Hockey Ink In The Mail

Going home for the holidays (from Ottawa to Prince Edward Island) allowed me to get my TTM (through the mail) returns. I still use my PEI address because as a graduate student I've lost count of how many places I've lived in the last few years and will no doubt be moving again soon. Since some TTM request take years, it makes sense to keep sending them to my childhood home. All but three of the autographs in this post came via snail mail.

43 of the autographs in this post are from people who appeared in the NHL. That increases my All-Time NHL player autographs to 4,743 unique player signatures and increasing the percentage to 65% of everyone who has played in the NHL since ints creation in 1917.

I was hoping that this month would also feature another 30 certified autographs that I had bought on COMC.com. Unfortunately, it seems that our god awful postal service here in Canada, Canada Post, has struck again. COMC shipped my package on November 2, over two months ago yet nothing has arrived. At this point I've all but lost hope. Since beginning my Masters program at school I've been too busy to work, heavily affecting my hobby spending. That makes this lost package ever the more hard to take because it represented a huge chunk of my leisurely spending money. Damn you my old enemy Canada Post, damn you.

I'm happy to report that I was given some stamps for christmas, something I always ask for but usually don't receive since people consider it a 'boring' gift. For me, they will provide hours of entertainment in digging up new addresses and writing to new players. The sky high price of stamps usually keeps me from writing many more letters.

Sidney Crosby

I'll start off this post with one of the three certified autographs of this post, the other two being at the very end. Quality beats quantity here. I've needed a Crosby certified autograph for my collection for a while. I had met him years ago and have a couple other autographs, that I've since framed, but as per my grand collection, a certied autograph card was needed for my binders and the cost pushed me away. The story of this card starts with an impulse Walmart buy of a 2015/16 Upper Deck Series 1 box. I struck gold and pulled a Jack Eichel canvas young gun rookie card. Since I don't really collect unsigned cards, I offered it up for trade on a hockey hobby message board. An easy 1 for 1 deal was struck and the Eichel turned into this beauty. I really don't have to say anything about Mr. Crosby's amazing career. From my observations, his lacklustre 15/16 season hasn't much affected the high value of his recognizable signature.

Bryce Salvador
From 2000 to 2015 the recently retired Bryce Salvador was a reliable NHL d-man. He played 786 regular season NHL games between the St. Louis Blues and New Jersey Devils. From 2013-2015 he served as the 10th captain in New Jersey franchise history. I had been patiently awaiting his first certified autograph but one was never produced. For a modern day NHL captain to not have a certified autograph is a rare and unique occurrence.

Doug Janik
From 2002 to 2012 Doug Janik played nearly 200 career NHL games. The defenceman was well travelled. He suited up for the Sabres, Lightning, Stars, Canadiens and Red Wings. He retired in 2015 and currently coaches in the AHL.

David Van Drunen

I dug around the internet but couldn't uncover an NHL picture of David Van Drunen. He played 1 career NHL game with the 1999/2000 Ottawa Senators. He was a long time minor-leaguer who played pro hockey until 2011.

Kevin Quick
Defenceman Kevin Quick played 6 career NHL games with the 2008/09 Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nick Tarnasky
From 2005 to 2010 gritty forward Nick Tarnasky played 251 regular season+playoff games in the NHL. He played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers.

Greg Rallo
In 2011 Greg Rallo made his NHL debut as a 30 year old. He had played 4 yeas at Ferris State University but was never drafted. Rallo signed his first pro contract in the ECHL and worked his way up to the NHL from there. He played 11 career NHL games with the Florida Panthers and scored 1 goal.

Carl Sneep
The Penguins drafted Carl Sneep with the 32nd overall pick of the 2006 draft. He spent 4 season at Boston College before turning pro. Sneep played 1 career NHL game with the Penguins in 2011.

Bill Arnold
Bill Arnold had a stellar college career at Boston College. He formed a lethal line with future NHLers Johnny Gaudreau and Kevin Hayes. The team won a National Championship in 2012. Arnold has played 1 NHL game with the Calgary Flames in 2014.

Carter Bancks
Undrafted forward Carter Bancks played 2 NHL games with the 2012/13 Calgary Flames.

Christopher Breen
6'7" defenceman Chris Breen played 9 NHL games with the 2013/2014 Calgary Flames. He's currently in the Boston Bruins organization.

Kevin Czuczman
Defenceman Kevin Czuczman was signed by the Islanders as an undrafted member of Lake Superior State University. He played 13 NHL game with the 2013/2014 NY Islanders.

Brett Gallant
Tough guy Brett Gallant accumulated 17 penalty minutes in 4 career NHL games with the 2013/2014 New York Islanders. He's a fellow Prince Edward Islander so this autograph is an extra special addition to the collection. Only a handful of players from my province have recently made it to the NHL.

John Persson
Swedish forward John Persson scored 1 goal in 10 career NHL games with the 2013/14 New York Islanders.

Julien Brouillette
Julien Brouillette was never drafted but worked his way to the NHL. After junior he spent 3 seasons in the ECHL, worked his way up to the AHL and after another 4 seasons of pro hockey he finally made his NHL debut. Defenceman Brouillette played 10 NHL games with the 2013/14 Washington Capitals and 1 game with the 2014/15 Winnipeg Jets.

Julian Melchiori
Defenceman Julian Melchiori played 1 NHL game with the 2013/2014 Winnipeg Jets.

Paul Carey
From 2013 to 2015 Paul Carey played 22 games with the Colorado Avalanche. He was later traded to the Boston Bruins and recently signed with the Washington Capitals.

Brian Dumoulin
Defenceman Brian Dumoulin is one of those rare full-time NHLers who don't have a certified autograph. Originally drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes but acquired in the Jared Staal trade, Dumoulin has played almost 50 NHL games with the Penguins.

Brad Hunt
Brad Hunt has played 14 career NHL games for the Edmonton Oilers. He's an undrafted Benji State University alumni.

Brett Bellemore
From 2012 to 2015 defeceman Brett Bellemore played 121 NHL games with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Mike Sislo
An undrafted University of New Hampshire alumni, forward Mike Sislo played 24 NHL games for the New Jersey Devils between 2013 and 2015.

Zach Sill
Undrafted grinder Zach Sill made his NHL debut as a 25 year old rookie with the 2013/14 Pittsburgh Penguins. He's also played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals.

Ted Fauss
In the letter I wrote to Mr. Fauss I mentioned that I was unable to find a picture of him with the Leafs and so made a custom index of him with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs. He not only singed that but also included this great little picture of him with the Leafs that I've decided to keep instead. From 1986 to 1988 D-man Ted Fauss played 28 career NHL games with the Leafs.

Dick Gamble
Dick Gamble is best known for wining the Stanley Cup with the 1953 Montreal Canadiens. He played almost 200 games in the NHL at a time when there was only six teams.

Matt Ravlich
From 1962 to 1973 Dick Gamble played over 400 NHL games. A feared fighter, defenceman Ravlich spent time with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and Los Angles Kings.

John Grisdale
From 1972 to 1979 John Grisdale played 250 games in the NHL. The defenceman was a member of both the Toronto Maple Leafs and later the Vancouver Canucks. He's currently commissioner of the British Columbia Hockey League.

Kevin McCarthy
From 1979 to 1982 Kevin McCarthy was captain of the Vancouver Canucks. The defenceman played over 500 games in the NHL and represented the Canucks at the 1981 NHL All-Star game. He won the Stanley Cup in 2006 as an assistant coach with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Hugh Harris

Hugh Harris spent one season in the NHL, playing 60 games with the 1972/73 Buffalo Sabres. He was a solid contributor who scored 12 goals and 38 points during his short NHL career. He later moved to the WHA and spent five seasons in the league, playing well over 300 games. He was a well traveled player in the WHA, seeing time with the New England Whalers, Vancouver Blazers, Phoenix Roadrunners, Calgary Cowboys, Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers. He was a solid contributor who scored over 100 goals and almost 300 points in his WHA career.

Dave Fenyves
From 1982 to 1991 Dave Fenyves played over 200 NHL games between the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers. He was twice named the AHL's best defenceman and in 1987 was the AHL playoff MVP as he lead the Rochester Americans to a Calder Cup championship.

Geordie Robertson
Geordie Robertson scored 1 goal and 3 points in 5 career NHL games with the 1982/83 Buffalo Sabres. He was a prolific scorer in the AHL and won the Calder Cup in 1983 and 1986. His brother, Torrie, was a long time NHLer.

Bob LaForest
Bob Laforest scored 1 goal in 5 career NHL games with the 1983/84 Los Angeles Kings. His brother is former NHL goalie Mark LaForest.

Jim Wiemer
From 1983 to 1994 Jim Wiemer played well over 300 career NHL games, nearly 400 if you include playoff games. He was a member of the Sabres, Rangers, Oilers, Kings and Bruins. He played 12 regular season games and 2 playoff games for the 1988 Stanley Cup winning Edmonton Oilers. It wasn't enough to get his name of the Cup but he was awarded a championship ring by the team.

Brent Hughes
From 1988 to 1997 Brent Hughes played nearly 400 regular season+playoff games in the NHL. He played for the Winnipeg Jets, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders.

Mike Forbes
From 1977 to 1982 Mike Forbes played 50 NHL games between the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers.

Dave Hudson
From 1972 to 1978 Dave Hudson played over 400 career NHL games. He was a member of the New York Islanders, Kansas City Scouts and Colorado Rockies.

Bruce Cassidy
Between 1983 to 1990 Bruce Cassidy played 37 regular season+playoff games in the NHL, all with the Chicago Blackhawks. He later moved behind the bench and was head coach of the 2002/03 Washington Capitals.

Ross Fitzpatrick
From 1982 to 1986 Ross Fitzpatrick scored 5 goals in 20 career NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Stewart Malgunas
Between 1993 and 2000 Stewart Malgunas played 129 games in the NHL. He was a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, Winning Jets, Washington Capitals and Calgary Flames.

Ryan McGill
From 1991 to 1995 defenceman Ryan McGill played 151 career NHL games. He suited up with the Chicago Blackhawks, Philly Flyers and Edmonton Oilers. He recently spent time as an NHL assistant coach with the Calgary Flames.

Randy Heath
Randy Heath played 13 NHL games for the New York Rangers in the mid 1980s. He was a star junior player and lead the Portland Winter Hawks to the 1983 Memorial Cup championship.

Craig Norwich
Craig Norwich was an NCAA star who signed his first pro contract with the WHA's Cincinnati Stingers. He played over 100 games in the Rebel League before moving to the NHL. He then played over 100 games in the NHL, dressing for the Winnipeg Jets, St. Louis Blues and Colorado Rockies.

Gerry Fleming
From 1993 to 1995 tough customer Gerry Fleming recorded 42 penalty minutes in 11 career NHL games with the Montreal Canadiens.

Ben Lovejoy
I put this autograph is the final spot because its most certainly my least favourite from the post. At first glance you can barely see its signed. Not only should it be obvious to the player to sign in the big white space, but I ask them in a very short letter to please sign over the faded logo. I mean, is it not just common sense? He also used a silver pen that's hard to see over the photo. I know its hard to complain since Lovejoy did take the time to sign and return my letter, but I think I'll likely try to find a replacement for this at some point.

-------------------------------------------

I always end my mail posts with a couple to a few hockey related signatures that fall outside of the NHL player collection. This month, I had a unusually high number of such autographs.

Ryan Vinz
Ryan Vinz appeared as an NHL backup goalie in 1 game with the 2013/14 Buffalo Sabres. He was signed to an emergency contract when the Sabres traded Ryan Miller and left without a second goalie. Vinz had never appeared in a pro hockey game before his NHL appearance. Vinz noted in his note back to me how welcoming everyone was that night and that even the players were happy for him.

Andre Tourigny
Andre Tourigny came into the hockey world as a head coach and GM with the QMHL's Rouyn-Noranda Huskies from 2003 to 2013. From 2013 to 2015 he was an NHL assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche and since the start of this season he's been an assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators.

Jeff Blashill
Jeff Blashill made his NHL coaching debut as an assistant with the 2011/12 Detroit Red Wings. From 2012 until 2015 Blashill was head coach of the Red Wings' AHL team. When Mike Babcock signed with the Maple Leafs Blashill took over as head coach of the Red Wings, making him Detroit's 27th head coach since the franchise was created in 1926.

Kevin Constantine

Kevin Constantine spent time as an NHL head coach with the San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils. He left a priceless little note with the autograph, "Good luck in your mission. Your Sharks picture is when I was a young stud - except for the mustache."

Bill Torrey
From 1972 to 1992 Bill Torrey was General Manager of the New York Islanders. He has his name on the Stanley Cup four time and in 1995 Torrey was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Les Jackson
Les Jackson was drafted by the Boston Bruins in 1972 but never made the NHL as a player. From 1985 to 1987 Jackson spent time as an NHL assistant coach with the Minnesota North Stars. He's most notable for being co-General Manager of the Dallas Stars from 2007 to 2009.

Ray Kinasewich
Ray Kinasewich was head coach of the 1972/73 WHA Alberta Oilers. Although he never reached the NHL, Kinasewich spent a decade playing pro hockey before becoming a coach.

Jerry Rollins
Jerry Rollins played in 130 career games in the WHA. In 1972 he was drafted by the WHA's Toronto Toros and NHL's Detroit Red Wings. I asked if he was ever offered a contract by the Red Wings. He wrote back to me, "yes, Detroit offered me a contract when I signed with the Toros. When Phoenix folded, Detroit signed me and later traded my contract to Indianapolis."

Wayne Zuk
Wayne Zuk played 2 career WHA games for the 1973/74 Edmonton Oilers. He wrote back to me that his favourite memory was playing against Bobby Hull in the preseason.

Ron Walters
Forward Ron Walters spent three seasons in the WHA. He scored 44 goals and 85 points in 166 career games, suiting up for the Alberta Oilers, LA Sharks and Indianapolis Racers.

Brian Morenz
From 1972 to 1976 Brian Morez played well over 200 games in the WHA, suiting up for New York and San Diego. He's a distant relative of the legendary Howie Morenz. Brian wrote back to me that his greatest thrill was playing junior hockey in Oshawa with Bobby Orr

Cap Raeder
Cap Raeder saw action in 28 WHA games with the New England Whalers. "Montreal did offer me a contract but they had very established goales in the organization starting with Ken Dryden. Best chance to play was Whalers." Raeder is best known as a coach in the NHL. He spent time as assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks and Tampa Bay Lightning. He was head coach for 1 NHL game with the 2002/03 Sharks.

Dan Lodboa
Dan Lodboa scored 15 goals and 33 points in 58 career WHA games with the 1972/73 Chicago Cougars.

Wayne Mosdell
Wayne Mosdell played 8 games in the WHA with the 1972/73 Philadelphia Blazers.

Lori Dupuis
Loris Dupuis won an Olympic Gold medal in 2002 and Olympic Silver in 1998 with Team Canada.

Therese Brisson
Therese Brisson was a member of Team Canada's national team for a decade. From 1999 to 2001 she was captain, leading the team to Gold in multiple World Championships. She has an Olympic silver medal from 1998 and an Olympic Gold from 2002.

Lesley Reddon
Lesley Reddon was a member of Team Canada's national team in the 1990s. She was backup to Manon Rheaume in 1998 and took home an Olympic Silver medal. Like Rheaume, she also broke ground in the 1990s. With the University of New Brunswick, she became the first woman to play in mens CIS hockey.

Gretchen Ulion
Gretchen Ulion is most notable for scoring a goal and helping Team USA defeat Canada in the 1998 Olympic Gold medal game. Ulion was even featured on a Wheaties cereal box, one of the highest honours for American Olympians. I'm slowly trying to get an autograph from all members of both the Canadian and American 1998 women's Olympic teams.

Andy Van Hellemond
Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999, Andy Van Hellemond is one of the best known NHL officials of his time. He officiated well over 1,500 NHL games and 20 Stanley Cup finals.

Ron Hoggarth
Ron Hoggarth was a long time NHL referee. From 1971 to 1994 he officiated well over 1,000 NHL games.

Laura Fortino

I was able to make two trades last month, one big (Crosby) and this much smaller trade. I traded a couple of inserts from the same 15/16 Upper Deck box break to someone trying to build the set. Laura Fortina has been on Team Canada's roster since 2011. In 2014 she help Canada bring home a Gold at the Olympics.

Jamie Lee Rattray

The only ebay purchase from this mail post, and it was a very cheap pickup. I've been slowly building by women's hockey autograph collection and the new certs from Upper Deck really help. I just hate how thick these cards are, they're difficult to store. Jamie Lee Rattray brought home a Silver medal at the 2015 World Champonships with Canada.

Since the last mail post I've acquired 40 new NHL autographs, putting the grand total of unique player signatures to 4,783 for 65.7% of everyone who has every played in the NHL since its creation in 1917.

This particular box of autographs took forever to get to me. For some reason the border held it for close to two months yet it doesn't appear to have been opened or tampered with. God knows where or why it was stuck for so long.

I get to check off some long overdue names from my want list such as Esposito, Gartner and Hasek. The last big names I need are Brett Hull, Jagr, Messier, Neely, Patrick Roy, Shanahan, Toews, Kane and Yzerman. After that handful of players I'll have an autograph of every modern day "star" or notable player. My attention is increasingly being focused towards TTM requests and finding obscure players, specifically from the 70s and 80s.

Phil Esposito

Phil Esposito is one of hockey's biggest legends. The Hockey Hall of Famer has a trophy case that includes 2 Stanley Cup championships, 5 Art Ross Trophies, 2 Hart Trophies and 2 Lester B. Pearson Trophies. He was also instrumental in Canada's 1972 Summit Series victory over the USSR. In 1282 regular season NHL games Esposito scored an astonishing 717 goals and 1590 points. Esposito has managed to keep an incredibly consistent and beautiful signature over his entire storied career. Although he has a number of signatures on the market, they rarely sell for less that $20, which speaks to Esposito's tremendous popularity among fans.

Mike Gartner

From 1979 to 1998 Mike Gartner played 1432 regular season games in the NHL and scored an impressive 708 goals and 1335 points. Gartner was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001. RANT: I'm not a fan of Upper Deck and the text on the back of this card is a prime reason why I've always stayed away from "game used" jersey cards. The back reads, "the memorabilia has been certified to us as having been used in an official hockey game." Therefore, I've little idea if it was worn in an NHL game, an old-timers game, a scrimmage or a rec game? We have the technology to be quite a bit more precise, Ideally I'd like to see the date from when the jersey was worn. At the very least knowing if its an NHL jersey would be nice. Its clear to me that by being so vague Upper Deck is attempting to deceive its customers.

Wayne Cashman

Wayne Cashman played over 1000 games in the NHL, all with the Boston Bruins. He helped Boston win the Stanley Cup in 1970 and 1972. In 1972 he also helped Canada win the Summit Series. From 1977 to 1983 Cashman was captain of the Bruins. Cashman is also notable for being the last NHL player from the Original Six era.

Rick Middleton

From 1974 to 1988 Rick Middleton scored 448 goals and 988 points in 1005 career regular season games in the NHL. For half a dozen years he was one of the most prolific goal scorers in the NHL and in 1981/82 broke the 50 goal mark when he ended the season with 51 tallies. That season also saw the three time NHL All-Star bring home the Lady Byng Trophy. In 1984 he was a member of the Canadian team, playing on Wayne Gretzky's line, that won the Canada Cup.

Rod Gilbert
Rod Gilbert was a star player for the New York Rangers in the 1960s and 1970s. He scored over 1000 points for the Rangers and in 1982 was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The 10 time NHL All-Star has his #7 hanging from the rafters in Madison Square Garden. He's also notable for being on Team Canada's 1972 Summit Series team.

Borje Salming

Swedish defenceman Borje Salming was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996. From 1973 to 1990 he played over 1100 games in the NHL, all but one season in Toronto and the last in Detroit. He was one of the first Europeans to star in the NHL.

Dominik Hasek

There's no question that Dominik Hasek is one of the best goalies ever to play the game. He's a two time Hart Trophy winner, two time Stanley Cup champion, six time Vezina Trophy winner and in 1998 he lead Czech Replublic to an Olympic Gold. In 2014 he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

P.K. Subban

This is my favourite autograph of the post. Even though I'm the farthest thing from a Habs fan, PK Subban is still my favourite current NHLer. I admire his off ice contributions to society. Subban also doesn't sign much for the card companies so there are relatively few of his signature on the market compared to similar players. Subban won the Norris Trophy in 2013 as the NHL's best defenceman and in 2014 he won an Olympic Gold with Canada.

Hannes Hyvonen

Finnish forward Hannes Hyvonen played 6 NHL games with the 2001/02 San Jose Sharks and another 36 NHL games with the 2002/03 Columbus Blues Jackets. He was originally drafted by the Sharks in 1999 and spent most of his career in Europe. The 40 year old still plays pro hockey in Sweden.

Wayne Simmonds

Since 2008 Wayne Simmonds has played well over 500 games in the NHL, dressing for the LA Kings and Philadelphia Flyers. He's scored 25+ goals three times in his NHL career and in 2013 represented Canada at the World Championships.

Gustav Nyquist

Gustav Nyquist took an unusual route to the NHL for a Swedish forward. After being drafted by the Red Wings in 2008 he went on to play three season in the NCAA with the University of Maine. He made his NHL debut in 2011 and has played well over 200 games with Detroit. He's become a solid NHL scorer, netting 72 goals and 140 points with Detroit. Nyquist won a Silver medal at the 2014 Olympics with Sweden.

Patrice Bergeron

Patrice Bergeron is a member of the 'Triple Gold' club, having won the Olympics, World Championships and the Stanley Cup. He won the Worlds in 2004, Olympics in 2010 and 2014 with Canada and in 2011 he won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins. Bergeron is an NHL All-Star who has also won the Selke Trophy three times as the NHL's best defensive forward.

Dougie Hamilton

Dougie Hamilton was drafted 9th overall by the Boston Bruins in 2011. The offensive defenceman was recently traded to the Calgary Flames. He's already recorded 100 points in the NHL, playing over 200 games between Calgary and Boston. His brother, Freddie, has also played in the NHL.

Mike McKenna

Since 2009 Mike McKenna has played 22 games in the NHL. The journeyman goalie has played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils, Columbus Blue Jackets and Arizona Coyotes.

John Gibson

John Gibson was drafted 39th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in 2011. In 2013 Gibson, still playing junior, lead Team USA to a Wold Junior Championship Gold medal. He was named the tournament's MVP and best goalie. A few months later he represented USA at the World Championships, winning a bronze medal at the pro level. He's entering his second season in the NHL and was recently named to the 2015/16 NHL All-Star team.

Antti Raanta

From 2013 to 2016 Antti Raanta has played 50 NHL games between the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers. He was a member of the 2014/15 Hawks but didn't qualify to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup because Scott Darling had taken his job come playoffs. Chicago, however, did present Raanta with a Cup ring and his day with the Trophy.

Zemgus Girgensons

The Buffalo Sabres drafted Zemgus Girgensons 14th overall in 2012. The Latvian forward represented his country at the 2014 Winter Olympics. He's already nearing 200 career NHL games and represented the Buffalo Sabres at the 2015 NHL All-Star game.

William Karlsson

Swedish forward William Karlsson was drafted in the second round of the 2011 NHL draft by the Anaheim Ducks. He made his NHL debut with the Ducks in 2014 but in 2015 he was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Karlsson has become a regular on the Jackets' roster.

Stuart Percy

Stuart Percy was a first round pick, 25th overall, by the Maple Leafs in 2011. The defenceman played 9 games for the 2014/15 Leafs, recording 3 assists.

Martin Marincin

What an awful signature! Martin Marincin is a Slovakian defenceman who was drafted 46th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2010. Since 2013 he's played well over 100 NHL games between the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He participated in the 2014 Winter Olympics with Slovakia.

Ryan Strome

Center Ryan Strome was drafted 5th overall by the New York Islanders in 2011. He's since played over 150 games with the Islanders, scoring 29 goals and 85 points. His younger brother, Dylan, was drafted even higher, 3rd overall in 2015.

Patrick Brown

Undrafted forward Patrick Brown spent four seasons playing NCAA hockey for Boston College, he also wore the captain's C in his senior year. Brown was held pointless in 7 NHL games with the 2014/15 Carolina Hurricanes. His father, Doug Brown, was a long time NHLer.

Joonas Nattinen

Finnish forward Joonas Nattinen was drafted 65th overall by the Canadiens in 2009. He spent three seasons in North America and played just one NHL game in 2014. He's since moved back to Europe.

Evgeny Kuznetsov

The Capitals drafted Russian forward Evgeny Kuznetsov in the first round of the 2010 NHL draft. They let him stay in the KHL until 2014. Kuznetsov has developed into an offensive force in the NHL and this season has 44 points in 45 games.

Mirco Mueller

The Sharks drafted Swiss forward Mirco Mueller 18th overall in 2010. Since 2014 he's played 49 NHL games with the San Jose Sharks.

Connor Carrick

A former member of the prestigious US National Development team, Connor Carrick was drafted by the Capitals in 2012. In 2013 he helped the Americans win Gold at the World Junior Championships. The defenceman has already played 37 NHL games with Washington.

Jiri Sekac

Czech forward Jiri Sekac was a late bloomer and signed as a free agent by the Montreal Canadiens in 2014. He played one season with the Montreal before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks. He's played 90 career NHL games between the Habs and Ducks, scoring 10 goals and 24 points.

Valeri Nichushkin

Russian foreword Valeri Nichushkin was drafted 10th overall by Dallas in 2013. Nichushkin proceeded to make the jump straight into the NHL and had a solid rookie year with Dallas, scoring 14 goals and 34 points. Injuries have slowed his progress but he still remains a full time Dallas Star.

Josh Jooris

Josh Jooris was an undrafted forward who earned an NHL contract after three solid season of NCAA hockey with Union College in New York. Jooris is in his second season as a full time member of the Calgary Flames. So far he's scored 15 goals and 31 points in 88 career NHL games with the Flames. His father, Mark, was a longtime pro hockey player who never made it to the NHL.

Nicolas Deslauriers

Nic Deslauriers was drafted by the LA Kings in 2009 but was unable to crack their roster. In March, 2014 he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres and a couple days later made his NHL debut. He's since played well over 100 NHL games with Buffalo.

Patrik Nemeth

Swedish defenceman Patrik Nemeth was drafted by the Dallas Stars 41st overall in 2010. He helped Sweden win Gold at the 2012 World Junior Championhips and in 2014 helped the Texas Stars with the AHL's Calder Cup. He's recorded 4 assists in 40 career NHL games with the Dallas Stars.

