Tough Guys Part II

 Thought today I would do another post for the Tough Guys and throughout the year I will be doing others on this very same topic. There are some hockey fans that believe fighting should not be a part of the game. I do not agree with that concept, fighting is part of the game because it is a natural instinct to react to a dirty hit as in defending yourself and your teammates. 

This is the 2004-05 Upper Deck Legends Classic card of Wayne Cashman. Cash was not only a fighter, but he could also score. During the 1973-74 season with Boston, he scored 30 goals and had 59 assists for 89 points his highest output during his 17-year career all with Boston. He had a total of 1,039 PIM's.

This is the 2009-10 Be a Player card of Shawn Thornton. Shawn had some very good seasons with Boston and his best was the 2010-11 season where he had 10 goals and 10 assists in 79 games. He also had 111 PIM's and he got the nickname "Sugar Shawn". Shawn was a enforcer who always was there to defend his teammates.

This is the 1991-92 Upper Deck card of Chris Nilan. Nilan came to Boston in the 1990-91 season from Montreal. Chris played 10 seasons with the Canadiens and he only spent 2 seasons in Boston as he went back to Montreal during the 1991-92 season playing 56 games that season 39 with Boston and 17 with Montreal and Chris retired that same season. He ended his career with 3,043 PIM's.

This is the 2003-04 Topps Traded Rookie card of Colton Orr. Colton played only 21 games with Boston before moving to three other teams. He left Boston during the 2005-06 Season going to the Rangers that year and played 4 years with the Rangers before going to the Leafs during the 2009-10 season and he would spend 6 years with the Leafs. His season with the most PIM's was the 2009-10 season ending up with 239. His points for 11 seasons was 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 total points.

This is the 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee card of Steve Montador. Montador played a total of 571 NHL games scoring 33 goals and 98 assists for 131 total points. He came to Boston for one season, the 2008-09 season playing in 13 games adding one assist and having 18 PIM's. Steve had a total of 807 PIM's. Sadly Steve passed away February 15, 2015. He was great to the fans and to his teammates. He will be missed and another one gone way to soon.

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Tough Guys Part I

 So today I thought I would do a post on the tough guys, you know the scrappers of hockey. There are some that believe that fighting in the NHL is taboo, but I believe it is part of the game. I still think that teams need an enforcer to protect their star players and there have been quite a few tough guys who are offensive stars. So, let's get on with the show.

Milan Lucic came to Boston during the 2007-08 season and was a instant fan favorite with his tough guy type of player. As I said earlier there are players who put up nice offensive numbers and Milan's best season was the 2010-11 campaign where he notched 30 goals 32 assists for 62 points and he got to hoist lord Stanley's Cup in 2011. He could really throw punches and was one of the better hitters.

Adam McQuaid was another physical player and I mostly remember him for sticking up for his teammates. Adam's best season was the 2010-11 Season and he also won the Cup in 2011.

Forbes Kennedy came to the NHL during the 1956-57 season with the Chicago Blackhawks. His lifetime totals for PIM's was 888 and that seems low but he played in 603 NHL games and back in the day that was high.

Al Secord was one tough player as he was 6' 1" tall and weighed 205 and now a days that is light but he really could throw them punches. This card has a great subset name Men of Mayhem and yes he fits that title. Al was a offensive player as well putting up 273 goals in 766 games and adding 223 assists for 496 total points and 2,093 PIM's.

John Wensink was another good fighter and the most memorable fight I saw was when the Bruins were playing the Minnesota North Stars and he skated in front of the stars bench and challenged the entire team.

Stan Jonathan also known as the little bulldog was one of the best fighters. Jonathan stood at 5' 11" and weighed 175 pounds but he had an explosive punch. His best fight that I ever saw was against Pierre Bouchard of the Montreal Canadiens. That fight had a lot of blood but none of it was Stan's. Stan was a twenty goal scorer twice during an 8 year career. In 1977-78 he had 27 goals and in 1979-80 he had 21 all with the Boston Bruins.

Jay Miller was another tough guy as he only played 446 games but had 1,723 PIM's. Jay had plenty of fights and I remember when he fought Chris Nilan, it was a slugfest for sure.

