Mid Movember pickups

Joel Quenneville and Lindy Ruff

Panini has managed to release some interesting autograph subsets, this being one of my favourites.  I always thought there would be a demand for coach autographs and the market for these has been strong.  Quenneville and Ruff are not only successful but both have NHL experience as players on their resumes.  Coach Q, who won the Stanley Cup in 2010, played in over 800 games with Toronto, the Colorado Rockies, New Jersey, Hartford and Washington.  Ruff split his lengthy NHL career between Buffalo and the New York Rangers.

Dustin Tokarski and Alexander Pechurski

Tokarski won a Memorial Cup in 2008 and then a Gold Medal with team Canada World Juniors in 2009.  He played 2 NHL games in 2010 and appeared in a handful of games in 11/12.  Pchurski(y) was an emergency call up by Pittsburgh in January 2010 who actually played over half the game when started John Curry let in 5 goals.  He became the first Russian goaltender to play for the Penguins.  That game will, in all likely hood, be his first and only in the NHL.

Dave Hunter and Maksim Mayorov

Dave Hunter, brother of Dale and Mark, won 3 Stanley Cups as an Oiler in the 1980s.  He also played for the Winnipeg Jets and Pittsburgh Penguins.  Mayorov has played 22 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets, scoring 2 goals and 3 points.   

Francis Wathier and Geoff Platt

This 11/12 UD Artifacts Francis Wathier auto-facts is and interesting hockey card as its Wathier's first and currently only autograph.  The strange thing about it?  Well Wathier received his RCs way back in 09/10 and has since only played 3 NHL games, which begs the question why Upper Deck would go out of their way to obtain his autographs, not having used any during his RC year as with most commons.  Its cards like this that I keep me carefully checking every new autograph checklist for first time signers.  He's played a total of 9 games for the Dallas Stars, he's only notable stat being a fight with Mike Brown.  Geoff Platt made his NHL debut with the 05/06 Columbus Blue Jackets.  He played 41 games for the team over 2 seasons, scoring 14 points.  He also appeared in 5 games for the 07/08 Anaheim Ducks.

Maxime Fortunus, Andreas Engqvist and Korbinian Holzer

Fortunus played 9 games for the 09/10 Dallas Stars.  He had started his pro career as an undrafted 20 year old in the ECHL in 2004.  Engqvist has played 14 games for the Montreal Canadiens.  Holzer appeared in 2 games for the 10/11 Leafs but remains a solid prospect.