Max Talbot

Shhhhhh!!

There are so many characters in the storied history of the Pittsburgh Penguins and no list would be complete with Max Talbot. Max was drafted (almost not drafted) 234th overall by the Penguins in the 2002 Entry Draft and went on to be named playoff MVP in back to back President's Cup championships in the Q. When he finally started his journey with the Penguins in 2004-05 in Wilkes-Barre, it was tough sledding at first because the scoring wasn't as easy in the AHL as it was in the Q. So he had to shine in other areas to get the look from the big club. 

That he did, and in 2005-06, he made a roster spot out of training camp. But after 48 games, he went back down to the AHL, spending the rest of the season on Wilkes-Barre as well as the first five games to begin the following season. Getting called up in October 2006, Max took to his roll as a penalty killer and won himself a permanent spot on the team from that point on. He would go on to play the rest of the 2006-07 season and four more full seasons thereafter with the Penguins.

Max has a huge personality, some would say larger-than-life, that earned him the nickname Superstar while playing for Pittsburgh. He was known for pranks, jokes, and generally just speaking his mind when it came to interviews. Did I mention he scored the goal that clinched the 2009 Stanley Cup? Maybe I should have lead with that.

This card is from the 2011-12 Artifacts Autofacts set. The card is signed with blue pen on a sticker, unfortunately. Artifacts is known more for it's jersey swatch cards than the autos so it gets the sticker treatment.

 

 

Michel Ouellet

Michel Ouellet is certainly not a household name when it comes to a Penguins roster but nonetheless, he did play two solid seasons on the big club (and another four in the organizations minor system).  

Ouellet was drafted 124th overall by the Penguins in the 2000 Entry Draft. While it appeared he may never get his shot at the NHL, after being named to the All Rookie Team in the AHL in 2004, the call came.  Making his debut in November 2005, he went on to play 50 games, scoring 32 points. He followed that up the next season with 48 points.  So how can a 30-40 point guy be largely unnoticed? He signed with Tampa the following season, ending his stint with the Penguins.

He never could really latch onto a team after that, having been injured in the first half of the 07-08 season and then being a salary cap casualty dealt to Vancouver. The Canucks couldn't utilize his services and after being sent down to the minors, he eventually went overseas to play in the Swiss league. He did get one more kick at the NHL can in 2011 but failed to make a roster spot in Tampa, was traded to Boston, failed make the roster there, and eventually ended his playing career in the LNAH in Quebec.

This card is from 2006-07 SP Authentic set and is the Future Watch Auto. The card is signed in blue ink and is on-card, as most FWA cards are. 

Phil Bourque

Phil Bourque is a Pittsburgh Penguin legend. If you don't remember his playing career, you may remember his personality around the city of Pittsburgh. If you don't remember that, you may recognize his voice from the radio broadcasts. If you don't remember that, I got nothing for you.

Phil never wanted to be anything other than a hockey player. However, he was never drafted and got to the Penguins by signing as a free agent in 1982 as a "walk-on" of sorts in training camp. Coming out of the OHL, he was given a three year contract by Baz Bastian and was sent to the AHL's Baltimore Skipjacks, the Penguins farm team at the time. While he eventually got his shot at a few NHL games the following season, he didn't stick and was sent back down to Baltimore the rest of that season...and the next...and most of the next...you see where this is going.  It wasn't until the 1988-89 season that he finally got his shot on the big roster and made it count.

Phil went on to help the Penguins win back to back Cups in 1990-91 and 1991-92 and after retirement, took to the airways as color commentator on Penguins radio broadcasts in 2003 (which he still does to this day). He has three more rings to show for it, too. The Ol' Two-Niner embodies what it means to be a Penguin and his loyalty to the team and city are unmatched.

This is signed on a 1989-90 O-Pee-Chee base card.  I actually bought this card signed from someone at a show. I've looked at Bourque autos before and I was fairly confident in it's legitimacy (plus, who would forge a Phil Bourque auto? Cousin Ray maybe.) It's signed on-card in what appears to be ball-point pen. 

And thats......

Good Hockey Talk.