Terry O'Reilly holds the Boston Bruin's all time penalty leader with 2,095. Terry was also an offensive threat and I called him Mr. Clutch because it was either a fight that got the team pumped up or a goal that either tied or won the game. His best offensive season was the 1977-78 season where he had 29 goals and 61 assists for 90 points. Terry is one of the all-time Bruins favorite players and he went on to coach Boston for 3 seasons beginning in the 1986-87 season finishing in 3rd place and the following season 1987-88 the Bruins won the Prince of Wales trophy as conference champions.

One of the most nicest players as I have seen and during NHL games and most recently at a Alumni game a few years ago.

Bobby Schmautz was another great all around player as he was offensive for a tough guy. Bobby played for 5 different teams and compiled 988 PIM's, 271 goals and 286 assists for 557 points in 764 games played. Sadly on his birthday Bobby passed away march 28, 2021.

Bobby Probert, just wow what a player and fighter. I have seen most of his fights and in my mind no one fought like Bobby. As the fight went on he got stronger and most of his fights end with his jersey off or hanging on one arm. There are too many memorable fights but some of the classics are his fights with Domi, McSorely, Coxe and many more. I will add that I was so pleased to of got this auto a few years after it came out as it is the 1998-99 Be a Player Certified auto card. Notice that for a tough guy how he had such a beautiful autograph. Bobby was also very offensive as he scored 163 goals 221 assists for 384 points during 935 games and had 3,300 PIM's.

Bob Probert passed away July 5, 2010 at the age of 45.

More, More, More and yes, I do like it.

 Well, this did not take long as I forgot about sending this one out as it came in the mail that I let pile up before I opened it and found the Chad Johnson that I had posted I really wanted in my last post.

Sure, was happy to see this one as he did not have many Bruins cards. Sure do wish the players today would put more effort into their autographs.

Thought I would show this one of Norman Leveille from the Panini Select Limited. I really do miss the Panini cards as I thought they put out better products and this one is hard signed. Norman is a great person who enjoys the fans and I was so excited to see a card of him so thank you Panini for the opportunity of owning a certified auto card of Norman.

This one is the Panini Private signings card of Reggie Lemelin and again this is another big hit as these cards are quite popular with fans. One thing I like about them is the Lithograph appearance. Thanks again to Panini for another great set.

This card is the 2014-15 SP Authentic David Pastrnak Premiere Prospects Die cut gold card. I remember about 4 years ago I actually got this card for $40 which was a steal. Nice auto and I am quite happy to add this one to the collection.

I thought I would end this post with this sweet looking autograph from Claude Pronovost. Love the action photos and again these cards look so much like lithographs and what makes them look even better is there is a nice blank white background which gives the photo a nice vivid appearance.

Thanks for the visit and if you are not yet following please click the follow icon and if there are certain autograph cards of a Bruins player you want to see just comment and I will post.

Some New Autograph Additions On Ice

 First off I have made some designing changes to this blog and I decided to make the type larger for easier reading. Now onto the new autographs, Enjoy!!!

This autograph is from the 2011 In the Game Between the Pipes card of Chad Johnson. Chad played with the Boston Bruins during the 2013-14 season appearing in 27 games and posting some decent numbers. He went 17-4 a save percentage of 925 and a GAA of 2.10. As for his autograph it appears only 2 letters are visible the "C" & "J". Someday I hope to be able to get his autograph on a Boston Bruins card showing him in a Bruins Jersey, like the photo below.

Someday I hope to get this card autographed, the 2014-15 O-Pee-Chee card and maybe by that time his autograph will of improved ,let's hope anyways and if not it is still ok.

This card is the 2013 In the Game Enforcers card of Brantt Myhres. I was glad to of got this auto and I have never found a card of Brantt showing him in a Bruins jersey and that is because he only played one game with Boston during the 2002-03 season, I can pretend that this photo is him wearing a Bruins uniform.

This card is the 2018-19 Artifacts Top 12 Rookie card of Jake DeBrusk. I had Jake's autograph from Upper Deck's The Cup but I went out and got this one because I am not a big fan of those thick cards as they do not fit into the album sheets that I keep my cards in. Jake is a tough autograph to acquire either in person or through the mail. I was told by auto hounds that he is not friendly when asked so the easiest way is to just buy a pack of cards or simply buy the single card to save not only time but money.

