Hockey Card Finds: The $1 Million Dollar Man

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:

50. 1974/75 OPC WHA Dennis Sobchuk Rookie Card #56

The more and more I research Mr. Sobchuk, the more I find out that he was actually a pretty big deal. He was born on January 12, 1954 in Lang, Saskatchewan. During his junior career, he was a superstar. Playing mostly for the Regina Pats (he had a short stint with the Estevan Bruins), he amassed 191 goals and 225 assists in 200 games. Not bad eh? His Regina team was loaded with not only Sobchuk, but also Clark Gillies and former 1st overall selection by the Washington Capitals, Greg Joly. This Pats team ended up being a powerhouse and captured the 1974 Memorial Cup. Sobchuk was even named MVP of the tournament.

Before his junior career ended in 1973, he ended up being the first player to sign a professional contract. Sobchuk signed a 10 year - $1 million dollar contract to play for the World Hockey Association's Cincinnati Stingers. He played out his final year in junior for the Pats, but was then loaned to the Phoenix Roadrunners (as you can see by the photo of the card I have provided above). Dennis would also end up being drafted in the 5th Round of the NHL Draft (89th overall) by the Philadelphia Flyers. However, Sobchuk played in the WHA for 6 seasons (with the Roadrunners, Stingers and Edmonton Oilers) before eventually taking his talents to the NHL. His final numbers in the WHA were impressive (348 games, 145 goals and 186 assists for 331 points). He even played in the 1977 WHA All-Star game.

Shoulder issues and 3 surgeries to correct these issues derailed what could have been a more impressive career at the NHL level. Sobchuk only lasted 35 games in the NHL. Thirty-three of those with the Detroit Red Wings and the other 2 being with the Quebec Nordiques. His career ended in 1982 with the Fredericton Express of the American Hockey League.

From what I've gathered, he did dip his toe into coaching with his former junior team, the Regina Pats. This lasted only for 3 seasons (1986-1989) with 2 of those seasons as an Assistant Coach and his last year as the Head Coach (before being replaced mid-season). 

It seems this Dennis Sobchuk guy was a pretty big deal. It was fun to actually learn about a guy who was making a decent amount of money after his junior hockey career ended in the 1970's. I almost wish that the upper left corner of the card didn't have a minor ding...oh well.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I will try to get to the next card in this pile in the next few weeks.