Monday, August 1, 2022

Month of Mail - July 2022

23 new NHL autographs added in July. The grand total of NHL autographs in the collection stands at 90% overall for 7,236 unique player autographs. 

                       Paul Bibeault (d. 1970)
From 1940 to 1947 Paul Bibeault played over 200 games in the NHL between the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks. He was an NHL All-Star in 1944.

                      Bill Thomson (d. 1993)
Forward Bill Thomson played 3 NHL games with the 1938-39 Detroit Red Wings and 5 games with the 1943-44 Red Wings. He scored 2 goals and 4 points in 8 regular season NHL games. He also played 2 playoff games with the 1944 Red Wings. Thomson is also notable for winning a silver medal at the 1936 Olympics with Canada.

                   Ulf Isaksson (d. 2003)
This autograph is from a team signed LA Kings pennant and unfortunately the old pen on felt doesn't scan well. It is more visible in hand. Isaksson spent one season in the NHL, playing 50 games with the 1982-83 Kings. It was the only season the Swede spent in North America.

                 Joel Eriksson Ek
Drafted 20th overall by the Wild in 2015, Eriksson Ek has already played 343 regular season games in the NHL scoring 145 points. He helped Sweden win Gold at the 2017 World Championships. 

                   Nick Sorensen
Nick Sorensen played 5 games in the NHL with the 2016-17 Anaheim Ducks. He helped Sweden win a Silver medal at the 2013 and 2014 World Juniors. 

              Brendan Lemieux
The son of long time NHLer Claude Lemieux, Brendan was drafted 31st overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2014. He was traded to the Jets before ever playing for the Sabres. Since 2017 he's played 230 regular season NHL games, scoring 60 points.

                    Martin Necas
Czech forward Martin Necas has put up two consecutive 40 point seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes. He was drafted 12th overall in 2017.

                    Collin Delia
Collin Delia has played over 30 games in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks. He recently signed with the Vancouver Canucks. Undrafted, Delia was signed by Chicago out of Merrimack College.

                    Quinn Hughes
The oldest of the Hughes brothers, Quinn is a point producing defenseman with the Canucks who has already netted 165 points in just over 200 NHL games.

              Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Kotkaniemi was drafted 3rd overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2018. After helping the Habs reach the Cup finals in 2021 he was signed by the Carolina Hurricanes.

                     Tim Gettinger
Tim Gettinger has played 16 games in the NHL with the New York Rangers over 4 seasons.

                  Ilya Samsonov
Russian netminder Ilya Samsonov was drafted 22nd overall by the Capitals in 2015. He's played just under 100 NHL games since making his debut in 2019. He recently signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

                 Ilya Mikheyev
Undrafted Russian forward Ilya Mikheyev recently signed with the Vancouver Canucks after 3 seasons in Toronto. He scored 21 goals for the 2021/22 Maple Leafs. He represented Russia at the 2018 World Championships.

                  Nick Robertson
Nick Robertson has played 16 regular season and 4 playoff games in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He represented USA at the 2020 World Juniors. His brother, Jason, plays for the Dallas Stars.

                   Rasmus Sandin
Toronto's first round pick of the 2018 NHL draft, defenseman Rasmus Sandin has spent parts of 3 seasons with the Maple Leafs. He represented Sweden at the World Juniors in 2019 and 2020.

                 Cayden Primeau
The son of long time NHLer Keith Primeau, Cayden has played 18 games in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens. He represented USA at the 2019 World Juniors, winning a Silver medal.

                  Rhett Gardner
A University of North Dakota alumni, Rhett Gardner has played 40 NHL games with the Dallas Stars.

                   Otto Koivula
Otto Koivula has played 20 games in the NHL with the New York Islanders. He represented Finland at the World Juniors in 2017 and 2018. 

               Carter Verhaeghe
A late bloomer, Carter Verhaeghe was originally drafted by the Maple Leafs in 2013 but didn't make his NHL debut until 2019. He had a breakout rookie season, helping Tampa win the Stanley Cup. He's spent the last couple season with the Panthers as a solid producer.

                           Gabe Vilardi
Gabriel Vilardi was drafted 11th overall by the LA Kings in 2017. He's scored 37 points in 89 NHL games with LA. He helped Canada win Gold at the 2021 World Championships. 

                                Kirby Dach
Kirby Dach was drafted 3rd overall by the Blackhawks in 2019. He's since played over 150 NHL games with the Hawks and was recently traded to the Montreal Canadiens.

                   Carl Dahlstrom
A defenseman from Sweden, Carl Dahlstrom has played 67 games in the NHL between the Blackhawks, Jets and Maple Leafs.

                   Brennan Menell
An undrafted defenseman, Brennan Menell played 5 games in the NHL with the 2019-20 Minnesota Wild.

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                       Larry Kish
Larry Kish spent a season in the NHL as the head coach of the 1982-83 Hartford Whalers. He later coached the Oilers AHL team, contributing to 2 Stanley Cup championships. This goes with my collection of NHL managers/coaches with no NHL playing experience. 

                        Walt Kyle
Walt Kyle was an assistant coach with the 1996-97 Anaheim Mighty Ducks and in 1997-98 he was promoted to associate coach, holding the roll for a year. He returned to the NHL from 2000 to 2002 as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers.

                     Kevin Nugent
Kevin Nugent played 25 games in the WHA with the 1978-79 Indianapolis Racers, scoring 10 points. He's best known for being one of Wayne Gretzky's first professional linemates. This goes into my 'WHA only' collection.

                 Matthew Villalta
Matt Villalta appeared in the NHL as a backup goalie with the 2020-21 Los Angeles Kings. This goes with my collection of NHL 'backups only' autographs.

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