This cut autograph is from Gordie Bruce and as you can see the players that played back during the beginning of the NHL to the late 1980's as you can see the players from the 90's and going forward are just scribbles, there are some that are not bad but that percentage is quite low. Bruce played 3 seasons with the Boston Bruins and his first season the 1940-41 season he won the Stanley Cup. During that 1940-41 season he appeared in 2 games during the playoffs and had zero points. A great looking auto and one that I am glad to cross off the want list. 

This last photo is the 1999-00 Upper Deck Young guns card of Brandon Smith. This is another card that I would love getting autographed as I do have his autograph showing him in a Bruins uniform but I just like this card and with a nice clean white background the auto would really stand out.

I am going to be adding my Boston Bruins Autograph Want list to my blog and hope others can help me locate my Bruins Auto wants. If you enjoy my Blog please click the follow icon and follow. Thanks for the visit and Happy Collecting!!!

Sunday Evening Post.

I thought I would do a post this evening as with other days it is just another Sunday. These cards are from the 2008-09 Upper Deck Masterpieces hockey. I really believe that these are some of Upper Deck's finest cards, what I like mostly is the canvas cards as they look like miniature paintings. They remind me of lithographs as I collected the tobacco baseball cards, the T-206 and T-205 cards I actually completed the T-  206 and came close completing the T-205 cards. The next photo's from these 2008-09 Upper Deck Masterpieces hockey cards are my favorite ones from the set. This set I did complete and it was fun and not that challenging. Now on to the cards......

This is the Phil Esposito card number 32 and shows Phil doing what he did best and that was scoring a goal as seen here. Not sure who the goalie is but if I had to guess I would say maybe Bernie Parent as it looks like the Flyers color but I could be wrong. Anyone else want to take a guess???

This is Bobby Hull card number 27 and with the Jets but which Jets?? I believe it is the Winnipeg Jets in this one as he played for Winnipeg during the 1979-80 season. Another sharp photo and it is the colors that make this one a favorite.

This is Jean Beliveau with the Stanley Cup card number 55. Being a Bruins fan I will say that I was never a Canadiens fan but I always respected players like Jean Beliveau. Another great looking card and what I like most is seeing how the colors blend so nicely and the canvas adds more dimension.

This is another favorite and why not, Wayne Gretzky card number 38. This one is from the 1985 season and this is the year Wayne had 47 points during the 1985 playoffs.

This is Mario Lemieux during the Canada Cup, card number 81 and this photo I am guessing is when he scored a goal assisted by Wayne Gretzky, now I am only guessing. But another beautiful vivid photo.

This is Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe, card number 80. Great photo showing Gordie balancing 4 pucks and several hundred pucks on the ice. Must be showing the many goals Gordie scored during his career. The next player shown tells you just how mane Gordie scored.

This is Wayne Gretzky showing his 802nd goal scored breaking Gordie Howes record of 801. Another great photo that is important to the game and again vivid and when you look at these cards in person the canvas appearance is much better.

This is Frederick Stanley, card number 1 or better known as Lord Stanley was the Governor General of Canada from 1888-1893. In 1892 Stanley gave Canada the Stanley Cup which was also known as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup. Another great card that is a favorite.

This is Ron Hextall card number 8. Now this is a variation as it is called the brown frame but I believe the white border gives the card more appeal. The brown does give the card a brown looking frame and is raised showing the card as being set under the border.

So that is the end of this post and there will be posts where I do not show some autographs but there are plenty more to show throughout the years. So let me know if there is a certain Bruins player's autograph you would like to see or anything else. Thanks to all the new followers and be sure to tell your friends to follow as I appreciate that very much. Until next time, Happy Collecting!!!!!!

All in the fun of collecting.

 I usually do not do much investing with sport cards however while I was checking out some of the newer cards I saw this rookie card and the price seemed cheap enough so I went for it.