Brooks Orpik

Brooks Orpik was a first round pick by the Pens in the 2000 Entry Draft. There's no way he should have dropped to the Pens at 18th but everyone knows the Draft isn't an exact science. Now look, by no means are his stats going to set the world on fire because you would expect a player with the longevity of Orpiks' to maybe have some offensive numbers. Maybe he was a set up guy? Nope. Fast skater? Uh, no. None of that was his game. Orpik went out there night in and night out, played hard, blocked shots, and layed opponents out. I mean, Free Candy wasn't his nickname for nothing. (It was actually an old Penguins blog joke about his team photo on a creepy panel van but morphed into that...)

Orpik was one of my favorite players on the 2000's Penguins squads. I have always been a sucker for "stay at home" style defensemen because for one, they get no love in the hobby.  But two, they also get no love in real life either. But many times they can be a bigger impact in a game than the more offensive minded Dmen. Just looking at the base stats will show you that; over 1000s games in the NHL and a line of 18G/176A/194P.  Something must have kept him around. That was the fact that he was physical, played aggressively (sometimes too aggressively) but despite opponents best efforts to get over on him, there was far less scoring taking place while he was on the ice.

To me though, Brooks was that guy that kind of linked the absolute trash heap of an early 2000s Penguins team to the return to greatness starting in 2008. He was always there, he was always reliable, he was always the guy that would hit someone and get the crowd back in the game. He stuck around when things were really bad and was rewarded with a Stanley Cup in 2009 (he won another one later with Washington as well). 

But the game catches up to people and the Penguins just weren't willing to spend any more money to keep him around past 2014. I was kind of crushed when he signed with the Capitals though because it's like your best friend siding with your enemy in an argument. But I could get over that eventually.  I was even more crushed when he absolutely obliterated his old D partner Olli Maatta in the 2016 playoffs. That one...not so much.  But he was a great player, a great leader, and certainly a memorable character in the history of the Penguins. I'm not sure I would consider him an all-time Penguins defensemen but there is certainly an argument to be made there. 

This card is from the 2005-06 Upper Deck Be A Player set. It's not the flashiest auto card of Brooks but I believe it was the first one I ever owned. It's signed on a sticker, as you can see by the shininess.

John LeClair (Sort of...)

John LeClair is a legend in the NHL. He spent the better part of 16 seasons playing for the Canadiens, Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. After being drafted by the Canadiens in the 1987 Entry Draft, LeClair went on to finish his college career by going back to the University of Vermont. It wasn't until the 1990-91 season that he made his NHL debut. 

But perhaps LeClair is best known for his time as a Flyers, and cog in the Legion of Doom line along with Eric Lindros and Mikael Renberg. They had huge scoring prowess but were lauded for their physicality on the ice as well, hence the nickname. He is the first American-born NHL player to score three consecutive 50-goal seasons, followed by two more 40-goal seasons, making him one of the greatest Flyers of all time. He's also considered one of the most dominant power forwards of the 1990s. He's a five time NHL First Team All Star, a two time Second Team All Star, has 967 games, over 400 goals and over 800 points, but despite all that, he's not in the Hall of Fame and may never be.

So how does an all-time great Flyer become a Penguin? Well, after the CBA created the salary cap, the Flyers were forced to buyout LeClair's contract. A 36 year old eating up both roster space and salary was not what the Flyers were looking for in the new look, speedier NHL. However, in August 2005, it was exactly the addition a retooling/rebuilding Penguins team was looking to make. Although he clearly lost a step or two from his peak playing days, he went on to put up his ninth 50+ point season and finished 4th in team scoring. But the following season would be what I remember him for. In the first preseason game, playing on the line with Evgeni Malkin, he took a pass, attempted to score and crashed into the boards behind the net. This effectively took out Malkin in the process (accidentally). Malkin was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated but that essentially derailed Geno's debut in black and gold (he had finally defected from Russia after being drafted before the lockout). LeClair was eventually put on waivers and then cut.

The title of this post alludes to the phrase "Sort of..." That's because this isn't technically a real autograph. This is a 2005-06 Parkhurst Facsimile autograph. These were a parallel of the base set and were included as short printed inserts randomly in packs. They are serial numbered #/100. I do have another LeClair auto but this is the only one I have featuring him as a Penguin.

