Hockey Card Finds: Undrafted Gem

In 2005, I started to get the collecting itch again after purging most of my collection in 2002 to assist with the purchase of my first house. With $10 burning a hole in my pocket at a flea market in Ohio, I purchased a lot of 50 hockey rookie cards from an older lady selling mostly knitted dolls.  She wouldn't let me look inside the small box, but she said her son had collected up until a few years ago and these were his "leftovers." I figured most of the cards were commons and I remember when I got back to my house, I had heard of a few of the guys, but some of the cards were from players in the 1970's. Not all are in the best shape, but for $10, what do you want? After a while, I decided just to put the box in the corner of my closet and I simply forgot about it. So, 14 years later, I decided I would take out a card from the box at random and write a small post about the player. I have been counting down from 50. Here goes:

48. 1982/83 OPC J-F Sauve Rookie Card #33

I am seeing a trend while going through this box of rookies. Most of them had very impressive junior careers. J-F Sauve is no different. Sauve was born in Sainte-Genevieve, Quebec on January 23, 1960. Before making the NHL, however, Sauve would play in the QMJHL for the Trois Riveres Draveurs. This is where J-F would make his mark. Standing at only 5'6", Sauve would use his speed to his advantage. In his first QMJHL action during the 1977-78 season, J-F suited up for 6 games and almost averaged a point per game scoring 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists). He also played in the playoffs and performed admirably averaging a point per game (13GP, 13 points). The Draveurs even captured the President's Cup that year. The next season in 1978-79, Sauve took junior hockey by storm. In the 72 games played in regular season, he put up 176 points! This would earn him the Jean Beliveau trophy as the leagues leading scorer. The Draveurs eventually won the President's Cup yet again and Sauve led the way scoring 19 goals and 19 assists (38 points) in only 13 games! J-F was named the Guy Lafleur Trophy winner (Playoff MVP) due to his strong playoff play. This wouldn't be the only hardware he took home in that season as he also won the Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy as the most Sportsmanlike Player, an award he would eventually win the next season as well (1979-80). His final junior season, Sauve continued to light up the Q, and surpassed his point total from the previous season and scored 187 points! This would help him take home another Jean Beliveau trophy as leagues leading scorer. After the Draveurs were eliminated from playoffs, Sauve would set his sights on the NHL.

After the 1979 entry draft concluded, J-F did not receive a phone call, meaning he would go undrafted. The Buffalo Sabres eventually would reach out and ask him to attend training camp as an undrafted free agent. The Sabres ended up sending Sauve down to the AHL to play for the Rochester Americans. In one and a half seasons, (59 games played), Sauve continued his scoring success and potted 30 goals to go along with 55 assists for 85 points. This would lead to his eventual call-up to the NHL during the 1980-81 season. In his first 20 games, he would put up 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists). From what I can gather, Sauve would be up and down in the NHL and AHL although still racking up points at both levels. For whatever reason (possibly his small frame) it does not appear that the Sabres had Sauve in their future plans because during the 1983 season, Sauve, along with Tony McKegney and Andre Savard were packaged in a deal for Real Cloutier and a 1st Round Draft Pick. Playing with the Nordiques, Sauve would eventually put up his most points in a season in the 1985-86 campaign with 56 (16 goals and 40 assists). In 1986-87, J-F would get the injury bug and sit out most of the season, playing in only 14 games. Sadly, this would be his last NHL season. His NHL numbers are very impressive though for an undrafted 5'6" Center with 65 goals, 138 assists for 203 points in 290 NHL games. 

In 1987, J-F signed in the Swiss-A league to suit up for Fribourg-Gotteron HC. In 1988, he tried to crack the Detroit Red Wings squad in camp, but didn't make the cut and was sent down to the AHL to play for the Adirondack Red Wings. After 16 games, scoring 26 points and not receiving a call-up to the NHL, Sauve decided to go back to the Swiss-A league and play for Fribourg-Gotteron HC again. After that season concluded, he would then play in France for 2 seasons and light it up with 155 points in 55 games before retiring from the game of hockey at the age of 31 after having his son, Max. 

Sauve has great bloodlines. His brother Bob Sauve was a goaltender who was selected in the 1st Round by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1975 Draft that played 14 seasons in the NHL with Buffalo, Detroit, Chicago and New Jersey. J-F is also the uncle of Phillippe Sauve, a goaltender who was selected in the 2nd round in the 1998 NHL Draft that played for Colorado, Calgary, Phoenix and Boston in the NHL. He's also the dad of Maxime Sauve who was born during his time in France. Max was drafted in the 2nd Round of the 2008 NHL Draft by the Boston Bruins. He would go on to suit up for 1 game with them during the 2011-12 season. 

