Archive for the ‘Rookie’ Category

Mark Stuart is my favourite Bruins player, so I was a little worried come free agent time because I desperately wanted the B’s to resign him. He ended up agreeing to a 1 year/1.68 million dollar extension. While I would have preferred the B’s to have locked him up for longer, this deal is more of a temporary deal until they can (hopefully) resign him to a long-term deal after next season.

Stuart was drafted 21st overall by the Bruins in the 2003 draft and has made his debut during the ’05-’06 season. He would only play in 17 games that season before being sent back down to the Providence Bruins for some seasoning. It was the same story the next season; Stuart would only play in 15 games for the B’s before being sent back down. I can tell you that during those two seasons, what I saw, I loved. He was a tough dude who made smart plays and thought it was only a matter of time before he would be up for good. And he was the following season. Stuart would play in every game for the Bruins for the next two seasons. Last season, Stuart missed a chunk of time with a broken pinkie finger. Surgery on it led to an infection which cost him almost the entire playoffs.

I can not speak to this personally, but Stuart seems like the guy who is a great clubhouse leader. The sort of player who practices hard every day, comes to the game ready to play, leaves it all on the ice, and leads by example. He has the makings, in my opinion, of a future captain. He’s a smart defenseman who plays tough. He’ll dish out hits and will take one to make a play if need be. He is always willing to drop the gloves if an opponent is getting a bit too chippy, either with himself or with a teammate. Bruins color commentator Jack Edwards (I think it was him initially) dubbed Stuart “caveman strong”. I take this to mean that he is just a solid, SOLID dude.

I have high hopes for him this upcoming season. I think if he were 100% during the playoffs, the B’s advance past Philadelphia. I hope the Bruins brass is smart enough to realize what they have with Stuart and do everything possible to lock him up for a long time. With Cam Neely as the new president of the organization, I have to believe that he sees the value, on and off the ice, of Stuart and makes it happen. This is the sort of guy who will see on the US Olympic team in the near future and you’ll think to yourself, “Whoa, this guy is a rock.”

I used to have an SPX auto/jersey card of Stuart, but you know how I feel about sticker autographs; the SP Authentic was a no brainer, especially since it can be had for like $8. Overall, I think he has a nice signature; I especially like how the crossed T spans the entire autograph.

Below is a clip of Stuart absolutely DESTROYING Anze Kopitar on a completely legal, open-ice hit, followed by Stuart dropping them against Wayne Simmonds. I like guys like Stuart who realize that if they lay out a player, especially a star player, they are going to have to answer the bell. And I like guys like Simmonds who stick up for their teammates. To me, these are the best fights; they aren’t set up in advance and there isn’t a long drawn out square off. Just two dudes going at it in the heat of the moment.

It’s taking a lot for me to get the motivation to write a blog entry; weeks of 85-90 degree weather with 90%+ humidity really takes it out of a guy. I’m a trooper though and need to stay consistent. I mean, can I really let down the four people who read this on a somewhat regular basis? There is no special reason for profiling Al MacInnis today. I picked the card on the left at random and decided Al was it.

Al MacInnis was drafted by the Calgary Flames 15th overall in the 1981 draft. He would have cups of Tim Horton’s coffee with the Flames during his first two seasons playing in two and fourteen games respectively. When he wasn’t skating with the big club, MacInnis was skating with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL and tearing it up. He put up 159 points (63 goals, 96 assists) in just 110 games, so the Flames definitely had an offensive talent on their hands.

MacInnis would stick with the team the following season and establish himself as one of the better defensemen in the NHL. In 51 games, MacInnis put up 45 points. During the following two seasons MacInnis brought his game to the next level, tallying 66 points in 67 games and 68 points in 77 games. The latter would earn him a spot in his first All Star game. As good as MacInniss was during those two seasons, he would again raise his level of play. Over the next eight seasons, MacInnis was one of the premier blueliners in the NHL and enjoyed some of his finest seasons as a pro. During that span, MacInnis tallied 639 points in 592 games, averaging nearly 80 points, 22 goals, and 58 assists a season. He would score a career high 103 points (28 goals, 75 assists) during the ’90-’91 season. He would also play in five All-Star games and be named to five NHL All-Star Teams (two 1st Teams and three 2nd Teams). MacInnis’ greatest accomplished came during the ’88′-’89 season when he helped lead the Flames to their first Stanley Cup. He was an absolute beast during their run to the Cup, putting up 31 points in 22 games; this was good enough to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.

This stretch of dominance ended when MacInnis was traded to the St. Louis Blues at the end of the ’93-’94 season. MacInnis would spend the remained of his career (10 seasons) with the Blues and continue to be a top-tier defenseman. Although his numbers would never match his Flames days, he would continue to put up solid numbers. He was a leader on and off the ice and one of the NHL’s toughest guys. He would win his only Norris Trophy at the age of 35 for his ’98-’99 season. He would play in six more All-Star games and be named to two NHL All-Star 1st Teams.

A lot of people know MacInnis as one of the hardest shooters in the league. He would win the hardest shot contest seven times. Oh, and he didn’t use those fancypants composite sticks; Al rocked nothing but straight up wood for this stick.

MacInnis hung up the skates at the age of 40 after just three games into the ’03-’04 season due to a reaggravated eye injury. He would end up with 340 goals (3rd among defensemen), 934 assists (14th all-time, 3rd among defensemen), and 1274 total points (3rd among defenseman). He was rightfully  inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007.

The card above is from the ’02-’03 Topps Heritage set. It’s obviously a tribute to the ’66-’67 set. I have no doubt MacInnis would have fit right in during those days. The signature is nice, if not completely legible.  The two cards below are his rookie and his 2nd year O-Pee-Chee cards. At around $25-$30, his rookie is a bargain. OPC probably could have used a better picture of Al, but we have to remember that hockey photography was still pretty bad in the ’80s. His second year card comes from one of my favourite sets, design and colour wise. Man, I didn’t realize that he was 6’2″ and weighed only 193 pounds. Lanky!

1985-86 O-Pee-Chee #237 Al MacInnis

1986-87 O-Pee-Chee #173 Al MacInnis