Justin Fontaine

Justin Fontaine spent four seasons at the University of Minnesota-Duluth before making his way to the Wild. Fontaine is entering his third season as a full time member of the Wild and has already played 150+ games in the NHL.

Brandon Saad

The Blackhawks drafted Brandon Saad 43rd overall in 2011. He emerged as a top tier NHLer with the Hawks and won a Stanley Cup in 2013 and 2015. In the summer of 2015 he was traded and signed to a big contract by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Mike Zibanejad

Mika Zibanejad was drafted 6th overall in 2011 by the Ottawa Senators. The skilled Swede has already played 244 regular season NHL games with the Sens.

Nathan Beaulieu

The Montreal Canadiens drafted Nathan Beaulieu 17th overall in 2011. He had a strong junior career with the Saint John Sea Dogs, winning two league championships and in 2011 winning the Memorial Cup. In 2012 Beaulieu won a Bronze medal at the World Juniors with Canada. The offensive defenceman has already played 132 regular season games in the NHL with Montreal.

Matt Nieto

Matt Nieto represents the massive gains hockey has made in California. He's a native of Long Beach and rose through the hockey ranks by attending the US National Development Program and then spending three years at Boston University. The Sharks drafted Nieto in the second round of the 2011 NHL draft and he's already played nearly 200 NHL games with San Jose.

Jerry D'Amigo

Since 2013 Jerry D'Amigo has played 31 games in the NHL between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres.

Michael Raffl

Austrian Michael Raffl was signed by the Flyes as an undrafted free agent. He's entering his third season in the NHL and has put up a respectable 36 goals and 61 points in 176 games. He represented Austria at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Jayson Megna

Jayson Megna was never drafted but was signed as a free agent by the Penguins after playing just one season of NCAA hockey in Nebraska-Omaha. From 2013 to 2015 Megna scored 5 goals and 10 points in 48 NHL games with the Penguins. He was recently signed by the New York Rangers and has since played another 4 NHL games with the club, netting a goal and an assist.

Sean Collins (born 1983)

From 2008 to 2012 Sean Collins played 21 NHL games with Washington. He retired in 2013 and I've been unable to locate his whereabouts. There is another Sean Collins (born 1988) who currently plays in the NHL. Since the other Sean Collins played for the Washington Capitals and there is a third Sean Collins who was born in the same year as this Collins and also played pro hockey for a number of years, its hard to do any kind of specific search for this Sean Collins. For these reasons I decided to spring on this cheap purchase from a trusted seller.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The 41st and last autograph of the post goes into my 'Backup Only' binder.

Eric Hartzell
Eric Hartzell dressed as backup goalie for the Pittsburgh Penguins in one NHL game during the 2012/2013 season. He dressed as backup to Tomas Vokoun on April 22 when Marc-Andre Fleury missed a game due to the birth of his first child. Hartzell was an undrafted free agent signing from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut where he was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. Hartzell spent a couple seasons in Pittsburgh's organization but was never able to get an NHL start.

In this post I've got 22 new autographs to show with 19 being former NHLers. The grand total of unique NHL signatures in the collection is now 4,802 for 66% of everyone who has ever dressed in the National Hockey League since it was created in 1917. All are certified autographs in this mail post but the next one should include a bunch of TTM requests since I'm expecting a package from home with all my recent returns. I very much look forward to the day when I'm finished with school and have a permanent location I can send my mail to. Since I move almost every year I have to address my autograph requests, which can take months-years to return, to my childhood home of Prince Edward Island (about 1,000 miles away from my current location). I do, however, get my purchases sent directly do me in Ottawa, hence posts such as this.

I've gotten a nice stash of international stamps lately for TTM use including some Russian, Finnish and German stamps. My biggest impediment is the ridiculously high prices of Canada Post. It costs me $2.50 to send a small letter via International mail in Canada. If you look at other countries and compare what they pay to ship the same envelope around the world, its usually about half of what we Canadians have to cough up. It was only a few years ago when I could send the same letter via Canada Post for just over a dollar, a reasonable price. If you add up the price of all the stamps and materials, it currently costs me about $5 to send a single international autograph request. With about a 50% return rate, each international autograph I get back represents a good $10 investment. Unfortunately, this is no longer a cheap hobby.

Jean Ratelle

Jean Ratelle spent 21 seasons in the NHL and scored over 1,200 points. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985. He's also notable for being a member of the 1972 Canadian team that defeated the Soviet Union in the Summit Series.

A certified Ratelle autograph has long been at the top of my want list but he has relatively few on the market. I must also add that he has a beautiful signature.

Tom Barrasso

Tom Barrasso was drafted 5th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 1983 and jumped straight into the NHL. In 1984 he won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year and the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goalie. He was still a teenager and had jumped from high school right into the NHL. A three time NHL All-Star, Barrasso won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992 with Pittsburgh. Over twenty years he played for the Sabres, Penguins, Senators, Hurricanes, Maple Leafs and Blues.

Mike Palmateer

Mike Palmateer is best known for his six years as a Toronto Maple Leafs goalie. From 1976 to 1984 he played 356 regular season games in the NHL between the Leafs and Washington Capitals. He was a solid net minder but didn't win anything of note other than a Memorial Cup as a junior. He maintains a strong fan base due to his time in Toronto, also his hometown.

Thomas Gradin
A former NHL All-Star, Swedish centre Thomas Gradin scored 209 goals and 593 points in 677 regular season games in the NHL. He helped Vancouver reach the 1982 Stanley Cup finals, scoring 19 points in 17 playoff games.
The last card I need to find from the 2004/05 ITG Franchises set is a Bill Hicke autograph. It remains my all time favourite autograph set and I can only wish there will be another comprehensive vintage autograph checklist that includes so many first time signers.

Don Lever
Don Lever was drafted 3rd overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 1972. From then until 1987 he played over 1000 games in the NHL. Lever scored at least 20 goals in 9 seasons and scored over 300 goals during his career. From 1977 to 1979 he was captain of the Canucks and from 1982 to 1984 he was captain of the New Jersey Devils. Lever later spent a dozen seasons in the NHL as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres and St. Louis Blues.

Joacim Eriksson

Swedish goalie Joacim Eriksson was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2008 but was never signed by the club. In 2013 he was signed to a two-year deal by the Vancouver Canucks. Eriksson spent most of that two years in the AHL but did appear in one NHL game, a total of 36 minutes, with the 2013/14 Canucks. He's also notable for winning a bronze medal at the 2014 World Championships with Sweden.

Mikko Jokela

Finn Mikko Jokela has spent the majority of his career playing in Europe. The defenceman played 1 career NHL game with the 2002/2003 Vancouver Canucks. He later helped Finland win a Bronze at the 2008 World Championships.

Tomi Pettinen

From 2002 to 2006 Finnish defenceman Tomi Pettinen played 24 games in the NHL with the New York Islanders.

Ryan Keller

Ryan Keller took the long road to the NHL. After junior he spent time in the UHL, AHL and played two full seasons in Finland before signing his first NHL contract. He played 6 career NHL games with the 2009/10 Ottawa Senators as a 25 year old rookie. The well travelled Keller has spent the last four seasons in Switzerland.

Geoff Kinrade

Geoff Kinrade played one career NHL game with the 2008/09 Tampa Bay Lightning. The Michigan Tech alumni has spent the last five seasons in Europe.

Mathieu Perrault

Mathieu Perrault has emerged as a reliable scorer with the Winnipeg Jets. Since 2009 he's played well over 300 NHL games between the Capitals, Ducks and Jets. He's scored 76 goals and 185 points in the NHL.

Ben Smith

Ben Smith is best known for being a member of the 2013 Stanley Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks. Even though he only played 1 regular season and 1 playoff game with the team, it was enough to get his name on the Trophy and his day with the Cup. He's played nearly 200 NHL games between the Hawks and San Jose Sharks.

T.J. Oshie

T.J. Oshie is best known by most American hockey fans for his shootout success at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Although Team USA didn't capture a medal, Oshie was the team's hero. Oshie was a 2005 first round draft pick by the Blues. He's played almost 500 career NHL games and is currently a member of the Washington Capitals.

Christian Folin

Swedish defeceman Christian Folin took an unusual route to the NHL. The undrafted European spent two years playing NCAA hockey in America before signing as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild. Since 2014 he's played over 50 NHL games with the Wild.

Dennis Everberg

The Colorado Avalanche signed Swedish forward Dennis Everberg as an undrafted free agent. Since 2014 he's played 70 NHL games with Colorado, recording 3 goals and a dozen points.

Justin Hodgman

Justin Hodgman scored a goal in 5 career NHL games with the 2014/15 Arizona Coyotes. He was never drafted and after stints in the ECHL and AHL found himself in Finland by 2011. After a year in Finland and two seasons in the KHL Hodgman destroyed the odds and finally found an NHL contract with the Coyotes.

Barclay Goodrow

As a junior Barclay Goodrow was captain of the OHL's Brampton/North Bay Battalion for two seasons before signing an NHL contract with the Sharks as an undrafted free agent. Since 2014 he's played 74 NHL games with San Jose, contributing a few goals and 15 points.

Joe Whitney

Joe Whitney played four season of NCAA hockey with Boston College and then signed with the Devils organization as a free agent. From 2014 to 2015 he scored 1 goal in 5 career NHL games with the Devils. In the summer of 2015 he signed with the New York Islanders but has spent all of his time with their AHL affiliate.

Phil Varone

Originally drafted by the Sharks in 2008, Phil Varone made his NHL debut with the 2013/14 Buffalo Sabres. He's since played over 40 NHL games with Buffalo, contributing 5 goals and 8 points.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Maxime Daigneault
Maxime Daigneault dressed as an NHL backup goalie for two games with the 2005/2006 Washington Capitals. He served as Olaf Kolzig's backup. This goes into my NHL Backups Only collection.

Anthony Stolarz

Over two seasons Anthony Stolarz has dressed as a backup goalie for a half dozen NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyer. He's currently on the team's NHL roster so there remains a good chance this autograph will eventually move from my "backup only" binder to actual NHL player status.

Meghan Duggan

Meghan Duggan won a Silver medal at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics with the USA. She's also won five Gold medals at the World Championships. She's also notable for being captain of Team USA since 2014.

This gives me an autograph of all USA women players who have a certified autograph on the market except for one. I still have yet to find a 2014 Topps Hilary Knight autograph at a reasonable price and the market has seemed to have dried up.

25 new NHL autographs added to the collection since my last post. The grant total of unique NHL player signatures is now 4,827 for 66% of everyone who has ever played in the league.

Mostly TTM (though the mail) returns this week and a few small purchases. The TTMs all came in a big package from my Prince Edward Island childhood home where I still get them sent. I lost out on a couple nice vintage pieces this week and its always hard to lose a rare, obscure signature of long deceased players. These returns really made up for that. The hobby tends to run on US dollars and the low value of the Canadian loonie has really hurt my already tiny student budget. While I enjoy my graduate program, I sometimes long for the day of having a real job and the accompanying pay check. I've managed to keep my student debt relatively low by working a full time and part time job throughout my undergrad program. When I finish my masters and some money starts coming in, vintage NHL signatures are going to by among my first purchases. Until that time, my pre-expansion autograph collection isn't likely to grow much.

Ernie Hicke
From 1970 to 1978 Ernie Hicke scored 132 goals and 272 points in 520 career NHL games. He was a member of the California Golden Seals, Atlanta Fames, New York Islanders, Minnesota North Stars and Los Angeles Kings. His brother, Bill, was also a solid NHL player.

Torrie Robertson

This is favourite autograph of the post because I had searched for a way to contact Torrie Robertson before but to no avail. When I wrote to his brother, Geordie, who briefly played in the NHL, I ask if he happened to have any contact info for his brother. He did and this is the result. From 1980 to 1990 Torrie played 442 regular season games in the NHL and recorded 1,751 penalty minutes. The tough guy played with the Washington Capitals, Hartford Whalers and Detroit Red Wings. With the enforcer all but dead in the NHL, I especially enjoy adding autographs of notable retired fighters.

Steve Stoyanovich

R.P.I. graduate forward Steve Stoyanovich scored 3 goals and 8 points in 23 career NHL games with the 1983/84 Hartford Whalers.

Stu Smith

Stu Smith played 77 NHL games with the Hartford Whalers in the early 1980s.

Paul MacDermid

From 1981 to 1995 Paul MacDermid played 733 regular season+playoff games in the NHL. He was a member of the Whalers, Jets, Capitals and Nordiques. His son, Lane, currently plays in the NHL. Shout out to Mr. MacDermid for the beauty signature.

Rich Preston

Rich Preston signed with the WHA's Houston Aeros after four years at the University of Denver. He spent five seasons in the WHA, scoring 285 points in 388 games. His Aeros won the WHA's Avco Cup as league Champs in 1975. In 1979 he was named playoff MVP as his Winnipeg Jets won the Avco Cup in the league's final year of existence. In the NHL, from 1979 to 1987, he scored 291 points in 580 games. Preston split his time in the NHL between the Blackhawks and New Jersey Devils. He later became an NHL assistant coach, spending 15 seasons behind the bench. He was an NHL assistant coach with the Blackhawks, Flames and Sharks.

George Lyle

A Michigan Tech alumni, George Lyle scored 39 goals and 72 points in his first season of pro hockey with the WHA's New England Whalers. He was awarded the league's rookie of year award. Lyle played over 200 games in the WHA with the Whalers from 1976 to 1979. From 1979 to 1983 Lyle scored 24 goals and 62 points in 99 career NHL games. He was a member of the Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers.

Ken Houston

From 1975 to 1984 Ken Houston played 570 regular season games in the NHL as a member of the Atlanta/Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and Los Angeles Kings. He was a quality NHL player who recorded six seasons of 20+ goals.

Steve Peters

Steve Peters played 2 NHL games with the 1979/80 Colorado Rockies.

Peter Driscoll

Peter Driscoll was an early teammate of Wayne Gretzky and is often noted in the history books as being a part of the WHA deal that sent he and The Great One to the Edmonton Oilers from the Indianapolis Racers. Driscoll played 60 NHL games with the Oilers from 1979 to 1981. He was more successful in the WHA, playing over 300 games in the rebel league.

Andy Schliebener

From 1981 to 1985 Andy Schliebener played 90 regular season+playoff games in the NHL for the Vancouver Canucks. The defenceman recorded 2 goals and 13 points.

Jeff Jackson
From 1984 to 1992 Jeff Jackson played 263 regular season games in the NHL. He suited up with the Maple Leafs, Nordiques and Blackhawks. Jackson studied law after hanging up his skates and from 2006 to 2010 he was assistant GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

John Stevens

From 1986 to 1994 defenceman John Stevens recorded 10 points in 53 career NHL games. He spent time in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers and Hartford Whalers. Stevens is best known for his work behind the bench. From 2006 to 2009 he was head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. As an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings he won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2015. He has an impressive trophy case as he also won the AHL's Calder Cup four times, three as a player and one as a coach.

Ed Courtenay

From 1991 to 1993 Ed Courtenay scored 7 goals and 20 points in 44 career NHL games with the newly created San Jose Sharks. Courtenay continued playing minor-pro hockey for many years and retired in 2009 at 40.

Steve Larouche
From 1994 to 1996 Steve Larouche scored 9 goals and 18 points in 26 career NHL games. He briefly played for the Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings.

Justin Johnson

Justin Johnson played 2 NHL gams with the 2013/14 New York Islanders as a 32 year old rookie. The Anchorage, Alaska native was never drafted and after his NCAA career spent five years in the ECHL before finally making it to the AHL in 2010. He's currently playing for the AHL's Toronto Marlies and is unlikely to be back in the NHL.

Kevan Miller

Kevan Miller is a Univerisity of Vermont alumni and free agent signing by the Boston Bruins. Since 2013 the defenceman has played 130+ NHL games with the Bruins and is currently a full time member of the team.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie

From 2012 to 2014 Pierre-Cedric Labrie played 46 NHL games with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Labrie is a real underdog story. As a junior, he didn't catch on with a QMJHL team until he was 19. Undrafted, Labrie spent half a dozen seasons in the AHL before making his NHL debut.

Micheal Ferland

A 2010 fifth round pick, Micheal Ferland made his NHL debut with the 2014/15 Calgary Flames. He's been a full time member of the 2015/16 Flames. The autograph looks like it was signed with a dying marker in this scan but he just used a silver marker and it looks much better in person.

Peter Vandermeer

Tough guy Pete Vandermeer played 2 career NHL games with the 2007/08 Phoenix Coyotes. He was a 31 year old NHL rookie who had been playing pro for over a decade, starting with the 1996/1997 ECHL's Columbus Chill. In 611 career AHL games Vandermeer racked up 2,772 penalty minutes. Five his brothers have played pro hockey and one of them, Jim, also made it to the NHL.

Bengt-Ake Gustafsson

From 1979 to 1989 Swedish forward Bengt-Ake Gustavsson scored 196 goals and 555 points in 629 career NHL games with the Washington Capitals. A 2003 inductee to the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame, he helped Sweden win a Gold at the 1987 World Championships.

Alain Vigneault

From 1981 to 1983 Alain Vigneault played 42 career regular season games in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues. He's best known as a coach and has spent almost two decades behind the bench in the NHL. He's been head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks and currently the New York Rangers. With Vancouver he won the 2007 Jack Adams Trophy as NHL coach of the year. I had written to Vigneault a couple times but never heard back and his is his only certified autograph card. I wish there were more NHL coaches hockey cards.

Troy Grosenick

Troy Grosenick is a Union College alumni who was signed as a free agent by the Sharks in 2013. Currently in his third season with San Jose's AHL affiliate, Grosenick was briefly recalled during the 2014/15 season and played two NHL games. He only allowed three goals in that stint and remains a top prospect in San Jose's net.

Michael Chaput

Michael Chaput had a stellar final season of junior hockey in 2011/12. He lead the QMJHL's Shawinigan Cataractes the the Memorial Cup championship. He scored 5 goals and 12 points in 6 games as his team won the tournament and Chaput was named the tournament's MVP. Originally drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010, he was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2011 while still playing junior. Since the 2013/14 season, Chaput has scored 2 goals and 7 points in 53 NHL games with Columbus.

Henrik Samuelsson
The Coyotes drafted Henrik Samuelson in the first round of the 2012 draft. In 2014 Samuelsson won the Memorial Cup with the WHL's Edmonton Oil Kings. He played 3 NHL games with the 2014/15 Arizona Coyotes. His father, Ulf, was a long time NHLer and older brother, Philip, currently plays in the NHL.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Autograph #26 of the post goes into my NHL 'backup only' collection.

Mike Mole
If you happen to be asking yourself why the name Mike Mole sounds a little familiar it could be because you watched CBC's Making the Cut, a hockey reality show from 2004. Mole, who was playing Canadian University hockey at the time of the show, won one of six invitations to an NHL training camp. A couple years later he did get a pro hockey contract and in 2008 was recalled to the NHL. He spent two games as an NHL backup goalie with the New York Islanders.

Just one envelope in the mail these last couple weeks but its worthy of its own post. Six old 1950s Quebec Aces signed photos. They are slightly larger than a postcard but much smaller than a 8x10. They scanned very poorly so I had to break out the camera, all the autographs look much better in person. A seller listed a bunch of old Aces stuff and although there were eight total signed photos I wanted, my small budget forced me to lose out on the two nicest ones. I'm still very happy with these six hard to find autographs, especially considering five of the players have long passed away.

The grand total of unique NHL autographs in the collection is now 4,833 for 66% of everyone who has ever played in the league.

Ralph 'Bucky' Buchanan

Ralph 'Bucky' Buchanan played 2 games in the NHL with the 1948/49 New York Rangers. From 1941 to 1945 he put his pro hockey career on hold and served with the Canadian Navy during WW2. His son, Ron, also went on to play in the NHL. Ralph passed away in 2005.

Mike Labadie

Mike Labadie spent a couple decades playing pro hockey but his NHL career was brief. He played 3 career NHL games with the 1952/53 New York Rangers.

Ray Powell

Ray Powell spent one season in the NHL, scoring 7 goals and 22 points in 31 career games with the 1950/51 Chicago Blackhawks. He spent time with the Red Wings and Blackhawks but never made it out of their farm teams. Powell passed away in 1999.

Larry Regan

Larry Regan is most notable for winning the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year with the 1956/57 Boston Bruins. He only spent five seasons in the NHL, last playing for the 1960/61 Toronto Maple Leafs. He played 280 regular season NHL games between the Bruins and Leafs. From 1967 to 1973 Regan was General Manager of the Los Angeles Kings, the first GM in team history. He also spent a season as the team's head coach. Regan passed away in 2009.

Alan 'Skip' Teal

Skip Teal played just 1 career NHL game, with the 1954/55 Boston Bruins. He's also notable for winning the Memorial Cup in 1953, his last season of junior hockey. His younger brother, Vic, was also a 'one game wonder' in the NHL. Skip passed away in 2006.

Ed Zeniuk

Ed Zeniuk only spent a few seasons playing pro hockey in the 1950s. He played 2 career NHL games with the 1954/55 Detroit Red Wings, the eventual Stanley Cup winners. The defenceman was held pointless in his 2 NHL games. He passed away in 1996.

35 autographs to show in this mail post. The total of unique NHL player autographs in my collection is now 4,868 for 67% of everyone who's ever played in the league. Coming close to the 5,000 milestone I've had my eye on for a while.

The first two autographs are my only purchases of late. Vlad has been on my want list for along time so I'm thrilled to pick up his only certified autograph. Next up are a bunch of TTM returns. There are also 9 autographs that come from a trade with an autograph collector from the Czech Republic.

Also in the mail this week were a couple sheets of German and Russian stamps. I hope to turn these into some TTM successes. I haven't had much success with sending to Russia but there are a number of former NHLers in the country that I need.

Vladimir Konstantinov

Vladimir Konstantinov's tragic story is well known in the hockey world. He was a star Russian defenceman who lead the league in plus/minus, was runner up to the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenceman and won the Stanley Cup in his last year of hockey. Less than a week after winning the Cup Konstantinov was paralyzed in a car accident. This is Konstantinov's only certified autograph and it was high on my wantlist for a long time.

Dmitry Korobov

Belarus native Dmitry Korobov was signed as a free agent by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2012. The defenceman played 3 NHL games with the 2013/14 Lightning. He's spent the last two seasons in the KHL. With Russia being a black hole for TTM autographs, I jumped on this Korobov KHL certified autograph when it became available at a reasonable price.

Darren Archibald

Darren Archibald scored 1 goal and 3 points in 16 career NHL games with the 2013/14 Vancouver Canucks. He was an undrafted free agent signing who played his junior hockey in the OHL with Barrie and Niagara.

Chris Tanev

Since 2011 defenceman Chris Tanev has played nearly 300 games in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks. He was an undrafted free agent signing from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Tanev recently signed a five year extension with the Canucks.

Brandon Davidson

Drafted in the 6th round of the 2010 NHL draft, Brandon Davidson has spent the entire 2015/16 season in the NHL with Edmonton. The defenceman had a breakout season in 2014/15 and made the NHL squad. Davidson was not only an underdog prospect, he successfully defeated cancer in 2013 when he was diagnosed during his first season of pro hockey.

Bryce Van Brabant

Bryce Van Brabant played 6 games in the NHL at the end of the 2013/14 season with the Calgary Flames. He was signed by the Flames as a free agent at the end of the 2013/14 season after Van Brabant finished his third year at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. He's since spent two years with the Flames but has spent all of that time in the AHL. I have to give kudos to Van Brabant for the gorgeous signature.

Johan Sundstrom

Swedish centerman Johan Sundstrom played 11 NHL games with the 2013/14 New York Islanders. Drafted 50th overall by the Islanders in 2011, in 2012 he help Sweden win a Gold at the World Junior Championships. Sundstrom spent three years in the Islanders organization and in 2015 returned to Sweden.

Damian Surma

Damian Surma played 1 game for the 2002/03 and 2003/04 Carolina Hurricanes. He actually recorded a goal and an assist in his 2 career NHL games. Surma had been drafted by Carolina in 1999 and he kept playing pro hockey until 2014.

Jason Ryznar

A University of Michigan alumni, Jason Ryznar played 8 games in the NHL with the 2005/06 New Jersey Devils. He spent two years in the Devils organization, one in the Minnesota Wild organization and retired from pro hockey in 2010.

Eric Healey

Eric Healey played 2 career NHL games with the 2005/06 Boston Bruins as a 30 year old rookie. He was a free agent signing who had finished his college hockey career with R.P.I. in 1998. Healey made his NHL debut in his eight season of pro hockey, recording 2 penalty minutes and no points in his short stint with the Bruins. He retired from hockey in 2011.

Ryan Tobler

Ryan Tobler played 4 career NHL games with the 2001/02 Tampa Bay Lightning. He didn't score any points in his short NHL career but did record a fight with NHL heavyweight Peter Worrell.

Jan Mertzig

Swedish defenceman Jan Mertzig played 23 games in the NHL with the 1998/99 New York Rangers.

Rusty Fitzgerald

From 1994 to 1996 Rusty Fitzgerald scored 2 goals and 4 points in 25 career regular season games in the NHL with Pittsburgh. His little brother, Zack, briefly played in the NHL in 2008.

Joaquin Gage

From 1994 to 1996 Joaquin Gage played 18 games in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers. Over four years later and after a stint with the Canadian National team, Gage returned to the NHL, playing 5 games with the 2000/01 Edmonton Oilers for a total of 23 career NHL games.

Ken Holland

Since 1997 Ken Holland has been General Manager of the Detroit Red Wings and has found so much success in the role that a lot of people don't even know he had a short career as an NHL goalie. Originally drafted by the Maple Leafs in 1975, Holland played a game for the 1980/81 Hartford Whalers and 3 with the 1983/84 Detroit Red Wings. As GM with Detroit he won the Stanley Cup in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008.

Marc Behrend

Marc Behrend had a stellar junior career at the University of Wisconsin. He was USA's goalie at the 1984 Olympics, playing in 4 games. From 1984 to 1986 he played 39 games in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets. He became a firefighter after retiring from hockey.

Peter Ambroziak

Peter Ambroziak recorded 1 assist in 12 career NHL games with the 1994/95 Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres had drafted Ambroziak in the fourth round of the 1991 NHL draft.

Steve Tuttle

From 1988 to 1991 Steve Tuttle scored 28 goals and 56 points in 144 career NHL games with the St. Louis Blues. He was a University of Wisconsin alumni who had been drafted by the Blues in 1984.

