Carl Hagelin

In 2007, after a stellar college career as the first ever Swedish-born Wolverine at the University of Michigan, Hagelin was drafted by the New York Rangers.  The Rangers knew he was talented and hoped he could bring his scoring capabilities and defensive minded play to MSG, which he did, for the better part of four seasons. That was capped off by my favorite memory of him as a Ranger (favorite, read "stuff of nightmares"), scoring the series clinching goal against the Penguins in the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals. 

But I digress, at the end of the season, Hagelin was traded to the Ducks but just couldn't gel on the team or recreate the magic touch he had in New York. In January 2016, he was then traded to the Penguins in exchange for David Perron (and Adam Clendening who I always forget was on the Penguins roster). Perron wasn't a bad player. The Penguins just wanted to get faster and Hagelin's once AS Skills record 13.218 speed fit that bill nicely. 

His magic returned. He went on to finish the season scoring 27 points in 37 games. Known for his speed, Hagelin played as 1/3 of the famed "HBK Line" which consisted of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino, and Phil Kessel. That line basically negated home ice advantage for "last change" and essentially led the team to win five of eight games on the road in the playoffs, on their way to winning the 2016 Stanley Cup. Even crazier? That was the Penguins third line! Oh, and in 2017, they won the Cup again.

This card comes from the 2017-18 Trilogy Signature Pucks set. The card is hand numbered #3/18 and is signed on-card, well actually, on-puck with a blue marker. It's s different shade of blue than the numbering though so clearly not the same pen.