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.

Rob Brown

This one might be a little longer than normal because for a time in the late 80s-early 90s, Rob Brown was one of my favorite players for the Penguins. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that Rob was one of the "Double Trouble" team (known because of their double digit numbers: 66, 77, 44, 33) and could be counted on to produce buckets of points. But what could have been a long career in Pittsburgh turned out to only last a little more than three seasons. 

Rob was probably THE most dangerous scorer in the WHL, averaging over two points per game in his career.  While playing for Kamloops (along with HOFer Mark Recchi), he set the WHL record (which still stands) for points with 212 in 1986-87 (he only had a mere 173 the year before). His play-making ability caught the eye of the Pittsburgh Penguins and he was drafted 67th overall in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft.

Brown was the embodiment of the offensive power house that then Penguins GM Eddie Johnston liked to go after and develop.  Rob had great hands and play-making skills and was rewarded by often playing on the same line as Mario. However, Brown was criticized for being slow, lacking skating ability, being lazy or indifferent to backchecking, and essentially only effective as a net front presence or "garbage goal" producer.  Producer is certainly a true statement though, and in 1988-89, he put up 49G/66A/115P (for what it's worth, 30 of those goals were assisted by Mario). In 1989-90, playing less on the PP1 and less with Mario, he still showed he could produce and was a PPG player with 33G/47A/80P in 80 games.

But all good things come to an end and after a few management changes, the team focused more on building a balanced team around Mario Lemieux that could not only score, but had other intangibles as well; namely speed and defensive ability. Rob's former role was now filled by his former Kamloops teammate, Mark Recchi. So with the likes of young talent like Jaromir Jagr, Kevin Stevens and Recchi, Brown was the odd man out. With Craig Patrick now in charge of the team, Brown was traded to Hartford in December 1990 for Scott Young (who lasted only long enough to help the team win the Cup in 1991).

Rob spent the better part of the next seven seasons splitting time between the NHL and IHL, not sticking well with the big clubs, but utterly dominating in the IHL. He played a season and a half in Hartford, moving on to Chicago for 15 games, one game in Dallas, and two games for Gretzky's Kings in 1994-95. But in the IHL, he put up 33 points in 1992-93, 155 points in 1993-94, 107 points in 1994-95 and averaged almost 97 points per season in a split stint with the Chicago Wolves (who later moved to the AHL in 2001-02).

Rob did return to Pittsburgh in 1997, 1998 and 1999 and would contribute 40, 24, and 23 points respectively, solid for a depth player, but no where near his early career production and nothing like his scoring capabilities in the minor leagues. He ended his career on the Wolves in the AHL in 2003 and has worked for the Edmonton Oilers organization for many years, currently as a commentator on their radio broadcasts. 

This card comes from the 1997-98 Pinnacle Be A Player set and is autographed on-card.

 

Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson was drafted by the Penguins 67th overall in the 2004 Entry Draft. Another in a fairly lukewarm attempt at squeezing some Ivy League talent onto the roster, Johnson eventually signed a two-way contract with the Penguins in 2008 after graduating from Dartmouth.  When he made his debut in January of the 2009-10 season, he scored his first career NHL goal. That wasn't enough to keep him on the squad however, and he was sent back down to Wilkes-Barre after only six games.

Having only played four more games for the Penguins the following season, for a total of 10, Johnson was claimed off waivers by the Wild and became a fourth line starter for their club. He's a big bodied guy that could certainly snap the puck around but his point contribution was nothing like it had been in the AHL. His time in Minnesota was short lived as he was released from his contract at season end. He went on to play a few games for the Coyotes and Bruins before heading over to Europe to finish out his career. 

This is a 2010-11 Upper Deck Victory RC of Nick Johnson and the autograph was obtained in person at a signing event during his time in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Noah Welch

Noah Welch was drafted in the 2001 Entry Draft with the 54th selection in the 2nd Round by the Penguins. It was the first time the Penguins had ever drafted a player from Harvard University (he was the team captain). 