Jim Ennis

Drafted by the Oilers after his first season at Boston University, defenceman Jim Ennis played 5 games in the NHL with the 1987/88 Edmonton Oilers. In 1989 he was traded from the Oilers to Hartford for Norm Maciver. Maciver went on to have a long NHL career while Ennis never played in the NHL for the Whalers. Ennis retired in 1990 after just one year in the Whalers system.

Todd Strueby

In 1982, Strueby was a member of Canada's fist World Junior Championship Gold medal winning team. From 1981 to 1983 Todd Strueby played 5 games with Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers. He recorded an assist in his only game for the 1983/84 Oilers, a team that went on to win the Stanley Cup. Stueby was traded to New York in 1985 but never played in the Big Apple. His son, Matt, recently played pro hockey as well but never made it to the big leagues.

Dave Logan

From 1975 to 1981 Dave Logan played over 200 games in the NHL. He spent most of that time with the Chicago Blackhawks but finished his NHL career with a brief stint as a Vancouver Canuck. The defenceman recorded 5 goals, 34 points and 35 fights at the NHL level.

Bob Murray (b. 1948)

I noted the birthdate because this is a different Bob Murray than the current Ducks GM, who also played in the NHL. This Bob Murray played 204 regular season+playoff games in the NHL between 1973 and 1977. He was a member of the Atlanta Flames and Vancouver Canucks.

Victor Netchaev (aka Viktor Nechaev)

Victor Netchaev made NHL history October 1982 when he became the first player from the Soviet Union to play in the NHL. A couple days later he became the first Soviet to score a goal in the NHL. Netchaev grew up in Siberia and at one point played for the tier 1 Leningrad Red Army team. At 27 he was allowed to leave Russia when he married an American student. At the time he was an average player in a tier 3 USSR league but the LA Kings got wind of his arrival and drafted him in 1982. Netchaev only played 3 career NHL games with the Kings and his North American hockey career was very brief. He does, however, hold an important note in NHL history being the first trained Russian to make it to the NHL. Netchaev's name is spelled so many ways I've lost track. I used this spelling on the card because it was how it was listed with the address I found and appears to be how he currently spells his name. I did ask in my letter if there was a correct spelling but he didn't say.

Greg Joly

Defenceman Greg Joly is most notable for being drafted 1st overall in 1974 by both the NHL's Washington Capitals and WHA's Phoenix Roadrunners. He signed with Capitals but only spent two season in Washingon. Joly was a high scoring junior player and lead the Regina Pats to the Memorial Cup in 1974 but wasn't able to translate that success to the NHL level. Joly spent most of his NHL career with the Red Wings. From 1974 to 1983 he played 365 regular season games in the NHL.

Ron Serafini
Ron Serafini played 2 games in the NHL with the 1973/74 California Golden Seals. He later played 16 games in the WHA with the 1975/76 Cincinnati Stingers.

John Newberry
From 1983 to 1986 John Newberry played 24 career regular season+playoff games in the NHL. He played for the Montreal Canadiens and Hartford Whalers. Unfortunately, as you can see this suffered some water damage along the way. The autograph itself is perfect so if the condition bothers me in the future I can easily make a custom cut with the signature.

Steve Valiquette

From 1999 to 2010 Steve Valiquette played 46 games in the NHL. He played for the Islanders, Oilers and Rangers. Valiquette was a full time member of the Rangers for three seasons but didn't see much action as Henrik Lundqvist's backup. I'm happy to finally check Valiquette off my want list because I have a special place for goalie graphs and I've tried writing to Valiquette multiple times with no success.

Alfie Michaud

An undrafted University of Main alumni, goalie Alfie Michaud played 2 NHL games with the 1999/00 Vancouver Canucks.

Marek Posmyk

Czech defenceman Marek Posmyk was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs 36th overall in 1996. He came to North America a year later and spent a couple seasons in the Leafs organization before being traded to the Lightning. It was the trade that brought Darcy Tucker to the Leafs. Posmyk played 18 NHL games with the 1999/00 Lighting and 1 game with the 2000/01 Lightning.

Tomas Kurka

From 2002 to 2004 Tomas Kurka scored 3 goals and 5 points in 17 career NHL games with the Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina had drafted the Czech forward with the 32nd overall pick of the 2000 NHL draft.

Vaclav Pletka

Czech forward Vaclav Pletka played 1 game in the NHL with the 2001/02 Philadelphia Flyers. He's still playing pro hockey at 36 and has spent his entire career in his native Czech Republic save for 2 seasons in North America with the Philly organization.

Tomas Zizka

From 2002 to 2004 Czech defenceman Tomas Zizka played 25 games in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings drafted Zizka in 1998 and convinced him to come to North America in 2001. He still plays pro hockey in his native Czech Republic.

Michal Sivek

Drafted 29th overall by the Capitals in 1999, Sivek was traded to Pittsburgh in the Jaromir Jagr trade. With Pittsburgh, Sivek played 38 games in the NHL with their 2002/03 team. The Czech forward recorded 3 goals and 6 points. Unfortunately, you can see that Sivek really doesn't have much of an autograph.

Martin Prochazka

Czech forward Martin Prochazka played 29 games with the 1997/98 Toronto Maple Leafs and 3 games with the 1999/00 Atlanta Thrashers. He scored 2 goals and 7 points in his 32 career NHL games. Prochazka won a Gold medal at the 1998 Olympics with Czech Republic.

Bobby Simpson

From 1976 to 1983 Bobby Simpson played 175 regular season games in the NHL. He was a member of the Flames, Blues and Penguins. I do have a TTM request out to Mr. Simpson so its possible that you'll see an upgraded Simpson autograph in the years of debut soon.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

As usual, I'll finish with my newly acquired hockey autographs that don't fall into my NHL player collection. Four additional signatures make 39 total autographs in this post. One for my WHA collection, one the NHL assistant coaches collection and two for the NHL officials collection.

Gene Peacosh

From 1972 to 1977 Gene Peacosh played 367 regular season games in the WHA. He suited up for the New York Raiders, New York Golden Blades, Jersey Devils, San Diego Mariners, Edmonton Oilers and Indianapolis Racers in his long WHA career. He was a good player and scored 165 goals and 330 points in his five seasons in the WHA. Before that he was a member of the Johnstown Jets in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was the team that inspired the Chiefs from the movie Slapshot.

Jim Hulton

From 2008 to 2011 Jim Hulton was assistant coach of the Florida Panthers. He's currently head coach of the QMJHL's Charlottetown Islanders. At last count I think I have about 20 autographs of guys who only made it to the NHL as assistant coaches.

Bob Langdon

From 2000 to 2006 Bob Langdon refereed 66 NHL games, spending most of his time in the AHL. If you have a few minutes, this is a pretty great read from reddit. Langdon went online and freely answered fan questions with some legendary replies like; "Darcy Tucker was a dick on the ice,""there was a guy in Hamilton, who would go to the games whenever I was in town, between anthems when it was all quiet he would yell 'You suck Langdon,' same time, every game,""I think I called Tie Domi a midget once. Then Pat Quinn yelled at me." Landgon actually answered my letter with replies (favourite moments) similar to what he said on the message board so it was definitely him. Great guy and I'm glad to add his autograph to my small but growing NHL officials collection.

Don Koharski
Guys like Don Koharski are the reason I also collect NHL official autographs. Like him or not, if you watched NHL hockey in the 1980s, 1990s or 2000s then you know exactly who Koharski is. With 1,719 regular season games and 13 Stanley Cup finals refereed, he has certainly had an impact in the NHL and is one of the most successful referees in league history.
If you watch Sportscenter Top 10s then you've also likely seen Koharski in the infamous clip from 1988 where Sabres head coach Jim Schoenfeld and Koharski got into a scuffle after a game and Schoenfeld called Koharski a fat pig and taunting him to ,"have another doughnut."

17 new autographs to show in this post. They raise the grand total of unique NHL player signatures in the collection to 4,885 for 67% of everyone who's ever dressed in the league.

They all came in one package from COMC.com. As my certified autograph want list withers down to only new players (post 2013/14 debuts), my buying from comic.com has slowed accordingly. With Upper Deck given an unfair advantage to run the NHL hockey card hobby, the amount of new NHL payers with certified autographs had gone down fairly significantly. Pannini was great with diversifying their rookie signatures in products. Upper Deck, however, gets a handful of rookies to sign and put those same guys in almost every set. I wish the NHLPA valued the collector over their bottom line because if they did they might do something to help the already dying hockey card industry. I'm glad Leaf has picked up ITG's place in producing some unlicensed cards to produce some kind of competition for Upper Deck, albeit highly unfair for Leaf.

I've been resisting the temptation to buy some of the newest NHL player signatures until they inevitably come down in price to a couple dollars or less. Recently, I've been focusing much of my time and efforts finding, writing and sending TTM letters. Really hoping to hit the 5,000 mark soon and it gives me a lot of motivation to send new letters because I'm so close.

Cam Neely

From 1983 to 1996 Cam Neely scored 395 goals and 694 points in 726 career regular season games in the NHL. During the 1993/94 season Neely scored 50 goals in less than 50 games, one of only a handful of NHLers ever to accomplish the feat. Unfortunately, his career was cut shorty by injuries. Neely was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005.

John Blue

From 1992 to 1996 John Blue played 46 NHL games between the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres. Blue represented the USA at the 1988 Olympics with the team finishing 7th. He was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets and later traded traded to the Minnsota North Stars but it wasn't until he signed with the Bruins as a free agent that he got his first taste of the NHL. It was really surprised to see John Blue on this checklist, he's one of the last guys I'd expect to get a modern day NHL cert, but also happy because I hadn't been able to locate him for a TTM request.

Seth Helgeson

Defenceman Seth Helgeson was drafted in 2009, spent four years at the University of Minnesota and made his NHL debut in 2014 with New Jersey. He's since played 39 career NHL games with the Devils. I don't usually add The Cup rookie patches to my collection since the cheapest autograph usually does just the same for me. In this case, Helgeson's best rookie was had for only a couple bucks. Its a good reason why I don't buy packs/boxes anymore, especially products as expensive as the Cup.

Klas Dahlbeck

Swedish defenceman Klas Dahlbeck made his NHL debut with the 2014/15 Chicago Blackhawks and in the same season he was traded to the Arizona Coyotes. He's since become a full time member of the Arizona blue line and has played in almost 90 career NHL games. Unlike Helgeson, this Cup rookie was on my want list because its Dahlbeck's only certified autograph.

Scott Mayfield

Since 2014, defenceman Scott Mayfield has played 8 regular season and 2 playoff games in the NHL with the New York Islanders. The former University of Denver player was drafted 34th overall by the Islanders in 2011.

Jan Mursak

From 2010 to 2013 Jan Mursak scored 2 goals and 4 points in 46 career NHL games with the Detroit Red Wings. Mursak, a Slovenian, represented his county at the 2014 Winter Olympics. This particular autograph has been on my want list for a while and It leaves me with only two autographs left of the 149 players who made their debuts during the 2010/11 NHL season. I patiently waited a rather long time for this autograph, that is until I could get one for a few dollars. Its his only certified autograph.

Filip Forsberg

Filip Forsberg was drafted 11th overall by the Washington Capitals in 2012 but was traded to the Nashville Predators before making his NHL debut. The Swedish forward quickly developed into a star scorer with Nashville and in 2015 represented the Predators at the NHL All-Star game.

Darnell Nurse

The Edmonton Oilers drafted Darnell Nurse 7th overall in the 2013 NHL draft. The big defenceman has already played over 60 NHL games with Edmonton. Darnell's father, Richard, was a former CFL pro football player.

Liam O'Brien

An undrafted grinder, Liam O'Brien was invited to Washington's 2014 training camp. He surprised everyone by earning a three-year contract and starting job on Washington's roster. He scored 1 goal and 2 points in 13 games with the Capitals to start the 2014/15 NHL season. He finished the season in the AHL and hasn't been back in the NHL since.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare is in his second season as a full time member of the Philadelphia Flyers. He's already played 142 games in the NHL, scoring 11 goals and 22 points. Bellemare is one of only five NHL players to have been born and raised in France. He's an undrafted player who spent most of his career playing pro in Sweden. He was recently signed by the Flyers and made his NHL debut as a 29 year old NHL rookie in 2015.

Brett Ritchie

The Dallas Stars drafted Brett Ritchie with the 44th pick of the 2011 NHL draft. Since 2014 he's played 36 games with the Dallas Stars. His brother, Nick, also plays in the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks.

Luke Glendening

The Red Wings signed Luke Glendening as a free agent after he completed four seasons at the University of Michigan. He was team captain in his last two season of college hockey. Since 2013 Glendening has played over 200 NHL games with the Red Wings.

Kyle Baun

Since 2015 Kyle Baun has played 5 NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks. Undrafted, Baun was signed as a free agent by the Blackhawks after three years at Colgate University. He's actually the grandson of Toronto Maple Leafs legend Bob Baun.

Josh Anderson

Josh Anderson had a strong junior career. His London Knights won the Ontario Hockey League championship in 2012 and 2013. Anderson and the Knights played for the Memorial Cup in 2012, 2013 and 2014, coming up short each time. In 2014 Anderson also played for Team Canada at the World Juniors, finishing a disappointing fourth place. Anderson made his NHL debut with the 2014/15 Blue Jackets and in his career has recorded 1 goal and 4 points in 16 NHL games with Columbus.

Philip Samuelsson

Since 2013 Philip Samuelsson has payed 12 NHL games between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Arizona Coyotes. Samuelsson is a Swedish defenceman who's spent most of his life in North America. His father, Ulf, had a lengthy NHL career and his brother, Henrik, has also played in the NHL and is also with the Coyotes organization. It looks likely that this will be Philip Samuelsson's only certified autograph since he didn't get any official NHL autograph card during his rookie year.

Andrew Copp

Andrew Copp was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in 2013 after his first year of college at the University of Michigan. In 2015 he jumped from college to the NHL as has been a full time Winnipeg Jet ever since. The Michigan native has already played 66 NHL games with the Jets, contributing 3 goals and 7 points.

Nick Shore

Nick Shore was drafted by Los Angeles in the third round of the 2011 NHL draft, he had just completed his first year at the University of Denver. Shore has already played nearly 100 NHL games with LA and has been a full time member of the team this season. His brother, Drew, also plays in the NHL.

22 new NHL autographs bring the grand total of unique NHL player signatures in the collection up to 4,907 for 67.4% of everyone who has ever played in the league.

All the autographs from this post are TTM (trough the mail) returns. I also had an unusually high number of RTS (return to sender) letters with this batch, 10. Its more due to the fact that I've been using more untested addresses lately than ever before. As my want list shrinks, so does the ease of finding new players to write to. I actually get a lot of enjoyment from searching for whereabouts for retired players but as a student with a small budget, I really feel the high price of stamps and it is disappointing to see so many wasted stamps.

Justin Florek

Forward Justin Florek spent four seasons at North Michigan University before joining the Bruins in 2012. He scored 1 goal and 2 points in 4 NHL games with the 2013/14 Boston Bruins. In the summer of 2015 he signed with the New York Islanders as a free agent but has spent the entire 2015/16 season in the AHL with Bridgeport.

Mike Angelidis

In 2010 the Lightning signed Mike Angelidis as a free agent. He has spent the last five seasons playing in the AHL. Since making his NHL debut with the 2011/12 Lightning, Angelidis has played 14 games in the NHL. He's scored 2 goals for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nate Raduns

A St. Cloud State alumni, Nate Raduns signed with the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent. He played 1 career NHL game with Philly; November 8, 2008 against the Ottawa Senators. The forward and Minnesota native was held pointless. Raduns retired in 2010.

Chris Schmidt

Chris Schmidt played 10 career NHL games with the 2002/03 Los Angeles Kings. He had been drafted by LA way back in 1994 and spent most of his career in the minors. He spent enough time playing in Germany to get his citizenship and the Canadian-German represented his adopted nation at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Chris Corrinet

A Princeton alumni, Chris Corrinet played 8 career NHL games with the 2001/02 Washington Capitals. He recorded 1 point in his short NHL career. Corrinet retired in 2005 and became a successful real estate developer in New York city.

Jesse Fibiger

Defenceman Jesse Fibiger played 16 career NHL games with the 2002/03 San Jose Sharks. He was originally drafted by the Mighty Ducks in 1998 and spent four years at University of Minnesota-Duluth. He's now a successful mortgage expert in British Columbia.

J.P. Vigier

From 2000 to 2007 J.P. Vigier scored 23 goals and 46 points in 213 career NHL games with the Atlanta Thrashers. Vigier was a free agent signing from Northern Michigan University.

Dean Sylvester

Dean Sylvester played almost 100 NHL games with the Atlanta Thrashers between 1999 and 2001. He also played 1 regular season and 4 playoff games for the Buffalo Sabres during the 1998/99 season. Sylvester scored a respectable 21 goals and 37 points in 96 career regular season NHL games.

Kai Nurminen

Finnish forward Kai Nurminen spent two seasons in North America, one with the Kings organization and the other a couple years later with the Wild. He scored 16 goals and 27 points in 67 games with the 1996/97 LA Kings and 1 goal in 2 games with the 2000/01 Minnesota Wild. He represented Finland at the 1996 and 1997 World Hockey Championships.

Petteri Lehto

Defenceman Petteri Lehto spent just one season in North America. He played 6 NHL games with the 1984/85 Pittsburgh Penguins. Lehto represented Finland at the 1984 Olympics. He's currently an NHL player agent.

Everett Sanipass

The Chicago Blackhawks drafted Everett Sanipass 14th overall in 1986. From then until 1991 he played 164 NHL games between the Hawks and Quebec Nordiques.

Pekka Rautakallio

From 1975 to 1977 defenceman Pekka Rautakallio was lured away from Finland to the WHA to play with the Phoenix Roadrunners. From 1979 to 1982 he was once again lured away from Finland, this time to play in the NHL with the Atlanta and then the Calgary Flames. In 1982 he became the first Finnish player to play in the NHL All-Star game.

Kevin Kemp

Defenceman Kevin Kemp played 3 career NHL games with the 1980/81 Hartford Whalers. He had originally been drafted by the Maple Leafs in 1974. I asked Kemp what his personal highlight was from those 3 NHL games and he said it was playing in the old Montreal Forum.

Mike Murray

Forward Mike Murray played 1 career NHL game with the 1987/88 Philadelphia Flyers and was held pointless. Although his stay in the NHL was very brief, Muray had a lengthy pro hockey career, playing from 1986 to 2003. He's currently President and General Manager of the SPHL's Knoxville Ice Bears.

Kris Manery

An undrafted University of Michiga alumni, from 1977 to 1981 Kris Manery scored 63 goals and 127 points in 250 career NHL games. He dressed with the Cleveland Barons, Minnesota North Stars, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets. His brother, Randy, also made it to the NHL.

Gord Kluzak

Big defenceman Gord Kluzak was drafted 1st overall by the Boston Bruins in 1982. Unfortunately for Kluzak, his career was cut short due to due chronic knee problems. He won the 1990 Bill Masterton Trophy and I picked this specific photo for a rather strange reason. It was the early 1990s Score hockey cards that got me into collecting and for some reason I remember having a pile of Kluzak cards with the pic of him winning the Masterton. When I was making a card to send him I just had to use the photo that I instinctively equate him with.

Brad Selwood

Defenceman Brad Selwood made his NHL debut with the 1970/71 Toronto Maple Leafs. He spent a couple seasons with the Maple Leafs before joining the WHA. From 1972 to 1979 Selwood played over 400 games in the rebel league, all with the New England Whalers. The defenceman was in the WHA for as long at it existed and in 1979 when the league folded he joined the LA Kings for a final season in the NHL. He was also briefly an NHL assistant coach with the 1982/83 Kings.

Rob Conn

Rob Conn played 2 games with the 1991/92 Chicago Blackhawks and 28 games with the 1995/96 Buffalo Sabres. He found success in the minors, winning the AHL Calder Cup in 1994 and 1996.

Morris Titanic

The Buffalo Sabres drafted Morris Titanic 12th overall in 1973. From 1974 to 1976 Titanic played 19 games in the NHL with the Sabres.

Iain Duncan

A Bowling Green State alumni, Iain Duncan played 127 regular season games with the Winnipeg Jets between 1987 and 1991. Duncan scored 34 goals and 89 points with the Jets. He had a great first season in the league, with the 1987/88 Jets Duncan scored 19 goals and 42 points in 62 games and was named to the NHL's All-Rookie team.

Garth Rizzuto

Garth Rizzuto scored 3 goals and 7 points in 37 career NHL games with the 1970/71 Vancouver Canucks. From 1972 to 1974 he played over 100 games in the WHA with Bobby Hull's Winnipeg Jets.

Brian Ford

Goalie Brian Ford played 3 NHL games with the 1983/84 Quebec Nordiques and 8 NHL games with the 1984/85 Pittsburgh Penguins. In 1983 and 1984 he was named AHL goalie of the year while playing with the Fredericton Express. In the short letters I write I do mention I blog all of my signatures. Mr. Ford checked it out and said it was a real trip down memory lane. Thanks Brian! I also think this was the third address I've tried sending him a TTM request to so its great to finally get one back. There aren't too many living goalies who I still need.

-----------------------------------------------------

The 23rd autographs doesn't go into my NHL collection but my WHA collection.

Ray Adduono
Ray Adduono appeared in over 200 WHA games through 5 seasons. He was a member of the Cleveland Crusaders, San Diego Mariners, Minnesota Fighting Saints and Indianapolis Racers. He was almost a point per game player in the rebel league, scoring 45 goals and 197 points. I asked him what his favourite memory was from playing in the WHA and he said, "facing off against Gordie Howe when he and his sons played for the Houston Aeros."

-----------------------------------------------------------

I'm going to end this post with a little rant. I got this letter back from Alexey Marchenko and the Detroit Red Wings:

I'll sum it up, I sent Marchenko a custom index card to sign. Instead of actually taking the five seconds to sign it, it was returned with this letter that, unbelievably, says Marchenko will be happy to sign whatever I send him if I write to him at the address that, I did in fact originally write to, and in which this letter was sent from!!??? The icing on the cake: "all mail must be postmarked no later than March 25, 2016 to be accepted this season," therefore my originally letter (sent Nov. 2015) was well within the deadline but now that deadline has passed so I can't even send him another letter this season. What the hell Detroit??? I really don't understand this, do I have to send a donation or bribe someone to get my card signed? I mean, for heaven's sake, how many requests can Alexey Marchenko get? It just makes absolutely no sense to me how they could return my card unsigned with a letter saying he's happy to sign whatever I send. Bummer.

Thanks for absolutely nothing Marchenko and Detroit. Looks like I'll have to wait for him to leave town until I can get a signature. I guess this is a lesson to not send to any current Red Wings. Good thing I think Marchenko is the only one I need.
EDIT: A fellow collector (thanks Jeff) saw this post and gave me the answer. Apparently the Red Wings Foundation charges $10 per common player autograph. Why they didn't just say this in the letter they sent me back is beyond me. Furthermore, I do have a problem with the Foundation essentially holding Red Wings players hostage for their signatures. To start, I don't have US money laying around so getting it is a problem. Second, as a student $10 is not insignificant. I believe deeply in giving back to the community (I realized giving to a foundation is a good cause) but until I have a livable salary I do this through volunteer work. Third, I don't think its right for current players to charge because although I may be able to afford a little extra cash, kids that would normally send them letters can't. The retired guys I don't mind charging for signatures because its usually older guys wanting them. Finally, If I resort to buying signatures, I rarely pay over $1 for a common signature. Marchenko's autograph is just not worth $10, to me or most collectors.

With the regular season over and the playoffs well under way It would appear that, unless there is an unforeseen playoff debut, that the 2015/16 season will have seen exactly 168 new players make their NHL debuts.

I try and refrain from buying new debut autographs until a season or two has gone by and their value inevitably plummets. I also don't usually write to a player until I can be pretty sure he isn't getting a certified autograph. However, I've still somehow picked up over 20 signatures from new guys this year.

The grand total of people to play in the NHL since its inaugural season in 1917/18 is now 7,446.

--------------------------------------------

2014/2015

168 Players made their NHL debuts through the 2015/2016 season

In The Collection: 23/168 = 14%

Note: Pontus Aberg made his NHL debut during the playoffs

Pontus Aberg

Noel Acciari

Josh Archibald

Andreas Athanasiou

Justin Bailey

Christoph Bertschy

Jean-Francois Berube

Chris Bigras

Jordan Binnington

Oliver Bjorkstrand

Joseph Blandisi

Connor Brickley

Connor Brown

Ryan Carpenter

Daniel Carr

Trevor Carrick

Daniel Catenacci

Fredrik Claesson

Mike Condon

Pheonix Copley

Tommy Cross

Laurent Dauphin

Chase De Leo

Dylan DeMelo

Phillip Di Giuseppe

Jason Dickinson

Darren Dietz

Max Domi

Joonas Donskoi

Nic Dowd

Ryan Dzingel

Joel Edmundson

Nikolaj Ehlers

Jack Eichel

Morgan Ellis

Turner Elson

Robby Fabbri

Radek Faska

Hudson Fasching

Derek Forbort

Alex Friesen

Byron Froese

Kurtis Gabriel

Brendan Gaunce

Frederik Gauthier

Christopher Gibson

Nikolay Goldobin

Yanni Gourde

Kevin Gravel

Alexandre Grenier

Erik Gustafsson

Noah Hanifin

Joel Hanley

Markus Hannikainen

Ben Harpur

Garnet Hathaway

Connor Hellebuyck

Vincent Hinostroza

Bud Holloway

Marek Hrivik

Charles Hudon

Ben Hutton

Zach Hyman

Mattias Janmark

Stephen Johns

Ross Johnston

Ryan Johnston

Sergei Kalinin

Kasperi Kapanen

Jason Kasdorf

Joonas Kemppainen

Michael Keranen

Tanner Kero

Jujhar Khaira

Joonas Korpisalo

Scott Kosmachuk

Tom Kuhnhacki

Dean Kukan

Oliver Kylington

Dylan Larkin

Taylor Leier

Brendan Leipsic

Brett Lernout

Tobias Lindberg

Esa Lindell

Charlie Lindgren

J.C. Lipon

Viktor Loov

Anthony Mantha

Andreas Martinsen

Michael Matheson

Jared McCann

Michael McCarron

Max McCormick

Connor McDavid

John McFarland

Brock McGinn

Mark McNeill

Evgeny Medvedev

Michael Mersch

Sonny Milano

Colin Miller

Josh Morrissey

Vojtech Mozik

Matt Murray

Jakub Nakladal

Casey Nelson

Tomas Nosek

William Nylander

Matt O'Connor

Brian O'Neill

Gustav Olofsson

Artemi Panarin

Colton Parayko

Nick Paul

Andrey Pedan

Adam Pelech

Brett Pesce

Nic Petan

Blake Pietila

Sergei Plotnikov

Ryan Pulock

Alan Quine

Tyler Randell

Mikko Rantanen

Dennis Rasmussen

Kyle Rau

Brent Regner

Mike Reilly

Nick Ritchie

Buddy Robinson

Evan Rodrigues

Derek Ryan

Steven Santini

Juuse Saros

Cole Schneider

Logan Shaw

Conor Sheary

Hunter Shinkaruk

Devin Shore

Patrick Sieloff

Dominik Simon

Brady Skejei

Jaccob Slavin

Anton Slepyshev

Nikita Soshnikov

Garret Sparks

Daniel Sprong

Chandler Stephenson

Oskar Sundqvist

Viktor Svedberg

Brandon Tanev

Shea Theodore

Paul Thompson

Sergey Tolchinsky

Niklas Treutle

Nikita Tryamkin

Linus Ullmark

Rinat Valiev

Frank Vatrano

Joel Vermin

Jake Virtanen

Jordan Weal

Scott Wedgewood

Chris Wideman

Roman Will

Miles Wood
Pavel Zacha

65 New NHL autographs and 72 total new hockey autographs to show since the last post. The grand total of unique NHL autographs in the collection is now 4,995 autographs. That accounts for 67% of the 7,446 different people who have played in the NHL between 1917 and 2016.

