Hockey Ink In The Mail: August 2013 Mail

With the 57 new autographs acquired since my last post the grand total of unique NHL signatures in my collection now stands at 3,244.

Doug Soetaert and Ty Conklin

I was pleasantly surprised to see Doug Soetaert's name on the newest Between the Pipes autograph checklist. This is his first certified autograph. He played in nearly 300 NHL games and has his name on the Stanley Cup as a member of the 1986 Montreal Canadiens.

Ty Conklin dressed in 200+ NHL games between the Oilers, Blue Jackets, Sabres, Penguins, Red Wings and Blues. He was a member of 3 teams to reach but lose the Stanley Cup finals.

Rick St. Croix and Andre Savard

I was very surprised to see Rick St. Croix have his very first certified autographs in some recent ITG products. He was a backup goalie who played in 141 NHL games between 1977 and 1985. His autograph was rather hard to find and seems to be somewhat limited. He's perhaps most notable for winning a Stanley Cup as the Dallas Star's goalie coach in 1999.

Selected 6th overall by the Boston Bruins in 1973, Andre Savard scored over 200 goals in the NHL. He spent 11 seasons in the league, playing for the Bruins, Sabres and Nordiques.

Jim Pappin and Bob Nevin

Jim Pappin is best remembered as a member of the 1964 and 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup winning teams. He led the Leafs in goals and points during their last Cup win in '67.

Bob Nevin played well over 1000 NHL games between 1957 and 1976. He won 2 Stanley Cups as a Toronto Maple Leaf, in 1962 and 1963.

Jerry Korab and Dave Tippett

Jerry Korab is a 2 time NHL All-Star who played in the league from 1970 to 1985, seeing 1000+ games of action. Panini's Tough Times subset featured a few new signers, Korab being one of them.

Between 1983 and 1994 Dave Tippett played 750+ NHL games. He's also a long time coach and won the 2010 Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. This is currently his only certified autograph.

Marty McSorley and Jarome Iginla

Marty McSorley is one of only 9 players to reach 3000 career penalty minutes in the NHL. He won 2 Stanley Cups as a member of the late 1980's Edmonton Oilers.

Jarome Iginla's hobby value has dropped since leaving Calgary and I was able to pick this one up for just a couple bucks. Iginla's accomplishments are many and include 2 Olympic gold medals and 2 Rocket Richard Trophies as NHL goal scoring leader.

Rick Bowness and Russ Courtnall

Rick Bowness played 178 career NHL games between the Atlanta Flames, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets. He's better known as being a head or assistant coach in the league since retiring as a player in 1984. This is his first and currently only certified autograph. I thought it was the oddest name on ITG's Motown Madness checklist seeing how his only spent 1 season in Detroit as a player.

Russ Courtnall spent a long time in the NHL and retired with well over 1000 games played. He scored 20+ goals in a season 9 times.

Daniel Alfredsson and Martin Erat

Since signing with the Detroit Red Wings, Daniel Alfredsson's cards have taken a price dip and I picked this one up for just a couple dollars. He's a 7 time NHL All-Star who has won the Calder Trophy, King Clancy Trophy and an Olympic Gold medal.

Martin Erat spent 11 seasons with the Nashville Predators before recently being acquired by the Washington Capitals. He has scored 20+ goals in a season 3 times.

Anders Lindback and Ryan Ellis

Swedish goalie Anders Lindback has spent 3 seasons in the NHL, dressing for the Predators and Lightning.

Drafted 11th overall in 2009, Ryan Ellis has already become an full time NHL defenceman with the Predators. As a junior he was a member of 3 straight Canadian World Junior teams, winning a gold and two silvers.

Jussi Timonen

The younger brother of Kimmo Timomen, Jussi played 14 games for the 2006/07 Philadelphia Flyers. This particular card is notable because Timonen has a very limited number of signatures on the market.

Jef Petry and Teddy Purcell

Over the last 3 seasons Jeff Petry has played 156 games for the Edmonton Oilers. His father is former MLB All-Star pitcher Dan Petry.

Former LA King Ted Purcell has broke out as a solid NHL player for Tampa Bay. He scored 24 goals for the 2011/12 Lightning.

Marek Zidlicky and Brooks Orpik

Offensive defenceman Marek Zidlicky has played 9 full seasons in the NHL. He won an olympic bronze medal with Team Czech Republic in 2006. This autograph is notable because Zidlicky has very few certified signatures on the market considering how long he has been an effective player in the league.

Brooks Oprik has spent his entire 9 season NHL career with the Penguins. He helped them win a Stanley Cup in 2009 and then helped Team USA claim a silver medal at the 2010 Olympics.

Mason Raymond and Sami Salo

Mason Raymond has played half a dozen seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. His best year was a 25 goal, 53 point 2009/10 season.

As an Ottawa Senator Sami Salo was named to the NHL's 1999 All-Rookie team. He spent the majority of his career in Vancouver and as a member of Team Finland he has 2 winter Olympic medals, a silver and a bronze.

Andrew MacDonald and Mike Santorelli

Since making his NHL debut for the 2008/09 Islanders, Andrew MacDonald has played 236 for New York.

Mike Santorelli has played 200+ NHL games between the Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers and Winnipeg Jets.

Aaron Palushaj and Jamie Lundmark

Recently signed as a free agent by the Carolina Hurricanes, Aaron Palushaj has split his 66 game NHL career thus far with the Canadiens and Avalanche.

Drafted 9th overall by the Rangers in 1999, Jamie Lundmark is a journey man NHLer. He has played 300+ career NHL games between the Rangers, Coyotes, Flames, Kings and Maple Leafs.

