88-89 OPC Tribute: Ward, Miller and Larsson

#46 - Cam Ward

  Cam Ward had a busy 2010-11 season.  He led all goalies in games played, shots against, saves and minutes played.  Ward also set a career best for save percentage with .923.  Ward had a dominating 2005-06 post season, winning the Conn Smythe trophy as he led the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup.

#47 - Ryan Miller

  Ryan Miller won his 200th game in 2010-11 and is currently 5th among active goalies in career wins.  Miller's best season was 2009-10 when he won the Vezina Trophy as league's best goalie.  Miller needs 14 victories in 2011-12 to overtake Domink Hasek as the Buffalo Sabres all-time wins leader.

#122- Adam Larsson

  Adam Larsson was selected 4th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils.  Larsson is projected to be an excellent two-way defenceman and should see alot of time on the Devil's powerplay.

88-89 OPC Tribute: Subban, Weber and Dionne

  P.K. Subban and Shea Weber are cards 44 and 45. Subban, who burst on the scene in the 2009-10 play-offs, made the All-Rookie team in 2010-11 and the flamboyant young star has a bright future with the Montreal Canadiens.  Nashville Predators defenceman, Shea Weber, is a six year veteran and a first team All-Star in 2010-11.  He finished 2nd in the Norris trophy balloting but took home first place for his play-off beard.

    

#44 - P.K. Subban

#45 - Shea Weber

    Marcel Dionne is 5th all-time in career points, 1771, and 4th all-time in career goals, 731.  He was drafted 2nd overall in 1971 by the Detroit Red Wings.  The Wings finished out of the play-offs each of his first four years, prompting Dionne to test free agency.   A deal was worked out the Los Angeles Kings, and Marcel Dionne help the Kings make the play-offs six straight years.  The Kings were never able to get to the Stanley Cup, or not even the semi-finals.  Frustrated, Dionne asked for a trade and he finished his career with the New York Rangers.  In 1988-89, his final season, Dionne got to play beside his teenage rival and the only player chosen ahead of him in the 1971 draft, Guy Lafleur. Despite Dionne great individual numbers, he never had any team success other winning the 1976 Canada Cup.  His one chance at winning a major junior championship was the infamous 1971 Richardson Cup, which he played against Guy Lafleur.

#108 - Marcel Dionne

TTM Success: Peter Sidorkiewicz

  It's a success since he signed.  it's a bit of a failure since I printed and sent the 4x6 customs before I properly learned how to print.  Two 4x6 pictures ended up heavily smudged.  The third one has light light smudging.  I think that one was on top.  Still, I am really happy with the way the autos looked on the pictures.  I may go back and try to reprint the pictures and resend them.
  Peter Sidorkiewicz was a goalie in the early 90s.  He had a few good years with the Hartford Whalers, including  making the All-Rookie team in 1988-89.  In 1992, Sidorkieiwcz was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the expansion draft.  In the season opener for the new franchise, Sidorkiewicz helped the Senators defeat the visiting Montreal Canadiens by a score of 5-2.  The team would go on to win 9 more games out of the remaining 81.  Sidorkiewicz made his only All-Star game appearance.  In the offseason he was traded to New Jersey for fellow All-Star teammate Craig Billington.  In New Jersey, Sidorkiewicz played a total of 4 games over the course of five season, spending most of his time in the minors.  He is currently on the coaching staff of the Erie Otters of the OHL.

One Star, One Sheet

  To steal piggyback on an idea from My Hockey Card Obsession, where they are doing one set, one sheet, I am going to start creating One Star; One Sheet.  I can't collect every card from every player and still be able to display them.  I think by breaking down a players career into nine cards, I can make a nice binder to browse through.  For most players I will attempt to get a RC of player and a last card of the player.  Some players I won't attempt to get a RC since I have most of the 80s rookie already and don't want to spend hundreds in getting them again for this project.  Some players, like Pierre Turgeon, retired during the season and their final cards don't have their entire career stats.  I'd also try to get a card from each team they played for.  Not sure what I'll do for players who played for more than 9 teams or a player who spent most of their career with a team or two but then played on several in their last couple of years, like Paul Coffey.

88-89 OPC Tribute; Weiss, Kiprusoff, and Smith

#42 - Stephen Weiss

  It had to happen and it finally did.  A Florida Panther player is included in the set.  When I started this set, I decided upon a minimum of two players per team to be included in the 90 cards of active players.  After much studying of the Panthers roster, Stephen Weiss may end up being the only Panther in the active players section of the set.  It doesn't look good for the Legends or Rookies of the Panther either.  Jonathan Huberdeau was sent back to the juniors and I don't know if John Vaniesbrouck will make the cut as a Legend.  I am just happy I am not a Florida Panthers fan.  Almost makes me glad I am an Islanders fan.  Misery loves company.