The first three autographs here come from a trade and the many signed cards following my TTM responses all came from another trade, a big one with another NHL autograph collector. Unfortunatetly I haven't had the stamp money to send out more TTM requests lately but evidently I'm still reaping the rewards from all the letters I sent this past winter and before.

Brendan Gallagher
Good Montreal Canadien players always command a premium so it took me a little while to get my hands on this Brendan Gallagher autograph. Gallagher finished in second place for the 2012/13 Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. Since then his been a vital member of the Habs, scoring over 150 points and recently being named an assistant captain.

Aaron Ekblad

Aaron Ekblad was a born star, granted exception status as a junior, he was drafted 1st overall in 2014 and in 2015 took home the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. In 2015 the young star also helped Canada win Gold at the World Hockey Championships.

Jori Lehtera

Finnish centerman Jori Lehtera was drafted in the third round of the 2008 draft by the Blues. He spent a number of years in the KHL and in 2014 finally made his NHL debut with St. Louis. Since then he's played over 150 NHL games and has been a solid contributor, netting 23 goals and 78 points.

Tim Sestito

This is an ebay purchase and it was bought because it was had for very cheap, less than the cost of its shipping. I'd likely add a few more of these certified KHL autos if so many of them didn't have ridiculously high asking prices by a couple sellers. Sestito didn't get a certified autograph during his brief NHL career. From 2009 to 2015 he played just over 100 games in the NHL, his first with the Oilers and the rest with the New Jersey Devils. He did play 1 playoff game in the Devils improbable 2012 run to the Cup finals. His brother, Tom, also played in the NHL.

Connor Knapp

Connor Knapp has spent the majority of his pro hockey career toiling in the ECHL but when a string of goalie injuries struck the 2013/14 Buffalo Sabres he got the opportunity to see action in 2 NHL games. The Miami University alumni is unlikely to make it back to the show as the Sabres didn't resigned him.

Jordan Hendry

Defenceman Jordan Hendry will best be remembered for his small role on the Stanley Cup winning 2010 Chicago Blackhawks. Hendry was acquired by Chicago as an undrafted defenceman who had played for the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. From 2007 to 2011 Hendry played 129 regular season NHL games with the Hawks. He also played 2 NHL games with the 2012/13 Anaheim Ducks.

Cody McLeod

Since 2007 grinder Cody McLeod has played well over 600 NHL games with the Colorado Avalanche. He was an undrafted free agent signing who worked his way up from the ECHL. McLeod has been assistant captain of the Avalanche since 2013.

Aaron MacKenzie

An undrafted defenceman who graduated from the University of Denver in 2003, Aaron MacKenzie played 5 NHL games with the 2008/09 Colorado Avalanche.

Derek Peltier

From 2008 to 2010 defenceman Derek Peltier played 14 career NHL games with the Colorado Avalanche. The University of Michigan grad has since left hockey and is now working in the insurance business.

Zack Smith
The two protective index cards and even the return envelope all have the same identification #15-101 yellow sticker on them, which is somewhat interesting. It seems likely to be the team's system of autograph requests. Shout out to the Sens for taking care of their fans unlike some such as Detroit who refuse fan mail. Since 2009 Zack Smith has played 400 NHL games with the Ottawa Senators. He recently had a career year, scoring 25 goals for the 2015/16 Senators.

Chad Billins

I sent this letter to Chad Billins in Sweden where he's been playing but he must have sent it when he returned home to America and he added the extra postage so many thanks Chad! Billins played 10 games in the NHL with the 2013/14 Calgary Flames. The defenceman was an undrafted Ferris State alumni.

Karl Stollery

Karl Stollery played his way into an NHL contract after graduating from Merrimack College as a free agent in 2012. The defenceman has since played 12 NHL games between the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks.

Kellan Lain

An undrafted forward, Kellan Lain played 9 NHL games with the 2013/14 Vancouver Canucks, scoring 1 goal and recording 21 penalty minutes. He actually holds the NHL record for fastest fight in an NHL career, dropping the gloves just 2 seconds into his big league debut.

Joe Jensen

Originally drafted by the Penguins in 2003, St. Cloud State alumni Joe Jensen scored 1 goal in 6 career NHL games with the 2007/08 Carolina Hurricanes.

Andy Roach

Andy Roach made his NHL debut with the 2005/06 St. Louis Blues as a grizzled 32 year old NHL rookie. To say he took the path less travelled would be an understatement. The defenceman graduated from Ferris State undrafted in 1997. After three seasons of North American pro hockey in the IHL he moved to Germany in 1999. He played pro in the German DEL leagues until 2004, when he moved to Switzerland for a year. It was from there that he finally got his shot at the NHL with St. Louis. Roach recorded 1 goal and 3 points in 5 career NHL games with the 2005/06 Blues.

Lee Goren

From 2000 to 2007 Lee Goren played 67 regular season games and 5 playoff games in the NHL. He scored 5 goals and 9 points while dressing with the Bruins, Panthers and Canucks.

Kirk Nielsen

A Harvard alumni, Kirk Nielsen played 6 career NHL games with the 1997/98 Boston Bruins. He retried from hockey relatively young in 1999 at 24, the decision likely aided by his Harvard degree. His younger brother, Jeff, also played in the NHL.

Brian Felsner

Brian Felsner scored 1 goal and 4 points in 12 career NHL games with the 1997/98 Chicago Blackhawks. His brother, Denny, also had a brief stint in the NHL.

Nick Vachon

Nick Vachon's lone game in the NHL came in 1996 with the New York Islanders. Outside of that brief stint in the NHL, he's most notable for being the son of legendary LA Kings goalie Rogie Vachon. He actually became an actor for a some time after his hockey career and even had a minor role in the 2003 Samuel L. Jackson blockbuster S.W.A.T.

Stephane Richer

There were two Stephane Richers who played in the NHL in the 1990s that both happen to be born in 1966 and I now have both of them in the collection. From 1992 to 1995 this particular Stephane Richer played 27 career games in the NHL, scoring 1 goal and 6 points. The defenceman was a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers. He's been in Germany since 2003 playing, coaching and now managing in his adopted nation.

Mike Stothers

From 1984 to 1988 defenceman Mike Stothers played 30 NHL games between the Flyers and Maple Leafs. He returned to the NHL as an assistant coach with Philly from 2000 to 2002 and the Atlanta Thrashers in 2010/11. Stothers is currently head coach of the AHL's Ontario Reign.

Brandy Semchuk
Brandy Semchuk wrote me back a great little note, "Thanks for the interest in my signaure. Its nice to know I am not completely forgotten lol. My best memory was the one and only regular season game I played against the Flames." That game was with the 1992/93 Los Angeles Kings.

Don Biggs

Don Biggs played 1 NHL game with the 1984/85 Minnesota North Stars and another 11 with the 1989/90 Philadelphia Flyers. The centerman scored 2 goals with Philly. His son, Tyler, was a 2011 first round pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Patrick Lebeau

Between 1990 and 1999 Patrick Lebeau scored 3 goals and 5 points in 15 career NHL games. His brief NHL career still saw him dress for four different teams; the Canadiens, Flames, Panthers and Penguins. He's most notable for helping Canada win a Silver medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics. His brother, Stephane, also played in the NHL.

Jim Pettie

Pettie apologized for signing "John" instead of "Jay." I found it rather comical because oddly enough my father's name is John and it genuinely doesn't bother me. He wrote me back a wonderful note about playing with Gerry Cheevers and being coached by Don Cherry. Jim Pettie played in 21 NHL games with the Boston Bruins in the late 1970s.

Alex Pirus

From 1976 to 1980 Alex Pirus scored 30 goals and 58 points in 159 regular season games in the NHL. Most of that time was spent with the Minnesota North Stars but Pirus did play a handful of games for the Detroit Red Wings.

Dave Richter

From 1981 to 1990 tough defenceman Dave Richter played 365 regular season games in the NHL as a member of the North Stars, Flyers, Canucks and Blues. The University of Michigan grad recorded over 1000 penalty minutes in his NHL career.

Dean Turner

From 1978 to 1983 defenceman Dean Turner played 35 games in the NHL. He dressed with the New York Rangers, Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Kings.

John Taft

John Taft played 15 NHL games with the 1978/79 Detroit Red Wings. Taft spent a number of years on the US National team and in 1976 captained team USA at the Winter Olympics, finishing in fifth place.

Bob Bodak

Bob Bodak played 3 NHL games with the 1987/88 Calgary Flames and 1 game with the 1989/90 Hartford Whalers. The tough forward didn't record a point in his 4 career NHL games but did get 29 penalty minutes.

Warren Miller

From 1975 to 1983 Warren Miller played over 200 games in both the WHA and NHL. In the NHL he scored 40 goals and 90 points between the Rangers and Whalers. The Minnesota native represented America at the 1981 Canada Cup and 2 World Hockey Championships.

Don Nachbauer

From 1980 to 1990 Dan Nachbaur played well over 200 games in the NHL as a member of the Whalers, Oilers and Flyers. Since hanging up his skates in 1994, he's spent a couple decades coaching, mostly in the WHL.

John Blum

An undrafted University of Michigan alumni, defenceman John Blum played 250 regular season games in the NHL between 1982 and 1990. He spent time with the Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings.

Bob Joyce

Bob Joyce scored 52 goals in his last year of NCAA hockey with North Dakota. The next season he played for Canada at the 1988 Olympics, finishing fourth. From 1988 to 1993 Joyce played over 150 NHL games between the Bruins, Capitals and Jets. He's also notable for playing 23 playoff games in 1988, helping the Bruins reach the Stanley Cup finals.

Hannu Virta

From 1982 to 1986 defenceman Hannu Virta played 245 regular season NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres. In 1994 he helped Finland with a Bronze at the Olympics. He also won a Gold at the 1995 World Championships with Finland.

Mark Kumpel

From 1984 to 1991 Mark Kumpel played well over 300 regular season+playoff games in the NHL. He was a member of the Nordiques, Red Wings and Jets. Kumpel also represented America at the 1984 Olympics.

Gord Hampson

An undrafted University of Michigan alumni, Gord Hampson played 4 career NHL games with the 1982/83 Calgary Flames. His father, Ted, was a long time NHLer and he wrote me a great note about how his father managed to make the trip to see Gord's first NHL game.

Dave Fortier

From 1972 to 1977 defenceman Dave Fortier played over 200 games in the NHL. He was a member of the Maple Leafs, Islanders and Canucks. Fortier also spent a season in the WHA with the 1977/78 Indianapolis Racers. The request took a couple years to get back to me but Fortier actually took to the time to add a wonderful letter about his career that was a joy to read.

Jim Niekamp
In the early 1970s defenceman Jim Niekamp played 29 games in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings. From 1972 to 1977 Niekamp played nearly 400 games in the WHA between the LA Sharks and Phoenix Roadrunners.

Al McLeod

Al McLeod spent one season in the NHL, playing 26 games with the 1973/74 Detroit Red Wings. He then spent the next 6 years in the WHA, playing 342 regular season games in the great rebel league.

Ron Boehm

Ron Boehm scored 2 goals and 3 points in 16 career NHL games with the 1967/68 Oakland Seals. He had two stints in the New York Rangers organization but was never able to crack their NHL roster.

George Konik
Big thanks to his relative or nurse who returned the request with a little heartbreaking note. Whomever said George have it the best signature he could but he's currently suffering from Parkinson's and dementia. They also said George's favourite memories are playing against some of the famous guys like Bobby Orr. Konik played 52 games in the NHL with the 1967/68 Pittsburgh Penguins and 54 games in the WHA with the 1972/73 Minnesota Fighting Saints.

Ron Buchanan

Ron "Bucky" Buchanan played 3 games with the 1966/67 Boston Bruins and later 2 more NHL games with the 1969/70 St. Louis Blues. He's better known for playing over 200 games in the WHA during the 1970s, dressing with the Cleveland Crusaders, Edmonton Oilers and Indianapolis Racers. He father, Ralph "Bucky" Buchanan, also had a short NHL career.

Dan Gratton
Maybe Dan liked the picture on the card I sent or for whatever reason he kept the index and sent me a card in its place. No problem with that on my end as this card serves the same purpose. In 7 career NHL games with the 1987/88 Los Angeles Kings Gratton recorded 1 goal and a fight with Minnesota's Bob Brooke. Gratton had been drafted 10th overall by the Kings in 1985.

Chad Wiseman

Chad Wiseman played 9 career games in the NHL, 4 with the San Jose Sharks and 5 with the New York Rangers. He's currently head coach and GM of the NWHL's New York Riveters.

Darren Reid

Darren Reid played 7 NHL games with the 2005/06 Tampa Bay Lightning and 14 games with the 2006/07 Philadelphia Flyers.

Kris Vernarsky

From 2002 to 2004 forward Kris Vernarsky played 17 games in the NHL with the Boston Bruins and recorded 1 goal. Originally a second round Toronto Maple Leafs pick in 2000, Vernarsky was traded to the Bruins in 2002.

Matt Walker

From 2002 to 2012 defenceman Matt Walker played over 300 games in the NHL. He was a member of the St. Louis Blues, Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Philly Flyers.

Matt Cooke

I've written to Matt Cooke a number of times but have had the misfortune of never getting a return from him. Its actually amazing to me that the guy has never gotten a certified autograph. What other modern day NHLer who's won a Stanley Cup and played over 1,000 games doesn't have a certified signature? Perhaps he refused to sign for the card companies. Cooke won a Gold at the 2004 World Hockey Championships with Canada and a Stanley Cup in 2009 with the Penguins.

Daniel Corso

From 2000 to 2004 Daniel Corso scored 14 goals and 25 points in 77 regular season NHL games. Most of that was with the St. Louis Blues but he did spend some time with the 03/04 Atlanta Thrashers.

Brennan Evans

Brennan Evans' NHL career lasted just 2 games and they came in the 2004 playoffs with the Calgary Flames. Unlike the statistics websites, I organize my year of debuts slightly different, including guys with playoff debuts in the year they played in the playoffs. NHLreference.com, for example, has a great list of NHL debuts by year but list guys with playoff debuts in the following season, when they played in the regular season for the first time. A guy like Evans, who only played in the playoffs, justifies my OCD about organization and including a 2004 playoff debut in the 2003/04 season.

David Cullen

From 2000 to 2002 David Cullen played 16 NHL games with the Phoenix Coyotes and another 3 with the Minnesota Wild. The defenceman was help pointless in his short NHL career. The University of Maine alumni has received his Masters in Education since retiring from hockey in 2010.

Mitch Fritz

This might by my favourite autograph of the entire post. I've wanted a Mitch Fritz autograph ever since he and the Islanders came to PEI in 2008 for some training camp games and a preseason contest against the Florida Panthers. I say this because we got such a kick out of watching Fritz in particular. The tough guy looked comically out of place, obvisouly there for his fighting skills and not scoring abilities. I also remember him towering above the other players at 6.7' and almost 250 he was force. Fritz played 20 NHL games with the 2008/09 NY Islanders. He didn't record a single point but accumulated a few fights and 42 penalty minutes. He retired in 2011 and I hadn't been able to located him for a TTM request.

Jason Morgan

Jason Morgan bounced around the North American pro hockey scene for a long time. Between 1996 and 2007 he played 44 regular season games in the NHL. Morgan played for the LA Kings, Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators, Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild.

Kyle Freadrich

From 1999 to 2001 Kyle Freadrich played 23 games in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He recorded 1 assist and 8 fights in his short NHL career.

Greg Classen

From 2000 to 2003 Greg Classen scored 7 goals and 17 points in 90 career NHL games with the Nashville Predators. He's still playing pro hockey in Germany.

Zdenek Kutlak

From 2000 to 2004 Czech defenceman Zdenek Kutlak played 16 games in the NHL with the Boston Bruins. He's helped the Czech Republic capture Silver at the 2006 World Championships and Bronze at the 2012 World Championships.

Dmitry Afanasenkov

From 2000 to 2007 Dmitry Afanasenkov played over 200 games in the NHL as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers. He's most notable for helping the Lightning win the 2004 Stanley Cup. He retired in 2013 after a few seasons in his native Russia. Retired Russians are nearly impossible to find TTM so I'm happy to add this signature.

Dieter Kochan

From 1999 to 2002 Dieter Kochan appeared in 20 NHL games with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He also appeared in 1 NHL game with the 2002/03 Minnesota Wild and dressed as a backup with the NY Islanders during the 2003/04 season. Kochan was originally drafted by the Canucks in 1993 and then spent four years at Northern Michigan University.

Gregg Naumenko

Gregg Naumenko appeared in 2 NHL games with the 2000/01 Anaheim Mighty Ducks. The Chicago native played for America at the 2002 World Hockey Championships.

Todd Richards

From 1990 to 1992 Todd Richards played 8 regular season and 11 playoff games with the Hartford Whalers. He's had more success in the NHL as a head coach, from 2009 to 2011 he was bench boss of the Minnesota Wild and from 2011 to 2015 was head coach of the Blue Jackets.

Peter White

I still have the elusive Peter White 01/02 Signature Series autograph on my want list but for now this Peter White autograph will due just fine for the collection. From 1993 to 2004 Peter White bounced around the North American pro hockey scene. He appeared in over 200 NHL games and was a member of the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks.

Russell Romaniuk

From 1991 to 1996 Russell Romaniuk played over 100 games in the NHL. He was a member of the Winnipeg Jets and Philadelphia Flyers.

Erich "Rick" Goldmann

German defenceman Rick Goldmann played 1 game in the NHL with the 1999/00 Ottawa Senators. He represented Germany in the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics.

Jason Lafreniere

From 1986 to 1994 Jason Lafreniere scored 34 goals and 87 points in 146 regular season NHL games. The skilled forward suited up with the Quebec Nordiques, New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning. His father, Roger, also played in the NHL.

---------------------------------------------------------

Hockey autographs #66-72 of the post fall outside of my NHL player collection.

Pete Donnelly

Pete Donnelly appeared between the net in 100 WHA games. He played for the New York Raiders, Vancouver Blazers and Quebec Nordiques.

Ron Hansis

From 1976 to 1978 Ron Hansis scored 17 goals and 29 points in 100 career games in the WHA with the Houston Aeros. He wrote back to me that his highlight was playing with the great Gordie Howe.

John French
I had sent my request to French's Canadian address but he must have been in the USA when he returned, not a problem because French was such a gentleman he added the US postage! Thanks Mr. French! From 1972 to 1978 John French played over 400 games in the WHA. He scored over 100 goals and 300 points while dressing for the New England Whalers, San Diego Mariners and Indianapolis Racers.

Bill Gilligan

A Brown University alumni, Bill Gilligan played well over 100 games in the WHA with the Cincinnati Stingers from 1977 to 1979. He scored 27 goals and 67 points in his 2 seasons with the Stingers. He also represented America at the 1978 World Hockey Championships. Gilligan wrote back to me noting his highlight in the WHA was playing against the likes of Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull and Wayne Gretzky.

Mike Valley

Mike Valley only appeared in the NHL but only as a backup goalie. He appeared on the bench with the Vancouver Canucks once during the 1998/99 season. He was backup to Corey Hirsch in a loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Since retiring in 2004 Valley has spend almost a decade in the NHL as a goalie coach with the Nashville Predators and then the Dallas Stars.

Wayne Bonney

Wayne Bonney officiated over 1,600 NHL games and 700 WHA games during his lengthy career that started in the 1970s and lasted until 2004. He also officiated over 200 NHL playoff games including five Stanley Cup finals.

Blane Comstock

Blane Comstock goes into my growing collecting of hockey Olympians who never played in the NHL. Goalie Comstock was America's second goalie at the 1976 Olympics. The team finished the tournament in 5th place and outside of the medals. Comstock also represented the USA at the 1975 World Championships.

Its been too long since my last post but I've been busy with new work, school and a summer move. 22 New NHL autographs and 1 WHA autograph to show in this post. The grand total of unique NHL signatures in the collection is now exactly 5,017 for 67% of everyone who has ever played in the league. With the 5,000 mark milestone reached my next goal is for 75% of everyone to play in the NHL.

Jay Beagle

Since 2009 Jay Beagle has played over 300 NHL games with the Washington Capitals. He was an undrafted grinder who has carved out a solid career as a 3rd/4th line NHL player. He still hasn't gotten a certified autograph card.

Eriah Hayes

From 2013 to 2015 Eriah Hayes played 19 NHL games with the San Jose Sharks and scored 1 goal. He was signed by the Sharks as an undrafted Minnesota State alumni.

Sam Carrick

Drafted by the Maple Leafs in 2010, Sam Carrick played 19 games for the team from 2014 to 2016. He was recently signed by the Chicago Blackhawks. His younger brother, Trevor, has also played in the NHL.

Aaron Volpatti

An undrafted Brown University alumni, Aaron Volpatti went on to play over 100 games in the NHL between 2010 and 2015. He was a member of the Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals. This autograph is notable because I now only need one more player to complete the 2010/2011 debuts. The last player I need from the 149 debuts that season is Mark Fayne (who I've written to 3 times already).

John Emmons

John emmons was drafted by the Calgary Flames in 1993 but never suited up for the club. He spent four years at Yale University before starting his pro career in 1996. In 1993 and 1994 Emmons represented USA at the World Junior Championships. From 1999 to 2002 he played 85 games in the NHL, dressing for the Senators, Lightning and Bruins.

Dan Focht

Defenceman Dan Focht was drafted 11th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996 making him the first player ever drafted by the Coyotes. His six for six frame and 240 pound build made him such a desirable prospect but Focht never developed into a star player. He spent a while in the minors and from 2001 to 2004 he played just 82 career games in the NHL between the Coyotes and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Jeff Christian

From 1991 to 1998 Jeff Christian played 18 career games in the NHL, scoring 2 goals and 4 points. He was a member of the Devils, Penguins and Coyotes. As you can see the, unfortunately Christian's marker was dying a little. It pales to another return I should have been able to post this week. Iiro Jarvi returned my request all the way from Europe but he used such a bad marker that you can barely tell he even signed it. This one is far from that bad and the scan actually makes it appear worse than it really is.

Greg Brown

A Boston College alumni, Greg Brown represented USA at the 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympics. From 1990 to 1995 the defenceman played 100 regular season+playoff games in the NHL. He played for the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Winnipeg Jets. Since 2004 Brown has been an assistant/associate coach with Boston College. His brother, Doug, also played in the NHL.

Paul Cavallini

Defenceman Paul Cavallini is best remembered for representing the St. Louis Blues at the 1990 NHL All-Star game. It was a well deserved honour as Cavallini won the NHL Plus-Minus Award that season with a +38 rating. From 1986 to 1996 Cavallini played 564 regular season games in the NHL between the Capitals, Blues and Stars. His younger brother, Gino, also played in the NHL.

Doug Palazzari

One of the shortest players to make the NHL, at 5'.05" Doug Palazzari went undrafted but gained attention due to stellar career at Colorado College from 1970 to 1974. In 1973 and 1974 he was a member of America's World Championship Hockey teams. The son of NHLer Aldo Palazzari, from 1974 to 1979 Doug played just over 100 NHL games with the St. Louis Blues and in 1976 was named to USA's Canada Cup team. After retiring he became deeply involved in USA Hockey and in 2000 Palazzari was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.

Bruce Major

A University of Main alumni, Bruce Major played 4 NHL games with the 1990/91 Quebec Nordiques.

Bill Riley

A native of Amherst, Nova Scotia Bill Riley played three years of senior hockey in BC after his junior career was over. It was in the senior leagues that Washington found Riley and made him just the third black hockey player ever to play in the NHL. Doing a little reading about Mr. Riley, one thing is clear is that he's a great person and ambassador to the game. I think from this wonderful signature alone you can tell Riley is someone that would be a joy to meet.

Bob Dupuis

Bob Dupuis is notable for two things. In 1980 he was Team Canada's goalie at the Winter Olympics and later in the year he was signed and played 1 NHL game with the 1979/80 expansion Edmonton Oilers.

David H. Jensen

There were two NHL players named David Jensen who played during the 1980s. They actually both played on the 1984 US Olympic team, which I'm sure confused a number of people. This David Jensen played 18 career NHL games with the Minnesota North Stars from 1984 to 1986. In 1986 he also represented USA at the World Hockey Championships.

Timo Blomqvist

From 1981 to 1987 defenceman Timo Blomqvist played 243 regular season games in the NHL. He spent most of that time with the Capitals but ended his North Amrican career a New Jersey Devils. He later captain team Finland at the 1988 Winter Olympics, leading the team to a Silver medal. He also represented Finland at the 1992 Olympics.

Randy Johnston

Defenceman Randy Johnston played 4 games with the 1979/80 New York Islanders, a team that went on to win the Stanley Cup that season. He put up great numbers in the minors but was in a strong Islanders organization until he retired in 1983.