J.T. Brown and Colton Sceviour

J.T. Brown made the jump straight from NCAA to the NHL at the end of the 2011/12 season. He played 5 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning, posting 1 assist.

Colton Sceviour has played 2 games over 2 seasons for the Dallas Stars.

Matt Calvert and Pascal Dupuis

Matt Calvert has scored 20 goals in less than 100 career games for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Veteran Pascal Dupuis has spent a dozen seasons in the NHL. He's a solid secondary scorer who has three seasons of 20+ goals in the league. He won the Stanley Cup as a Pittsburgh Penguin in 2009.

Roman Lyashenko and Karel Rachunek

Roman Lyashenko played 150+ NHL games between the Dallas Stars and New York Rangers. The Russian forward committed suicide as a Ranger and died in 2003.

Karel Rachunek played just shy of 400 NHL games while dressing for the Senators, Rangers and Devils. He died in 2011 when his KHL team's plane crashed.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Kyle Quincey

Marc-Edouard Vlasic has been a staple on the Sharks blueline for 7 seasons. He has played 500+ games for the club that drafted him 35th overall in 2005.

Kyle Quincey has played a few full seasons in the NHL between the Red Wings, Kings and Avalanche. He was a healthy scratch for the Red Wings' team that won the 2008 Stanley Cup and is in their Cup winning team photo but did not get his name engraved on the trophy as he only played half a dozen regular season games for the team that year.

Scott Parker and Lubomir Sekeras

Scott Parker was an NHL enforcer who spent 8 seasons in the league.

Slovak native Lubomir Sekeras got a chance to play in the NHL with the expansion 2000/01 Minnesota Wild. He spent 3 seasons with the team and played 200+ NHL games. He also briefly played for the 2003/04 Dallas Stars.

Reed Low and Samuel Pahlsson

Reed Low was an NHL tough guy who served as the Blues' enforcer from 2000-2004. He last saw time in the NHL for the 2006/07 Chicago Blackhawks.

Samuel Pahlsson won an Olympic Gold medal in 2006 with Team Sweden and a Stanley Cup in 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks.

Peter Svoboda

The first Czech born player to reach 1000 NHL games played, Peter Svoboda won an Olympic gold in 1998 and a Stanley Cup in 1986 with the Montreal Canadiens.

Marco Scandella

Since 2010 Marco Scandella has played in a total of 94 NHL games for the Minnesota Wild. He won a silver medal as a member of Team Canada's World Junior team in 2010.

Steve Baker and Curt Ridley

Steve Baker appeared in 57 games for the New York Rangers over 4 seasons.

Making his NHL debut for the 1974/75 New York Rangers, Curt Ridley played 100+ games in the league between the Rangers, Canucks and Maple Leafs.

Frantisek Cernik and Jean-Paul LeBlanc

Czech native Frantisek Cernik spent 1 year in the NHL season, playing 49 games for the 1984/85 Detroit Red Wings.

Jean-Paul LeBlanc made his NHL debut with the 1968/69 Chicago Blackhawks but he spent the majority of his 155 game NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings. He also spent 3 and a half seasons in the WHA.

Gord Kannegiesser and Danny O'Shea

Gord Kannegiesser played 23 games for the St. Louis Blues, 19 of which came for the original 67/68 expansion team. He ended his career with a couple seasons in the WHA.

Between 1968 and 1973 Danny O'Shea played 400+ NHL games between the North Stars, Blackhawks and Blues. He retired in 1975 after a year in the WHA with the Minnesota Fighting Saints.

Brent Peterson and Bryan Erickson

Between 1978 and 1989 Brent Peterson played 651 games in the NHL between the Red Wings, Sabres, Canucks and Whalers. He served as a coach for the Nashville Predators from 1998 to 2011.

Undrafted University of Minnesota alumni Bryan Erickson played 350+ NHL games between 1983 and 1994. He saw time with the Washington Capitals, LA Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Winnipeg Jets.

David Emma and Andre Faust

David Emma is most notable for winning the 1991 Hobey Baker Award as the top college player in the USA. He played a total of 34 NHL games, scoring 5 goals in 11 points. He saw time with the New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers.

Between 1992 and 1994 Andre Faust played 47 games for the Philadelphia Flyers. The left winger scored 10 goals and 17 points.

Mark Lawrence

Bewtween 1994 and 2001 Mark Lawrence saw 142 games of NHL action between the Dallas Stars and New York Islanders.

Doug Trapp and Scott Shaunessy

Doug Trapp played 2 games for the 1986/87 Buffalo Sabres.

Scott Shaunessy played 7 games for the Quebec Nordiques in the late 1980s.

Blair MacDonald and Dave Allison

Blair MacDonald will best be known in NHL history as one of Wayne Gretzky's first linemates. He scored 46 goals for the expansion 1979/80 Edmonton Oilers. After that season he only scored 45 more career goals in the league.

This Dave Allison card suffered a little damage in transit but since the autograph was not effected it will do just fine for my collection. He played 3 games for the Canadiens in 1983/84 and then returned to the league as the Ottawa Senator's head coach in 1995.

Pierre Gagne

Pierre Gagne played 2 games for the 1959/60 Boston Bruins.

As usual I'll end the post with a few additional hockey autographs that don't count towards my NHL total. This post features a couple WHA players, a couple ladies and a couple voices.

Keith Christiansen and Peter Marrin

Between 1972 and 1974 Keith "Huffer" Christiansen played nearly 150 games for the Minnesota Fighting Saints. He scored 24 goals and 80 points. He won an Olympic Silver medal with Team USA in 1972.

Peter Marrin spent half a dozen seasons in the WHA playing for the Toronto Toros and Birmingham Bulls. Unfortunately he didn't signed on the designated area that I ask them to.