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| Craig Billington 1995-96 Upper Deck #112 |
Looks like Craig Billington's eyes are bugging out of his head!
"All the better to see the puck with!"
An extra copy of this card is definitely going to my random pages of funny cards.
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| Craig Billington 1994-95 Flair #119 |
Here's a look Billington's mask transition to Ottawa from New Jersey...
In the right photo, Billington is still wearing his old New Jersey Devils mask.
The shape of a Roman visor seems to have been inspired by the Devil horns.
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| Andy Moog 1995-96 Pinnacle #114 |
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| Kelly Hrudey 1991-92 Score #231 |
Both of these cards are relatively new to my collection.
Just so happens that these two goalies were basically traded for one another February 22, 1989.
First up is longtime LA Kings goaltender Kelly Hrudey.
From the back of the card:
"No one will ever forget his heroic performance against the Capitals in Game 7 of the 1987 Patrick Division Semifinals. Kelly was absolutely brilliant, stopping 73 of 75 shots to lead the Islanders to a 3-2 victory in quadruple overtime."
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| Mark Fitzpatrick 1991-92 Score #266 |
"Mark returned to the Islanders' lineup in March after being sidelined all season with a life-threatening illness. He was afflicted with a rare disease that caused swelling of his muscles and tissues.
'It's important to me to prove I can play again.' said Mark. 'There were times I didn't know which way my health was going to go.' "
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| Tyler Kennedy 2005-06 In The Game #284 Heroes & Prospects |
Another cheap treasure for my personal collection...
Here's Tyler Kennedy playing with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL.
Kennedy was definitely a highly under-valued piece of the the 2009 Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins.
He was ultimately traded to the Sharks in 2013, and to the Islanders in 2015.
Also played one season with the New Jersey Devils.
Played briefly with the Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League.
In an effort to better understand the confusion relationship between AHL affiliates and their parent clubs, I'm just now learning that the Cleveland Barons moved to Worcester and became the Sharks in 2005.
This comes as a direct result of the Worcester Ice Cats being sold and moved to Peoria, Illonois. (The Worcester Ice Cats were the AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues)
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| Tyler Kennedy 2009-10 Upper Deck #297 |
On a team full of superstars, unsung heroes like Tyler Kennedy managed to catch my attention. Enjoyed watching the energy this guy delivered every shift during the 2009 Playoffs.
He scored 5 goals - 3 of them were game-winners.
Also added 4 assists for a total of 9 points during the 2009 postseason.
Scored 89 goals with 126 assists for 215 points in 527 career NHL games.
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| Wendell Clark 1995-96 Upper Deck #325 |
A snapshot from a brief window back in time when Wendell Clark was with the New York Islanders.
Unfortunately, it had to be when they wore those god-awful "Fisherman" jerseys.
Another case of appreciating hockey history, for better or worse.
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| Jocelyn Thibault 1995-96 Skybox Emotion #43 |
Following the Quebec Nordiques' relocation to Colorado to become the Avalanche, Jocelyn Thibault played just 10 games in an Avs uniform before being traded to Montreal in the Patrick Roy deal.
From nhltradetracker.com:
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| Jocelyn Thibault 1995-96 Zenith #34 |
Just happened to spot a painted mask on the recently traded T-Bo in the 1995-96 Zenith set...
Closer inspection reveals that Canadiens' logos have simply been painted on his snowy mountain Avalanche mask.
(In the 95-96 UD set, Thibault is wearing a plain white mask with the Canadiens)
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| Jocelyn Thibault 2005-06 Parkhurst #395 |
T-Bo was also briefly a member of the Penguins.
He played 38 games for the Pens during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.
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| John Vanbiesbrouk 1991-92 Upper Deck #324 |
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| Chico Resch 2004-05 In The Game #375 |
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| Chico Resch 2004-05 In The Game #375 (card back) |
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| Patrick Lalime 2008-09 Upper Deck #278 |