Lawrence Sacharuk

In Larry Sacharuk's last season of junior hockey, while a member of the Saskatoon Blades, the defenceman scored 50 goals. According to Greatest Hockey Legends, that makes him the only rearguard to accomplish such a feat in a professional or major junior league, surpassing even Bobby Orr for the record. From 1972 to 1977 Sacharuk played over 150 games in the NHL and scored 20 goals from the blueline but wasn't able to stick in the league. His shot, however, was still known as one of the hardest around. Sacharuk also later played 15 games in the WHA for the Indianapolis Racers.

Bob Berry

Bob Berry made his NHL debut with the 1968/69 Montreal Canadiens, playing two games for a club that went on to claim their second Stanley Cup in as many years. It was with LA that Berry found his game. With the LA Kings Berry was an NHL All-Star in 1973 and 1974. He scored a career high 36 goals for the 1972/73 Kings. After retiring he returned to the NHL as a head coach and spent time as bench boss for the LA Kings, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues.

Terry Murray

From 1972 to 1982 defenceman Terry Murray played over 300 games in the NHL. He played for the California Seals, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals.

Ian Cushenan

I've heard that Cushenan is a tough signer so I was thrilled to get this request back. The only strange thing about this return is that Cushenan seems to have wanted to keep my index card so he (or a helper/relative) scanned it and printed a copy, which he then signed and sent to me. I usually double check tough old signers to make sure the autograph is legit and this one is as it matches all examples I have of Cushenan's signature. He was known as a tough defenceman and from 1956 to 1964 Cushenan played 129 games in the NHL's Orignial Six era. He was a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings. He's most notable for winning the Stanley Cup with the 1959 Montreal Canadiens and being named an NHL All-Star in 1958 while with Chicago.

Kelly Burnett

I had tried sending to Burnett once before and this was such a quick return that I have to believe the post office lost the first one. Kelly Burnett scored 1 goal in 3 career NHL games with the 1952/53 New York Rangers. He wrote back that his career highlight was scoring a goal in his first NHL game.

Rey Comeau

Rey Comeau made his NHL debut with the 1971/72 Montreal Canadiens but couldn't become a regular on the star-studded roster. From 1972 to 1978 he became an impact player for the Atlanta Flames. Comeau also spent a couple season with the Colorado Rockies before retiring in 1981 with well over 500 games played in the NHL. This was a different return. Comeau kept the index I made and instead of sending me a signed card to replace it, he included 13 old cards! I had a hard time deciding which to keep for the collection but this one had, in my opinion, the nicest signature.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Richard Dumas
This one goes into the ever growing WHA collection of guys who played in the Rebel League but not the NHL. Richard Dumas appeared very briefly in 1 WHA game with the 1974/75 Chicago Cougars. In his note he said that he got invited to a Cougars training camp and from there was assigned to their farm club in Long Island. He said that in addition to playing in that game he also dressed as a backup in 8 more WHA games over his two years with the organization.

A total of 24 new NHL autographs to show this post, raising the grand total of unique NHL player signatures to 5,041 for 67.7% of everyone to play in the league since its creation in 1917/18.

Since reaching the 5,000 autograph goal I've taken a little 'rest' from the hobby and haven't been sending out as many requests as I usually do. I think I may wait until Canada Post finishes their ridiculous negotiations before sending out another batch of requests. I have little sympathy for the workers only because my experiences with the organization have been largely negative. Just last year they lost a package of about 30 autographs that I had paid to get registered! It just 'disappeared' and the customer service was atrocious. That's just one of my bad experiences I've had over the years. I am continuously finding myself spending more on postage for what seems like less and less service, that's not a viable business plan and its no wonder they're getting little sympathy from the Canadian public.

Most of these signatures come from COMC and I had bought them over the past two months or so. Its too bad that they're ending the flat 3$ shipping, but it was great while it lasted. With a certified autograph card of Brett Hull finally added, It leaves me with only Patrick Roy, Mark Messier, Brendan Shanahan, Peter Stastny and Steve Yzerman to get. When I add those glaring missing pieces, I'll pretty much have a signature of EVERY notable hockey star since the expansion. The only reason I've held off so long is that they're common, expensive signatures but with my wantlist now so small, I'm going to bite the bullet very soon.

Brett Hull

At long last I have a certified Brett Hull autograph in the collection. It was a long time coming for one of hockey's most colourful stars of recent memory. He's a very deserving member of the Hockey Hall of Fame with two Stanley Cups (99 and 02), a Hart Trophy (91), Lester Pearson Trophy (91), Lady Byng (90), Olympic Silver Medal (02) and 11 NHL All-Star nods. He retired with 741 career goals in NHL and in 1990/91 he scored an incredible regular season total of 86 goals in 78 games.

Jiri Hudler

Czech forward Jiri Hudler was drafted 58th overall by the Red Wings in 2002. In 2008 he helped Detroit win a Stanley Cup. Hudler had his best season with the 2014/15 Calgary Flames, scoring 31 goals and 76 points, winning the 2015 Lady Byng Trophy.

Alex Galchenyuk

The Habs drafted Alex Galchenyuk 3rd overall in 2012. He quickly made the jump to the NHL and has already played nearly 300 games with Montreal. In 2013 he helped USA win a Bronze at the men's hockey World Championship. His father was a USSR trained pro hockey player who was playing in the IHL in Milwaukee when Alex was born.

Nikita Kucherov

Representing Russia at the World Junior Championships, Kucherov won a Silver Medal in 2012 and Bronze in 2013. A 2011 second round draft pick, Kucherov has been a pleasant surprise for the Tampa Bay Lightning, scoring 28 and 30 goals over the last two seasons. In 2014/15 he lead the NHL in +/- with a +38.

Mike Halmo

An undrafted forward, Mike Halmo played 20 NHL games with the 2013/14 New York Islanders and recorded 1 goal. He recently signed with the Tampa Bay Lighting organization as a free agent.

Shane Prince

Shane Prince was a full time NHLer in 2015/16, playing 62 regular season and 11 playoff games in the NHL. He was traded from Ottawa to the New York Islanders half way through the season and was recently signed to a two-year contract by the Islanders.

Emile Poirier

Drafted in the first round of the 2013 NHL draft, 22nd overall, Emile Poirier has played 8 NHL games with the Flames. The forward was a 2014/15 AHL All-Star.

Derek Forbort

Defenceman Derek Forbort was drafted 15th overall by the LA Kings in 2010. In 2011 Forbort won a Bronze medal at the World Junior Hockey Championships with USA. He attended the University of North Dakota and in 2015 made his NHL debut with the Kings. Forbort played 14 NHL games with the 2015/16 LA Kings.

Kevin Fiala

Swiss forward Kevin Fiala was drafted 11th overall by the Predators in 2014. He's scored 1 goal in 6 NHL games with Nashville. This is actually a pretty nice card. I simply buy the cheapest autograph I can get my hands on so I was just lucky that someone was willing to part with it for a couple bucks. Looks really good in hand and I like the 'silver on black' concept.

Bogdan Yakimov

Russian forward Bogdan Yakimov played 1 NHL game with the 2014/15 Edmonton Oilers. He was recently loaned to the KHL so it may end up being his only game in the NHL. In 2013 Yakimov was drafted in the 3rd round by Edmonton and in 2014 he won a Bronze medal at the World Junior Championships.

Curtis McKenzie

In his first season of pro hockey Curtis McKenzie was named the AHL's Rookie of the Year and helped the Texas Stars win the 2014 Calder Cup as league champions. Since 2014 McKenzie has played 40 NHL games with the Stars, scoring 4 goals.

Sergey Tolchinsky

Russian forward Sergey Tolchinsky put up solid numbers in the OHL but was never drafted. He was signed by the Carolina Hurricanes as a free agent. In 2015 Tolchinsky helped Russian bring home a Silver medal at the World Junior Hockey Championships. He recorded 1 assist in 2 NHL games with the 2015/16 Hurricanes.

Joni Ortio

Over the last three seasons Finn Joni Ortio has played in 37 NHL games with the Calgary Flames. He represented Finland at the 2013 World Hockey Championships.

Anton Slepyshev

Russian forward Anton Slepyshev brought home a Bronze medal from the 2013 and 2014 World Junior Championships. He made his NHL debut and played 11 games with the 2015/16 Oilers.

Brendan Ranford

Originally drafted by the Philly Flyers in 2010, Brendan Ranford was never signed by the team and acquired by the Stars as a free agent. He played 1 NHL game with the 2014/15 Dallas Stars. His uncle is well known goalie Bill Ranford. Brendan put up great numbers in the AHL and in 2014 won the Calder Cup as a member of the Texas Stars, scoring 8 goals and 16 points in 21 playoff games.

Rocco Grimaldi

A University of North Dakota product, Rocco Grimaldi was drafted 33rd overall by the Florida Panthers in 2011. He made his NHL debut with the 2014/15 Panthers and has since played 27 regular season NHL games with the club. He also played a couple playoff games with the Panthers in 2016. A native of Anaheim, Grimaldi is living proof that hockey has name headway in California. He helped USA win a Gold at the 2013 World Junior Championships.

Frederik Gauthier

The Leafs drafted Frederik Gauthier in the first round, 21st overall, in 2013. He played 7 NHL games in his first season of pro hockey, recording 1 assist for the 2015/16 Toronto Maple Leafs. He won a Gold with Canada at the 2015 World Junior Hockey Championships. That season he also helped Rimouski win the QMJHL league championship.

Jason Dickinson

A 2013 first round pick, Jason Dickinson played 1 NHL game with the 2015/16 Dallas Stars and scored a goal in his big league debut.

Ryan Pulock

Ryan Pulock was drafted 15th overall by the New York Islanders in 2013. The defenceman played 15 regular season NHL games for the 2015/16 Islanders along with 6 playoff games.

The next four autographs were obtained from a short visit to PEI's only hockey card stop, Backmandy. Its a great little shop with incredible service. They have a few binders of old TTM autographs from someone who hounded in the 1990s. Altough I've gone through them many times, I still managed to find some signatures I didn't have.

Chris Dahlquist

From 1985 to 1996 defenceman Chris Dahlquist played over 500 games in the NHL. In 1991 Dahlquist started the season as a Pittsburgh Penguins but was traded mid-season in a huge deal that saw Larry Murphy going the other way. Both teams ended up making it to the Stanley Cup finals that season, with Dahlquist and North Stars coming up short. Dahlquist also played for the Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators. He also represented USA at the 1990 World Hockey Championships.

Jamie Linden

Jamie Linden played 4 NHL games with the 1994/95 Florida Panthers, recording no points and 17 penalty minutes which included two fights. He's best remembered as the brother of retired NHL star Trevor Linden. I had tried to get him TTM multiple times but never got a response.

Pierre Lacroix

From 1978 to 1983 Pierre Lacroix scored 131 points in 274 career regular season NHL games. He spent most of that time with the Nordiques but had his last stop with the Hartford Whalers. His NHL career came to an end early due to Lacroix being seriously injured in a car accident. He sat out two seasons recovering. It can actually be hard to locate french guys like Pierre because in his likely place of residence, Quebec, there are literally hundreds of guys with the same name. I'll also point out that in hockey there's a different Pierre Lacroix who was Presdient and GM of the Avalanche.

Peter Lee

From 1977 to 1983 Peter Lee scored 114 goals and 245 points in 431 career NHL games, all with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He then moved overseas and continued playing pro in Germany until 1997. He still lives in Germany were he serves as CEO of the DEL's Eisbaren Berlin.

Gene Sobchuk

Gene Sobchuk played 1 career NHL game and it came with the 1973/74 Vancouver Canucks. In the WHA he played 3 games with the 1974/75 Phoenix Roadrunners and a full season, 78 games, with the 1975/76 Cincinnati Stingers. With the Stingers Sobchuk, playing with his brother Dennis, scored 23 goals and 41 points.

To say I'm experience a dry spell when it comes to TTM returns would be an understatement. This is my only TTM NHL autograph of recent weeks. I haven't sent out anything lately but I still have literally hundreds of outgoing requests, the large majority of which I'll never get back. It is a little disheartning sometimes to see how few guys respond to mail.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Andre Gaudette

This autograph goes into the "WHA Only" collection. From 1972 to 1975 Andre Gaudette played 222 games with the Quebec Nordiques, scoring 61 goals and 166 points. His son, Maxim, is a relatively successful Canadian actor who has won awards for his work.

Jay Onrait

This one is for the growing binder of completely random hockey autographs that don't fit elsewhere. Jay Onrait never played pro hockey or worked for any pro hockey team. For many years Jay and Dan were the best part of waking up a sports fan in Canada. I haven't regularly watched a sports highlight show since they left. I own and have read Jay's book (a good laugh) and have always been a fan. When the opportunity to grab this at a low price came by, I jumped right away. I also like having a "Jay" autograph in my collection as there aren't many of us around. I really do miss Panini being in the hockey market because they occasionally went off the board got some really intersting signers. Upper Deck NEVER does. Their autograph checklists are always boring and repetitive.

Its been a long time since my last autograph update, but for good reason. Over the past few months I've moved back to PEI from Ottawa, a distance of over 1,300 KM for those not familiar with Canadian geography. I was offered and accepted a full time position in Charlottetown. Its a dream for someone my age to find a full time job on the Island, my home province. Thus far I've managed to make it this far in my autograph quest on a meagre student budget. With some cash flow I hope to finally be able to make some vingate autograph buys on sites like ClassicAuctions and build my pre-1960 signature collection. In fact, I currently have my eyes on a few pieces and I hope to real in at least one nice vintage item soon.

Over the past couple months a few purchases and a few TTM requests trickled in. One package of autographs came from a trade I did months ago and the bubble mailer was postmarked April! So it only took half a year to get to me, thanks again postal service.... A package from COMC.com also represents the newer certified autographs here. I've been utilizing their mailbox feature, leaving me an even happier customer. For those not familiar with this service, I can buy cards on ebay from the United States and instead of having them shipped to Canada, at $10+, I can get the cards sent to my American COMC.com account and they get added to my larger shipment for a small fee. Its incredibly cost effective for those of us who hate spending more on shipping than the actual card.

67 new autographs have been added since my last post, raising the grand total to 5,108 unique NHL player signature for 68.6% of everyone who has every played in the league since its creation in 1917.

Eric Nesterenko

I've had this card on my wantlist for a long time as its Eric Nesternko's only certified autograph. From 1951 to 1972 Nesterenko played over 1,200 games in the NHL and then later played for the 1973/74 WHA's Chicago Cougars. He was a solid contributor who netted over 500 points through his NHL career. Nesterenko is perhaps most notable for helping Chicago win the 1961 Stanley Cup.

J.P. Kelly

Like Nesternko, this is J.P. Kelly's only certified autograph and I'm happy to finally cross it off my wantlist. Kelly was a very surprising name to see have a certified autogrpah released so long after his retirement. From 1979 to 1986 he played 400 NHL games with the LA Kings and he's perhaps most notable for winning the team's 1982 and 1983 unsung player award.

Simon Nolet

Simon Nolet made his NHL debut with the expansion 1967/68 Philadelphia Flyers. He scored 23 goals for the team in 1971/72, earning a trip to the NHL All-Star game. In 1974 he helped the Philadelphia Flyers win their first ever Stanley Cup. That summer he was claimed by the Kansas City Scouts in the expansion draft. He was named the franchise's first captain, a title he held for two seasons. In 1974 his career high 26 goals earned Nolet his second trip to the NHL All-Star game. His last season was with the 1976/77 Colorado Rockies, serving as team captain.

Alex Henry

From 2002 to 2009 stay at home defenceman Alex Henry played 177 games in the NHL. He was a member of the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, Minnesota Wild and Montreal Canadiens. He's also notable for being captain of the Minnesota Wild for the month of October, 2005. This card was somewhat of a white whale for me as I've been searching for one for a long time. This Bowman CHL card is Henry's only certified autograph.

Jamie Benn

Jamie Benn is working on a hefty hockey resume. He won a Gold medal at the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships with Canada, was named captain of the Dallas Stars in 2013, won a Gold Medal at the 2014 Olympics with Canada and in 2015 he was awarded the Art Ross Trophy as leading scorer of the NHL.

Tomas Hertl

Tomas Hertl was drafted 17th overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2012 and has since played over 200 NHL games. He's represented Czech Republic at the Mens World Ice Hockey Championships on multiple occasions.

Jonathan Drouin

Jonathan Drouin was drafted 3rd overall by the Lightning in 2013. He's entering his third season with Tampa after a rocky start involving a trade request. He recently played for Team North America at the World Cup. I wanted to get a Drouin Halifax Mooseheads autograph because not only has his signature gone way downhill but I lived in the city while he played there so I saw him play in the uniform on numerous occasions. He really did stick out from the rest of his peers and you could tell he was NHL talent.

Sam Bennett

The Calgary Flames drafted Sam Bennett 4th overall in 2014. In his first full NHL season with the 2015/16 Flames Bennett scored 18 goals and 36 points. At 19, he also set a Flames team record for youngest player to record a hat-trick.

Anthony Duclair

Anthony Duclair was a third round pick of the New York Rangers in 2013. Duclair played 18 games as an NHL rookie with the 2014/15 New York Rangers. In 2015 he was traded to the Arizona Coyotes and in his first full NHL season he scored 20 goals and 44 points for the 2015/16 Coyotes. He won a Gold medal with Canada at the 2015 World Junior Hockey Championships.

Sean Monahan

The Calgary Flames drafted Sean Monahan 6th overall in 2013 and he immediately made the jump to the NHL. He's scored 20+ goals in each of his first three NHL seasons with the Flames. He was recently signed to a $44 million 7 year contract with Calgary.

Tyler Toffoli

Tyler Toffoli scored 7 goals and 14 points in 26 postseason games during the 2014 playoffs as he helped the LA Kings win the Stanley Cup. In 2015 Toffoli helped Canada win a Gold at the Wold Championships. He lead the 2015/16 Kings in goals with 31.

Radek Faksa

Czech forward Radek Faksa was drafted 13th overall in 2012 by the Dallas Stars. He made his NHL debut in 2015 and played 45 games for the 2015/16 Stars as a rookie. He recorded 5 goals and 12 points. He also represented the Czech Republic at the 2016 Mens World Hockey Championships.

Jake McCabe

A University of Wisconsin alumni, Jake McCabe was drafted 44th overall by Buffalo in 2012. The defenceman is entering his second season as a full time member of the Sabres. Internationally, Jake McCabe helped the United States win Gold at the 2013 World Junior Championships. He has also represented USA at the 2014 and 2016 Mens World Hockey Championships.

Sergei Plotnikov

Undrafted Russian forward Sergei Plotnikov played 6 seasons in the KHL before moving to North America. He only spent 1 year in the NHL, splitting the 2015/16 season between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Arizona Coyotes. In 45 NHL games, 32 with Pittsburgh and the rest with Arizona after being traded to the Coyotes, he recorded just 3 assists and 24 penalty minutes.

Max Friberg

Max Friberg played 1 game for the 2014/15 Anaheim Ducks and 5 games with the 2015/16 Ducks. In 2016 he was traded from the Ducks to the Montreal Canadiens but has been unable to crack the Habs lineup. Friberg helped Sweden win Gold at the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championships. It doesn't look like he'll get a signed NHL card so I picked up this SHL Eliteset authentic signature.

Dennis Rasmussen

Like Friberg, I picked up this SHL Elitset signature because Rasmussen doesn't look like he'll get a singed NHL licensed card. Swedish forward Dennis Rasumussen was signed by the Blackhawks as an undrafted free agent. He played 44 games for the 2015/16 Hawks, scoring 4 goals and 9 points.

Matt O'Connor

Undrafted, Matt O'Connor played with Boston University from 2012 to 2015, giving up his final season to sign an NHL contract with the Ottawa Senators. He spent most of his first season as a pro in the AHL but did play 1 NHL game for the 2015/16 Ottawa Senators.

Andrey Makarov

Andrey Makarov played in both the QMJHL and WHL as a junior. The Russian was never drafted but signed with the Buffalo Sabres as a free agent. He played 1 NHL game with the 2014/15 Buffalo Sabres and has since returned to Russian to play in the KHL. This is his only certified autograph.

Malcolm Subban

Younger brother of PK, Malcolm Subban played 1 NHL game with the 2014/15 Boston Bruins. Drafted 24th overall in 2012, he's spent most of his first 3 years as a pro in the AHL. Subban represented Canada at the 2013 World Junior Championships.

Andrew Hammond

Undrafted, Andrew Hammond was signed by the Ottawa Senators after 4 years of college with Bowling Green State University. Hammond made his NHL debut in 2014 and set and NHL record for the best record to start a goaltending career, going 20-1-2. He made headlines all across Canada for the incredible run. He's entering his third season with Ottawa.

Aleksander Barkov

Talented Finnish centre Aleksander Barkov was drafted 2nd overall by the Florida Panthers in 2013. He made the immediate jump to the big leagues and has already played nearly 200 NHL games for Florida. He scored a career high 28 goals with the 2015/16 Panthers. Barkov won a Bronze medal at the 2014 Olympics with Finland and a Silver at the 2016 World Hockey Championships.

Jordan Weal

During the 2015/16 NHL season Jordan Weal made his NHL debut with the LA Kings and finished with 10 games in LA and 4 games with Philly after being traded to the Flyers. A skilled forward, Weal was named AHL playoff MVP in 2015 as he lead the Manchester Monarchs to a Calder Cup championship.

Colin Miller

Colin Miller was originally drafted by the LA Kings but was traded to Boston in a deal that saw Milan Lucic go to LA. Since 2015, defenceman Colin Miller has played over 40 NHL games with the Bruins.

Nick Ritchie

The Anaheim Ducks drafted Nick Ritchie 10th overall in 2014. In 2015 he helped Canada win Gold at the World Juniors. As an NHL rookie he played 33 games with the 2015/16 Anaheim Ducks, scoring 2 goals and 4 points. His brother, Brett, has also played in the NHL.

Ryan Bourque

Ryan Bourque is most notable for being the son of Hall of Famer Ray Bourque and brother of NHLer Chris. Ryan played just 1 NHL game, with the 2014/15 New York Rangers. He's also notable for winning a Gold Medal at the 2009 World Junior Championships with USA.

Justin Shugg

Canadian forward Justin Shugg played 3 NHL games with the 2014/15 Carolina Hurricanes. He spent five years playing pro in Carolina's organization but has since moved on to the KHL.

Eric O'Dell

From 2014 to 2015 Eric O'Dell played 41 NHL games with the Winnipeg Jets over two seasons, socring 3 goals and 8 points. O'Dell was originally drafted 39th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in 2008 but failed to sign with the Ducks. The Atlanta Thrashers signed O'Dell as a free agent in 2010 and he later followed the franchise to Winnipeg. O'Dell was signed by the Ottawa Senators in 2015 and that season was traded to the Sabres but spent the whole year in the minors between AHL teams.

Charles Hudon

Forward Charles Hudon recorded 2 assists in 3 NHL games with the 2015/16 Montreal Canadiens. The Quebec native was a fifth round pick by the Habs in 2012.

Vincent Hinostroza

An Illinois native, Vincent Hinostroza played 7 NHL games with the 2015/16 Blackhawks and made the 2016/17 squad's opening day roster. He represented the United States at the 2016 World Hockey Championships in Moscow.

Ronalds Kenins

Undrafted Latvian forward Ronalds Kenins was brought to North America for two seasons by the Vancouver Canucks. From 2014 to 2016 he scored 4 goals and 12 points in 38 career NHL games with Vancouver. He represented Latvia at the 2014 Olympic games.

Josh Morrissey

Defenceman Josh Morrissey was drafted 13th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in 2013. He played just 1 game for the 2015/16 Jets but has made the opening day roster of the 2016/17 NHL team. Morrissey won a Gold Medal with Canada at the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Nick Cousins

Since 2015 Nick Cousins has scored 6 goal and 13 points in just under 50 NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Kevin Hayes

Kevin Hayes was drafted 24th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010 but decided to not sign with the powerhouse Hawks. In 2014, after 4 years with Boston College, he signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent and has played 2 full seasons with the Rangers. His brother, Jimmy, also plays in the NHL.

Markus Granlund

Since 2014 Finnish forward Markus Granlund has played over 100 NHL games between the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. His brother, Mikael, also plays in the NHL.

John Klingberg

Offensive defenceman John Klingberg has had a stellar start to his NHL career with the Dallas Stars. He's recorded nearly 100 points in just two seasons and last year was a +22. He represented Sweden at the 2015 World Hockey Championships. His brother, Carl, has also played in the NHL.

Curtis Lazar

The Ottawa Senators drafted Curtis Lazar 17th overall in 2013. In 2015 he helped Canada win Gold at the World Junior Championships. He's already played 2 full NHL seasons with the Sens.

Steve Weeks

From 1980 to 1993 goalie Steve Weeks played 302 regular season+playoff games in the NHL. He was a member of the Rangers, Whalers, Canucks, Islanders, Kings and Senators. Weeks helped Canada win a silver medal at the 1985 World Hockey Championshps.

Dave Maloney

Defenceman Dave Maloney spent all but the last season of his career with the New York Rangers. He was Rangers captain from 1979 to 1981 and in '79 helped them reach the Stanley Cup finals, loosing to Montreal in 5 games. Maloney played over 700 regular season+playoff games in the NHL from 1975 to 1985. His brother, Don, also played in the NHL and they spent many years as teamates on the Rangers.

Evan Oberg

Defenceman Evan Oberg played 7 games in the NHL. He played 4 games with the Vancouver Canucks from 2010 to 2011 and 3 with the 2011/12 Tampa Bay Lightning.

Joel Armia

Joel Armia was drafted 16th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2011. He played 1 game for the Sabres before being traded to the Winnipeg Jets in the trade that saw Tyler Myers go to Winnipeg and Evander Kane to Buffalo. The Finnish forward played 43 games with the 2015/15 Jets, scoring 4 goals and 10 points.

Jaime Sifers

Defenceman Jaime Sifers was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs as an undrafted University of Vermont alumni. He played 23 NHL games with the 2008/09 Maple Leafs and another 14 with the 2009/10 Minnesota Wild. He later spent three seasons in Germany and in 2015 signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets but has yet to play for the parent club, spending his time in the AHL.

Ivan Huml

Ivan Huml took an unconventional route to the NHL, the Czech born forward was drafted in the second round in 2000 by the Bruins while he was a member of the BCHL's Langley Hornets. He became a Bruins top prospect and from 2001 to 2004 he scored 6 goals and 18 points in 49 NHL games with the Bruins.

Sami Aittokallio

Finnish goalie Sami Aittokallio played 2 games in the NHL, 1 with the 2012/13 Avalanche and 1 with the 2013/14 Avalanche. He's since returned to Finland. Aittokallio represented Finland at the 2011 and 2012 World Junior Championships.