It seems that J-F played in the wrong era. He was a great junior player that probably would be a superstar in today's NHL. It seems just like Jacques Locas from my previous post found here that Sauve's height probably made him an afterthought to most NHL GM's or he would have been elite. It was a tougher game back then and a lot of players had to fight to survive on the ice. Either way, I am proud to own this rookie card of a great hockey player, Jean-Francois Sauve. 

 















Thanks for reading.

Moving

Anyone who has ever moved from one house to another knows that you always end up finding something that you forgot about. My wife, son and I built a new house that was finished in February. We had listed our old house and it sold in 4 days, and the builder had yet to break ground yet on our new house, so we scrambled to find somewhere to stay in the mean time. Luckily, my parents were generous enough to let us stay with them for 6+ months while our house was being constructed. Our new property has everything that we had wanted (including a large 600 sq ft storage area off our finished basement). Having this storage area meant that my mom could unload all of my Rubbermaid tubs of my belongings from when I was a kid. This week I had a few days off and I constructed some industrial shelves to keep all of our stuff on so it did not sit on our concrete floor in this storage area. After everything was on the shelves, I decided to go down memory lane and check out the stuff I treasured as a kid. In one of the tubs, I found a Tommy Hilfiger tin from a cologne, soap and aftershave kit I received one Christmas from an ex girlfriend. Inside it, I found old photos, some stickers, ticket stubs to concerts and sporting events and an opened pack of 1994/95 Select hockey. Inside the pack were commons, but there was a gold card of a guy named Todd Simon, and it happened to be his rookie. I stopped to think about why this pack was in there and I remembered why I kept it in the tin. When I was 12, one of my cousins who I looked up to was 16. The day he received his license, he came and picked me up and asked where I wanted to go. Of course I said the card shop. He took me there and I bought this pack opened it and kept it as a memento. I will eventually have a follow up post on Mr. Todd Simon when I actually have the chance to deep dive into his career (because I think all players deserve a blog post), but for now enjoy this card I have of him from a day I haven't forgotten in over 20 years.

TTM Success! Bob Kipper

Recently I haven't had much luck getting any TTM cards back (more than likely due to coronavirus). However, today I received one back. Mr. Bob Kipper was nice enough to sign his 1986 Donruss Rated Rookie for me. It took around 3 and a half months, but it's here. Bob pitched in a few games I attended as a kid in relief (when the Pirates were worth a damn). This card was one I kept from my childhood and I'm glad to have it back with some ink on it! Enjoy.

May 21, 2011: A Day That Changed Joey Hishon's Career

Joey Hishon was a fantastic Junior Hockey player for the Owen Sound Attack. His skillset was so impressive, he even was selected in the 1st Round of the 2010 NHL Draft at 17th overall by the Colorado Avalanche. Everything seemed great for Hishon, until his Memorial Cup game on May 21, 2011 against the Kootenay Ice. Hishon was carrying the puck through the neutral zone when he lost an edge on his skates and was elbowed by Buffalo Sabres draft pick, Brayden McNabb. When Hishon got back on his skates, he seemed woozy and ended up running into a teammate before falling to the ice out cold and dripping blood. It turned out Hishon had a severe concussion.

See the hit here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4KChFDOrOE

After this injury, Hishon just wasn't the same player. It took him almost 2 years to come back after the concussion he received in that Memorial Cup game in 2011. He then received another concussion in his first professional season in the AHL in 2013, and then suffered from post-concussion syndrome. Hishon did eventually make the NHL. In the 2014 playoffs, he was called up and suited up for 3 games (adding an assist). The next year, he got an audition of 13 games for the Avalanche, and even scored his first NHL goal. However, the head injuries eventually proved to be too much and they limited his play every year he played professionally thereafter. They would be the cause of Hishon's retirement in 2018 while playing in the Swedish Hockey League for Lulea HF.

I always rooted for Joey Hishon to come back from his injuries and tried to follow his career pretty closely until he hung up the skates for good. Who knows what Hishon could have done in the NHL if he never had any serious head injuries. He could have become an elite talent. I haven't been able to find his Cup Black 1/1 Rookie yet, but someday I will. I have 2 Hishon cards currently in my collection and they are pictured below:

2014/15 SP Game Used Joey Hishon True Rookie /38

2014/15 Black Diamond Rookie Gems Joey Hishon Quad Diamond RC (Real Diamonds) 1/1

Thanks for reading.

