Dec 30--11 Players

Nothing for the 11 players, so better late than never some Christmas card cards.

Front of the 1991 ProSet Santa Card and 1990 Seventh Inning Sketch Card

  Card backs

On the subject of Christmas cards, heres one you won't receive this year.

Paulina Gretzky, Wayne Gretzky's daughter, posted an outtake from her family's Christmas card photo shoot online. In the family portrait posted online, Janet is smiling, the rest of the family is scowling, and 23-year-old Paulina is in a lacy, white mini-dress. According to the photographer, the leaked photo strongly resembles the final version. The photo was intended for 100 close family and friends.

This isn't Paulina Gretzky's first social media transgression. In late November, she took a hiatus from Twitter after attracting international attention posting racy photos of herself, offering gossip-worthy glimpses into her socialite life.

Hockey's First Family??????????

Well, anyhow, Walter was himself and said hi at Timmies.

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Dec 29--Chris Marinucci

Chris Marinucci

Selected by New York Islanders round 5 #90 overall 1990 NHL Entry Draft.

 In 1993 he was named to the WCHA second all-star team then the next season he was placed on the first unit and won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top US Collegiate player.

He played briefly in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Islanders. He also played with the Denver Grizzlies, Utah Grizzlies, Phoenix Roadrunners, Chicago Wolves, Kakudo, Berlin Polar Bears, Idaho Steelheads, IF Björklöven and Storhamar Dragons.
In 13 NHLgames, his totals were 1 G   4 A   5 TP   2 PIM.

Received this in a pack of Classic Images.  #1262/1500

It was something back in the day to pull a card like this. It deserved a screw down holder and has been encapsulated ever since.

Dec 28--Ray Bourque

Ray Bourque

Selected by Boston Bruins round 1 #8 overall 1979 NHL Entry Draft.

From Eddie Shore to Bobby Orr to Zdeno Chara, the Boston Bruins have always had one of the NHL's top rearguards patrolling their blue line. And while no one will dispute Orr as the greatest defenseman ever, Ray Bourque is not far behind.

Quietly, methodically, Raymond dazzled, racking up 65 points; the most for a rookie defenseman in NHL history up to that time. He was the obvious choice for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year and also earned selection to the NHL's First All-Star Team; the first non-goaltender to win both honours in the same season. Though he too ranks as one of the greatest offensive defensemen ever, it was Bourque's defensive genius that set him aside from his peers.

In honour of his great contributions to hockey, both the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche retired Ray's #77 jersey. In 2004, Ray Bourque was selected to join hockey's elite in the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

 

<> <> CAREER NHL STATISTICS Years Teams GP G A TP PIM 1979-2001 Boston, Colorado 1,612 410 1,169 1,579 1,141

<> <> CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS Years Teams CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS Years Teams GP G A TP PIM 1980-2001 Boston, Colorado 214 41 139 180 171

If I remember correctly, I got the blue ink signed one IP in Niagara Falls at the NHLSloPitch tourney. The black sharpie one was in Hamilton at the 1991 Canada Cup.  Met him in  the hotel lobby and I had a handful of all his cards. He took them and said he would only sign one. I said that was fine and he proceeded to sign 5 in total.

Dec 27--12 Players

As I have no items for the 12 birthday boys, my pack rips from Christmas.

My wife likes to vary things, so I did get a pack of 09/10 MVP and 07/08 MVP. I just show the "hits" as I think everyone knows what the base look like.

GF 5--Peter Forsberg

#351 Byron Bitz

Well, what do you expect from single packs.

Also got 10 packs of 10/11 UD series 1. Again just the hits.

AW 14--Mikko Koivu



HH 5 & 7--Steve Yzerman

Retro parallels--

#66 Erik Karlsson

#127 Ryan Whitney

#197  Jonas Hillier

#205  Jordan Caron

And yes a Young Gun

# 248 Brayden Irwin-

At least its a Leaf. And he is from the Irwin family. Irwin Toy Limited was a Canadian distributor and manufacturer of toys. It was Canada's oldest toy company and remained independent and family owned.

I'm thinking I should pick up some more packs.

Dec 26--Norm Ullman

Norm Ullman

While a junior star with the Maple Leaf Athletic Club and later the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WCJHL, Norm Ullman caught the eye of Detroit scout Clarence Mohr. There followed an impressive developmental year with the Edmonton Flyers of the WHL.

Ullman went on to record 16 20-goal seasons, including 12 in a row from 1957 to 1969. His consistent production was matched by his durability, as he missed only 21 games in a ten-year span.

His career statistics rank him among the greatest centers to ever play in the NHL, with 490 career regular season goals and 739 assists for 1229 points. He appeared in eleven All Star games during his 20 year career and scored 30 goals and added 53 assists during Stanley Cup Playoff action in 106 games played.

Norm Ullman was inducted into Hockey's Hall of Fame in 1982.

Received these blue ink and sharpie signed cards IP.

Front and back of the his 69/70 card with the stamp affixed to it.

