14-15 Upper Deck Team Canada Juniors John Quenneville Patch Auto /199

Not entirely sure why this is a "patch" but I suspect maybe at the U18 tournament they used jerseys that were not patched but rather sublimated. I am really sure either way, but fact is he is a kid of the future and this was a nice add to my collection! The auto is stickered but UD did a great job there and the swatch is at least 2 coloured but I suspect there might be some better swatches on the market. I am curious to see what happens with John but early reports is he could be as good as Adam Henrique which as many of you know is a PC of mine and I would be very fine with those predictions!

Look what eBay bought me

I miss the old eBay program which used to kick 2 percent back to the buyers so they could get more "value" out of their purchases. I don't know if my American friends still have that option but they killed the program in Canada which was very sad. Well this past summer they did have a deal to entice sellers to list. If I posted something for sale, eBay was going to give me a 10 dollar credit. If I sold it within a certain time period I would get another 10 dollars. Not bad huh? Well, I posted up a card, it didn't sell so I got 10 bucks in credit. I ended up just buying a few low end cards I normally wouldn't have purchased rather than save 10 bucks off something expensive. The highlight was an auto I have been wanting for a while in the best uniform of all!

96-97 BAP Dave Andreychuk Auto Silver

Here is a silver version of a Dave Andreychuk auto. Nothing fancy or special here just a former NHL great, hopefully a HOF'er some day and his on card auto. This beauty serves as a reminder of when he was a member of Lou's team and I was hoping he would net 50 for us. His first season and a bit with us was good. He scored 35 goals and 74 points in 97 games. Sadly injuries mounted and he never got back to that level for us during his final 2 years and in 1999 he was gone. He would resurrect his career in Tampa and win a Cup in his second last season.

Thanks eBay for this and a couple other cards and I do hope you are able to give me a few more in the future!

94-95 UD Electric Ice Scott Stevens Auto

Sometimes you see something that is totally worth the chance and that happened a few weeks back for me. I saw an auction for the card in this post and the bidding started at 99 cents. Based on the scan I felt good about the auto and the seller had an excellent reputation so I left my max at 99 cents and waited to see what would happen.

Well it arrived and I was very very pleased. First off, the card itself is very cool looking and I love the "electric ice" effect. When you add a very clean and legit auto (IMO) you get pure gold for under a dollar. Most of Scott's autos will run you in the 15-25 range and he isn't possible to get TTM so I am very happy with this score.


94-95 UD Electric Ice Scott Stevens Auto

Great scene here, Stevens Auto, falling Sundin and Marty making a save! What more could a Devils fan want?

13/14 The Cup Foundations - Martin Brodeur Auto /15

I almost never trade vintage for modern cards. Not that I have anything against modern cards because I am one of those rare collectors who do BOTH. But because I always trade vintage with a little more respect because I find modern cards are starting to really blend together. After from a rookie, how many patch autos do I really need of the same player? What is the difference between a swatch from a player's third year and their 9th year? So as a result this trade might seem a little unusual for me, but it was one I couldn't pass up!


13/14 The Cup Foundations - Martin Brodeur Auto /15

My collection has taken a beating lately with many cards going out the window to collectors for other cards. This trade was a simple 1 for 1. Out was my 86/87 Topps Patrick Roy rookie which was in such amazing shape I have long considered grading it because it was at least a 9 in my books. But, in comes one of a million Marty autos but one that is relatively low in a print run, features nice swatches and is an on-card auto. This is my third Marty auto and I think it is fantastic. Colours are sharp and bright and the signature is positioned very well. I do not regret the trade but I was sad to see my second Roy rookie disappear. Some day, I will get another one back and half the fun in the chase to find it.

R.I.P Pat Quinn

Sad to hear today about the passing of a great Team Canada Coach. I didn't care for Pat much during his Leafs days but I think that mostly had to do more with the team and less with him. But in 2002 he put Marty in goal and the rest was history and he won me over. He would go on to win a few more Team Canada gold and cement himself as a winner. I bought his rookie a few months back and I will need to add it to this post later. But in the meantime, I will appreciate this autograph that much more.

Player Prospecting - Nick Bjugstad

Player prospecting is one of the things I enjoy most about the hobby. Being able to say you were collecting the player before they hit it big is loads of fun for me and in some ways I enjoy seeing the "value" of some of my cards increase (even though I don't sell many). This post is about a kid I see being a star in the league someday, Nick Bjugstad.


2014-15 Upper Deck Young Gun

A staple in many people's collection is their player's Young Gun. I have gotten away from this with some players opting for more "value" but this one was a throw in with the next card so it was hard to say no.


2013-14 SP Game Used Rookie Auto Gold

The rookie auto golds are pretty fun and always a great value. Many times you can find these for a hair more than the pack of the basic Upper Deck cards. I was pleased that I landed both for basically that price.



2013/14 Select Auto Rookie /399

This past season I was a huge fan of Select. You get auto rookies for a Young Gun price. The print run is also very nice usually /399 which makes them much more rare than Young Guns too. I will miss this product this season but I will be on the look out for a replacement.

So what makes Nick so special? Hockey's Future has him ranked as a 7.5 which is a pretty decent score and shows he has solid potential.Nick lead the Panthers in scoring last season despite being a rookie and he even finished in the 5 in rookie scoring despite playing for a team that scored the second fewest goals in the NHL. This season he has experienced a bit of a sophomore slump which happens but I hope to see him bounce out of it by the end of the season.

Another Wayne Autograph

I hope you didn't come here thinking it was another Gretzky auto because you will be saddened. However, it is another Wayne who was a WHA star and an all round pretty awesome minor league player Wayne Connelly. No relation to Brett Connolly as they spell their names differently and all but still a star in his own right.



ITG 1972 The Year in Hockey - Wayne Connelly Auto

Picked this up in the spring for $1.50 and that isn't bad for an on-card auto of a former NHL and WHA player. As far as accomplishments go, Wayne scored a career high 35 goals in the NHL and hit 40 twice in the WHA. He also scored 45 goals in the WHL with the San Francisco Seals. While he never was able to put together a consistent career in the NHL, he did very well in the WHA averaging over 30 goals a year and finishing with 329 points in 366 WHA regular season games.