The Guelph Collection

I grew up in Guelph, a small suburban city in Ontario. The closest pro sports teams were all an hour away in Toronto. But we did have our own team in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the three major-junior leagues in Canada for hockey prospects between the ages of 16-20. When my family first moved to Guelph, we had the Platers, though they moved to Owen Sound in 1989. But they were replaced two years later by the Guelph Storm, who moved from Hamilton in 1991.

I loved going to Storm games. Tickets were always cheap, usually around $10 or $15, and it was an easy, 10-minute bus ride from neighborhood to the arena. And you got a chance to see some of the best prospects in hockey (then get their autographs afterwards, while they walked from the dressing room to the team bus). 

So, naturally, I geek out for Guelph Storm cards. 

Here's one of the Storm's better-known alumni. Bertuzzi was one of the best power forwards in the NHL for a number of years, playing his best years with the Vancouver Canucks. Unfortunately, he will forever be remembered for attacking Steve Moore from behind during a game in 2004, essentially ending Moore's career. Bertuzzi's nephew, Tyler, plays for the Storm now and was drafted in 2013 by Detroit. This card is from 7th Inning Sketch's release in 1991-92, the Storm's first year. 

Check out that mohawk! Also, at age 16, Bert was 6-3 and weighed 223 pounds. Jeebus. 

Another guy who played for the Storm while I was in Guelph, O'Neill was drafted 5th overall by the Hartford Whalers in 1994. He turned into a decent player, including three straight 30-goal seasons after the Whalers moved to Raleigh, N.C. He played his final couple of years with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Let's just get this out there: This card, which is from the 1993 Classic Draft set, is pure awesome. Other players wish they could have lightning electrify their stick. 

I believe this is a gold parallel of Guelph's team card from the 1995 Classic set. By that point, Bertuzzi had become the Storm's leading scorer and a first-round draft pick of the New York Islanders in 1993. Norman was a fifth-round pick of the Canucks in 1995, but never made the NHL. 

The two guys on the back were both second-round picks and both made the show -- barely. Wesenberg was taken by the Anaheim Might Ducks in 1995 and played a single game in the NHL (with the Philadelphia Flyers) in 1998-99, in which he apparently earned a five-minute major penalty. Hajt was picked the next year by the Edmonton Oilers the next year and ended up playing six games in the league, one with the Oilers and five more with the Washington Capitals, with one minor penalty to his name. Fun fact: Wesenberg played parts of two seasons with the previous incarnation of the Orlando Solar Bears in the now-defunct International Hockey League.

The most successful Storm alum. Doughty was picked second overall in the 2008 draft (just after Steven Stamkos) by the Los Angeles Kings and is now one of the top defensemen in the NHL. This is his base card from ITG's 2006 Heroes and Prospects set, which *I think* makes it his very first card. 

Another first round pick, though not nearly as successful. This is from ITG's Between the Pipes set in 2008, the same year he was picked 30th overall by the Detroit Red Wings. He has spent the last few seasons with the Red Wings' AHL affiliate, although he was recently called up as an injury replacement and just earned his first NHL win. It was the first time he'd played in the NHL since 2011 -- a whopping 1,390 days between appearances.

This is card, one of the "Masked Men" inserts from 2010 Between the Pipes, is the only one my Storm collection that cost more than about 20 cents. I think I paid a little more than a buck for it on COMC. I didn't know anything about St. Jacques, but I loved the picture of the Storm mask. Looks like, he was never drafted and ended up attending and playing hockey at the University of Guelph. 

More ITG, although this one, from 2013 Heroes and Prospects, features a sweet throwback jersey. Sparks was a seventh-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2011. And in one of those it's-a-small-world things, he's currently playing for the new version of the Orlando Solar Bears, who are Toronto's ECHL affiliate. 

  

Lastly, my most recent Storm addition came courtesy of a generous envelope from Sportscards from the Dollar Store. It's from the 2014 Heroes and Prospects. Kosmachuk was picked in the third round in 2012 by Winnipeg and is now in his first years a pro with the Jets' AHL affiliate. 

And that's the Guelph collection. It's not very big yet, but I'm certainly hoping it'll grow...