Gee, as if I didn't get enough items signed, I also got the ticket stub signed also. I don't remember when I obtained the sharpie one though. Funny thing, he lived three doors down from my aunt and uncle and I never actually met him there or got any autographs. I do remember mentioning it to him when I got the second auto and he remembered them.

Dec 25--Noel Picard

Noel Picard

The Quebec born Picard - who was given the name Noel because he was born on Christmas Day, played junior for the Peterborough Petes, a Montreal Canadiens farm team and was buried in the Canadiens system for most of the 1960s. Come expansion in 1967 he joined the Blues for 5 seasons, and became a fan favorite.

It is perhaps the most famous photo in hockey history. Bobby Orr flying through the air, like the Superman he almost was. His arms up in victory, as he just scored the Stanley Cup winning goal of 1970.

Those in the background are also immortalized. Glenn Hall is the goalie who gave up the goal. And a young defenseman named Noel Picard is guilty of hooking Orr's leg's, propelling his jump into flight.

He went on a hunting trip in Novemeber of 1971. While his mates were relaxing in the cabin, he hopped aboard an old horse for a trot around the area. But a second horse got tangled with the first causing Picard's transport to fall to the ground with his foot caught squarely under the old mare's rump. By the time the horse got up, Picard's foot was crushed so severely that three bones were seen protruding through his boot. Hours passed before he was finally admitted to a St. Louis hospital. The doctors were seriously contemplating an amputation, but decided to at least attempt to save some aspects of the original foot.

Received these blue ink signed cards TTM.

Merry Christmas to all.

Dec 24--Red Sullivan

Red Sullivan

Now I'm sure I have a 64/65 tallboy of Red Sullivan signed but can't find it. Received IP at one of the NHLOld Timer tournaments. But because of its odd size, I filed it somewhere but can't find it at the moment.

So instead, I'll show some Soviet (Red) autographs. These were obtained IP during the 1991 Canada Cup in Hamilton. This is where I received the Fedorov and Tikhonov that I showed earlier. Since I didn't have any cards or bring any extra paper, I got the 400 count box of cards I had with me signed. Can't read it and don't know who they are but I got em.

 I suppose I could check the rosters and see who I think might have signed. At least a few of them also wrote their number down. Unless one of you readers can recognize them and save me the trouble.

Dec 23--

19 players , again nothing. Really hitting a dry spell here.


Joe  over at
http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/

ran a contest in November and I won one of the prize packs. (exellent reading on his site)

This pack was comprised of a foam puck, water bottle, backpack,  adults XS jersy from Kobe sportswear and Reebok toque ( wool hat to some ) and Reebok jersey.

Now a retro patch from the 80's.

Back in the day, Scotiabank had their hockey college and there was a magazine published to complement this. I have shown some of these before. I really love this look, more than the new logo.

Dec 22--Ron Greschner

Ron Greschner

Selected by New York Rangers round 2 #32 overall 1974 NHL Amateur Draft
Selected by Vancouver Blazers round 1 #5 overall 1974 WHA Secret Amateur Draft.

He played in 982 career NHL games, all with the Rangers, scoring 179 goals and 431 assists for 610 points and compiled 1,226 penalty minutes.

Greschner was previously married to supermodel Carol Alt. 

 He also heads the Ron Greschner Foundation to support autism research and awareness.

http://www.rongreschnerfoundation.com/meet.htm

Received these blue ink signed cards IP at NHL Slo Pitch Tourney.

Dec 21--

9 players, nothing for the third day in a row.

While shopping ofr Lets Rock Elmo (for the granddaughter) at Toys R Us, they had a bin of hockey packs marked down to a dollar. These appear to be  the same as bamlinden over at

http://myhockeycardobsession.blogspot.com/2011/12/pack-ripping-my-niece-has-some-good.html

I hope my luck is as good as his.

I should say, my wife picked these up for me. I'll post results after Christmas ripping.

Dec 20--Christmas Cards

14 Players today, nothing.Unlike yesterdays Christmas cards, I present

2 2011/12 Victory blasters and 1 2011/12 Score blaster. Will post results after I open these.

Dec 19--Christmas Cards

16 Players share today as their birthday. No signed items for any of them. I have seen this topic on a few other sites, so i will show you the hockey themed Christmas cards I have.

Received this Christmas card in 1986 from Hockey Ministries International.

Some of the players who belonged to this group and I had received some autographs from in the past.

This is from the 1990/91 season as chronicled by Sal over at
http://www.puckjunk.com/index.php

Fortunately, I had sent to goalie Darren Pang and he signed some index cards and sent along t his signed version.

Just some more of the things I have acquired.

Dec 18--Jean Pronovost

Jean Pronovost



11th child of a family of 12, Pronovost idolized as a kid his brother Marcel Pronovost, who also played in the NHL. He played his junior with the Victoriaville Bruins, and then with the Niagara Falls Flyers, with which he won the Memorial Cup in 1965. He signed with the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League in 1966. The team, affiliated with the Boston Bruins, was packed full of future NHL stars like Wayne Cashman, Bernie Parent and Jean-Paul Parisé; Pronovost did well with 45 points in 68 games in his first professional season. Two years later, the Bruins made the major mistake of not re-signing him. As a result, Pronovost headed for Pittsburgh in 1968, where his NHL journey began.