Welch is a guy that doesn't get a lot of airplay in the minds of Penguins fans, at least positively. Why? Well first of all, his debut in the league was kind of overshadowed by another young prospect that also debuted in the 2005-06 season (I won't name names but it rhymes with Crosby) and all other rookies that year were kind of ignored. In his first game on the big club (he had been playing on the Pens AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre and was an All-Star his first year), he did pick up his first NHL point which wasn't too shabby. But, probably the biggest rub to Welsh's "want to forget" start to his NHL career was in the second game vs. Montreal. As Alex Kovalev came around to score, Welch put out his stick in the goalmouth and put one past Marc-Andre Fleury, instead of taking the puck and clearing it along the boards.  He somewhat made up for it later in the game with his first NHL goal but making ESPN's "NOT TOP 10" in only your second game doesn't do many wonders for your career.  

Welch was traded in February of the 2006-07 season to the Panthers (in exchange for Gary Roberts, who last I checked, never scored in his own goal). He went on to play for the Lightning and then two whole games for the Atlanta Thrashers. He officially retired in 2018 after having played the better part of seven seasons in Europe.

This card comes from the 2006-07 In The Game Heroes & Prospects set and features Noah as a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin. The card is, unfortunately, a sticker auto.

Jason Woolley

Jason Woolley was not long for the black and yellow. Coming over to the team along with Stu Barnes in a deal that sent Chris Wells to Florida, he played 57 games for the Pens during the 1996-97 campaign and put up 36 points.  Not too shabby for a journeyman type player. 

Then in September 1997, he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a 5th round pick in the 1998 Entry Draft. The Penguins went on to select long time NHL defenseman, Rob Scuderi, with that pick. 

Probably best known for his game winner in OT of Game 1 in the 1998-99 Stanley Cup Finals, Wooley became immortalized in Sabres lore by Rick Jeanneret, calling the play the "shot heard round the hockey world".

The card comes from the 1997-98 Pinnacle Be A Player set and is signed on-card. I can't help but think of the song Wooly Bully by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs everytime I see this card. 

Bobby Dollas

 

 

Bobby Dollas, the 6" 2" 220lb defenseman the Penguins was drafted 14th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in 1983. Having amassed 646 regular season games in the NHL over 16 seasons, there wasn't a lot of consistency to his time in the the big league until he landed in Anaheim in 1993. He spent the better part of five seasons with the Duck.

In the 1998-99 season, he became a Pittsburgh Penguin after a trade with the Edmonton Oilers.  The Pens dealt the rights to Josef Beranek and received Dollas and Tony Hrkac in return. It was there he got to play in the most regular season games of his career, 70, and also 13 playoff tilts. He amassed almost as many PIMs as he did games, with 60 that year. 

In 2001, he was again traded to the Penguins, this time from San Jose in exchange for Jeff Norton. They also got Johan Hedberg in the trade which was easily the cog piece of the deal. After having only played five games that season with Pittsburgh, he retired from the NHL and if I'm not mistaken, currently does radio work for the Montreal Canadiens. 

This is the base autograph card from the 1998-99 Be A Player set.

 

Double Shot: Simon Despres & Joe Vitale

Despite the fact that I have had this one lying around for quite sometime, somehow it never made its way to a post.  Until now.  And how fitting considering neither player wears the Pittsburgh sweater any longer.  I'm talking, of course, about Simon Despres and Joe Vitale.

I've posted about Vitale before so I will focus this one on Mr. Despres since at one time, Simon was supposed to be the next big thing on D in Pittsburgh.

Despres was the Penguins first round draft pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.  He was a powerhouse in the AHL and was considered by many in the Pens organization to be a top-four defenseman.  But when he made his way to the NHL, the Pens didn't get the production they were expecting.  Instead, he was relegated to a third line pairing and sometimes even a fourth-liner.  His reserved nature made him one of the quietest in the Pens locker room but somehow he still managed to win over the crowd and was a fan favorite, including myself.

