Hockey Card Finds: From college to King

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'll count down from 50. Here goes:

43. 1983/84 O-Pee-Chee Gary Laskoski RC #156

The first goalie on this list is Gary Laskoski. Laskoski was born on June 6, 1959, in Ottawa, Ontario. During his college years, Laskoski would attend St. Lawrence University. He immediately became their starter. In his freshman season, Gary would play in 21 games with abysmal results (5 wins, 15 losses). His Goals Against Average wasn't anything to write home about either at 4.94 to go along with an .876 Save Percentage. However, St. Lawrence stuck with Laskoski as their back stopper for the next 3 seasons. With a Win-Loss record of 3-13, 10-10 and 7-7, it didn't appear that Laskoski had what it takes to be a starting goalie, let alone a backup goalie in the NHL. This is where the Los Angeles Kings come in. They offered Laskoski a tryout before the 1982/83 season started. His performance was so stellar, the Kings named him their starting goaltender for that season. Gary didn't even sign an actual NHL contact until after several regular season games had already been played. Instead, the Kings were paying him $200 a game! That season, the Kings goaltending was less than great. In the Smythe Division that year, you could find the Los Angeles Kings at the bottom of the standings with 27 wins total and 41 losses to go along with 12 ties. The Kings would use not only Laskoski in net, but also Mario Lessard (19 games), Markus Mattsson (19 games), Mike Blake (9 games) and Doug Keans (6 games). Laskoski would get the bulk of the work, however, and play in 46 of the teams 80 games winning 15 and losing 20 with 4 ties to his credit. His GAA was almost average for the era at 4.56 with a Save Percentage of .857. Even after that pretty average season, the Kings didn't go out to find a better goalie. The opening of the 1983/84 season saw the Kings sit Laskoski for the first month of the season before trying him back out as their starting goalie. It did not go well at all. Gary would hold onto the starting job from November until the end of December. His record of 4-7-1 to go along with a 4.96 GAA and a .829 save percentage didn't warrant him any more starts and the Kings decided to go with Mike Blake as their starter with Marco Baron and Markus Mattsson backing him up. As for Laskoski, well, he was sent down to the Kings affiliate the New Haven Nighthawks where he would finish out his last season of pro hockey before retirement. 

Information about Laskoski is hard to find. I tried multiple searches for information from him and there wasn't much, so I apologize. I think as of right now he's a retired Geophysical Technologist. At least I think that's him, but I could be wrong. Fun fact, Laskoski was the only goalie in NHL history that played in the NHL the season immediately after playing college hockey and not playing any games in the minors beforehand until Devon Levi became the second in 2022. Pretty wild.

Thanks for reading.

Hockey Card Finds: Better than Gilles Brazeau

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'll count down from 50. Here goes:

44. 1982/83 O-Pee-Chee Normand Aubin RC #316

Normand Aubin "Norm" was born July 26, 1960, in Saint-Leonard, Quebec. Aubin was the #2 overall selection in the 1976 QMJHL Entry Draft by the Sorel Black Hawks just behind Gilles Brazeau who was drafted #1 overall by the Montreal Juniors. Eventually, Aubin would make Montreal pay for that decision. Norm had a successful first season in the QMJHL as a 16-year-old. He would play 50 games for Sorel and put up 51 points (25 goals, 26 assists). The next season /1977/78), Sorel became the Verdun Black Hawks and Norm Aubin would start his reign as a QMJHL legend. Aubin was on fire. In 71 games, he would post 62 goals to go along with 73 assists for 135 points! The crazy thing about Aubin's '77/78 season is that it wasn't even his best. His second-best year came in 1978/79. In the 70 games he played, he would score 80 goals and 69 assists for 149 points! This would prompt the Toronto Maple Leafs to select Aubin in the 3rd Round, 51st overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Norm Aubin would have a monster year in the 1979/80 season. Knowing that this would be his last year of junior hockey, Norm would be traded after 21 games with Verdun (where he posted 41 goals and 29 assist for 70 points!) to the Sherbrooke Castors for center Andre Cote and right-wing Jean-Marc Gaulin. Aubin. However, the trade didn't slow down his scoring pace that season it only fueled it. He finished that season scoring 91 goals, 89 assists for 180 points! Also, during that season in a game against the Montreal Juniors, Aubin would make them pay for passing on him in the 1976 QMJHL Draft by potting 8 goals and 3 assists in a single game! Take that Gilles Brazeau! The Sherbrooke Castors with Aubin leading the way finished first overall in the regular season winning the Jean Rougeau Trophy as the beast team in the regular season. However, they could not defeat the Cornwall Royals who would beat them 4 games to 2 in the finals. 

