April got away from me so combining two months of mail in one here. This mail was highlighted by a team signed 1933/34 Providence Reds sheet and a Igor Vyazmikin autograph I'd been searching years for.
26 new NHL player autographs added this month brings the grand total to 6,899 unique NHL player autographs for 89% of everyone to every play in the league.
Igor Vyazmikin scored 1 goal in 4 career NHL games with the 1990-91 Edmonton Oilers. He represented the Soviet Union at the World Juniors in 1984 and 1986. Because Vyazmikin only spent two seasons in North America, was never a highly touted prospect, never got any cards produced and died relatively young in Russia, is autograph was tough to find. A big thanks to **** for helping me land this one and complete the whole 1990s year of debuts.
Billy Coutu (d. 1977)
Billy Coutu played for the Montreal Canadiens during the very first season of the NHL, 1917/18. From then until 1927 Coutu played 240 games in the NHL between the Canadiens, Hamilton Tigers and Bruins. He won a Stanley Cup with Montreal and spent a season as captain of the Canadiens. In 1927, Coutu was banned for life from the NHL after attacking a referee.
Art Lesieur (d. 1967)
From 1928 to 1936 Art Lesieur played 100 regular season games in the NHL. He won the Stanley Cup in 1931 with the Canadiens.
Gizzy Hart (d. 1964)
Gizzy Hart played a 100 games in the NHL, dressing for the Detroit Cougars and Montreal Canadiens. He won the Stanley Cup in 1925 as a member of the WCHL's Victoria Cougars.
Gus Rivers (d. 1985)
From 1929 to 1932 Gus Rivers played 88 games in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens, scoring 4 goals and 9 points. He helped Montreal with the Stanley Cup in 1930 and 1931.
Leo Murray (d. 1965)
Leo Murray played 3 games in the NHL with the 1932/33 Montreal Canadiens.
Leo Gaudreault (d. 1950)
Leo Gaudreault played 71 games in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens. He spent two seasons with the Habs from 1927-29 then had a second stint with the club in 1932/33.
Art Alexandre (d. 1976)
From 1931 to 1933 Art Alexandre played 11 games in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens.
Bob Taylor (d. 1993)
Bobby Taylor played 8 games in the NHL with the 1929/30 Boston Bruins.
Jack McVicar (d. 1952)
Defenceman Jack McVicar spent two seasons in the NHL with the Montreal Maroons. From 1930 to 1932 he played 88 regular season games with the Maroons.
Bob Trapp (d. 1979)
From 1926 to 1928 defenceman Bob Trapp played 82 NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks. He also played 1 game for the 1932-33 Montreal Canadiens.
Hago Harrington (d. 1959)
Hago Harrington played in the NHL with the Boston Bruins during the 1920s and the Montreal Canadiens in the 30s. He played 72 NHL games between the two clubs. He's a member of the US Hockey Hall of Fame.
Dick Irvin Sr. (d. 1957)
A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Dick Irvin was captain of the Chicago Blackhawks from 1926 to 1929, the first captain in franchise history. He later turned to coaching and won the Stanley Cup four times in his legendary bench boss career. Irvin spent time as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks.
George Gee (d. 1974)
From 1945 to 1954 George Gee played over 500 games in the NHL between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings. He scored 135 goals and 318 points in the NHL. He won the Stanley Cup in 1950 with the Red Wings.
Al Rollins (d. 1996)
In 1951, as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Al Rollins won the Vezina Trophy and the Stanley Cup. In 1954, with the Chicago Blackhawks, Rollins won the Hart Trophy as league MVP. He backstopped over 400 games in the NHL.
Tiny Thompson (d .1981)
Tiny Thompson is a Hockey Hall of Famer who won the Vezina Trophy four times and the Stanley Cup once.
Norm Collings (d. 1975)
Normam Collings recorded 1 assist in his only NHL game with the 1934/35 Montreal Canadiens.
Not to be confused with the Jim Watson who played for the Flyers, this Jim Watson played over 200 games in the NHL between the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres. A defenseman, he later played over 200 games in the WHA between the Los Angeles Sharks, Chicago Cougars and Quebec Nordiques.
Doug Baldwin (d. 2007)
From 1945 to 1948 Doug Baldwin played 24 games in the NHL between the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.
Dave Chartier
Dave Chartier played 1 game in the NHL with the 1980/81 Winnipeg Jets.
From 1982 to 1984 Frank Nigro scored 26 points in 68 NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He later played a few years in Italy and represented the country at the 1992 Olympics.
Markku Kyllonen
Finn Markku Kylonen played 9 games in the NHL with the 1988/89 Winnipeg Jets. He also represented Finland at the 1987 Canada Cup.
Michel Larocque played over 300 games in the NHL and is best remembered as Ken Dryden's backup in Montreal. There, Larocque shared 4 Vezina Trophy wins and 4 Stanley Cup championships.
Jean-Paul Denis (d. 1989)
Jean-Paul Denis played 10 games in the NHL with the New York Rangers during the late 1940s.
Jim Leavins
Defenseman Jim Leavins scored 14 points in 41 career NHL games between the 1985/86 Detroit Red Wings and 1986/87 New York Rangers.
David Pastrnak
David Pastrnak is a natural goal scorer who won the Rocket Richard Trophy in 2019/20. He's not a big signer so his autographs are hard to come by compared to his peers. I had to pay up to land this one as it was one of the last autographs I need for the 2014/15 year of debuts.
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Finishing with some NHL autographs of guys who reached but didn't play in the NHL.
Miroslav Svoboda
Miroslav Svoboda dressed in the NHL as a backup goalie with the 2018/19 Nashville Predators.
Mike Barnett
Mike Barnett became well known in the hockey world as the agent of many NHL superstars such as Wayne Gretzky. He later became General Manager of the Phoenix Coyotes from 2001 to 2007. This was certainly a surprise return as it took nearly 6 years to get back.
Ron Wicks (d. 2016)
Ron Wicks worked as an NHL official from 1960 to 1986. He officiated over 1,400 games and many Stanley Cup finals.
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