This card is the 2020-21 Trilogy Rookie Premieres autograph card of Bowen Byram. The numbering is 031/249. The only thing I do not like with the card is it happens to be a band aid rather than hard signed. I do believe this one someday soon will be worth lots more than I paid for it.

This was one card I picked up a few years ago and it happened to be a great buy. I got the card for $15 and today it is worth quite a bit more but I have turned down offers with no intention of ever selling this one. As I said at the beginning of this post I was not big into investments as I only do it for the fun in picking a winner versus picking up more $$.

Some of these certified auto's are quite difficult to locate.

 As a collector trying to assemble an entire team since its beginnings in the NHL I will say that it is difficult but sometimes it really does not have to be. For the reason being that many players from today's NHL just do not like to sign and that is what is so frustrating. So each season when the Bruins bring up their rookies to play a game or many games it can be a challenge to get an autograph from that player. If the player does not live up to his potential then this player does not get a rookie certified autographed card and that creates issues locating that players auto.

Today's post I will show some of the very tough certified autographs as there are some reasons as to why they seem so hard to acquire. One maybe because the product was never fully opened or the player did not sign that many cards. It does appear that there is some hockey products that were not as popular as thought they would be and that could be why the product was not fully opened. 

This card is the 2013 In the Game Lord Stanley's Mug card of Mark Recchi. This card took me over five years to add to my collection. Not sure if it is because there was other Bruins auto collectors keeping the card because of the Bruins 2011 Cup season or because it was never fully opened but whatever the reason believe me this is one of the toughest Bruins certified card, I was thrilled when I finally got it in the mail and crossed it off the want list. Mark does have a very nice looking autograph and his auto is consistent in looking identical each time.

This card is the 2009 In the Game Between the Pipes certified autograph card of Manny Fernandez. This card took me over 6 years to add to my collection. The reason for this card being tough is not because of the product not being fully opened as this was one of the most popular in the game products. The reason for the scarcity is because there are so many collectors trying to complete sets or team collectors. I miss the ITG between the Pipes product as there were a lot of nice obscure autographs of players who only played a few or handful of games. This was another one that when I had it in my hand I was quite excited as it is considered scarce. Another nice auto as Manny was consistent with his auto's looking identical each time.

This card is the 2003 In the Game Parkhurst original six. Now again this card is difficult because of the team collectors trying to complete a set and this one took me 5 years to locate. Bernie has a unique looking autograph where the letter "P" in Parent is actually written over his first name as seen in this autograph. I have seen it not over his first name other times as  well. Overall Bernie has a nice legible autograph. This Parkhurst name is one of my favorites as I remember it from the early 60's as a child collecting those cards but this card is from 2003 and what I remember about the cards was the emerald green letter "P".

This card is from the 2004 In the Game Used signature series of Felix Potvin. The reason for this one being scarce is because of his popularity as he was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs then when he became a Bruin I could not wait to find his autographed card. But I had to wait 3 years as it was tough to locate. If you have seen other Potvin auto's you will agree that they all look very identical. Not only do I like the auto but the photo on this card shows a active photo of Felix.

This card is the 2015-16 Upper Deck Series 2 card of Brett Connolly. Now this card was difficult taking me 3 years to acquire and because I believe where it came from the second series and that not the entire run was completely opened or maybe because of the players not being as popular. Whatever the reason I am quite happy to add to my collection and this is the first auto listed in today's post that is not legible.

This card is the 2004-05 Upper Deck Notable Numbers autograph card. The card is serial numbered 29/92 which is an indication as to the cards scarcity. If you look closely at this card you will notice after the word center Rangers. This is the only card I could locate showing Nylander wearing a Bruins uniform certified auto card. This one took me 3 years to locate and I was glad I finally landed this certified autographed card.

This card is the 2011 Panini Zenith Behind the Bench card of Claude Julien. I was glad to see a set of Coaches as it is nice they get some hobby love. This one took me 2 years to locate and as you can see Claude has a nice legible autograph. When I got the card and opened it I thought it was damaged as I could see scratches on the card on the letter "E" in the word Behind. But it was purposely done as it appears to be the wall in front of the players bench.

So that is all of the tougher certified autograph cards for this post, please be sure to follow me and leave a comment and thank-you for taking the time to read today's post.