I hope everyone is safe and healthy right now

Hello my fellow bloggers and anyone else who stumbles across this silly blog of mine. I'm sorry for anyone who was actually following my blog as I haven't posted since January 30th. For starters, my wife and I finally closed on our forever home on Valentines Day and as of today, we still are not 100% moved. Then, this virus took over and I haven't been in the mood to post anything or in the right mindset to even care to post anything. I keep worrying about other human beings, and I hope everyone truly is doing well. For the sake of this being a blog about sports cards, here is a crappy card I have that no one wants or cares about....stay safe my friends:

Basebal Misfit Scans

Feels like forever since I posted. I have been really busy getting everything needed in order before my wife, son and I finally move into our forever home. Before I probably go on a few more week hiatus, I figured I would post something that I have seen a few other bloggers post about. People were blogging about the cards they have scanned, but didn't post about for whatever reason. I have a ton of these types of scans, so I figured I would join in on the fun (although I am a little late to the party).

Also, if anyone sees something that they like, it's most likely available for trade.

While going through all my scans, I noticed one thing with my baseball scans....I have a ton of Bowman Chrome. I'd say about 40% of my baseball card scans were of that product, so sorry for the saturation in this post of Bowman Chrome. 

On to the misfits!

1991 Stadium Club Jeff Bagwell RC

1984 Donruss Rated Rookie Tom Dunbar RC In-Person Auto (in blue pen - hard to see)*sadly Mr. Dunbar passed away in 2011..RIP*

1974 Topps Gorman Thomas RC

1976 Topps John Candelaria RC



1979 Topps Pedro Guerrero/Rudy Law/Joe Simpson RC

1997 Bowman Chrome Geoff Goetz RC

1997 Bowman Chrome Luke Wilcox Refractor RC

1998 Bowman Chrome Matt Anderson Refractor RC

2004 Bowman Chrome Matt Moses Blue Refractor RC /290

and finally something I can't believe I never posted since it was a card I wanted so badly and finally received..

1994 SP Derrek Lee Die Cut RC

Thanks for looking at my misfits scans!

Rewards well spent

Finally I cashed in my eBay Bucks or eBay Rewards or whatever you call them. My accrual was actually quite impressive because I had purchased so much stuff for my son and wife for Christmas and their birthdays, so I decided to buy a nice card that I had been watching, but would probably never buy unless it was, well...free. I tried to pull this from a pack a few years back as seen in my previous post here but ended up with a consolation prize of Kris Benson. Anyways.....

Here is my "reward" for spending a lot of money this past quarter on eBay:

1997 Bowman Chrome Kerry Wood Refractor RC 

I know this doesn't look like the refractor version, but it is. My scanner just can't pick up all the shine...I had the same problem scanning my Kris Benson Refractor from the same set. Oh well.

Oh yeah, and I also got this card too:

2017/18 Upper Deck Ice Premieres Eric Comrie RC /499

Comrie is the younger half brother of Paul and Mike. He has bounced around this season with 5 different clubs (Arizona in the NHL, Tucson in the AHL, Detroit in the NHL, Winnipeg in the NHL) only to settle back in with  his old squad, the Manitoba Moose of the AHL (Winnipeg Jets affiliate). Comrie was once a prized prospect, but his numbers have taken a dip within the past few years. He may be nothing but a backup here on out, who knows though!

Thanks for reading.

Big Purchases

It will be about 30-45 days from now and my wife, son and I will be moved into our freshly built house. The excitement is growing with each day. I am starting to realize that my higher-end taste in all things sports card related will more than likely have to take a back seat. It's all fine with me. The past few weeks I had been spending a decent amount of money on cardboard, and I was able to cross of a few cards that had been on my wantlist.

These two cards below were two of the higher-end cards that I had been looking for. The first card is of Kailer Yamamoto. He's a 5'8" 160lb. winger for the Edmonton Oilers. I just love this kids game. He plays like he's 6'3" 240lbs. Yamamoto does not shy away from the dirty areas of the ice and will not back down from positioning himself right in front of the net. This kid has the heart of a lion and he's finally up with the big club and starting to produce like the first round draft pick he was. 

The second card was sold to me by a friend in Canada named Grant. Grant is a good dude and he and I have similar interests in hockey cards. He actually gave me a decent deal on this once I showed interest and for that I applaud him. If you haven't heard of Josh Ho-Sang, you can google him and I bet a lot of articles will come up with trade destinations for the young winger. He's a guy you either love or hate. He's been pretty controversial throughout his pro career thus far as he is pretty outspoken and has also done some immature things. So, why do I like him? Well, the kid has silky mitts and a cannon of a shot and is electric when the puck is on his stick. I cannot wait until the Islanders eventually trade him and he earns a consistent spot in the NHL. He's spent most of his career with the New York Islanders AHL affiliate the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. As of today, he's spent a total of 53 games with the Islanders in 5 years. Just trade him already Lou!

