This year, for the first time ever, the AHL All Stars will be competing against the best team from Sweden. Ex-NHLer Hakan Loob's team, Farjestad BK from Karlstad, Sweden will be traveling to North America to compete against the best the AHL has to offer. This team is one of the most successful European franchises ever, winning 9 Swedish league championships and making it to the finals 19 times.
The other reason I'm posting this is another excuse to show off some cards. Prospecting is definitely not one of my fortes but with the double rookie class this year and the inclusion of many draft picks that see time at the tail end of the NHL season, many of these guys have cards floating around out there. A lot of them have regular release cards with autos and memorabilia cards to boot, while some have only team releases and other examples from In The Game products. If you are really motivated, most of them can be had on the secondary market for mere pennies. If prospecting is your thing, this is a great group of players to target.
Here is the roster with player positions, teams they are on, the prospective NHL team they belong to, and a rough idea of how many instances of cardboard love they have out there.
Brett Connolly (F), Syracuse Crunch - Tampa Bay Lightning (389 Cards)
Brian Gibbons (F), Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins - Pittsburgh Penguins (0 Cards)
Mike Hoffman (F), Binghamton Senators - Ottawa Senators (15 Cards)
Jason Jaffray (F) [named team captain], St. John's IceCaps - Winnipeg Jets (15 Cards)
Travis Morin (F), Texas Stars - Dallas Stars (7 Cards)
Brandon Pirri (F), Rockford IceHogs - Chicago Blackhawks (113 Cards)
Colton Sceviour (F), Texas Stars - Dallas Stars (83 Cards)
Ryan Spooner (F), Providence Bruins - Boston Bruins (174 Cards)
Colton Sissons (F), Milwaukee Admirals - Nashville Predators (33 Cards)
Ben Street (F), Abbotsford Heat - Calgary Flames (33 Cards)
Ryan Strome (F), Bridgeport Sound Tigers - NY Islanders (58 Cards)
Linden Vey (F), Manchester Monarchs - LA Kings (17 Cards)
Chad Billins (D), Abbotsford Heat - Calgary Flames (0 Cards)
TJ Brennan (D), Toronto Marlies - Toronto Maple Leafs (42 Cards)
Cody Goloubef (D), Springfield Falcons - Columbus Blue Jackets (151 Cards)
Alexey Marchenko (D), Grand Rapids Griffins - Detroit Red Wings (0 Cards)
Brayden McNabb (D), Rochester Americans - Buffalo Sabres (80 Cards)
Frederic St. Denis (D), Springfield Falcons - Columbus Blue Jackets (50 Cards)
Jake Allen (G), Chicago Wolves - St. Louis Blues (380 Cards)
Martin Jones (G), Manchester Monarchs - LA Kings (46 Cards)
If Pirri would just learn a wee bit of defense, he could develop into a good 3rd line player.
ReplyDeleteI think he's only logged like a dozen games or so in the last three years. The Hawks haven't been giving him a lot of opportunities but I imagine that will change, especially after this season.
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