Archive for April, 2010

Zdeno Chara may wear the C on his sweater, Marc Savard (when healthy) may be the playmaker, Milan Lucic may be the energy guy, and Tuukka Rask may be the hot topic at the moment, but Patrice Bergeron is the heart and soul of this Bruins team. And this is why he is feature for today’s Bruins Friday.

Patrice Bergeron made the Boston roster right out of camp as a recently turned 18 year old draft selection. As a rookie, he played in 71 games, tallying 16 goals and 23 assists. His offensive prowess was apparent from the get go, but his potential as an all-around player was what got fans excited. Bergeron is the sort of player who protects the puck, plays all three zones very well, is a sneaky good checker, is strong on his skates, and doesn’t make foolish plays. These are all traits you expect out of a seasoned veteran, not an 18 year old rookie.

The next season was the lousy lockout. Instead of fleeing to Europe to play, Bergeron played with Boston’s AHL club, the Providence Bruins. He continued to improve there, putting up 61 points in 68 games. The next year, the NHL was back in business and Patrice picked up where he left off. 31 goals and 42 assists in 81 games to compliment an all around game? Not too bad for a 20 year old. The 2006-07 season proved to be more of the same; 22 goals and 48 assists.

Entering the 07-08 season, it appeared that Bergeron was poised to become a legitimate All-Star in the NHL. That is until he was on the receiving end of a vicious hit from behind by Randy Jones that resulted in a broken nose and Grade-3 concussion; he would miss the rest of the season. I, for one, wondered if he would ever be the same.

Bergeron returned the next season, but his productivity dropped off a bit. To be expected, in my opinion. During this season, he would suffer another concussion. At this point, I was hoping he wouldn’t turn into another Eric Lindros, plagued by concussions. Thankfully, he did bounce back and this season, he has been strong. While his offensive output has diminished a bit, his hard play has not. One would think that after suffering two concussions, one being major, you might change your style of play a bit. Not Patrice. He has been physical as ever. He never gives up on a play, always hustles, and constantly makes the smart play.

During these playoffs, he has played his heart out. He has scored 2 goals and dished out 2 assists in 4 games and looks to put the Bruins into the Conference Semifinals tonight. If they win tonight, I can guarantee Bergeron will make a key contribution. If they lose, it won’t be because he gave up on a play or made a foolish pass (leave that to Wideman).

Onto the card. This is the last year Topps made hockey, which is sad. The front design is dull in that 90′s junk wax sort of way. The back is better due to the little write-up, but the vertical playoff stat thing is wonky at best. If I remember correctly, this card was not available in packs. It was part of a redemption that included Fleury and Staal as well.

Let’s go Bruins!

*I remember going down to Wilmington, MA during the preseason in 2003 to see the Bruins practice. After the skate around, a few of us stood around in the parking lot waiting to meet the players. It was easy because the players parked in the same lot as we did, so the players would come out and mingle. After almost all the players had left, this kid with a hockey bag comes out and is looking around for his ride. The kid was, of course, Patrice Bergeron. He looked SO young but I guess he was young. He also looked lost and a little scared. I guess I might have the same look on my face being in a new city, skating with pro players.  Let me just say this about hockey players as a whole: I cannot imagine a more accommodating and nicer group of athletes than these guys. They would sign autographs, pose for pictures, and talk for a bit. And not just rookies and role players, I’m talking about guys like Joe Thornton, Brian Leetch, and Gerry Cheevers. Every single one of them a class act.

I know I’m a bit late to the party, but I’m just now finding out about this. Over at Sports Card Uncensored, Gellman has put together a pretty cool challenge. If you had $50,000 and 15 minutes on eBay, what would you buy (details here)?

My ultimate dream would be to find someone on eBay who wrote graduate level research papers and spend all of my $50k on that service, but I think sports cards are what Gellman had in mind. So, let’s do this…

I went into this with the mindset that I wanted vintage hockey cards of all the big guns. Richard, Howe, Orr, Gretzky, etc. With $50k, why not just go straight up rookies of these guys, so here is what I came up with:

1951-52 Parkhurst #4 Maurice Richard Rookie PSA 7 (BIN $2,900)

One of my all-time favourite old time hockey players. No other hockey player has ever meant more to his team/city than The Rocket. I’d prefer ungraded cards because they are cheaper, but with play money, why not splurge.

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1951-52 Parkhurst #66 Gordie Howe Rookie SGC 84 (BIN/OBO $3,850)

No higher grade PSA Howe rookies force me to go with the lesser SGC grading service. Whatever. I could offer the seller less than the BIN, but why dick around?

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1966-67 Topps #35 Bobby Orr Rookie BGS 8.5 (BIN/OBO $8,999)

With no disrespect to Gretzky, Orr is the greatest player to ever lace up the skates. I wouldn’t mind the Test version of this card, but that is beyond my limit. Again, I could probably get this for a bit less than the BIN, but meh.

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1979-80 O-Pee-Chee #18 Wayne Gretzky Rookie PSA 8 (BIN $1,095)

I could spend 4x as much for a PSA 9, but what is the big difference between an 8 and 9? We’re splitting hairs, right? I’d like to spend the extra dough on MORE CARDS!

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1953-54 Parkhurst #27 Jean Beliveau Rookie SGC 88 (BIN/OBO $5,000)

Le Gros Bill!

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1971-72 O-Pee-Chee #45 Ken Dryden Rookie KSA 9 (BIN/OBO $900)

Once again, no high grade PSA, so KSA will have to do. I actually have a couple of KSA graded cards and they are a good, cheaper alternative to PSA.

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1965-66 Topps #116 Phil Esposito Rookie BVG 9 (BIN/OBO $999.99)

Now I’m just playing around. More than double book for this? It ain’t my money.

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1955-56 Parkhurst Quaker Oats #50 Jacques Plante Rookie PSA 5 (BIN/OBO $2899,99)

A Quaker Oats version of the Snake’s rookie is big money. But how kick ass is this card?!?!

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1911-12 C55 #38 Georges Vezina Rookie PSA 3 (BIN/OBO $5,000)

Um, yes please!

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1910-11 C56 #12 Art Ross Rookie PSA 4(BIN/OBO $1,600)

It’s always nice to get cards of guys who have trophies named after them. Also, I want that sweater!

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1933 Goudey Sports Kings #24 Howie Morenz SGC 88 (BIN/OBO $3,500)

This is just stupid now.

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Oh nose, I ran out of time and I only spent $36,744! If I had more time, I would have looked to snag pre-war cards of Eddie Shore, Toe Blake, Cyclone Taylor, et al. I wouldn’t mind a complete set of 54-55 Topps hockey either. Of course I would probably buy all the rookies I’ve ever needed from 50′s, 60′s, and 70′s, too.