More July Mail: Fukufuji

Yutaka Fukufuji

Fukufuji made hockey history in 2007 when he became the first Japanese citizen to play in the NHL.  He only appeared in 4 NHL games for the LA Kings but will forever be an important name in NHL history. 

Edgar Laprade

Laprade won the 1946 Calder Trophy, 1950 Lady Byng and scored 280 points in his 500 NHL games, all with the New York Rangers.  He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993. 

Blake Geoffrion and Robert Bortuzzo

Geoffrion holds an interesting place in NHL history, becoming the first 4^th generation player to play in the leage.  His great-grandfather, grandfather, and father all played in the NHL.  He won the 2010 Hobey Baker trophy and has played only a handful of NHL games, recently being traded to the Habs, the same team his forefathers played for.  Bortuzzo played 6 games for the 11/12 Pittsburgh Penguins.

 David Rundblad and John McCarthy

Rundblad was drafted 17^th overall by the Blues in 2009 but never played for the team.  He played 30 games in 11/12 between the Ottawa Senators and Pheonix Coyotes, scoring 1 goal and 7 points.  He was involved in the trade that brought Kyle Turris to the Senators.  McCarthy has played over 50 games for the San Jose Sharks and has scored 2 goals.

Theo Peckham

Peckham made his NHL debut for the Oilers in 06/07 but only receives his first autograph card this year.  He’s a scrapper who has become a permanent member of the Oilers and recently signed a new contract with the team. 

Grant Mulvey

Mulvey kept my index and sent me this signed 8x10 instead, a little harder to store but a nice looking autograph none the less.  He played over 500 NHL games, most with the Blackhawks but ended his career as a New Jersey Devil.  He set a franchise record in Chicago in 1982 when he scored 7 points in one game on February 3. 

Art Chisholm

Art Chisholm played 3 games for the 60/61 Boston Bruins on an amateur tryout contract. 

Fred Berry

Berry played 3 games for the 76/77 Detroit Red Wings. 

Dan Labraaten

Dan Labraaten first came to North America in 1976 to play for the WHA’s Winnipeg Jets.  He played two seasons in Winnipeg before leaving for the NHL.  In 268 games between Detroit and Calgary he scored 71 goals and 144 points. 

Bill Lecaine

Bill Lecaine played 4 games for the 68/69 Pittsburgh Penguins.

Pat Richter

An NFL player in a hockey mail post?  Richter played 8 seasons in the NFL for the Redskins.  He goes into my “oddball” autograph binder of hockey because his son is Barry Richter, an NHLer who played for the Rangers, Bruins, Islanders and Canadiens.

Tommy O’Connell

Tommy O’Connell played 5 NFL seasons.  His connection to the NHL is also through blood as his son Mike was a long time NHL player and General Manager. 

Early/Mid 90s Card Collection 2

Rob Murray and Jim Mathieson

Starting in 1989 Rob Murray played parts of two seasons for the Washington Capitals.  From 1991 to their move in 1996 Murray played 30+ games for the Jets.  He ended his career by playing a few games for the Phenix Coyotes.  Currently a head coach in the ECHL Murray once held the AHL all-time penalty minute record with 2940.  Mathieson played 2 games for the 89/90 Washington Capitals. 

Terran Sandwith and Mark Kolesar

A second round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1990, Sandwith’s only NHL action came with the 97/98 Edmonton Oilers.  From 1995-1997 Mark Kolesar played 28 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs scoring 2 goals and 4 points.  He also scored a goal in the 95/96 playoffs. 

Mark Astley and David Cooper

Mark Astley spent a couple seasons in the mid 90s patrolling the blue line for the Sabres.  He was a member of the silver medal winning 1994 Canadian Olympic team.  Cooper amassed 10 points in his 30 game NHL career, all with the Maple Leafs.  He had been the 11^th overall pick by the Sabres in 1992. 

