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.