#43- Miika Kiprusoff

  In 2003-04 Mikka Kiprusoff  started the year 3rd in the depth chart of netminders for the San Jose Sharks.  The Calgary Flames were relying on Roman Turek to be their #1 goalie for 2003-04, but when Turek suffered an knee injury in his 3rd game of the season, the Flames started looking for a new goalie.  Less than a month later the Flames traded a 2nd round pick to the Sharks for Kiprusoff.  Kiprusoff won his first game as a Flame and led them to a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals.  The Flames fell short but Kiprusoff has gone on to win a Vezina trophy, win 40 games three times and was the inspiration for the Kipper Kid.

#107 - Billy Smith

  In 1971-72, The New York Islanders had the 2nd pick in the Expansion Draft and they drafted their new #1 goalie Gerry Desjardins.  After the Atlanta Flames picked grabbed Dan Bouchard, the Islanders made a slightly better pick in drafting Billy Smith from the Los Angeles Kings.  Billy Smith helped the New York Islanders win 4 Stanley Cups from 1980 to 1983 and he won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1983.
  While Billy Smith is known most as a play-off performer, Smith was the first winner of the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL in 1981-82.  Before that season it was reward to the goalies on the team with the lowest GAA.
  Billy Smith was inducted in the HHOF in 1993.

11-12 OPC Retro and Legends

  The 2011-12 OPC set has hit the streets.  I was browsing some blogs and came across a box break on Just a Bit Offside.  There are two things I have look forward to seeing when OPC is released, the Legends and the Retros.  So far, I am a bit disappointed in both.  

  While it is great to see Ron Francis in a Whalers jersey, or Legends Tony Tanti and Tim Kerr make the set, the design is getting worse.  A lot of that is thanks to the overall set design and the reduction in picture space.  At least the Legend cards don't have the over-sized OPC logo, instead they have an over sized Legends tag.  In 09-10, the pictures where mostly full body shots.  In 10-11, the pictures where mostly waist-up shots.  In 11-12, the pictures are head shots.  Every year there is less action in the photo.  I'll likely still try for the Legends subset but I'll be in no rush to complete it.

  As for the retros, I find them bland.  I think they'd look better with a colour picture of the player.  Ideally a really bright and vivid picture to contrast the dull background.  I made up a pair to compare the difference.  

  

Yes, I do think they'd look better with a vivid colour picture on the front,  most likely even better if professionally done.

88-89 OPC Tribute: Morrow, Brown, and Lafontaine

#40 - Brenden Morrow

 Dallas Stars captain Brenden Morrow was a member of the 200 and 30 club last season.  Morrow scored 33 goals, a personal best, and delivered 225 hits.  Morrow has won an Olympic Gold Medal, the World Cup of Hockey, a World Hockey Championship and a Memorial Cup.  He missed winning the Stanley Cup by one season, as his rookie year came the year after the Dallas Stars won the Cup.  In the last of the major Hockey Championships, he received a silver medal in 1999 in the World Junior Hockey Torunamanent.
  As a teenager, Morrow was not drafted by any Canadian Major Junior team.  He was a walk on for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League.  Two years later, he was a 1st round pick by the Dallas Stars.

#41 - Dustin Brown

  Dustin Brown is the second player in this post who was on my league winning hockey pool team.  In 2010/11, Brown was two goals shy of creating the 300 and 30 club.  His 300 hits was good for 3rd best in the NHL.  It was the second year in a row that Brown finished in the top 3 in hits.
  When he is not scoring goals and delivering bodychecks, Dustin enjoys the Price is Right and going crazy.

#106 - Pat Lafontaine

  On the eve of the 1981 regular season, the reigning Stanley Cup champs, the New York Islanders, traded Bob Lorimer and Dave Cameron to the Colorado Rockies for the Rockies 1st round pick in the 1983 draft.  Two full seasons later, The Islander were still winning Stanley Cups and although the Colorado Rockies had become the New Jersey Devils, they still sucked.  The draft pick ended up being the 3rd overall pick and the Islanders picked Pat Lafontaine.
  Lafontaine would go on score 1000 points in his career, including a career best and record for an American-born player, 148pts in 1992-93 while playing for the Buffalo Sabres.  Lafontaine's career was hampered by injuries and was eventually forced to retire due to concussions.  He played his last game in 1998 and was inducted into the HHOF in 2003.