Then, like most of these tragic stories, his time in Pittsburgh came to an end when Mike Rutherford decided to deal him to the Ducks for former Pen Ben Lovejoy.  If the "win-now" attitude is what this organization has, then I get it.  Otherwise, I will never understand this trade.  Sure Lovejoy has tweaked his game and is a reliable D-man that plays his zone very well and isn't prone to mistakes.  But Despres is young and his game has to mature.  His errant passes, poor decision making, and dumb penalties will eventually go away in a year or two with experience.  Lovejoy is getting up there in age and will most likely not be back in the Pens jersey going forward.  I see way more long-term upside in Despres.  I hope he does well with Anaheim and I wish him the best.

This card comes from the 2011-12 Panini Titanium issue.  It is from the Rookie Dual Signature set and is serial numbered #/50.  These are both sticker autos signed in blue ink.  Vitale uses his jersey number on his signatures and his name is easily recognized.  Despres...not so much.

Niklas Nordgren

 Don't look now but we got ourselves another rental player.  By rental, I mean 15 games.  Niklas became a Penguin after spending time in the Carolina organization.  He was drafted in 1997 but didn't make his way to North America until the 2005-06 season.  He spent time in the Swedish Elite League prior to making the move.

The Penguins acquired his services in the big trade for Mark Recchi.  Big may not be the right word.  It was the second time Mark had played for the Pens and they were looking for some depth at the trade deadline.  They also picked up Krys Kolanos and 2007 2nd Round pick, which turned into Keven Veilleux (a long term WBS and Wheeling Nailer).   

In all honesty, I don't remember Nordgren in a Pens jersey.  In his 15 games, he put up a few penalty minutes but his contribution on the ice was minimal.  This card comes from the 2006-07 Parkhurst set and is signed on a sticker in blue ink.  

Jon Filewich

The Pens have had a long line of prospects with a ton of talent that ultimately led down the road to bust-ville.  Jon Filewich followed that path almost to a "T".  Coming into the league as a Penguins draft pick in 2003, he toiled in the minors for six seasons until the Pens gave him a shot with WBS in 2005-06.  Two seasons later, his NHL debut came in a game vs. the Capitals.

After only five games, he was sent back down to WBS and was eventually traded the following season to the St. Louis Blues.  He never got a shot with the Blues main club and was instead relegated to the Peoria Rivermen.  After failing to come to a contract agreement, he headed to Europe, joining the EC Red Bull Salzburg.  After only two seasons in Europe, he retired after the 2010-11 season. 

Jon actually spent much of his time in WBS and Europe working on his college degree from Brandon University.  He has a degree in Physical Education and eventually wants to become a teacher, or so he said in an interview back in 2013 while playing a charity game between WBS alumni and the police department. 

This card comes from the 2008-09 Champ's Hockey set.  It's part of the Mini Signatures and is hard signed in blue ink.

Ryan Whitney

Ryan played his first games for the "big" club in the 2005-06 season, skating in place of injured Dick Tarnstrom (yes, THE Dick Tarnstrom).  He impressed the Pens brass so much so that they kept him for the remainder of the season.  There was something there that the team knew was going to be special.  That following year, he showed them what it was by becoming one of the top offensive-defensemen in the league, scoring 14 goals and 45 helpers for a total of 59 points.  Of course it doesnt' hurt when your teammates are named Crosby, Staal, and Malkin.

If you have read any of my Pens Auto reviews, you have to know that most of these guys don't have happy endings and Ryan's story is no different.  After signing a juicy, multi-year contract complete with a no-trade clause cherry on top ($24 million), his offensive production began to slip.  Then, the injuries started.  Once it was discovered that he had a chronic foot problem that had been plaguing him his entire career, surgery was necessary to correct it.  His fate was sealed at that point and after only a few games back, he was traded to the Ducks for two guys that were expected to be an immediate impact and a future powerhouse, Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi (so they were 50% correct).

Whitney moved on to play for the Ducks, Oilers, and most recently the Florida Panthers.  That didn't last long, however, as Ryan signed with the HC Sochi team in KHL after failing land a renewed NHL contract after the 2013-14 season.  I believe he is still on the roster in Sochi.

This card comes from the 2005-06 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Ultimate Signatures set.  It features a horizontal orientation and a hard signed auto in blue ink.  Obviously the big pull from this set is the Sidney Crosby.