Glen Sharpley and Dan Keczmer

Sharpley had a few solid seasons in the NHL before his career was ended at only 25 when he suffered a stick to his eye and lost its sight.  I recommend this hockey new article about his career.  Keczmer played 200+ NHL games dressing for the North Stars, Whaler, Flames, Stars and Predators. 

David Haas and Lindsay Vallis

Haas played 5 games for the 90/91 Edmonton Oilers and 2 for the 93/94 Calgary Flames.  Vallis appeared in a single game for the 93/94 Montreal Canadiens. 

Brent Thompson and Geordie Kinnear

Thompson was recently hired as an assistant coach with the New York Islanders.  He played over 120 NHL games between the LA Kings, Winnipeg Jets and Pheonix Coyotes.  Kinnear played 4 games for the 99/00 Atlanta Thrashers. 

Paxton Schulte and Jeff Lank

Schulte played 1 game for the 93/94 Quebec Nordiques and 1 game for the 96/97 Calgary Flames.  He became a star player in Britain and his jersey number was retired by the Belfast Giants.  Lank played 2 games for the 99/00 Philadelphia Flyers. 

Al Hill and Tony Horacek

From 1976-1988 Al Hill played over 200 games for the Philadelphia Flyers.  He scored 16 goals for the team in 79/80.  You can read here how he holds an interesting place in hockey history.  In his NHL debut back in 76 he racked up 2 goals, 3 assists and a fight.  Tony Horacek played 150+ NHL games between Philadelphia and Chicago. 

Jim Hiller and Geoff Smith

Hiller played one year in the NHL.  In 1992/93 he suited up for 60+ games between the LA Kings and Detroit Red Wings.  After netting a respectable 20 points that year his only other taste in the league was, in 93/94, a 2 game appearance for the Rangers, who went on to win the Cup that season.  Hiller is doing an excellent job as a head coach in the WHL and could soon be back in the NHL, this time behind the bench.  Geoff Smith played just under 500 NHL games, most between Edmonton and Florida.  He also dressed for the New York Rangers.  He was fortunate enough, as a rookie, to be a member of the 89/90 Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers, getting his name inscribed on the trophy.

Mark Visheau and Paul Brousseau

Visheau played 1 game for the 93/94 Winnipeg Jets and 28 for the 98/99 LA Kings.  Just after he earned that spot on the Kings roster his career was ended by injury.  He later sued the doctors for 30 million dollars in damages due to the way it was handled but lost the suit. Google Visheau vs Centinela for more information on the incident.  Brousseau appeared in 26 NHL games between the Avalanche, Lightning and most recently the 00/01 Panthers. 

Chris Kontos and Juha Lind

Over 10 years Kontos had an interesting NHL career while amassing 123 points in 230 regular season games between the Rangers, Penguins, Kings and Lightning.  In only 20 career playoff games he has 11 goals.  During the 88/89 postseason he scored 9 goals in only 11 playoff games with Los Angeles.  In his last NHL season, 92/93, he placed third in team scoring on the brand new Tampa Bay franchise, netting 27 goals and 51 points.  He left the league the following season to play international hockey, winning a 1994 Olympic Silver medal with Canada.  Read this great article from the hockey new about his full career.  Juha Lind spent a couple years in both Dallas and Montreal. 

Viktor Gordijuk and Arto Blomsten

From 1992-1995 Gordijuk played 26 games for the Sabres scoring 3 goals and 11 points.  From 1993-1996 Blomsten played 25 NHL games, 6 for the LA kings and the rest with Winnipeg. 

Lee Sorochan and Brad Tiley

Sorochan played 2 games for the Calgary Flames in 98/99 and 1 for them in 99/00.  He won a World Juniors gold medal with Canada in 1995.  Brad Tiley played 9 games for the Pheonix Coyotes in the late 90s and 2 for the 00/01 Flyers. 

Sean Whyte and Sami Helenius

Sean Whyte played 21 games for the LA Kings in the early 90s and picked up 2 assists.  The career of Sami Helinius lasted 150+ games as he traveled with Calgary, Tampa Bay, Colorado, Dallas and Chicago. 