Once his junior career came to a finish, Aubin was ready for the next step in his professional hockey career. The 1980/81 season, Norm would find himself in the AHL playing for the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs affiliate in the New Brunswick Hawks. In 79 games played, he was able to lead the team in scoring with 89 points (43 goals, 46 assists). The next season, the Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard decided they needed their own developmental hockey team and created the Cincinnati Tigers of the CHL. Aubin would split his time with the Tigers and Maple Leafs that season. In his 43 NHL games played in 1981/82 he would post 14 goals, 12 assists for 26 points. These numbers didn't quite wow the Maple Leafs brass, so Aubin would start the 1982/83 in the Maple Leafs AHL team the St. Catharines Saints team. Aubin would then again be called up to the big club and this time he would not impress. The Leafs only played Aubin in 26 games, and he posted 4 goals and 1 assist. 1983/84 would be his last season with the Leafs organization. With the St. Catharines Saints of the AHL, Aubin would play in 80 games and post 94 points (47 goals, 47 assists), which was good for 3rd on the team behind Mike Kaszycki and Bruce Boudreau - yeah, that Bruce Boudreau. A change of scenery came for Norm Aubin during the 1984/85 season as he signed with the Edmonton Oilers, only to be sent down to the minors to play the season for the Nova Scotia Oilers. In Nova Scotia he was a point per game player (48 games, 49 points). However, the Oilers were a hot team that season and they eventually won their first Stanley Cup, without the services of Norm Aubin. After retiring from the game of hockey for years, Aubin would come out of retirement in 1999/00 to play in 3 games with the Sorel Royaux going scoreless. When Norms playing days were over, he worked as a negotiation's specialist working in the field of powdered steel and metal. The metal his company made was to build GM and Chrysler motors. Also, Norm's son, Mathieu Aubin, was a 5th Round Draft Pick from the 2005 NHL Draft. He played 11 seasons of minor hockey in the AHL and ECHL. I guess you can say, after it is all said and done, Normand Aubin is definitely better at hockey than Gilles Brazeau. 

Hockey Card Finds: Accountants can make good hockey players too, you know?

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'll count down from 50. Here goes:

45. 1991/92 7th Inning Sketch WHL Ashley Buckberger RC #193

Ashley Buckberger was born on February 19, 1975, in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan. At age 15, Buckberger would start his junior hockey career with the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL. Playing in 10 games that season, he would score 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists). The next season (1991/92), Buckberger would play 67 games scoring 45 points (23 goals, 22 assists). This would earn him the Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy as the top scholastic player in the WHL and also the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy which is awarded to the most proficient player in his first full year of competition. The year that followed saw his point total creep up yet again. This time, he would post 67 points (23 goals, 44 assists). The Quebec Nordiques took notice and would select Buckberger in the 2nd Round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft at 49th overall. The 1993/94 season would be Buckberger's best. In 67 games, he would post his only 40+ goal season in his WHL career with 42 and amass 87 points total. After attending training camp in Quebec and not making the team, he was sent back to junior hockey to play another season for Swift Current in 1994/95. However, before the trade deadline expired, he was sent to the Kamloops Blazers along with defenseman Keith McCambridge for center Cam Severson, defenseman Jeff Henkleman and a player on Kamloops protected list and a 4th Round Pick in the WHL Bantam Draft. Buckberger would play his final 21 games in the WHL with Kamloops and post 22 points. Kamloops made a long run in the playoffs but would be beaten in the WHL Championship 4 games to 2 by the Brandon Wheat Kings. 

Once his junior hockey career ended, Buckberger found himself in the AHL playing for the Carolina Monarchs in 1995/96, which was the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers. After playing for the Monarchs for 2 seasons (95/96 and 96/97) only scoring a total of 35 points in 136 games. Buckberger then played for the New Haven Beast of the AHL in 1997/98 which was an affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers. His point total also stayed pretty much the same as his 2 previous seasons in pro hockey with only 17 points in 66 games. The 1998/99 season is where Buckberger would play on 3 teams. He played internationally with the Canadian National Team for 35 games (6 goals, 5 assists) and then the Gand Rapids Griffins in the IHL for 11 games (1 goal, 2 assists) before ending the season with the Las Vegas Thunder (24 games, 8 points). In 1999/00, Buckberger took his talents to Tacoma and signed in the West Coast Hockey League for the Tacoma Sabercats who had just come off a championship win in the previous season. Buckberger would find his scoring touch again by posting his best season as a pro with 20 goals and 40 assists in 70 games. The next season, he played with the Sabercats again, but his scoring was down (31 points in 60 games). This would be Ashley Buckberger's last year in professional hockey. He would go back to school and attent the University of Saskatchewan and receive a Master of Professional Accounting. Buckberger now is co-owner of his own CPA firm called Buckberger, Baerg & Partners LLC. The former pro hockey player who would crunch players against the boards is now crunching numbers.