Andrej Sustr

Since 2013 defenceman Andej Sustr has played nearly 200 games in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He recently represented Czech Republic in the World Cup of Hockey.

Miikka Salomaki

Finnish forward became a full time NHLer in 2015 and has played over 60 NHL games with the Nashville Predators. In 2014 Salomaki won a Silver medal at the World Championships with Finland.

Jyrki Jokipakka

Since 2014 Finnish defenceman Jyrki Jokipakka has played over 100 games in the NHL between the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames. Internationally, Jokipakka has represented Finland at the World Junior Championship, World Mens Championships and World Cup.

Anthony Bitetto

Drafted in 2010, defenceman Anthony Bitetto has played half a season in the NHL with the Nashville Predators. He played for Northeastern University in the NCAA.

Casey Bailey

Casey Bailey was signed out of Penn State by the Maple Leafs as an undrafted free agent. He score 1 goal in 6 NHL games with Toronto at the end of the 2014/15 season. He's the first Penn State alumni to play in the NHL. He was traded to the Ottawa Senators in the deal that saw Dion Phaneuf go to the Sens. Bailey has yet been able to crack Ottawa's lineup.

Michel Deziel

Michel Deziel is one of a handful of people who have played in the NHL but only during the playoffs. Deziel's only game in the big leagues game during the 1975 postseason with the Buffalo Sabres. He was a junior sensation and still has one of the highest single season point totals in QMJHL history with 92 goals and 227 points in just 69 games with the 1973/74 Sorel Black Hawks.

Adam Pardy

One of only 3 current NHLers from Newfoundland, Adam Pardy has played well over 300 NHL games since 2008. The defenceman has played for the Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, Buffalo Sabres, Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers. I was surprised to get this back so late in the summer as Pardy has long left the Jets. I've tried sending to him multiple times so I'm happy to finally check this name off the list.

MacGregor Sharp

An undrafted University of Minnesota-Duluth alumni, MacGregor Sharp signed an NHL contract with the Anaheim Ducks in 2009. Sharp played 8 games in the NHL with the 2009/10 Ducks.

Mike McKee

A Princeton University alumni, defenceman Mike McKee scored 3 goals and 15 points in 48 games with the 1993/94 Quebec Nordiques. He retired from hockey in 1995 to get an MBA from Harvard and has become a very succesful businessman.

Marc Habscheid

From 1981 to 1992 Marc Habscheid played 345 regular season games in the NHL. In 1982 he was a key member of Canada's first ever gold medal winning World Junior squad. In 1988 he represented Canada at the Olympics and in 1992 he was a member of Canada's World Hockey Championship team. He later returned to Canada's World Junior and World Championship teams as a head coach and in 2006 he was an assistant coach for Canada's Olympic team.

Ron Jones

From 1971 to 1976 defenceman Ron Jones played 54 games in the NHL dressing for the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals.

Bob Hess

From 1974 to 1984 Bob Hess played well over 300 games in the NHL. He was a member of the St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres and Hartford Whalers. Hess scored 39 points as a rookie defenceman with the 1974/75 Blues but was unable to build on his great first year.

David Warsofsky

In 2010 defenceman David Warsofsky won a Gold medal at the World Junior Championships with USA. Since 2013 he's played 32 games in the NHL, dressing for the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils.

Adam Payerl

Undrafted forward Adam Payerl played 2 NHL games with the 2013/14 Pittsburgh Penguins. He recently signed a two-way contract with the Nashville Predators but has spent his time in the AHL.

Mark Borowiecki

Defenceman Mark Borowiecki is entering his third season as a full time member of the Ottawa Senator's blueline. He's played over 150 career games in the NHL with his hometown Sens.

Mario Roberge

From 1990 to 1995 Mario Roberge played over 100 games in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens. The tough guy his best known for helping the Habs win the 1993 Stanley Cup. His brother, Serge, also played in the NHL.

David A Jensen

There were two NHL players named David Jensen who appeared in the league during the 1980s and incredibly they were teamates on the 1984 US Olympic team. From 1984 to 1988 this David Jensen played 69 games in the NHL, scoring 9 goals and 22 points. He played for the Hartford Whalers and Washington Capitals.

Steve Gotaas

From 1987 to 1991 Steve Gotaas scored 6 goals and 15 points in 49 career regular season games in the NHL. Gotaas dressed for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota North Stars.

Robin Bartel

Robin Bartel took an unconventional route to the NHL. He played with the University of Saskatchewan when his junior career was over. In 1984 he represented Canada at the Winter Olympics, earning himself an NHL contract. Bartel played 1 NHL game with the 1985/86 Calgary Flames and 40 games with the 1986/87 Vancouver Canucks.

Ray Cote

From 1983 to 1985 Ray Cote played 15 regular season and 14 playoff games in the NHL for the Edmonton Oilers. All of his playoff games came during the 1983 postseason. Cote scored 3 goals and 5 points, helping the Oilers reach the Stanley Cup finals.

Darren Lowe

Darren Lowe played for the University of Toronto before joining Canada's National team and reprenting his nation at the 1984 Winter Olympics. He earned an NHL contract with his strong International play and at the end of the 1983/84 season he played 8 NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring 1 goal and 3 points. He's currently coaching at his old University in Toronto but I've tried sending a couple requests to him with no reply.

Paul Houck

Originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers, Paul Houck was later traded to Minnesota and from 1985 to 1988 he played in 16 NHL games for the North Stars.

Todd Hawkins

Between 1988 and 1992 Todd Hawkins played 10 NHL games, 8 with the Vancouver Canucks and 2 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Sean Williams
Sean Williams played 2 NHL games with the 1991/92 Chicago Blackhawks. He had been drafted by the Hawks in the 12th round of the 1986 draft.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Autographs #68 and 69 fall outside of my NHL player collection but they're still both very much hockey related.

Jordan White
Jordan White appeared in 1 NHL game as a backup goalie with the 2010/11 San Jose Sharks. I had sent this request shortly after and White noted in his reply that he found it in one of his old school textbooks while moving and apologized for the long delay! He was playing for the University of British Columbia when he was signed by the Sharks as an emergency backup, who were in town to play the Canucks.

Tom Glavine

I've long wanted to add a Tom Glavine autograph to my oddball binder of hockey autographs but it was seeing the reverse of the card that finally made me bite on this particular one. Which is also why I scanned both front and back here. Although Glavine is a baseball Hall of Famer, this card outlines why I wanted to add him to my collection. He was a high school hockey star and was drafted 69th overall by the LA Kings in the 1984 NHL draft. Glavine turned down a hockey scholarship to persue his baseball career, a wise choice in retrospect.
I find myself with a growing collecting of MLB hockey related autographs which may soon be due for its own post.

23 new autographs added since my last post. The new total is 5,131 unique NHL autographs for 69% of everyone to every play in the league since it was created in 1917.

In This post I've got a mix of autographs that were purchases online, at the local hobby store and a few TTM response.
There have been a few NHL players over the past couple years who's only signature was in Upper Deck's AHL releases. The autographs aren't terribly common so I'm happy to cross a bunch off the wantlist at once.
Shanahan was one of those that's been a long time coming. He was one of just a few modern day stars I didn't have. The remaining being just Jagr, Messier(incoming), Yzerman and Roy.
A bunch of these autographs come from the local card shop here in Charlottetown, Backmandy. Not a big place but its packed with all kinds of great stuff. I found a few signatures I needed in a stack of signed index cards. I also bought a team signed St. Johns Maple Leafs program from the early 1990s for $10. I was hoping that with the amount of signatures on the thing there was bound to be at least one I needed, and at that price it was worth it. There ended up to be just one NHL autograph and a second for my NHL backups collection. The one NHL players, however, was a nice one to mark off the wantlist as Sharples was one of the last modern day NHL goalies who's signature I needed. There's also 3 TTM autographs in the post. I've recently sent out a handful of new envelops, my first batch in months.

Brendan Shanahan

Brendan Shanahan was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013. He's got a lengthy hockey resume. Shanahan won the Stanley Cup in 1997, 1998 and 2002. He won an Olympic Gold in 2002 and in 1994 he had also won Gold at the World Championships, making him a member of the prestigioius triple gold club. Shanahan was a seven time NHL All-Star, scored over 650 goals in the NHL and 2003 won the King Clancy Trophy. He's currently President of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Kael Mouillierat

Undrafted, Kael Mouillierat played four years of college hockey and then worked his way up from the ECHL to the AHL, finally making his NHL debut in his fifth season of pro hockey. Mouillierat scored 1 goal and 2 points in 6 games with the 2014/15 New York Islanders and played another 1 NHL game with the 2015/16 Pittsburgh Penguins. He's currently playing in Sweden.

Garrett Wilson

A 2009 draft pick, Garrett Wilson made his NHL debut with the 2013/14 Florida Panthers. He played 24 NHL games with Florida over 3 NHL seasons. Wilson recorded no points and 2 fights. In 2016 he was signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins but has yet to move up from their AHL club.

Garnet Hathaway

An undrafted forward, Garnet Hathaway was signed by the Calgary Flames after four years of college hockey at Brown University. He recorded 3 assists in 14 NHL game as a rookie with the 2015/2016 Calgary Flames.

Michael Keranen
Swedish forward Michael Keranen played 1 NHL game with the 2015/16 Minnesota Wild. He was signed by the Wild as an undrafted free agent in 2014. Keranen has since gone back overseens and is now playing in the KHL.

Cole Schneider

Cole Schneider spent a few seasons with the Ottawa Senators but all of his time was spent playing for their AHL club. Schneider made his NHL debut in 2016 with the Buffalo Sabres after being traded to the club in February of the same year. Schneider played 2 games for the 2015/16 Sabres and has already played a handful of NHL games with the 2016/17 Sabres.

Marek Hrivik

Slovakian forward Marek Hrivik was never drafted and after 3 years in the QMJHL with the Moncton Wildcats he signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent. In his fourth season of pro with the Rangers organization Hrivik made his NHL debut, recording 1 assist in 5 NHL games with the 2015/16 Rangers.

Mark Pederson

From 1989 to 1994 Mark Pederson scored 35 goals and 85 points in 169 regular season NHL games. Pederson played with the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks and Detroit Red Wings. Pederson was a profilic goal scorer in the minors and was drafted 15th overall by Montreal in 1986. Pederson scored 40+ goals in all of his 3 seasons in the WHL and then did it again in his first pro season with Montreal's AHL team. He scored 53 goals in his second season in the AHL but was never able to translate that success to the next level.

Chris Lindberg

From 1991 to 1994 Chris Lindberg played 116 regular season games in the NHL, suiting up for the Calgary Flames and Quebec Nordiques. He's most notable for helping Canada win a Silver medal at the 1992 Olympics. Lindberg contributed 1 goal and 5 points in 8 games during the tournament.

Craig Martin

Craig Martin played 20 NHL games with the 1994/95 Winnipeg Jets and 1 NHL game with the 1996/97 Florida Panthers. In 21 career NHL games he recorded 1 assist and 4 fights. He squared off with NHL tough guys Stu "Grim Reaper" Rimson and Rob "Rayzor" Ray.

Joe Day

From 1991 to 1994 Joe Day played 72 games in the NHL, dressing with the Hartford Whalers and New York Islanders.

Bob Fryday

From 1949 to 1952 Bob Fryday played 5 games in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens, scoring 1 goal. Fryday passed away in 2007.

Warren Skorodenski

From 1981 to 1988 goalie Warren Skorodenski played in 35 NHL games. He suited up for the Chicago Blackhawks, where he's best known for his mask, and later with the Edmonton Oilers.

Scott Sharples

Scott Sharples played 1 game in the NHL with the 1991/92 Calgary Flames. He spent his last year of pro hockey, 1992/93, with the Leafs organization but spent most of his time in the AHL. I'd tried writing to him a couple times and he was one of only a handful of modern day NHL goalies whose signature I didn't have. This was a nice find on an old AHL program.

Jason Ruff

From 1992 to 1994 Jason Ruff played 14 games in the NHL, splitting that time between the St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning. He was a prolific scorer in the minors, including a 42 goal season with the 1994/95 IHL's Atlanta Knights.

Jean-Mark Richard

Defenceman Jean-Mark Richard played 4 NHL games with the 1987/88 Quebec Nordiques and 1 NHL games with the 1989/90 Nordiques. He recorded 2 goals and 1 assist in his first stint with the Nords.

Aldo Guidolin

From 1952 to 1956 defenceman Aldo Guidolin played 182 regular season games in the NHL with the New York Rangers. In the late 1970s, Guildolin returned to the NHL as coach of the Colorado Rockies. He passed away last year.

Ross Johnstone

Ross Johnstone is most notable for winning the 1945 Stanley Cup with the Toronto Maple Leafs. From 1943 to 1945 Johnstone played 42 NHL games with Toronto. He passed away in 2009.

Alan Rittinger

Alan Rittinger scored 3 goals and 10 points in 19 NHL games with the 1943/44 Boston Bruins.

Clifford "Red" Goupille

From 1935 to 1943 defenceman Red Goupille played 222 regular season games in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens. He passed away in 2005.

Gary Morrison

From 1979 to 1982 Gary Morrison played 43 regular season games in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers. He recorded 1 goal and 16 points.

Sylvain Couturier

From 1988 to 1992 Sylvain Couturier scored 4 goals and 9 points in 33 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings. He's the father of NHLer Sean Couturier. I think this was the third time I tried sending to Couturier via the Acadie Bathurst Titan so happy to finally hear back.

Don Spring

From 1980 to 1984 defenceman Don Spring played 259 NHL games with the Winnipeg Jets. He's also notable for playing with Team Canada at the 1980 Olympics. Spring was born in Venezuela but raised in Canada.

---------------------------------------------------------

As usual, I'll end the post with notable recently acquired autographs that fall outside of my NHL players collection.

Mark Richards

Mark Richards appeared in an NHL game as a backup goalie with the 1992/93 Winnipeg Jets. One of the main reasons I'm happy to find a Mark Richards autograph on a program is that because is name is so common, its hard to locate him post-hockey career.

Wayne Forsey

From 1979 to 1987 NHL official Wayne Forsey worked 600 regular season and 23 playoff games. He had been a decent hockey player and in 1971 had been drafted by the New York Rangers.

One item to show in this post, a 1973/74 Winnipeg Jets WHA program signed by 20 players.
The program produced 10 autographs for my collection and 10 traders. 5 of the new autographs are WHA only players and 5 go into my NHL collection. With the 5 additions the new grand total of unique NHL player signatures grows to 5,136 for 69% of everyone who's every played in the league since its creation in 1917.
My most regular search on places like ebay is for old signed hockey programs, not just from the NHL but WHA and AHL programs are even more desirable for me as they tend to produce the rarer autographs I now seek. The one problem I find with signed programs is that many sellers want some pretty crazy prices for them. The reality is, there isn't a huge market for signed programs that are generally hard to display. I do love to pick them up when the price is right.

The Program:

The signed pages:

Final product:

5 for my NHL autograph collection

Bob Woytowich

From 1964 to 1972 Bob Woytowich played over 500 games in the NHL. The Defenceman spent time with the Bruins, North Stars, Penguins and Kings. Woytowich, of Polish descent, is notable for being the first captain of North Stars history, from 1967 to 1968. He later spent 4 seasons in the WHA, playing for the Winnipeg Jets and Indianapolis Racers. Woytowich passed away almost 30 years ago so his signatures aren't easy to find and it was the first autograph on this program that caught my attention. Unfortunately he died rather young when he had a heart attack while driving and crashed.

Kelly Pratt

Kelly Pratt's first season as a pro was spent with Bobby Hull's 1973/74 Winnipeg Jets, were he scored 4 goals and 10 points in 46 WHA games. Pratt later moved to the NHL, playing one season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pratt recorded 6 points in 22 career NHL games with the 1974/75 Penguins.

Jim Hargreaves

Defenceman Jim Hargreaves was drafted 16th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 1970. From 1970 to 1973 he played 66 NHL games with Vancouver. He later spent 3 seasons in the WHA, playing for the Winnipeg Jets, Indianapolis Racers and San Diego Mariners.

Ron Snell

From 1968 to 1970 Ron Snell played 7 NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring 3 goals and 5 points. From 1973 to 1975 Snell played 90 games in the WHA with the Winnipeg Jets.

Larry Hornung

From 1970 to 1972 Larry Hornung played 48 regular season and 11 playoff games in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues. He found more success in the WHA, playing almost 400 games from 1972 to 1978. In the WHA he played for the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers and San Diego Mariners. The defenceman was even named to the 1972/73 WHA All-Star team and in 1976 he helped the Jets win the Acvo Cup as WHA champs. Hornung passed away from cancer in 2001.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

These 5 go into my WHA only collection of autographs.

Ted Hargreaves

Ted Hargreaves made a name for himself with the Canadian national team, helping Canada win a bronze at the 1968 Olympics. From 1969 to 1971 he was property of the Toronto Maple Lefas but was unable to crack the NHL roster. Hargreaves later played 1 season in the WHA, scoring 7 goals and 19 points in 74 games with the 1973/74 Winnipeg Jets. Hargreaves passed away in 2005 from a battle with cancer.

Ken Stephanson

Defenceman Ken Stephanson was property of both the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins in the 1960s but was never able to crack an NHL roster. He spent 2 seasons in the WHA. Stephanson played 77 games with the 1972/73 Ottawa Nationals and another 29 WHA games with the 1973/74 Winnipeg Jets.

Dan Spring

Dan Spring was drafted 12th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1971 but was never able to make the NHL roster. From 1973 to 1975 Dan Spring was a member of the Winnipeg Jets and from 1975 to 1976 played for the Edmonton Oilers. Over those 3 seasons he scored 39 goals and 90 points in 201 regular season WHA games. His brother, Frank, was also a pro hockey player and made it to the NHL.

Jean-Guy Gratton

Jean-Guy Gratton spent 3 years in the WHA with the Winnipeg Jets, scoring 31 goals and 72 points in 188 games.

Cal Swenson

Cal Swenson spent two seasons in the WHA with the Winnipeg Jets, playing over 100 games for the club. He passed away in 2014.

The last 10 autographs I already had and have been added to my tradelists:

Bob Ash

Dunc Rousseau

Danny Johnson

Ernie Wakely

Norm Beaudin

Duke Asmundson

Ab McDonald

Nick Mickoski

Joe Zanussi

Bobby Hull

I have a total of 13 new autographs to show since the last post, 11 for the NHL collection and 2 additional hockey signatures. The 11 new NHL autographs makes the new grand total 5,147 unique NHL signatures for 69% of everyone whose ever played in the league.

There isn't a large amount of autographs to show since my last mail post, but that's for good reason. I recently won a nice lot of team signed sheets from Classic Auctions that has eaten up most of my budget but will soon produce a great post of new and rarer signatures. I also have a nice little package on the way from COMC with my Black Friday sales purchases. At this rate I should be starting 2017 at, or very nearly at, the 70% completion mark.

Grant McNeill

Tough defenceman Grant McNeill played 3 games in the NHL with the 2003/04 Florida Panthers and recorded 1 fight. McNeill later spent time in the Washington Capitals organizations, playing a few preseason games for the club, but never made it back to the NHL regular season. He wrote back that his career highlight was his NHL fight with tough guy Chris Simon and winning 2 Calder Cups in the AHL. McNeil noted in his reply that his signature has changed since leaving hockey.

Dan Woodley

The Vancouver Canucks drafted Dan Woodley 7th overall in 1986 after seeing him lead the WHL's Portland Winterhawks to the Memorial Cup finals. In his first season of pro hockey Woodley was named the IHL's Rookie of the Year and earned a 5 game NHL call up with the Canucks, scoring 2 goals. Unfortunately for Woodley and the Canucks, that would be the extent of his NHL career.

Taylor Hall

Yes, this is the original Taylor Hall NHL player, born 1964. In the mid 1980s Taylor Hall played 41 games in the NHL, scoring 7 goals and 16 points. He dressed for both the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins. It was my third or fourth time trying Hall via the Tulsa Oilers, a team he has long managed. I'm glad to get this one off the wantlist simply because it would be a headache finding his autograph with that other player who bears the same name.

Jean-Guy Trudel

Jean-Guy Trudel played 1 game with the 1999/00 Phoenix Coyotes, 3 games with the 2001/02 Coyotes and 1 game with the 2002/03 Minnesota Wild for a total of 5 career games in the NHL. The undrafted forward played pro hockey until 2010 and has recently been head coach of the Peoria Rivermen. I can't say Trudel has an overly impressive signature, especially for someone who can't get many requests for it. Although I am grateful he took the time to return my request, I'm always a little disappointed when I get a signature that's hardly more than a couple checkmarks.

Jan Hejda

From 2006 to 2015 defenceman Jan Hejda played well over 600 games in the NHL. The Czech split most of that time between the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets. Internationally Hejda won a gold with Czech Republic at the 2005 World Championships, a Silver at the 2006 World Championships and represented his country at the 2010 Olympics. I must add that very few people can play so long in today's NHL and never get a certified autograph, something I was waiting for but never came as Hejda's NHL career appears over.

Iiro Jarvi

Unfortunately Jarvi signed the autograph in a marker than was on its final legs. Fortunately, the autograph is clearer in hand, bad scan, so I'll put it in the collection but might send another to Jarvi down the road. Iiro Jarvi played 116 NHL games for the Quebec Nordiques from 1988 to 1990. The Finn netted 18 goals and 61 points for the Nords. He was instrumental in helping Finland capture Silver at the 1988 Olympics, scoring 7 points in 8 games over the tournament.

Billy McNeill

From 1956 to 1964 Billy McNeill played 257 games in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings, scoring 21 goals and 67 points. It bothers me that the creator of the card left an "l" off his name so I may turn it into a custom index someday. McNeill passed away in 2007.

Tony Curtale

Drafted 31st overall by Calgary in 1980, defenceman Tony Curtale played 2 NHL games for the Flames in 1980/81, and spent the rest of the year in junior. He made the jump to pro hockey for the 1982/83 season but never made it back up to the NHL.

Thomas Eriksson

From 1980 to 1986 Swedish defenceman Thoms Eriksson played over 200 games in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers. He represented Sweden at the 1980 and 1988 Olympics, taking home a bronze each time. He's also notable for being the first European trained player to play for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Steve Wojciechowski (also signed Steve Wochy on back)

Steve Wojciechowski aka Steve Wochy played 54 regular season games in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings between 1944 and 1947.

Orval Tessier

Orval Tessier played 4 games for the 1954/55 Montreal Canadiens, 23 games for the 1955/56 Boston Bruins and 32 games for the 1960/61 Bruins for a total of 59 career NHL games. Tessier later returned to the NHL as a head coach with the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1980s. I had tried sending to Tessier a multiples times but never got a response. With the last RTS I decided to spring for a cheap lot of old AHL signatures that had just one autograph I needed, this Tessier.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Autographs #12 and #13 of this post fall outside of my NHL collection. One goes in my WHA binder and the other in my NHL officials binder.

Don Larway

From 1974 to 1979 Don Larway played well over 300 games in the WHA, suiting up for the Houston Aeros and Indianapolis Racers. He was a solid player who put up three seasons of 20+ goals while playing for the Aeros. He was drafted 18th overall by the Boston Bruin sin 1974 but never played in the NHL.

Whenever I buy an autograph from a seller on ebay, after I feel comfortable buying from him/her, and make a purchase, I make a point to look through the other items for sale. If they combine shipping and have other autographs, I might buy some additional graphs or make offers on some. In this case, I bought this Larway and a couple other from the seller after originally buying the Tessier lot. I always feel satisfied when dealing with a seller who will accept reasonable offers on a lot, and I'm sure they're happy to get rid of signatures that have likely long been sitting.

Pat Dapuzzo

Between 1984 and 2008 linesman Pat Dapuzzo officiated over 1,500 NHL games. Dapuzzo's NHL officiating career came to an ugly end in 2008 when he suffered a vicious skate slash to the face in an accident during an NHL game.

I wish I had an address to send current NHL officials. I've tried a few but to no avail, I even had a promising lead when someone who works there said he'd forward some letters but never did. Would love to add more autographs of current officials to my collection.

Although this post is mostly of new guys, there's also some older gems. Messier and Jagr represent a few of the last modern day stars I needed. The reason I had waited so long to add them was because they have lots of signatures on the market, and they tend to demand a higher premium than some of the lesser stars. Therefore, there was never any urgency to acquire them until my wantlist got as small as it is now. Some hard to find Swedish SHL autographs featuring NHLers from a legitimate company card Cardset I found on a European site, coolcard.se, are cards I had my eyes on for some time. Most of the common autographs come from a COMC.com package via the Black Friday sales.

Collection update: 45 new signatures makes a grand total 5,192 unique NHL signatures for 69% of everyone who's ever suited up in the league.

Mark Messier

Mark Messier has one of hockey's most impressive resumes. The Hockey Hall of Fame was a 15 time NHL All-Star, 2 time Hart Trophy winner, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, 2 time Lester B. Pearson Award winner and 6 time Stanley Cup Champion. His 1,887 career NHL points is 3rd all-time and his 1,756 career NHL games is 2nd all-time to only Howe.

Jaromir Jagr

Jaromir Jagr recently jumped ahead of Messier for 2nd All-Time in NHL points with an astonishing 750+ goals and 1990+ career points. Its so much fun to see the 44 year old Jagr still racking up points in the NHL. I was finally able to acquire this old certified autograph at a very reasonable price during COMC's Black Friday sales.

Peter Stastny

From 1980 to 1995 Hockey Hall of Famer Peter Stastny scored 450 goals and 1239 points in 977 regular season NHL games. He won the Calder Trophy in 1981 and was a 6 time NHL All-Star. The Slovkian's brothers, Anton and Marian, also played in the NHL and Peter's son, Paul, currently plays for the St. Louis Blues.

Rejean Houle

Rejean Houle was drafted 1st overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 1969. He never became the star he was projected to be but Houle still went on to win 5 Stanley Cups with the Habs. From 1995 to 2000 he was General Manager of the Canadiens.

Christoph Brandner

Austrian Christoph Brandner played 2 seasons in North America, making his NHL debut with the Minnesota Wild as a 28 year old rookie. He scored 4 goals and 9 points in 35 career NHL games with the 2003/04 Wild. He's notable for being the first Austrian to score a goal in the NHL.