Brian Sullivan and Tim Tookey

Sullivan played 2 games for the 92/93 New Jersey Devils.  In his short career of 100+ NHL games Tim Tookey suited up for Washington, Quebec, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. 

Wayne Cowley and Andrei Trefilov

Cowley played one game for the Oilers in 94/95.  He made 35 saves but let in 3 goals and was credited with a loss.  Trefilov played a number of NHL games between Calgary, Buffalo and Chicago. 

Mike O’Neill and Shawn Simpson

Between 1991 and 1994 O’Neill appeared in 20 games for the Winnipeg Jets.  Of those he is credited with 0 wins and 9 losses. He also played part of a game for the 96/97 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.  Shawn Simpson is an oddball and goes into my “backup only” binder.  He sat on then bench on multiple occasions for the Washington Capitals. 

Mark Wotton and Ed Chynoweth

Wotton played 42 games for the Vancouver Canucks over three seasons in the mid 90s.  He also played 1 game for the 00/01 Dallas Stars.  Chynoweth was president of the CHL for many years and was inducted into the HHOF in 2008.  It goes into my ‘oddball’ binder.  

Early/Mid 90s Card Collection 1

The next two posts will contain autographed cards that I recently picked from a collection that dates to the early-mid 90s.  At the time there was an AHL team in town and this autograph hound was able to acquire some interesting signatures from visiting and home team players.  

Don McSween and Scott Metcalfe

McSween made his NHL debut with the 87/88 Buffalo Sabres.  He would play 9 games for the Sabres through two seasons.  The newly founded Anaheim Mighty Ducks signed him in 1994 and he played 38 career games for the franchise.  Metcalfe was the first round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 1985.  He would go onto play 2 games for the Oilers, both in 87/88, and then 17 games for the Sabres after being traded later that season. 

Roman Oksiuta and Harijs Vitolins

Roman Oksiuta, from 1992-1997, played 150+ NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins.  He scored a notable 46 goals and 87 points over that span.  Vitolins collected 0 points, only 4 penalty minutes, in his 8 game NHL career for the 93/94 Winnipeg Jets. 

Dave Tomlinson and Mike Stevens

Tomlinson played half a dozen games for the Maple Leafs in the early 90s, 31 games for the 93/94 Winnipeg Jets and 5 games for the 94/95 Florida Panthers.  The younger brother of HOFer Scott Stevens, Mike only appeared in 23 NHL games.  He suited up for the Canucks, Bruins, Islanders and Leafs. 

Trevor Sim and Ken Lovsin

Trevor Sim played 3 games for Edmonton Oilers in 1989/90, the team would go onto win the Stanley Cup late that year.  Lovsin played a single game for the 1990/91 Washington Capitals. 

Ravil Gusmanov and Alexander Kerch

Gusmanov appeared in 4 games with the 95/96 Winnipeg Jets.  Kerch played 5 games for the Edmonton Oilers in 1993/94. 

Mark Freer and Brad Shaw

Freer played 120+ games between Philadelphia, Ottawa and Calgary.  He’s best year was a 24 point season for the newly established Senators in 92/93.  Shaw was a steady defenseman who played a few seasons for both Hartford and Ottawa.  He also dressed for Washington and St. Louis towards the end of his nearly 400 game NHL career.  He went into coaching after retirement and was bench boss of the New York Islanders for part of the 05/06 season. 

Rob Laird and Alan Hepple

Laird played one game for the 79/80 Minnesota North Stars, he’s currently a scout for the LA Kings and after 18 years with the team he finally got his Stanley Cup this year.  Hepple played 3 games for the New Jersey Devils in 3 different seasons.  He played a game for the team in 83/84, 84/85 and 85/86. 

Peter Fiorentino and Martin Simard

Fiorentino played one game for the 91/92 New York Rangers.  He was a tough customer who saw three straight 300+ penalty minute seasons in the pros.  Simard was a member of the Calgary Flames for a couple seasons in the early 90s and played 7 games for the inaugural Tampa Bay Lightning team of 92/93. 