With all of this said, I picked up both of these players' best cards...you guessed it, their Cup Black 1/1 Rookies. 

I'm proud to present:

2017/18 UD The Cup Kailer Yamamoto & Josh Ho-Sang Cup Black Auto 1/1 Rookies!

Hockey Card Finds: Like Father, Like Son

49. 1975/76 OPC WHA Jacques Locas Jr. Rookie Card #129



Jacques Locas Jr was born January 7th 1954 in St.-Jerome, Quebec. He is the son of Jacques Locas who played 1.5 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL from 1947-49. Just like my previous HCF post about Dennis Sobchuk, Locas too was a big deal during his junior hockey days. Locas started off his junior career at age 15 in the QMJHL for the St.-Jerome Alouettes. After one and a half seasons, he was then traded to the Quebec Ramparts. This is when his career really took off. The 1971 season went so well, Locas helped the Ramparts capture the Memorial Cup! In the 1972/73 season, Locas scored at will. He even averaged over a goal per game (62 games played, 68 goals) and topped it off with 16 goals in 15 games in the playoffs. That may be impressive, but not as impressive as his final season with the Ramparts in 1973/74, as Locas scored 99 goals! It's pretty insane to think someone found the back of the net that much, even in junior hockey. He ended that season with 99 goals, 107 assists, and 206 points! While the 99 goals were not a record in the QMJHL, Locas actually has a few records that stand to this day. Total points? You guessed it, Mr. Locas owns that record with 711 points. How about playoff assists? Yep, Locas with 92. Locas even owns the record for most playoff points with 153! It's hard to believe any of these records will ever be broken.

After his final season in the QMJHL, he played briefly in the Southern Hockey League for the Hampton Gulls before being taken in the 11th Round (184th overall) in the 1974 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. Instead of playing in the NHL, Locas opted for the WHA as he was selected as the 2nd selection in an expansion draft by the Cincinnati Stingers. In his first professional season in 74/75, he suited up for the Michigan Stags after being loaned from Cincinnati. However, the Stags would fold midseason due to low attendance and the team was relocated in January to Baltimore and would become the Baltimore Blades. That same season, Locas was loaned once again with Brian MacDonald to the Indianapolis Racers where he would finally finish his rookie season. The 1975/76 season saw Locas wear his 4th uniform of his professional career in just his second season as he was finally a member of the Cincinnati Stingers squad that drafted him. This team had some decent players and Locas found himself on a line with Dennis Sobchuk (see my previous HCF post) and also Rick Dudley. Locas would find mild success playing with the Stingers as he would suit up for 125 games in one and a half seasons and score 104 points. Then the Stingers traded Locas for future considerations to the Calgary Cowboys. He would finish the season in Calgary that year with 7 points in 22 games.

In 1977/78, the Calgary Cowboys folded before the season even started, which left Locas without a team. Without a contract and the Kings owning his rights, he tried to make the Los Angeles Kings club in training camp. After an unimpressive camp, he wound up being waived before the start of the season and being sent down to the Springfield Indians of the AHL. After 21 games and an abysmal 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists), Locas wound up back with the Cincinnati Stingers where he would play his final professional hockey season due to chronic knee issues.

It blows my mind why a guy with the success in junior like Locas had, he could never carve out a consistent career or even a single game played in the NHL. The only reason I could think of is that he was undersized at 5'8" and 166lbs. However, Dennis Maruk was the exact same size as Locas and that guy put up 60 goals in the NHL in a season. Who knows? It was surprising to me to find out that my Locas card was only worth $4 in Nrmt condition (mine is more like EX+). I'm happy to report that during my research, I found out that Jacques Locas Jr was actually named as #12 on the list of the QMJHL's all time greatest players in March of 2019. Sadly, Locas would never see himself named to this list as he passed away due to a heart attack on August 20, 2006 at age 52. RIP Jacques.

Thanks for reading!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Just wanted to post to say Happy New Year to everyone. I don't have any cards to really post today as I haven't picked up anything new. Since this is a sports card blog, maybe enjoy a random Dallas Stars card and Nashville Predators card that I have a scan of to commemorate today's Winter Classic? I hope everyone has a fantastic year!