Archive for January, 2010

Went to a local card show today and picked up these eight cards for a mere $10. Whenever you can get eight OPC cards of HOFers for $10, you have to do it, right? These guys have 15 Stanley Cups between them and 6 Lady Byngs. Man, so many Lady Byng Trophies on this blog already. Not good for a site called Drop The Gloves! There will be enforcers this week to rough it up a bit.

My favourite thing about this stack of cards is the back of the 82-83 Denis Savard, which simply states that Denis is a bachelor and recently bought his own house in the suburbs of Montreal. Oh, and he set the Blackhawks rookie scoring mark.

Ladies, are you listening?

The set design for 86-87 is one of my favourite for any sports cards made within the last 25 years; the way the colours reflect the team’s colours and the big yellow O-Pee-Chee logo in the top corner. Top notch!

I also picked up an OPC Jonathan Toews (not pictured) rookie for $5.

Each Friday, I am going to post a Bruins card. Why? Because I love the Bruins, it’s my blog, and I can. I thought about kicking it off with someone like Neely or Bourque or Schmidt or Orr but decided on Normand Leveille. Odds are, the newer generation of NHL fans have no idea who he is and that is a shame.

Normand Leveille was an up and coming winger for the Bruins. After an impressive 55 goal season with the QMJHL league, Leveille made the jump to the Boston Bruins for the 81-82 season at the age of 18. He had a solid rookie campaign, netting 14 goals to go along with 19 assists in 66 games. Coach Terry O’Reilly was impressed enough with the rookies speed and talent that he stated, “He’s going to be better than Yvan Cournoyer.” Hyperbole? Most likely but Leveille’s career looked bright.

Looking to build on a solid season, Leveille started the next year with 3 goals and 6 assists through 9 games. Then on October 23 after scoring two goals, Leveille suffered a brain aneurysm during the 1st intermission. Just like that, not only his career, but his life was in danger. He underwent 7 hours of surgery and was in a coma for 3 weeks. Luckily, Leveille pulled through, but his career was done.

Boston has had it’s share of tragic sports figures: Daryll Stingley,  Tony Conigliaro, Reggie Lewis, and most famously Len Bias. People always talk about what the Celtics would have been with Len Bias and it’s a valid question. Rarely, though, do people wonder what the Bruins would have been with Normand Leveille. Teamed up with Bourque and possibly Neely later and maybe the Bruins win a Cup. Who knows?

Normand has been able to lead a fairly normal life. He has regained most of his motor skills, but speaking and walking take a great deal of effort. One of the more emotional moments in Bruins history came during the last skate at the old Boston Garden in 1995. Bruins greats such as Orr, Esposito, Bourque, Neely, Bucyk and others made a few final laps around the ice. Hockey luminaries like “Rocket” Richard, Stan Mikita, and Jean Beliveau were in attendance for this historic event. But who stole the show? Normand Leveille, that’s who. Making his first appearance on Garden ice since the tragedy, Leveille, with the help of Ray Bourque, made one last lap around the rink, stealing the show and bringing tears to many of the die-hard, blue collar fans.

Leveille remains a crowd favourite in Boston and his native Quebec. In 1995, the Normand Leveille Centre, a 200-acre recreational camp for the handicapped, located in Drummondville, Quebec, was opened. The website (in French) is located at www.centre-normand-leveille.ca