Walt Poddubny

Walt Poddubny

Retired player. Recently deceased.

Purchased from eBay. Added to my collection September 14, 2009.

Walt Poddubny passed away in March of 2009. He was a player I watched, mainly with the New Jersey Devils. Earlier this year, I purchased two other Poddubny cards off of eBay. I normally don't buy signed cards via the internet, but I will make an exception here and there.

Walt Poddubny

Walt Poddubny

Retired player. Recently deceased.

Purchased from eBay. Added to my collection September 3, 2009.

Walt Poddubny passed away in March of 2009. He was a player I watched, mainly with the New Jersey Devils. When Walt first passed away, autographed items went for quite a bit on eBay--around $10 to $20, which is "a lot" for an average NHL player. With all due respect, now that his death is old news, the demand--and price--for a signed Poddubny card has died down. I normally don't buy signed cards on eBay, but will make an exception here and there.

Peter Zezel

Peter Zezel

Retired player. Recently deceased.

Purchased from eBay. Added to my collection September 14, 2009.

Along with the Poddubny card, I also acquired this autographed card of Zezel, who sadly passed away in May of this year. I actually wrote to Zezel back in 2008, and he signed my cards then. I have always heard great things about him when it came to the way he interacted with fans.

As selfish as it sounds, I wish I had written to Zezel for autographs a few more times. I liked him as a player. I saw him a lot growing up, especially with the Maple Leafs and Blues, who played my Blackhawks an awful lot during the early 1990s. I probably have two dozen cards that I would have liked for him to sign.

But what made him uber in my mind was that he had a bit part in the hockey film "Youngblood". He is referred to as "Rossini" by the coach, and is an assistant captain for the Hamilton Mustangs (the team that Patrick Swayze and Rob Lowe play for in the film). I actually made a few custom hockey cards of Zezel--as his character from the film--that you can see here.

Gaëtan Duchesne

Gaëtan Duchesne

Retired player. Recently deceased.

Purchased on eBay. Added to my collection September 3, 2009.

Gaëtan Duchesne passed away in April 2007. I purchased this card on eBay along with a card of Walt Poddubny (that you'll see on Friday).

Patrice Bergeron

Patrice Bergeron

Currently with Boston Bruins.

Sent to me by Upper Deck to compensate for a lousy insert card.

Upper Deck mailed me this card as a compensation of sorts. A month ago, I sent a sub-par jersey card back to Upper Deck, explaining to their customer service that I did not wish to have a mismatched jersey card in my collection (full details here).

Upper Deck sent back the lame jersey card, but also included this 2007-08 Black Diamond Gemography card of Patrice Bergeron. I was pleasantly surprised--that was actually a very nice move on the part of their customer service.

Hopefully, Bergeron will hit his stride again like he did in '05-06, when he lead his team in scoring.

Walt Tkaczuk

Walt Tkaczuk

Retired player.

Insert from a pack of 2008-09 Champ's hockey cards.

Personally, when spending $100 or so on a box of hockey cards, I'd rather get a card of a longtime NHL veteran--even if he didn't score 50 goals or win any awards--than of a guy who played a handful of games. Tkaczuk played 945 games over 13 seasons for the New York Rangers, from 1968 to 1981. Strangely, this card is signed in black Sharpie marker, while the other three Mini Signatures Champ's cards I pulled were signed in blue.

Mike Iggulden

Mike Iggulden

Currently with the Riga Dynamo of the KHL (Russia).

Insert from a pack of 2008-09 Champ's hockey cards.

This has to be the worst autographed insert I have ever pulled from a pack of hockey cards.

First, Iggulden played one game with the San Jose Sharks, which is the photo that the card uses. But last season, he was traded to the Islanders. So, even though he is pictured as a Sharks player, it says "New York Islanders" at the bottom.

Even worse, the guy lasted 12 games in the NHL, and is now with the Riga Dynamo of the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia. Why would Upper Deck put a card like this in a mid-level product like Champ's? Yes, that set came out last season--I got this card in a box over the summer--but why would they get a hard-signed autographs from guys in the minors like this one?

Howard Walker

Howard Walker

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: September 14, 2009.

Autograph received: October 13, 2009.

Howard walker played 80 games with the Washington Capitals, and three more with the Calgary Flames. Walker signed my card in ballpoint pen, and also enclosed a short, hand-written note of his own:




If you can't read his writing, the note says:

Good luck with your collection
Howard Walker
Go Black Hawks

It's always nice when a former player takes an extra step like that to communicate with fans.

Darren Haydar

Darren Haydar

Currently with the Lake Erie Monsters (AHL).

Fan letter sent: December 27, 2008.

Autograph received: September 17, 2009.

After splitting the 2007-08 season between the Atlanta Thrashers and the Chicago Wolves (AHL), Darren Haydar spent all of the 2008-09 season in the "A" with the Grand Rapid Griffins--that is where I sent my letter. He led Grand Rapids in scoring that year, but has since moved on to play for the Lake Erie Monsters, another AHL team. Haydar was awesome with the Wolves, and I hope he gets another shot in the NHL soon.

Anyway, he signed the card I sent in black Sharpie marker. FYI, I now have 23 out of 30 cards from this set autographed.

Daniel Berthiaume

Daniel Berthiaume

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: June 16, 2009.

Autograph receiveds: September 10, 2009.

Former NHL goaltender Daniel Berthiaume autographed all six cards that I sent him, using a black sharpie marker. This was the second time I've written to Berthiaume--he also signed five cards for me back in 2007.

Interestingly, Berthiaume now runs a year-round fishing charters company. You can visit his website at www.captainbert.com