Eric Beaudoin

From 2001 to 2004 Eric Beaudoin scored 3 goals and 11 points in 53 career NHL games with the Florida Panthers. He was originally drafted by the Lighting in 1998 but got traded to Florida in 2000.

Toni Dahlman

From 2001 to 2003 Toni Dahlman scored 1 goal and 2 points in 22 career NHL games with the Ottawa Senators. The Finnish forward has spent most of his career in Europe.

Richard Lintner

From 1999 to 2003 defenceman Richard Lintner played over 100 games in the NHL. He spent time with the Nashville Predators, New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins. In 2002 he scored 8 points in 9 games Internationally and was named an All-Star as his native Slovakia captured their first ever Gold at the World Championships. That year he also played for Slovakia in the Olympics.

Darryl Bootland

From 2003 to 2007 tough guy Darryl Bootland played 28 games in the NHL with Detroit, scoring a goal, assist and racking up 83 penalty minutes. He also played 4 NHL games with the 2007/08 New York Islanders. Originally drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in 2000, he never signed with the team and was later signed by the Red Wings as a free agent. His certified autographs are actually very tough to find because he only signed a limited number of cards for a couple high end releases for ITG. I paid a little more for this than I would have liked but I was tired of waiting for one to come up for auction.

Nathan MacKinnon

Nathan MacKinnon was drafted 1st overall by the Avalanche in 2013 and in 2014 he was awarded the Calder Trophy as NHL's rookie of the year. In a very short time his autographs have gone from unaffordable to very affordable as he's been overshadowed by recent rookie stars.

Claude Giroux

Claude Giroux has scored well over 500 points in the NHL over a decade with the Philadelphia Flyers. Giroux has been captain of the Flyers since 2013. He's won Gold with Canada at the 2008 World Juniors, 2015 World Championships and 2016 World Cup.

Tobias Lindberg

Swedish forward Tobias Lindberg was originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators but was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the deal that saw Phaneuf go to the Sens. Lindberg made his NHL debut with the Leafs, playing 6 games for the team during the 2015/16 season. As a junior, in 2015 Lindberg won a Memorial Cup with the Oshawa Generals.

Yanni Gourde

Undrafted forward Yanni Gourde has played a few games in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning after working his way up to an NHL contract from the ECHL to the AHL and ultimately the NHL. He played 2 games with the 2015/16 Lightning and has played a handful more with this season's team.

Alan Quine

Forward Alan Quine was originally drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 2011 but was never signed and got redrafted in 2013 by the New York Islanders. He made his NHL debut with the 2015/16 Islanders and has been on their NHL roster all year this season.

Petteri Lindbohm

Finnish defenceman Petteri Lindbohm made his NHL debut with the 2014/15 St. Louis Blues and has since played nearly 40 NHL games with the team. In 2013 he was captain of Finland's World Junior team.

Byron Froese

Byron Froese was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2009 and later signed by the team but was unable to make it out of their AHL team. In 2015 the Leafs signed Froese as a free agent and in 2015/16 he made his NHL debut for Toronto, scoring 2 goals and 5 points in 56 games as a rookie.

Josh Archibald

Josh Archibald played 1 NHL game with the 2015/16 Pittsburgh Penguins. He was a 6th round pick from the 2011 draft who spent 3 years at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. His father, Jim Archibald, also played in the NHL.

Props to Josh for having a super clear autograph.

Alexandre Grenier

Forward Alexandre Grenier played 6 games in the NHL with the 2015/16 Vancouver Canucks. Grenier had an unusual path to the NHL. He was drafted by the Canucks in 2011 in the 3rd round but not signed by the club. Grenier went Austria for his first year of pro but finished the season in the ECHL. He then worked his way all the way up to an NHL contract.

Cedric Paquette

Quebec native Cedric Paquette has played over 150 NHL games with the Tampa Bay Lightning since making his debut with the 2013/14 team.

Petr Mrazek

Czech goalie Petr Mrazek started his first pro season in 2012/13 in the ECHL, working his way up to the AHL and then NHL. Since then he's played well over 100 NHL games for Detroit. He was originally drafted by the Red Wings in the 5th round of the 2010 NHL draft. He recently represented the Czechs at the 2016 World Cup.

Linus Ullmark

Swedish goalie Linus Ullmark was drafted in the 6th round of 2012 NHL draft by the Sabres. He played 20 NHL games for Buffalo in his first season in North America, 2015/16. Internationally, in 2013/14 he won a bronze medal at the World Championship with Sweden.

Mike Condon

A Princeton University alumni, Mike Condon was signed by the Montreal Canadiens in 2013 as an undrafted free agent. With injuries to Carey Price, Condon ending up playing 55 games as an NHL rookie with 2015/16 Montreal Canadiens. Condon started the 2016/17 season with the Habs but was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He only appeared in 1 NHL game with the Pens before being traded to the Ottawa Senators, where he's appeared in 16 games so far this season. Internationally, Condon played 5 games at the 2016 World Championships with USA.

Mark Alt

Son of NFL player John Alt, Mark was drafted out of high school in the 2nd round of the 2010 NHL draft by the Carolina Hurrincanes. Alt opted for college and while With at the University of Minnesota, Mark Alt was traded from the Hurricanes to the Philadelphia Flyers. He's played 1 game in the NHL, with the 2014/15 Flyers.

Brett Kulak

Defenceman Brett Kulak was drafted in the fourth round by the Flames in 2012. He started his first year of pro hockey, 2014/15, in the ECHL and played himself up to the AHL. There, he continued his solid play and ended the season in the NHL with the Flames. He's spent most of this season in the NHL and has played over 20 games in the league so far.

Chris Wideman

Chris Wideman scored 6 goals and 13 points in 64 games as an NHL rookie with the 2015/16 Ottawa Senators. He also scored 2 goals and 6 points in 10 games at the 2016 World Championships with Team USA.

Dylan DeMelo

Defenceman Dylan DeMelo was a 6th round draft pick by the Sharks in 2011. He made his NHL debut in 2015 and has already played over 50 NHL games with San Jose.

Jacob Trouba

Drafted 9th overall in 2012, defenceman Jacob Trouba has played well over 200 NHL with the Winnipeg Jets since making his NHL debut in 2013. In 2013 Trouba won Gold at the World Junior Championships and Bronze at the Mens World Championships with USA.

Mike McCarron

The Montreal Canadiens drafted Michael McCarron in the first round of the 2013 NHL draft. In 2015 The US born McCarron won the Memorial Cup as an Oshawa General. He's already played over 20 games in the NHL since making his debut with the 2015/16 Habs.

Viktor Svedberg

Svedberg came to North America in 2013 as an undrafted free agent and was signed by the Blackhawks. After a couple seasons in the AHL he made his NHL debut with the 2015/16 Hawks, playing 27 games in the NHL.

Justin Bailey

Justin Bailey made his NHL debut with the 2015/16 Buffalo Sabres and has played a total of 11 games for the club since then. His father, Carlton Bailey, was a pro football player who spent some time in the NFL.

Connor Brickley

The Florida Panthers drafted Connor Brickley 50th overall in 2010 and then he spent four seasons at the University of Vermont. Brickley played 23 NHL games with the 2015/16 Panthers. Prior to the start of this season he was dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes but has yet to make their NHL roster.

Oscar Lindberg

Swedish forward Oscar Lindberg was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2010 but was traded to the Rangers before ever coming to North America. In 2013 he helped Sweden win Gold at the World Championships. Since making his debut with the 2014/15 Rangers, Lindberg is entering his second season as a full time member of New York's NHL club.

Hunter Shinkaruk

Hunter Shinkaruk was drafted in the first round of the 2013 NHL draft by the Canucks but only played 1 NHL game with the club before being dealt to the Flames in 2016. He's since played another 14 games in the NHL for Calgary, scoring 2 goals and 4 points.

Mattias Janmark

Originally drafted by the Red Wings, Mattias Janmark was traded to the Dallas Stars before ever playing with Detroit. Janmark spent a few seasons playing pro in his native Sweden and was a surprise producer in his first year of North America hockey, scoring 15 goals and 29 points in 73 games with the 2015/16 Stars as a rookie.

Jared McCann

Jared McCann was a first round pick by the Canucks in 2014. In 2015 he made the jump directly from the OHL to the NHL, playing 69 games as a rookie with the 2015/16 Canucks. In the summer of 2016 he was traded to the Panthers and so far has played nearly 20 NHL games for Florida.

Joe Morrow

Defenceman Joe Morrow was drafted in the first round, 23rd overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was traded to the Dallas Stars in 2013 before ever playing for the Pens and then later in 2013 he was traded again, this time to the Boston Bruins. He made his NHL debut for the 2014/15 Bruins and has played over 60 NHL games for the club since. His father, Dave Morrow, was a pro hockey player who spent time in the WHA.

Viktor Arvidsson

Swedish forward Viktor Avidsson was drafted in the 4th round by the Predators in 2014. In 2013 he had helped Sweden win Silver at the 2013 World Junior Championships. Since 2015 Arvidsson has played nearly 100 games in the NHL for Nashville.

Jacob de la Rose

Forward Jacob de la Rose has scored 4 goals and 7 points in 55 NHL games with the Montreal Canadiens. The Swede helped his country win Silver at the 2013 and 2014 World Junior Championships.

Bobby Farnham

Undrafted, Bobby Farnham was signed by the Pens after competing four seasons at Brown University. The tough guy has played 64 games in the NHL since 2014, scoring 8 goals and recording 121 penalty minutes.

Domenic Pittis

From 1996 to 2004 Domenic Pittis played 86 regular season games in the NHL, scoring 5 goals and 16 points. Pittis dressed in the NHL for the Penguins, Sabres, Oilers and Predators.

Jean Savard

From 1977 to 1979 Jean Savard 41 games in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks, who had drafted him 19th overall in 1977. He later played 1 additional game in the NHL with the 1979/80 Hartford Whalers.

Bob Murray

From 1975 to 1990 Bob Murray played over 1000 games in the NHL, all with the Chicago Blackhawks. In 2007 he won a Stanley Cup as Senior VP of Hockey Ops with the Anaheim Ducks and since 2008 has been the team's General Manager.

Bill Burega

Bill Burega recorded 1 assist in 4 career NHL games with the 1955/56 Toronto Maple Leafs. I was thrilled to locate Burega as there aren't many Original 6 players left for me to send to.

Jeff McDill

Forward Jeff McDill played 1 game in the NHL with the 1976/77 Chicago Blackhawks. He later spent a couple years in the Rangers organizations but was never able to break out of the AHL. McDill passed away in 2012 at only 56.

Ryan Wilson

From 2009 to 2015 defenceman Ryan Wilson played 230 regular season NHL games, all with the Colorado Avalanche. Wilson was never drafted and signed as a free agent by the Calgary Flames, who traded him to Colorado before he was able to break out of Calgary's AHL squad.

----------------------------------------------------

The last couple autographs of this post, #46 and 47, fall outside of my NHL collection into my NHL backups only binder of autographs.

Sam Brittain

A University of Denver alumni, Sam Brittain appeared as a backup goalie in 6 NHL games with the 2014/15 Florida Panthers. Brittain was originally drafted by the Panthers in the 4th round of the 2010 NHL draft.

Matt Hewitt

Early in the 2016/17 NHL season Matt Hewitt dressed as an emergency backup goalie with the Vancouver Canucks. He was going to school at the University of British Columbia at the time. This card comes from the time when he was still a legitimate NHL prospect playing for the Regina Pats.

All of these autographs come from a single lot I won from Classic Auctions. It was a bittersweet win because it wasn't the lot I had wanted, that was a signed 1940s minor league program that went for a few hundred dollars more than I could have afforded. It was also somewhat of a sentimental win for me. I've long drooled over Classic Auction's stuff but have never been in the market to bid. Finally working a career job, I have a little disposable income and this represents a new direction in my collection, chasing rarer vintage signatures. I actually won these for rather cheap, with the opening bid, or not much more than it. The lot I won included a few signed pictures and a few signed programs. The pictures were of the lot and it was difficult to identify exactly all the signatures I was buying. My trained eyes were able to identity more than a few nice ones and I judged it worth the asking price. Part of the fun in getting a lot of signatures like this for me is identifying all the autographs. I ended up with 22 new NHL autographs and 5 new WHA autographs. A nice haul. I also added dozens of autographs to my growing tradelists.

The grand total of unique NHL autographs now stands at 5,214 for 70% of everyone who's ever played in the NHL. When I started this collection over a decade ago I never would have thought I'd be able to get so far. I'm 25 so at this rate, and my love of collecting hasn't showed any sings of slowing, I should be able to make it close to the impossible 100% goal. I'm confident there's a few older guys from the 1920s who's signatures I'll never see, but if I stay with it I should be able to get the majority of the rare ones. My lifetime goal is to complete the collection enough to make it something the HHOF would take when I go. All my signatures must fit in a binder (organized by years of debut, then alphabetically) so although its quite large in terms of quantity, it only takes up one bookshelf and its a blast to flip through.

Starting with a 1967 Red Wings Vs Penguins program:

Red Wings Autographs:

For the collection:

Baz Bastien

It was a 1967 team photo that confirmed this autograph for me. I thought it might be Bastien but couldn't fill in the blanks as to why he would have signed the program until I saw him listed as the team's assistant GM. As a young goalie, Baz Bastien tended goal for 5 NHL games with the 1945/46 Toronto Maple Leafs. His career was cut short when a puck to the face caused him to lose an eye. From 1976 to 1983 he was General Manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins, his career ending abruptly with his unfortunate death in a car accident at 63 years of age.

Roy Edwards

Roy Edwards spent a decade playing pro before the 1967 expansion draft gave him the big break he needed. Edwards was drafted by the Penguins in the expansion draft and then traded to the Red Wings shortly after. From 1967 to 1974 Edwards appeared between the pipes in 236 regular season games, mostly with Detroit but also playing with Pittsburgh. He's also notable for being the "goalie on hand" for the 1960 Chicago Blackhawks. Although he never played a game for the club, he got his name on the Stanley Cup, listed as "Allan R Edwards." He passed away in 1999 at 62.

Jim Peters

I had tried writing to Peters a couple times at a couple different addresses but kept getting RTS. From 1964 to 1975 Peters played over 300 games in the NHL between the Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings. His father, Jimmy Peters sr., also spent over a decade in the NHL.

Extras: Ted Hampson, Dean Prentice, Alex Delvecchio, Bill Gadsby, Bert Mashall, Norm Ullman, Doug Barkley, Sid Abel and Gary Bergman

Pittsburgh Penguins autographs:

For the collection:

Bill Speer

This was a rare signature I couldn't identify right away. Without another Speer autograph to refer to, I wasn't 100% sure it was him (he wasn't with the team all season) until I turned to the rosters. Filled in by hand, Speer had been added to the lineup by whoever had attended the game. That confirmed it for me and i'm now 100% its Speer. Had I any doubt at all, I would have added it to my small pile of questionable autographs that don't get added to my collection. Speer is most notable for helping the Boston Bruins win the 1970 Stanley Cup. The defenceman played over 100 games in both the NHL and WHA. Speer died in a snowmobile accident at only 46 in 1989.

Dunc McCallum

From 1965 to 1971 defenceman Dunc McCallum played 187 regular season games in the NHL. He made his NHL debut with the 1965/66 New York Rangers but only played 2 games for the club. The rest of McCallum's NHL career was spent with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He later spent two seasons in the WHA, playing for the Houston Aeros and Chicago Cougars. McCallum passed away in 1983 at only 43.

Bob Dillabough

From 1961 to 1970 Bob Dillabough played 300 career regular season+playoff games in the NHL. He was a member of the Red Wings, Bruins, Penguins and Oakland Seals. He also spent a season in the WHA, scoring 8 goals and 16 points in 72 games with the 1972/73 Cleveland Crusaders. Dillabough passed away in 1997 at only 55 after a hard life of uranium mining post hockey took its tole.

Extras: Red Sullivan, Andy Bathgate, Val Fonteyne, Ab McDonald, Leo Boivin, Hank Bassen, Paul Andrea, Ken Schinkel, Noel Price

---------------------------

1973/74 WHA Alberta Oilers team signed sheet.

This page is a dream for an autograph collector like me. Autographs all are clear and well spaced.

For the collection:

Len Lunde

From 1958 to 1971 Len Lunde played well over 300 games in the NHL, dressing with the Red Wings, Blackhawks, North Stars and Canucks. He retired to coach the Finnish national team at the 1973 World Championships but returned to play a full season with the WHA's 1973/74 Oilers. Lunde passed away in 2010.

Brian McKenzie

Brian McKenzie scored 1 goal and 2 points in 6 career NHL games with the 1971/72 Pittsburgh Penguins. He later played 87 games in the WHA between the Edmonton Oilers and Indianapolis Racers. I was never able to find an address for McKenzie so I was especially happy to add this.

Chris Worthy

From 1968 to 1971 Chris Worthy played 26 NHL games with the Oakland and then California Seals. From 1973 to 1976 Worthy played 81 games in the WHA for the Edmonton Oilers. Worthy, who was born in England but raised in Canada, passed away in 2007 from cancer at 59.

Jim McCrimmon

Defenceman Jim McCrimmon played 2 career NHL games with the 1974/75 St. Louis Blues. From 1973 to 1975 McCrimmon was a member of the WHA's Edmonton Oilers. Additionally, he later played 5 more games in the WHA with the 1975/76 Calgary Cowboys.

Bob Fitchner

Originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1970, Bob Fitchner signed in the WHA with the Edmonton Oilers in 1973. From then until the league folded he played over 400 games in the WHA, scoring over 200 points. In the Rebel League he dressed with the Oilers, Racers and Nordiques, helping Quebec win the league championship in 1977. Fitchner followed the Nords into the NHL, making his debut in the league almost a decade after he was drafted. From 1979 to 1981 he played 78 NHL games with Quebec, scoring 12 goals and 32 points.

The next 5 get added to my WHA only autographs

Ian Wilkie

From 1972 to 1974 Ian Wilkie appeared in 33 regular season WHA games. He played for the New York Raiders, Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers. He had originally been drafted by the Montreal Canadiens but attended University after junior and only later signed in the WHA. He went back to University after hockey and had a very successful business career.

Tom Gilmore

From 1972 to 1975 Tom Gilmore played over 200 games in the WHA, suiting up for the Los Angeles Sharks and Edmonton Oilers. He scored 48 goals and over 100 points over his WHA career. Gilmore was an undrafted University of Denver alumni when he signed with the LA Sharks. Tom's son, Patrick Gilmore, is a notable actor who had a recurring role on Stargate.

Rusty Patenaude
From 1974 to 1977 Rusty Patenaude played five full seasons with the Alberta/Edmonton Oilers. In 1977/78 he played his last season of pro with the WHA's Indianapolis Racers. Patenaude, originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins, scored 159 goals and 290 points in 431 regular season WHA games. His best season was a 42 goal year with the 1975/76 Oilers.

Roger Cote

Defenceman Roger Cote spent over a decade in the AHL in the 1960s, but was never able to crack an NHL roster. The World Hockey Association gave him, and many more players, a new opportunity and from 1972 to 1974 he played 155 games with the Alberta/Edmonton Oilers.

Ron Climie

Ron Climie scored 98 goals and 204 points in 249 career regular season games in the WHA. He was a member of the Ottawa Nationals, Edmonton Oilers and New England Whalers. He scored a career high 38 goals with the 1973/74 Oilers, leading the team in scoring and representing them at his second WHA All-Star game. Climie was originally drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 1970 and spent a couple season's playing for the CHL affiliate, the Kansas City Blues, but was never able to crack the parent club's roster.

extras: Jim Harrison, Ross Perkins, Val Fonteyne, Al Hamilton, Steve Carlyle, Blair MacDonald, Ken Baird, Bob Falkenberg, Eddie Joyal, Doug Barrie, Bob Wall, Jack Norris

---------------------

1970/71 LA Kings Signed Sheet:

If you look closely, this one was much more difficult to cut up that the Oilers page. With some of the autographs so close together, I had to make some unfortunate sacrifices. Juha Widing's autograph was a painful one to cut though because he's long deceased and I needed his signature. I had to sacrifice it because it ran through the Flett and Mickey signatures. With Mickey's autograph being rarer than Widings, and me being a fan of Flett, it was the clear choice to keep the other two. My girlfriend saw me in agony over this, "well why can't you just keep them all?" she asks. Well, its because I'm too anal with my autographs. I have to be able to put it in its proper place (the proper year of debut binder, then organized alphabetically) so dual signatures just don't work.

For the collection:

Bill Flett

Bill "Cowboy" Flett spent almost 2 decades playing pro hockey in the 1960s and 70s. He played nearly 700 regular season games in the NHL and almost 200 regular season games in the WHA. Flett's best season as a 43 goals season with the 1972/73 Philly Flyers and then in 1974 he won a Stanley Cup with the Flyers. Flett suffered from alcoholism for many years after hockey and died in 1999 at only 55 from liver failure.

Larry Mickey

From 1964 to 1975 Larry Mickey played 301 career regular season+playoff games in the NHL, dressing with the Blackhawks, Rangers, Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Kings, Flyers and Sabres. In 1967 Mickey's wife died in a car crash while he was driving, something that stuck with him for the rest of his life. He had a difficult time after his hockey career had ended and when his third wife left him, Mickey committed suicided at just 38.

Lucien Grenier

Lucien Grenier made his NHL debut in the playoffs with the 1969 Montreal Canadiens, playing 2 games. The Habs won the Stanley Cup but didn't choose to include Grenier's name on the trophy even though he qualified for the honor. From 1969 to 1972 Grenier played 150+ NHL games between the Habs and Los Angeles Kings. I've never seen a TTM success from Grenier so its a nice find.

Larry Cahan

Cahan might be best known for being involved in the NHL's only only on ice fatality, being one of the players who checked Bill Masterton in 1968, causing Masterton to his his head on the ice and later die. If was, of course and accident, but deeply affected Cahan. From 1954 to 1971 Larry Cahan played 665 career regular season games in the NHL and later spent a season in the WHA. Cahan passed away in 1992 at 58.

Extras: Paul Curtis, Doug Robinson, Bob Berry, Bob Pulford, Gord Labossier, Mike Byers, Ed Shack, Gilles Marotte, Dale Hoganson, Noel Price, Matt Ravlich, Jack Norris/Denis Dejordy

--------------------------

For the collection:

Tommy Williams

I just needed 1 autograph from this sheet but it turned out to be a good one. A nice, clean autograph of Tommy Williams, who was for a long time the undisputed best American born player in the NHL. From 1961 to 1976 he played 663 regular season games in the NHL, scoring 161 goals and 430 points. He was a member of the Bruins, North Stars, Golden Seals, Capitals and the WHA's New England Whalers. Internationally, Williams won a Gold medal at the 1960 Olympics as a youngster with USA. His brother, Butch Williams, also played in the NHL. Unfortunately, Williams' personal life was marred by tragedy, his wife died a young woman, his son died in his young twenties and Williams himself passed away in 1992 at only 51. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1981.

Extras added to tradelist: JP Parise, Barry Gibbs, Lou Nanne, Claude Larose, Danny Grant, Bill Goldsworthy

--------------

Minnesota North Stars team signed:

For the collection:

Steve Jensen

From 1975 to 1982 Steve Jensen played 438 regular season games in the NHL, scoring 113 goals and 221 points. He split that time between the Minnesota North Stars and Los Angeles Kings. Internationally, Jensen represented America at the 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979 and 1983 World Championships, 1976 Olympics and 1977 Canada Cup.

Jim Roberts (b. 1956)

This Jim Roberts played over 100 games in the NHL between 1976 and 1979, all with the Minnesota North Stars. He was claimed by Winnipeg in the 1979 expansion draft but never suited up for the Jets.

I also noticed that Jim Roberts' 1978/79 OPC hockey card has an error on the back, it features a signatures of the other Jim Roberts, you can clearly see the difference here and its and clearly matched to the other Jim Robert's autograph.

Extras added to tradelist: Pete LoPresti, Ales Pirus, Fred Barret, Charlie Burns, Tom Younghans, Tom Reid, Pierre Jarry

---------------------

Another multi-singed North Stars item:

Two for the collection:

Paul Shmyr

Paul Shmyre was a solid defenceman who, from 1968 to 1982, played 343 regular season games in the NHL and another 511 games in the WHA. In the NHL he was a member of the Blackhawks, Golden Seals, North Stars and Whalers. In the WHA he played for the Cleveland Crusaders, San Diego Mariners and Edmonton Oilers. In the Rebel League, Shmyre was a perennial top defender, being named to the league's All-Star teams in 1973, 1974, 1976 and 1979 and in 1976 was named the WHA's best defenceman. He was captain of the 1978/79 Edmonton Oilers, Wayne Gretzky's rookie team. When the league folded Shmyre was third all-time in WHA games played by any player. In the NHL, from 1979 to 1981 he was captain of the Minnesota North Stars, leading them a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup finals in 1981. Internationally, he's also notable for being named to team Canada's 1974 Summit Series team. He passed away from cancer in 2004 at just 58.

Brad Maxwell

From 1977 to 1987 Brad Maxwell played over 600 games in the NHL. The defenceman was a member of the North Stars, Nordiques, Maples Leafs, Canucks and Rangers. He exploded for 73 points from the blueline with the 1983/84 North Stars and was named to the NHL's 1984 All-Star team. Internationally, Maxwell represented Canada at the 1978 and 1982 World Championships, bringing home a Bronze medal each time. I actually just sent a TTM request to Maxwell, but I'm happy to have this one for now.

Extras added to tradelist: Glen Sharpley, Tim Young, Fred Ahern, Gary Edwards, Louis Levasseur, Craig Hartsburg, Pierre Jarry

-----------------

The last couple I forgot to scan the pages before cutting them up, but they were both signed pages from Minnesota North Stars programs.

Dave Cressman

From 1974 to 1976 Dave Cressman played 85 games in the NHL for the Minnesota North Stars, scoring 6 goals and 14 points. He was drafted by the North Stars in 1970 but put his pro career on hold to attend the University of Guelph, not exactly a place known for its hockey development program, and he beat the odds to make it to the NHL anyway.

Pierre Jarry

Jarry is an impossible TTM signer so I was happy to get this. From 1971 to 1978 he played 344 regular season games in the NHL, scoring 88 goals and 205 points having suited up with the Rangers, Leafs, Wings and North Stars. He also spent part of the 1977/78 season in the WHA with the Edmonton Oilers.

