26 new autographs to show in this post. Most of these are from COMC.com and were purchased during the "spring cleaning" promotion. Unfortunately for me, I was hit with an extremely harsh customs fee of $45 for the package. Thats a big chuck of change considering what I paid for the cards. What really got me was the $10 "handling" fee charged by Canada Post. The customs fee I can live with, giving Canada Post that extra bit made me want to throw up a little. I won't get into that much here as I'm going to produce a whole post dedicated to my "less" than stellar experiences with Canada Post this year. They're killing the hobby for me.
Lately, I've been busy scanning, organizing and posting my extra autographs. Its already proved to be a fruitful endeavour as this past week I was able to complete a few trades and have about 70 new autographs coming in as a result. I'll also be making a trip home to PEI soon to gather a month or so worth of TTM returns.
The grand total of unique NHL signatures is now 4,401 or just under 61% of everyone who has ever played in the league. I can taste the 4,500 mark.
Harold "Baldy" Cotton
I acquired this card from COMC.com at the incredibly reasonable price of $25. Harold "Baldy" Cotton's first season in the NHL was in 1925/26 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played in the NHL until 1937 and suited up in over 500 games. He helped the Toronto Maple Leafs win the 1932 Stanley Cup. Cotton passed away in 1984 so I haven't seen many of his autographs.
I actually wish it was easier to break these cards out the thick cases. I store my collection in binders and these are hard to fit in.
Vic Howe
I bought this cut from the same seller, but I paid even less for it than the Cotton. I had written to Vic Howe a couple times but never heard back and he recently passed away. Howe played 33 NHL games with the New York Rangers but is best remembered as Gordie's younger brother.
Mario Tremblay
Mario Tremblay won the Stanley Cup five times with the Montreal Canadiens. He was a member of the Habs from 1974 to 1986 and later returned to the team as a head coach. He has surprisingly few certified autographs on the market.
Rogie Vachon
Rogie Vachon won the Stanley Cup three times with the Montreal Canadiens and in 1968 he shared the Vezina trophy with Gump Worsley. With the Los Angeles Kings, Vachon was named to the NHL All-Star team four times.
Mats Naslund
Mats Naslund twice scored 40+ goals in a season for the Montreal Canadiens. In 1985/86 he lead the team in scoring during the regular season and playoffs as the Habs captured the Stanley Cup. Naslund was named to the NHL All-Star team four times and in 1988 won the Lady Byng Trophy. Internationally, he helped Sweden win the 1994 Olympic Gold medal.
Dave Schultz
Dave "the Hammer" Shultz holds the notorious NHL record for most penalty minutes in a season with 472 in 1974/75. He won the Stanley Cup twice with the Flyers, in 1974 and 1975. Between 1972 and 1980 he played 500+ NHL games dressing for the Flyers, Kings, Penguins and Sabres.
Ryan Walter
Between 1978 and 1993 Ryan Walter played 1000+ games in the NHL. Drafted 2nd overall by the Washington Capitals in 1978, he served as team captain from 1979 to 1982. In 1986 he helped the Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup. His son, Ben Walter, also played in the NHL.
Paul Coffey
One of the best offensive defencemen of all-time, Paul Coffey has a lengthy NHL resume. The 14 time NHL All-Star and three time Norris Trophy winner was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004. He won the Stanley Cup three time with the Edmonton Oilers and once with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He still holds the record for most goals by a defenceman in one season with 48 in 1985/86.
Niklas Sundblad
For one reason or another this card had been missing from my want list. Once this was realized I quickly picked it up very inexpensively. Niklas Sundblad played 2 NHL games for the 1995/96 Calgary Flames. They had drafted him 19th overall in 1991. The Swede spent most of his career in Europe.
Maxim Kuznetsov
Maxim Kuznetsov is most notable for playing 39 regular season games with the 2001/2002 Detroit Red Wings. The team went on to win the Stanley Cup but Kuznetsov was just 2 games short of getting his name engraved on the trophy. He was, however, given a Cup ring by Detroit. I've had this card on my want list for long time but for some reason the card had never popped up at a reasonable price.
Logan Couture
The San Jose Sharks drafted Logan Couture 9th overall in 2007. He was a finalist for the 2011 Calder Trohpy as NHL rookie of the year. The former NHL All-Star has netted 20+ goals a season on five separate occasions.
Reid Boucher
Reid Boucher has played 34 NHL games with the Devils since making his debut for the 2013/14 team. As a junior player he scored 62 goals in 68 games with the OHL's 2012/13 Sarnia Sting.
Torey Krug
A late bloomer, the undrafted Torey Krug became a Hobey Baker finalist at Michigan State University before being signed by the Boston Bruins. He's become one of the league's premier offensive defencemen.
Ryan Spooner
A 2010 second round draft pick, Ryan Spooner has scored 29 points in 56 career NHL games with the Boston Bruins. He recently signed a two year contract extension with the Bruins.
Jamie Devane
Jamie Devane played two NHL games with the 2013/14 Toronto Maple Leafs. He was a 2009 third round pick by Toronto.
Cody Ceci
Defeceman Cody Ceci was drafted 15th overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2012. He became a full time Senator in 2013 and played 81 NHL games during the 2014/15 season alone.
Justin Braun
Justin Braun doesn't have many certified autographs on the market so I'm happy to get this. Since 2010 he's played nearly 300 NHL games with the Sharks.
Beau Bennett
Born and raised in California, Beau Bennett was drafted 20th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2010. Since making his NHL debut with the 2012/13 Penguins he's played nearly 100 regular season games in the NHL.
Tomas Jurco
The Red Wings drafted forward Tomas Jurco 35th overall in 2011. He recently became a full time member of the Red Wings and has already played 99 regular season NHL games. He represented Slovakia at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Rasmus Ristolainen
Defenceman Rasmus Ristolainen was drafted 8th overall by the Sabres in 2013. The Finn has already played over 100 NHL games.
Joakim Nordstrom
Joakim Nordstrom played 38 regular season and 3 playoff games for the Stanley Cup winning 2014/15 Chicago Blackhawks. The Swedish forward made his debut with the 2013/14 Hawks.
Leo Komarov
Leo Komarov is the only person born in country of Estonia to play in the NHL. Undrafted, he was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2012. He's played 100+ games in the NHL.
Vladislav Namestnikov
Russian forward Vladislav Namestnikov was a first round pick by the Lightning in 2011. He appeared in a dozen playoff games during Tampa's run to the 2015 Cup finals. His father, Evgeny, was also an NHLer who played for the Vancouver Canucks.
Damon Severson
Defenceman Damon Severson jumped straight from junior hockey to the NHL and spent the entire 2014/15 season with the Devils as a 20 year old rookie.
Ty Rattie
The St. Louis Blues drafted Ty Rattie 32nd overall in the 2011 NHL draft. He's played 13 NHL games with the Blues.
Andy Andreoff
Andy Andreoff played 18 NHL games as a rookie with the 2014/15 Los Angeles Kings.
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An to end the post, autographs #27 and 28 fall just outside of my NHL collection. These two will go into my "backup only" binder. Both appeared in the NHL but only as backup goalies. Both, however, still have the potential to see some real NHL minutes.
Antoine Bibeau
Antoine Bibeau dressed in one NHL game as an NHL backup with the 2014/15 Toronto Maple Leafs.
Jean-Francois Berube
Jean-Francois Berube dressed in three NHL games as a backup goalie with the 2014/15 Los Angeles Kings.
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