Pronovost became the first player of the Penguins' history to reach the 100 points mark in a season.
He was traded to the Atlanta Flames in 1978 for Gregg Sheppard. There, he had two more excellent seasons. He ended his professional career with a two season stint with the Washington Capitals.

Received these blue ink signed cards TTM

Return envelope postmarked 1987

From the contents of the letter he sent back to me, it appears I asked for some addresses of players connected with HMI. I do believe I sent some to him to forward.

Return envelope postmarked 1988.

Looks like I sent a request for Ed Kea's address which he provided. This time he asked me which players I had interest in. I guess he would have provided me with their addresses. I don't believe I ever followed up on this.

Dec 17--Vincent Damphousse

Vincent Damphousse

Selected by Toronto Maple Leafs round 1 #6 overall 1986 NHL Entry Draft.

In his rookie season, Damphousse played in all 80 games and tallied 21 goals and 25 assists for 46 points. The breakout year offensively for Damphousse came in 1989-90, when he scored 33 goals and finished second in team scoring with 94 points. In 1990-91, he paced the team with 26 goals and 73 points and was named the MVP of the NHL All-Star Game in Chicago thanks to a four-goal effort. He still regards that as the single greatest memory in his NHL career

 In 1991-92 he joined Edmonton in a package deal which saw the Leafs acquire the legendary Glenn Anderson and Grant Fuhr. Damphousse led the Oilers in scoring that season but was then moved on to his hometown where he played with the Montreal Canadiens in 1992-93.
It turned out to be a great move for Damphousse as he spent 7 wonderful seasons in Montreal highlighted by a Stanley Cup victory in 1993 and later being named captain of the fabled team. He was also asked to represent Canada at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Received these blue sharpie autographs IP.  He was doing an appearance at Midas Muffler in Brantford in the 90's. I also got a colour postcard and 2 of my wire photos signed. I'll have to find them and post them another day.

Dec 16--Wayne Connelly

Wayne Connelly

Connelly began his pro career with the Montreal Royals of the EPHL, playing 64 games, scoring 28 goals and 49 points. Late in 1960-61, he dressed for three games for the Montreal Canadiens.

On October 19, 1966, Bobby Orr recorded his first NHL point when he assisted on a powerplay goal by Connelly in Boston's 6–2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

On April 9, 1968, Connelly became the first player to score a goal on a penalty shot in the NHL playoffs when he beat Los Angeles's Terry Sawchuk in a 7–5 victory for his Minnesota North Stars.

Connelly played a total of 543 games in the NHL with 133 goals and 174 assists for a total of 307 points. In addition, he played 366 games in the WHA  with 167 goals and 162 assists for 329 points.

Received these blue ink signed cards TTM.



Dec 15--Mario Marois

Mario Marois

Selected by New York Rangers round 4 #62 overall 1977 NHL Amateur Draft.

Defenceman Mario Marois was a fine playmaker with a hard shot from the point that also thrived by playing it rough in his own end. During his first full season in the NHL, the scrappy defender scored 31 points and showed poise while helping New York reach the Stanley Cup finals. He duplicated this point total the next year but his defensive play fell off. The Rangers opted to trade Marois to the Vancouver Canucks early in 1980-81 since they had a glut of bodies on defence. In March of that season, the rugged blueliner was sent to the Quebec Nordiques where he settled in for nearly five seasons. He served one season as a player-assistant coach of the Hamilton Canucks of the AHL in 1992–93 before retiring as a player.

He played in 955 NHL games and scored 76 goals and 357 assists with 1746 penalty minutes. In the playoffs he played 100 games with 4 goals, 34 assists, and 182 penalty minutes

Received these blue ink signed cards TTM



He also included this signed Nordiques postcard.

Also note that his rookie card, 81/82OPC #279 has him pictured in a Canucks jersey and the traded line "Now with Nordiques".  That would probably never happen now.

Dec 14--Bill Ranford

Bill Ranford

Selected by Boston Bruins round 3 #52 overall 1985 NHL Entry Draft

Over the course of fifteen NHL seasons, Ranford would play with Boston, the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Detroit Red Wings, winning two Stanley Cups, a Canada Cup, and the 1994 Hockey World Championships while playing for Canada.

Ranford had a regular season record of 240-279-76, 15 shutouts, a 3.41 goals-against-average and a .888 save-percentage in 647 regular season

Ranford acted in the 2004 movie Miracle, performing the on-ice scenes as the goaltender for Team USA, Jim Craig, while Eddie Cahill performed the off-ice scenes.

Bill Ranford is in his sixth season as the Goaltending Coach with the Kings. He was named to his position on July 10, 2006.

 

Received these black sharpie signed cards TTM.