Extras: Dean Talafous, Steve Jensen, Ernie Hicke, Glenn Sather, Bryan Hextall, Bill Hogaboam, Pete Lopresti, Lou Nanne, Mike Antonovich, Blake Dunlop, Tom Reid, Fred Barrett. And from the other: Dean Talafous, Ron Zanussi, Tom Younghans, Per-Olov Brasar, Brad Maxwell, Lou Nanne, Nick Beverley, Tim Young, Paul Harrison/Pete Lopresti, Kent-Erik Andersson, Steve Jensen, Alex Pirus, Glen Sharpley, Fred Barrett, Roland Eriksson, Jerry Engele, Pierre Jarry

A couple big names, some KHL certs, a program and a few TTM returns round out this mail post. These KHL certs are great considering how hard it is to reach players in Russia and I have a few more on the way. The Country is literally a giant black hole for TTM requests. I've even tried using the native language and no luck. Its a fitting coincidence that I add Kane and Toews to the collection together. They made their NHL debuts on the same season and have gone on to have so much success together. They're also two of the last certified autographs I needed, left to the very end because of their relatively high secondary market prices yet neither are rare. Lucky for me these come via a lucky Christmas break. The only hockey cards I got for Xmas was a little blaster of Upper Deck. Last year my dear mother had gotten me the same thing and I pulled a Jack Eichel canvas YG that I was able to trade for my Sidney Crosby autograph. The lucky streak continued into this year and I pulled a Patrick Laine canvas YG, what are the odds!? I quickly flipped that for this Kane and Toews and couldn't be happier.

The 18 new autographs featured in this post make the grand total of unique NHL signatures 5,232 for 70.3% of everyone who has ever played in the NHL.

Patrick Kane

The Chicago Blackhawks drafted Patrick Kane 1st overall in 2007. The incredibly skilled Kane won the Calder Trophy in 2008 as NHL rookie of the year and hasn't looked back since. He helped the Hawks win the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. In 2013 he was awarded the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP. In 2016 he won the Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and Art Ross Trophy, tearing up the NHL with 46 goals and 106 points in 82 games. Internationally, he won a Silver at the 2010 Olympics with USA.

Jonathan Toews

The Chicago Blackhawks drafted Jonathan Toews 3rd overall in 2006 and since then all he's done is win. Captain of the Hawks since 2008, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2010 as playoff MVP and has lead the Hawks to 3 Stanley Cups. Internationally, he's won Gold twice at the Olympics and twice at the World Junior Championships as well as once at the World Championships and World Cup.

Dan Sexton

Dan Sexton was never drafted but was signed as a free agent in 2009 by the Anaheim Ducks after two seasons in college with Bowling Green State University. From 2009 to 2011 Sexton scored 13 goals and 32 points in 88 career NHL games. He's been in the KHL since 2013. Internationally, Sexton represented America at the 2015 World Championships, winning a Bronze.

Alexandre Bolduc

Alexandre Bolduc was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 2003 but would never play for the club. He made his NHL debut with the 2008/09 Vancouver Canucks. From 2008 to 2015 Bolduc played 65 regular season and 3 playoff games in the NHL. He was a member of both the Canucks and later Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes.

Kari Jalonen

From 1982 to 1984 Kari Jalonen scored 9 goals and 15 points in 37 regular season NHL games playing with the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. Jalonen played 3 games for the 1983/84 Oilers, Gretzky's team that would go on to win the Stanley Cup that season, but without Jalonen, who didn't qualify to get his name anywhere near the Trophy. Internationally, Jalonen represented Finland at the 1981 Canada Cup and World Championships in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987 and 1989.

Steve Pinizzotto

Undrafted forward Steve Pinizzotto made his NHL debut with the 2012/13 Vancouver Canucks as a 28 year old rookie. He had worked his way up from college to the ECHL to the AHL and finally the big leagues. He won the Calder Cup in the AHL with the Hershey Bears in 2009 and 2010. Washington property at the time, he came painfully close to making his NHL debut for that club, dressing for a pregame warmup but being scratched right before game time. He would later play 12 NHL games with the 12/13 Canucks and from 2013 to 2015 he played another 24 games in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers.

Tim Conboy

From 2007 to 2010 Tim Conboy played 59 regular season games in the NHL with the Carolina Hurricanes. The tough customer recorded 6 assists and 121 penalty minutes. Conboy had originally been drafted by the Sharks in 2002 but was never able to break out of their AHL club.

His autograph is really messing with my mind. I can't decide if its the normal bunch of quick scribbles or an amazingly cool signature. If I stare at it long enough I can see every letter in his name...

Lasse Kukkonen

From 2003 to 2009 defenceman Lasse Kukkonen played 159 regular season games in the NHL, dressing with the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers. Kukkonen has had tremendous success internationally with Finland. At the Olympics, he won a Silver in 2006 and Bronze in 2010 and 2014. At the World Championships he won a Gold in 2011, Silver in 2007 & 2016 and Bronze in 2006. He also won a Silver medal as a minor at the 2001 World Junior Championships.

Keith Aldridge

Defenceman Keith Aldridge played 4 career NHL games with the 1999/2000 Dallas Stars. He was an undrafted Lake Superior State University alumni. Aldridge had a great college career, he was a NCAA All-Star and a finalist for the 1996 Hobey Baker Award.

Dave Chyzowski

Dave Chyzowski is perhaps most notable for being drafted 2nd overall in 1989, right behind Hall of Famer Mats Sundin. Unfortunately for the Islanders, Chyzowski didn't have near as much success. From 1989 to 1997 he played 126 regular season games in the NHL, dressing for the Islanders and Blackhawks. Known for his powerful shot, Chyzowski scored 56 goals in just 68 games with the WHL's Kamloops Blazers in his draft year but only went on to record 15 goals in his entire NHL career, unable to adjust to the next level.

Shawn Byram

Shawn Byram played 4 games with the 1990/91 New York Islanders and 1 game with the 1991/92 Chicago Blackhawks for a total of 5 career games in the NHL.

Mike Eaves

From 1978 to 1986 Mike Eaves scored 83 goals and 226 points in 324 regular season NHL games but had to end his career early due to a head injury. The University of Wisconsin alumni was a member of the Minnesota North Stars and Calgary Flames. Internationally, he represented USA at the 1976 and 1978 World Championships and 1981 Canada Cup. He later turned to coached and was an assistant coach with the Calgary Flames, Philly Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. A hockey family, his two sons, Patrick and Ben, both played in the NHL as well as his brother, Murray.

Dennis Sobchuk

I was thrilled to get a response from Dennis Sobchuk. In fact, even with Kane and Toews in this mailpost, Sobchuk is my runaway favourite autograph of the post. I'm a big fan of hockey history, particularly the rivalry between the NHL and WHA in the 1970s. Sobchuk was actually a big part of this story. He would have been the runaway 1st overall pick of the 1974 NHL draft but instead of wait to be chosen, he signed a $1 Million contract in the WHA, a huge contract for a teenager at this time. He's one of the game's pioneers for today's big earners because Sobchuk opened the door for many other young players to sign big deals in the Rebel League instead of go to the NHL and play for a fraction of that. Sobchuk recorded 331 points in 348 career WHA games but only went on to play 35 games in the NHL after the WHA folded.

Ernie Godden

Ernie Godden scored 1 goal and 2 points in 5 career games in the NHL with the 1981/82 Toronto Maple Leafs. Godden absolutely destroyed the OHL in his last season of junior, scoring a record 87 goals in just 68 games with the 1980/81 Windsor Spitfires.

Don Gillen

Don Gillen scored a goal in his first NHL game with the 1979/80 Philly Flyers, what would be his only game with the club. In 1981 he was traded to the Whalers and spent more time in the NHL there. Gillen played 34 NHL games with the 1981/82 Hartford Whalers, recording 5 points. He was a tough customer who recorded 372 penalty minutes in his last season of junior with the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The "before" pic of next 3 autographs:

A 1964/65 Vancouver Canucks WHL program, featuring Bill Burega and his fascmile signature on the cover. It was signed by 9 members the opposing team, the Victoria Maple Leafs.

Eddie Mazur

From 1951 to 1957 Eddie Mazur played 107 regular season and 25 playoff games in the NHL, dressing for the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks. He actually played in 3 consecutive playoffs with the Canadiens; 1951, 1952 and 1953 before ever appearing in a regular season game. In 1953 he scored 2 goals and 4 points in 7 games, helping the Habs win the Stanley Cup, the only time Mazur would get his name on the trophy. Mazur passed away in 1995 at 65.

Gord Redahl

Gord Redahl played 18 games in the NHL with the 1958/59 Boston Bruins. Although his NHL career was brief, Redahl was a star in the WHL, one of the best leagues around when the NHL was only limited to 6 teams. Redahl passed away in 2011.

JohnSleaver

John Sleaver played 1 game with the 1953/54 Chicago Blackhawks and 12 games with the 1956/57 Hawks, scoring 1 goal in his 13 career NHL games. He passed away in 2001 at 67.

Extras from the program added to tradelist: Dan Belisle and Lou Jankowski. Also ended up with autographs of minor leaguers Bob Taylor and Rollie Wilcox whom I don't collect.

-------------------------

Autographs #19-22 of the post fall outside of the NHL collection.

There's 3 for the WHA only collection and 1 for the NHL "backup only" collection.

Jean-Yves Cartier

Defenceman Jean-Yves Cartier recorded 3 assists in 15 career WHA games with the 1972/73 Quebec Nordiques. The Quebec native had played for the University of Michigan before joining the Nords.

Rejean Giroux

From 1972 to 1974 Rejean Giroux scored 15 goals and 33 points in 71 career WHA games with the Quebec Nordiques. Originally drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1972, Giroux opted to sign with his hometown and newly created Nordiques. Giroux later signed with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1974 but was never able to crack their roster. His son, Alexandre Giroux, was also a pro hockey player who played in the NHL.

Bruce Abbey

Defenceman Bruce Abbey recorded 1 goal in 17 career WHA games with the 1975/76 Cincinnati Stingers. He was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1971 NHL draft but opted for 4 years of college at Michigan Tech before turning pro in the WHA.

Jamie Hodson

Jamie Hodson appeared in 1 NHL game as as backup goalie with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2002/03 season. He was drafted by the Leafs in the 1998 draft and played pro hockey until retiring in 2008.

A little variety in this mail post. A package of KHL autographs from Russia, some amazing Canucks customs from a trade with a Vancouver collector, an old program and a bunch of TTM returns. The Canucks customs are some of the best custom work I've ever seen and the collector has an absolutely amazing collection of them. He was very generous to trade me some extras. The Bruce Bullock also came from this collector but I made my own custom because Bullock had signed the back of the card and I like to see an accompanying picture when I look through my binders of signatures. The Benysek also comes from another collector, who had it as an extra and very graciously sent it to me when he saw it on my wantlist. I was very pleased with the stack of recent TTM returns, although I must note the lack of success this year with NHL and AHL teams. Even though the current players I write to are the lesser known guys, those without certified autographs, c/o team returns are still few and far between this season. Kunyk being the only one of this post.

With 45 new NHL autographs added the grand total of unique player signatures now stands at 5,277 for 71% of everyone who's every played in the league since its creation in 1917.

I'll start with the program...

1959/60 Quebec Aces program, signed by a few players in the inside. There were two players I needed who had inked the inner pages.

Al Millar

A long time pro who bounced around hockey's minor leagues, Al Millar's NHL career was a 6 game stint with the 1957/58 Boston Bruins. When the 37 year old was acquired by the newly created Philadelphia Flyers in 1967, he made history by being the first player traded to the team, although he never did appear in net for the Flyers. Millar passed away in 1987 at 58.

Jack Leclair

From 1954 to 1957 Jack Leclair played 160 regular season and 20 playoff games with the Montreal Canadiens. He scored 20 goals and 60 points over 3 seasons with the Habs, winning the Stanley Cup in 1956 and 1957. Leclair passed away in 2011.

Rasmus Rissanen

Finnish defenceman Rasmus Rissanen played 6 NHL games with the 2014/15 Carolina Hurricanes. He currently plays in the KHL with Helsinki. Internationally, in 2011 he represented Finland at the World Junior Championships.

Brian O'Neill

Brian O'Neill played 22 games in the NHL with the 2015/16 New Jersey Devils, recording 2 assists. The undrafted Yale University alumni spent three seasons in the LA Kings organization but could never break their NHL roster, eventually being traded to Jersey in 2015. O'Neill currently plays in the KHL for Jokerit.

Josh Gratton

From 2005 to 2009 undrafted tough guy Josh Gratton played 86 games in the NHL, scoring 3 goals, 6 points and accumulating 294 penalty minutes. Gratton split his time in the NHL between the Philadelphia Flyers and Phoenix Coyotes. In the AHL he won the Calder Cup in 2005 with the Philly Phantoms and again in 2015 with the Manchester Monarchs.

Josef Boumedienne

Between 2001 and 2004 Josef Boumedienne played 47 games in the NHL, scoring 4 goals and 16 points. He was a member of the New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals. Internationally, he represented Sweden at the 1997 and 1998 World Junior Championships.

Alexander Andrijevski

Alexander Andrijevski played 1 game in the NHL with the 1992/93 Chicago Blackhawks. The Belarus native spent most of his career in Europe and currently coaches in the KHL. He was captain of the 1998 Belarus Olympic hockey team and again represented his country at the 2002 Olympics.

Victor Ignatjev

Latvian defenceman Victor Ignatjev played 11 games in the NHL with the 1998/99 Pittsburgh Penguins. He spent most of his career in Europe and was most recently an assistant coach in the KHL. Internationally, he went to the 2002 Olympics as a member of the Latvian team.

Petri Skriko

Petri Skriko scored 30+ goals in 4 consecutive seasons with the Vancouver Canucks and in the 1985/86 season scored a career high 38 goals and 78 points. From 1984 to 1993 he played 541 regular season games in the NHL, suiting up with the Canucks, Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets and San Jose Sharks. Internationally, he represented Finland at the 1984 and 1992 Olympics as well as the 1987 and 1991 Canada Cups.

Leif Rohlin

The Vancouver Canucks drafted Swedish defenceman Leif Rohlin 33rd overall in 1988. He played pro in Sweden for many years and in 1994 represented his country at the Olympics. Rohlin only spent a couple years in North America, playing with the Canucks from 1995 to 1997. He recorded 8 goals and 32 points in 96 career regular season NHL games, all with Vancouver.

Lors Molin

From 1981 to 1984 Lars Molin scored 33 goal and 98 points in 172 regular season NHL games. He helped the Canucks reach the Stanley Cup finals in 1982, scoring 11 points in 17 playoff games. Internationally, he helped Sweden win Bronze at the 1980 and 1988 Olympics. He also helped Sweden capture Gold at the 1987 World Championships and Silver in 1981.

Andy Spruce

From 1976 to 1979 Andy Spruce scored 31 goals and 73 points in 172 career NHL games. He played a season with the Vancouver Canucks and later two with the Colorado Rockies.

Brad Moran

Between 2001 and 2007 Brad Moran played 8 games in the NHL, scoring 1 goal and 3 assists. Originally drafted in 1998, Moran played 3 games with the 2001/02 Columbus Blue Jackets, 2 games with the 2003/04 Blue Jackets and a final 3 games with the 2006/07 Vancouver Canucks.

Don Tannahill

From 1972 to 1974 Don Tannahill scored 30 goals and 63 points in 111 NHL games with the Vancouver Canucks. He was originally drafted 3rd overall by the Bruins in 1969 but wasn't able to crack their NHL squad. Tannahill later spent 3 seasons in the WHA, scoring 20+ goals with both the Minnesota Fighting Saints and Calgary Cowboys.

Ray McKay

From 1968 to 1974 defenceman Ray McKay played 140 games in the NHL. He played for the Blackhawks, Sabres and Golden Seals. McKay then switched leagues and from 1974 to 1978 he played over 200 games in the WHA, dressing with the Oilers, Crusaders, Bulls and Fighting Saints.

Al LeBrun

Defenceman Al LeBrun played 4 games with the 1960/61 New York Rangers and another 2 games with the 1965/66 Rangers.

Dave McLelland

Dave McLelland backstopped the Canucks for 2 NHL games during the 1972/73 season.

Gary Kurt

Gary Kurt played 16 games in the NHL with the 1971/72 California Golden Seals. The next season he signed with the WHA's New York Raiders and would spend 5 years in the Rebel League, playing 176 games between New York and the Phoenix Roadrunners.

Scott Gordon

Best known as an NHL head coach, Scott Gordon was a former NHL goalie with the Quebec Nordiques. From 1989 to 1991 Gordon backstopped 23 NHL games with the Nords. Gordon has recently been head coach of the New York Islanders and assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Internationally, between the pipes he represented USA at the 1991 World Championships and 1992 Olympics.

Paxton Schafer

A 1995 second round pick, goalie Paxton Schafer played 3 games in the NHL with the 1996/97 Boston Bruins.

Al Simmons

Defenceman Al Simmons played 11 games in the NHL between 1971 and 1976. He played 1 game for the 1971/72 California Golden Seals and the other 10 later with the Bruins. He became a very successful oral surgeon after retiring from hockey.

Jocelyn Gauvreau

Defenceman Jocelyn Gauvreau played 2 NHL games with the 1983/84 Montreal Canadiens. He was originally drafted by the Habs 31st overall in 1982.

Dave Gorman

From 1974 to 1979 Dave Gorman scored 56 goals and 139 points in 260 career games in the WHA, dressing with the Phoenix Roadrunners and Birmingham Bulls. Gorman later played just 3 games in the NHL, all with the 1979/80 Atlanta Flames.

Lyle Bradley

Lyle Bradley scored 1 goal in 4 NHL games with the 1973/74 California Golden Seals. He later played another 2 NHL games with the 1976/77 Cleveland Barons. Bradley was an undrafted forwarded who had bounced around the minors, starting his pro career after leaving the University of Denver in 1966.

Bruce Crowder

From 1981 to 1985 Bruce Crowder played 243 regular season games in the NHL, scoring 47 goals and 98 points. He spent 3 seasons with the Bruins and his last year in the league with the Penguins. A University of New Hampshire alumni, Crowder later spent two decades coaching in the NCAA. His brother, Keith, also played in the NHL.

Larry Hopkins

Larry Hopkins was drafted by the Atlanta Flames in 1974 but opted to attend the University of Toronto instead. Hopkins played 2 games with the Maple Leafs at the end of the 1977/78 season when his University career finished. From 1979 to 1983 he played another 58 games in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, scoring 13 goals and 29 points. Oddly enough, Hopkins is perhaps best known as they guy mistakenly pictured on Paul MacLean's 1982/83 Rookie card.

Dan Brennan

Dan Brennan played 2 games for the 1983/84 LA Kings and 6 games with the 1985/86 Kings for a total of 8 NHL games. The forward and University of Dakota alumni recorded 1 assist over his short NHL career.

Mike Keating

A "one game wonder," Mike Keating's only game in the NHL came with the 1977/78 New York Rangers.

Rod Zaine

From 1970 to 1972 Rod Zaine played 61 games in the NHL, dressing with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres. From 1972 to 1975 Zaine played over 200 games in the WHA with the Chicago Cougars.

Frank Bathe

From 1974 to 1984 Frank Bathe well over 200 games in the NHL. The defenceman started his career with the Red Wings but spent most of his time in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Ron Hoover

From 1989 to 1992 Ron Hoover, a Western Michigan University alumni, played 18 games in the NHL, scoring 4 goals. He dressed for the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues.

Denis Cyr

From 1980 to 1986 Denis Cyr scored 41 goals and 84 points in 193 career NHL games. A junior sensation who twice scored 70 goals in a season with the Montreal Juniors, Cyr was drafted 13th overall by the Flames in 1980. That made him the first player ever drafted by the Calgary Flames. Internationally, he played on Canada's 1981 World Junior team.

Petr Prajsler

Petr Prajsler joined the LA Kings in 1987 at great risk, defecting from communist Czechoslovakia. From then until 1992 the defenceman played 46 games in the NHL, dressing for the Kings and Boston Bruins.

Todd McLellan

Best known as a head coach with the Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks, Todd McLellan played 5 games in the NHL with the 1987/88 New York Islanders, scoring 1 goal and 1 assist.

Mark Beaufait

Mark Beaufait scored 1 goal in 5 career NHL games with the 1992/93 San Jose Sharks. He was signed by the Sharks after 4 years at Northern Michigan University. He played pro hockey until 2009, spending most of that time, ironically, with the Orlando Solar Bears and Berlin Polar Bears.

Greg Smyth

From 1986 to 1997 defenceman Greg Smyth played 228 games in the NHL, dressing with the Flyers, Nordiques, Flames, Panthers, Maple Leafs and Blackhawks. He was a tough customer who accumulated nearly 800 penalty minutes over his NHL career and another 2000 in the AHL.

Jeff Shevalier

From 1994 to 1997 Jeff Shevalier played 27 games in the NHL with the LA Kings and later played 5 NHL games with the 1999/00 Tampa Bay Lightning.

Paul Manning

Defenceman Paul Manning played 8 games in the NHL with the 2002/03 Columbus Blue Jackets. He was originally drafted by the Calgary Flames in 1998 and spent 4 seasons at Colorado College before being traded to Columbus. He spent most of his pro career in Germany. He was also a good baseball player and was actually drafted by the New York Yankees in the 20th round of the 1997 MLB draft.

Kevin Doell

An undrafted University of Denver alumni, Kevin Doell played 8 games in the NHL with the 2007/08 Atlanta Thrashers. In 2008 he also helped Atlanta's AHL team, the Chicago Wolves, capture the Calder Cup.

Jack Hillen

An undrafted Colorado College alumni, defenceman Jack Hillen played over 300 games in the NHL between 2007 and 2015. He played for the Islanders, Predators, Capitals and Hurricanes. Internationally, he represented the United States at the 2010 World Championships.

Tyler Sloan

From 2008 to 2011 defenceman Tyler Sloan played 99 regular season games in the NHL with the Washington Capitals. Sloan later signed contracts with the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars but couldn't break either team's NHL roster.

Cody Kunyk

Cody Kunyk played 1 NHL game with the Tampa Bay Lighting at the very end of the 2013/14 season. Kunyk had just been signed by the Lightning after completing 4 years at University Alaska-Fairbanks.

Bruce Bullock

A Clarkson University alumni and former All-American, from 1972 to 1977 Bruce Bullock appeared in 16 NHL games with the Vancouver Canucks.

Steve Tambellini

Best known as General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers from 2008 to 2013, Steve Tambellini was a solid NHLer who won the Stanley Cup in 1980 as a member of the New York Islanders. From 1978 to 1988 Steve Tambellini scored 160 goals and 310 points in 553 career NHL games. He was a member of the Islanders, Rockies, Devils, Flames and Canucks. Internationally, he represented Canada at the 1988 Olympics, 1981 World Championships and 1978 World Juniors. His son Jeff Tambellini played in the NHL and another son, Adam, is currently in the AHL.

Ladislav Benysek

Czech defenceman Ladislav Benysek played 2 NHL games with the 1997/98 Edmonton Oilers then returned to Europe. He was lured back to North American by the expansion Minnesota Wild. From 2000 to 2003 Benysek played another 159 NHL games with the Wild. He finished the 2002/03 season in the AHL and ended up winning a Calder Cup with the Houston Aeros. Internationally, he won a Gold Medal at the World Championships in 1999 and 2000.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

As usual, I'll finish off the post with hockey autographs that fall outside of my NHL autograph collection. 3 WHA players, 3 NHL backups, an NHL owner and a female hockey Olympian.

Mario Viens

Mario Viens was drafted by both the NHL and WHA in 1975. He opted for the Rebel League and played 26 games with the 1975/76 Toronto Toros. I asked him why he choose the Toros over his NHL draft team, the LA Kings. His answer was simple and to the point, "money." This goes into my "WHA Only" collection.

Bob Russell

From 1975 to 1977 Bob Russell played 115 games in the WHA with the Edmonton Oilers, scoring 20 goals and 44 points.

Al MacKenzie

Defenceman Al MacKenzie played 2 games in the WHA with the 1973/74 Chicago Cougars. He had a decade long pro hockey career, spending most of his time in the old North American Hockey League.

Kirk Daubenspeck

Kirk Daubenspeck appeared in 18 games as an NHL backup with the 1997/98 Chicago Blackhawks. He served as backup to Chris Terreri. Daubenspeck also answered my questions for my other blog, NHLbackups.com. Thanks Kirk!

Mike Craig

Mike Craig appeared in at least 3 NHL games as a backup goalie with the Buffalo Sabres during the 1984/85 season. Like Daubenspeck, Craig also answered my questions in regards to his favourite NHL memories. This one goes into the NHL Backups Only collection.

Mike Buzak

During the 1998/99 NHL season Mike Buzak dressed as New Jersey's backup goalie twice, serving as Martin Brodeur's backup. He nearly dressed for the Blues in 1996 and was carried as the team's third goalie during their playoff run that season. His short stint in St. Louis gave Buzak the chance to play with Wayne Gretzky, which he noted as a personal highlight. Another for the NHL Backups Only binder.

Bruce McNall

From 1986 to 1994 Bruce McNall owned the Los Angeles Kings and in 1988 he made hockey headlines everywhere when he arranged for the Kings to acquire Wayne Gretzky from the Oilers. He had a turbulent and controversial life, summed up well in his autobiograph, Fun While It Lasted: My Rise and Fall in the Land of Fame and Fortune. He went from owner of the LA Kings and Toronto Argonauts to bankrupt and in jail.

Lauriane Rougeau
Defence Lauriane Rougeau is most notable for her role on Canada's Gold Medal winning 2014 women's Olympic team. She's also won Gold at the Womens World Championships in 2012 and Rougeau won the CWHL's Clarkson Cup in 2009 with the Montreal Stars, putting her in the female equivalent of the Triple Gold club.

Overdue TTM Post - Over 60 Returns

First Mail Post of 2016 - 40 Autographs

Mail: 4,802 Autographs for 66% of Every NHLer

February 2016 Mail - 25 New NHL Autographs

Mail: 1950s Quebec Aces Autographs

March Mail Highlighted by Russians & Czechs

Mail - Package from COMC

23 TTM Returns

A Season In Autographs: 2015/2016

Mail - A pile of TTM, 65 New Graphs

Mail - 5,000 Autograph Milestone

Golden Brett and 23 New Signatures

Overdue Mail Post

Mail - AHL Autos & Custom Cuts

1973/74 Winnipeg Jets Program

Mail - 13 New Graphs

Mail: 45 New Autos to Start 2017

Classic Auctions Win = 70% Milestone Reached

Mail - Kane & Toews

Mail - Al Millar & 44 More