Top 10 Hockey

 The third entry of my top ten autographs in each sports takes us to hockey, which for a long time has been my favorite sport. Over the last handful of years I'd probably argue that soccer has actually usurped hockey but it's close. My hockey collection was actually much easier to rank in my opinion even though I have quite an extensive list of autographs in the sport. Let's get started,

10. Anze Kopitar card

The Kings are my favorite team of all time. Anze Kopitar is my favorite player of all time. Him making the list was a foregone conclusion. I am listing his Upper Deck card here, but the truth is I actually have two signed Kopitar cards, a signed game model puck, as well as an 8x10. I'll include photos of all of these things for fun. I should probably just list this as the "Kopitar Collection". The Upper Deck card has game worn jersey cuts and is numbered out of 25.

9. Nathan MacKinnon puck

One of the biggest stars in hockey over the past decade, Nathan MacKinnon plays for the Colorado Avalanche and has won the Stanley Cup and league MVP. My dad at one point had season tickets to the Avalanche when he lived in Denver and one of the things they gave him for getting season tickets was a signed puck. I told him to pick the MacKinnon puck, which he did. He then passed it along to me.

8. The Sedin Twins cards

This one has a bit of a backstory. If you read this blog, you know one of the things I do is obtain through the mail autographs. I sent a couple of Cards to Vancouver in hopes of getting Henrik and Daniel Sedin to sign cards numbered /99. In my letter of request I told them that as a Kings fan I hated playing against them since they were so deadly offensively. I also told them that one of my favorite plays all time was when Dustin Brown laid out Henrik in the playoffs. I was honest with them and they both signed the cards I sent them.

7. Niklas Lidstrom puck

Pretty straightforward story behind this one. I ordered a Red Wings game model puck from a signing the Hall of Fame defenseman did a few years back. He is one of the all-time greats, so he makes this list. 

6. Martin Brodeur rookie card

My success with the through the mail strategy has really helped me supplement my collection by adding huge stars in every sport. One of the cooler TTM success stories was sending this Martin Brodeur rookie card to the Prudential Center in New Jersey when Brodeur was working for the Devils. I was stoked to come home and find this in my mailbox. I also have a Brodeur signed puck in my collection. 

5. Jaromir Jagr rookie card

You'll notice that this card is the exact same set as the Brodeur card above it, 1990 Score. This was sent into a public signing that I paid for and I weas happy with the result. Like a few others, I not only have a card signed by Jagr but I have a game model puck as well. 

4. Mark Messier rookie card

My most recent addition in this top10, I participated in a private signing with Oilers and Rangers Hall of Famer and one of the ten best players of all time, Mark Messier, late in 2024. I sent a rookie card into the signing and again, am happy with the result. Messier's status in the pantheon of hockey greats gets him into the top 4 in my hockey collection. 

3. Bobby Orr card

We have now moved to the Mount Rushmore of hockey greats portion of my list. These three players had to be on here as the top three in some order. Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr signs through the mail. It's a bit more complicated than the standard way to send auto requests through the mail since you have to preorder via his website before sending, but I had to do it to get this guy into my collection. I sent a numbered Upper Deck card /249 and he signed it and returned it. 

2. Mario Lemieux photo

This is the only instance on this list where I met the athlete himself when he signed my stuff. I acquired this photo at a celebrity golf tournament held locally here in San Diego about 20 years ago. Mario also signed a card for me that day but I actually ended up trading that for a signed baseball of Stephen Strasburg. I regret that deal still. I was part of a small crowd of people (15 or less) that hung around Mario as he signed things for everyone. It was surreal seeing one of the all time greats playing golf in a casual setting. He smacked this photo which I later framed. It's still one of the pieces I have on my wall at home. 

1. Wayne Gretzky card

Of course I am going to end my list with the "Great One", Wayne Gretzky. I thought I already had a Gretzky auto in my collection from when I was ten years old and had sent him a through the mail request when I was a kid, but it turned out to be an auto pen signature. I'd been hunting for a Gretzky signed card for years before honing in on this numbered Upper Deck card /25. My only regret is that I couldn't get one with him wearing a Kings sweater on the photo but the Kings ones were all much more expensive than the Oilers cards.