After a couple relatively slow months, low and behold February turned out to be a BIG month for my collection. Thanks to Gary for offering me a great lot of autographs including the Bruce Draper and Jirik.
Thanks to Ty for the Dunlap and Couture autographs and thanks to Phil for another great lot.
With 23 new autographs added the grand total of unique NHL player autographs in my collection is 7,319 for 91% overall.
Harry "Punch" Broadbent (d. 1971)
I purchased a rather large personal collection of Punch Broadbent's stuff that included 1920s NHL programs, his personal scrapbook and correspondences from when he was an NHL player, hundreds of newspaper clippings with his personal notes etc. among a big box of things and best of all - his autograph, which was why I bought it all. Had a blast going through it and now feel somewhat connected to Punch. Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1962 Punch Broadbent was the NHL's 1922 scoring leader and a 4 time Stanley Cup champion. He was an early NHL star with Ottawa and Montreal.
Bruce Draper (d. 1968)
Bruce Draper played 1 game in the NHL with the 1962-63 Toronto Maple Leafs. He was a key member of the 1961 Toronto St. Michael's Majors Memorial Cup winning team. He passed away tragically young from Leukemia. His nephew is long time NHL player Kris Draper.
Jaroslav Jirik (d. 2011)
Jaroslav Jirik spent one season in North America and played 3 NHL games with the 1969-70 St. Louis Blues. He made history becoming the first Czech to play in the NHL. He won a bronze medal at the '64 Olympics and a silver at the '68 Olympics with the Czech national team.
Frank Dunlap (d. 1993)
Frank Dunlap played 5 games in the NHL with the 1943-44 Toronto Maple Leafs. He's actually more notable for his football career. He spent a number of years in the CFL and won the Grey Cup in 1951.
Rosie "Lolo" Couture (d. 1986)
Rosario Couture played over 300 games in the NHL, mostly with the Chicago Blackhawks but he finished his career with the Montreal Canadiens. He won the Stanley Cup in 1934 with Chicago.
Don McLean
I picked up a team signed 1968-69 Niagara Falls Flyers program for this particular autograph. McLean was only briefly with the team that season so it was a lucky find. That luck didn't last long as the program got lost in the mail and I was convinced I'd never see it. No thanks Canada Post, I was finally able to get it after over a month of it circling around Canada. The tracking for the package was wild.
If you google "Don McLean" you'll see why this was such a difficult autograph to find. The famous musician of the same name made it impossible to find this Don McLean, who played 9 games in the NHL with the 1975-76 Washington Capitals. He had no cards and a short pro career so his autograph rarely pops up.
Buddy O'Connor (d. 1977)
Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988, Buddy O'Connor was the 1947/48 NHL MVP, winner of the Hart Trophy as a member of the New York Rangers. He also won the Lady Byng that season. As a member of the Montreal Canadiens, he won the Stanley Cup in 1944 and 1946.
Mike Karakas (d. 1992)
A member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, Karakas won the Calder as NHL rookie of the year in 1936. In 1938 he backstopped the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup.
Joe Benoit (d. 1981)
Joe Benoit was the leading goal scorer of both the 1941-42 and 1942-43 Montreal Canadiens. He had a short but productive NHL career, scoring 144 points in 185 NHL games with the Habs during the 1940s. He won the Stanley Cup with the 1946 Canadiens.
Tony Graboski (d. 2000)
From 1940 to 1943 Graboski played 66 games in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens. The defenseman scored 6 goals and 16 points in the NHL.
Herb Foster (d. 2003)
Herb Foster scored 1 goal in 4 NHL games with the 1940/41 New York Rangers. He served in WWII and later returned to the NHL for a 1 game stint with the 1947/48 Rangers.
Bob Blake (d. 2008)
Bob Blake played 12 games in the NHL with the 1935-36 Boston Bruins. He had a long pro career outside of the NHL and in 1985 he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
Pete Palangio (d. 2004)
During the 1920s and 1930s Pete Palangio played 70 regular season games in the NHL. He dressed with the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Cougars and Chicago Blackhawks. He helped Chicago win the Stanley Cup in 1938.
Mike Fidler
From 1976 to 1983 Mike Fidler played 271 NHL games between the Cleveland Barons, Minnesota North Stars, Hartford Whalers and Chicago Blackhawks. Internationally, Fidler represented USA at the 1978 World Championships. He was the very last autograph I needed for the 1976-77 year of debuts.
Fred Arthur
I'm slightly bitter about adding this one. Arthur refused to sign an autograph for me, which only meant I had to pay the inflated price he's made his early signatures.
In the early 80s, he played 80 games in the NHL between the Hartford Whalers and Philadelphia Flyers.
Peter Loob
Defenceman Peter Loob recorded 1 goal and 3 points in 8 career NHL games with the 1984-85 Quebec Nordiques. It was the only season he played in North America, spending most of that time between the AHL and IHL. His brother, Hakan, also played in the NHL.
Gordon "Moose" Sherritt (d. 2005)
Gordon Sherritt played 8 games in the NHL with the 1943-44 Detroit Red Wings.
Craig Cameron (d. 2012)
From 1966 to 1967 Craig Cameron played 552 regular season games in the NHL. He played for the Red Wings, Blues, North Stars and Islanders. He was the last autograph I needed for 1966/67 season of debuts.
Connie Tudin (d. 1988)
The autograph didn't scan well but its located just above the heel of the stick and is very visible in hand. Tudin played 4 games in the NHL with the 1941-42 Montreal Canadiens.
Gary "Duke" Edmundson (d. 2016)
Gary Edmundson played 1 NHL game with the 1951-52 Montreal Canadiens. He toiled in the minors until reappearing in the NHL with the 1959-60 Toronto Maple Leafs. From 1959 until 1961 he played 42 NHL games with Toronto, scoring 4 goals and 10 points.
Ron Meighan
From 1981 to 1983 defenseman Ron Meighan played 48 games in the NHL between the Minnesota North Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Adam Werner
Swedish goalie Adam Werner played 2 games in the NHL with the 2019/20 Colorado Avalanche.
Anton Wedin
Undrafted, Anton Wedin came to the Blackhawks as a 26 year old rookie with years of pro hockey in Sweden under his belt. He spent 1 season in North America, playing 4 NHL games with the 2019-20 Hawks.
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Pierre Lagace
From 1977 to 1979 Pierre Lagace played 38 games in the WHA with the Quebec Nordiques.
I had tried writing to him a few times over the years but never got a reply so found this autograph on a cheap team signed 1979-80 Baltimore Clippers picture. This goes with my collection of World Hockey Association autographs.
Frederic Cloutier
Cloutier dressed as a NHL backup goalie in 2 games with the 2002/03 Minnesota Wild and 3 games with the 2005/06 New York Islanders. Even though he dressed in 5 NHL games, he never saw any action in the crease.
Dan O'Halloran
Dan O'Halloran is one of the NHL's best known referees with over 1,500 games under his belt. This goes with my NHL officials collection.
Tony Sericolo
Tony Sericolo spent 23 seasons as an NHL linesman.
Brian Mach
Brian Mach was an NHL linesman from 2000 to 2021, working over 1,300 games.
Frank Selke Jr. (d. 2013)
Son of Hockey Hall of Famer Frank Selke, Selke Jr. spent many seasons working for the Canadiens. From 1968 to 1970 he was General Manager Oakland Seals. This goes with my collection of NHL coaches and GMs who never played in the league.
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