Zdenek Nedved and Igor Chibirev

Nedved collected 10 points through 31 games for the Leafs from 1995-1997.  Chibirev spent 3 seasons in North America, playing 45 games for the Hartford Whalers from 1993-95. 

Ed Kastelic and Chris Govedaris

Kastelic played parts of 3 years in Washington for Capitals in the late 80s, he then joined the Whalers and spent 3 full seasons in Hartford.  Govedaris was Hartford’s first round pick, 11^th overall, in 1988.  He only played a handful of games for the Whalers and later the Maple Leafs. 

John Carter and Chris Winnes

Carter played a couple full seasons for the Bruins and one for the San Jose Sharks.  Winnes appeared in 29 games for the Bruins and 4 for the Flyers in 93/94.

Ladislav Karabin and Grigori Panteleev

Karabin went pointless through 9 games for the 93/94 Pittsburgh Penguins.  Panteleev dressed for 50 games in his career with the Boston Bruins, scoring 8 goals and 14 points.  He went scoreless through an additional 4 games for the 95/96 New York Islanders. 

Mario Doyon and Stephane Morin

Doyon’s rookie season was a 7 game stint for the 88/89 Chicago Blackhawks.  His whole NHL career would only last another 21 games with the Nordiques from 1989-91.  In 90 career NHL games between the Nordiques and Canucks Morin scored 16 goals and 55 points.  He died suddenly in 1998 while playing pro hockey in Germany. 

Sergei Petrenko and Alexei Kudashov

Before playing in the NHL Petrenko won an Olympic Gold Medal with team Russia in 1992.  He played 14 games for the 93/94 Buffalo Sabres.  Kudashov played in 25 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 93/94, scoring only 1 goal.  He was captain of the 2012 Dynamo Moscow KHL champions who won the Gagarin Cup. 

Terry Hollinger and Scott Ferguson

Defenseman Terry Hollinger played 7 games for the St. Louis Blues from 1993-1995.  Ferguson made his NHL debut for the Edmonton Oilers in 97/98, only playing in the one game that season.  He played 2 games for the Mighty Ducks the following year but was then relegated to the minors for a couple seasons.  He re-entered the NHL with the Oilers in 2000 and remained a member of the club until the lockout.  His last taste in the league was in 05/06, playing 15 games for the Minnesota Wild. 

Len Esau and Patrik Augusta

In 27 career NHL games Esau was well traveled in Canada suiting up for the Leafs, Nordiques, Flames and Oilers.  Augusta played 2 games for the 93/94 Leafs and 2 for the 98/99 Washington Capitals. 

Chad Penney and Dmitri Filimonov

Newfoundlander Chad Penney played 3 games for the 1993/94 Ottawa Senators.  Filimonov’s entire 30 game NHL career was for the same team.  The defenseman  scored a goal and 5 points. 

Kevin Wortman and Todd Harkins

Wortman appeared in 5 games for the Calgary Flames in 93/94.  Brother of NHLer Brett Harkins, Todd’s 48 game career came between the Flames and Hartford Whalers.  Harkins was an actor in the movie Miracle and later appeared on the TV show Making the Cut. 

Mike Hurlbut and Rick Bennett

Hurlbut played a handful of games for the New York Rangers in 92/93.  He also had brief stints in the NHL with Quebec and Buffalo.  From 1989-1992 Bennett played 15 games for the New York Rangers and netted a goal.  He’s current head coach of Union College. 

Chris Snell and Todd Hlushko

Snell first NHL experience came with 2 games for the 93/94 Toronto Maple Leafs.  He would play 32 games and collect 9 points for the 94/95 LA Kings.  In 79 NHL games between the Flyers and Flames Hlushko scored 8 goals and 21 points.  He also played 2 playoff games for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 98/99.  He won a silver medal in the 1994 Olympics with Canada.