I started collecting hockey and baseball cards in the late '80s, but it wasn't really until about 1990 that I really started chasing cards. It was a combination of getting old enough to really start following the sports closely, having enough allowance to buy a decent amount of cards and getting swept up in the Ken Griffey Jr.- and Eric Lindros-fueled hysteria that had gripped the hobby by then. And my very first White Whale was the Canadian World Junior team subset in 1990-91 Upper Deck, the company's first-ever hockey set.
This subset was no doubt conceived entirely as a way for Upper Deck to get around the exclusive deal Lindros had at the time with Score. But it was a huge hit with collectors and the sneaky "Canada's Captains" card with Lindros on it became even more valuable than his official Score rookie cards. In fact, these cards were so expensive at the time (to an 11-year-old kid, at least) that I never was able to complete the set. Ah, but the tables have turned: Twenty years later, these cards can be had for pocket change, and I'm finally earning a bit more than $5 per week.
Chris Snell is admittedly a weird choice to lead off this post. He may have had the least memorable career of anyone from the 1991 team, a seventh-round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres who ultimately played only 34 games in the NHL. But here's the thing: My scanner hates cards with white borders and most of the images about to follow are horribly cropped. Chris here came out the best of the bunch, so he gets to bat lead-off. Sidenote: These are some of the most elegant cards ever designed, at least in my opinion. Upper Deck used a minimalistic design in which the one flashy feature -- the red stripe meant to look like painted ice that runs along the bottom and right side -- meshes perfectly with the Canadian uniforms.
We go from one of the team's least successful alums to its most successful. Though he's just an 18-year-old here, Scott Niedermayer would go on to become one of the best NHL defensemen of all time, winning four Stanley Cups (three with the New Jersey Devils, one with the Anaheim Ducks). He also won the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman once, finished as runner-up twice and in the top 10 in voting two other times. Plus he won a Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP, was named to the first All-Star Team three times and the second team once, and even finished in the top 10 for the Hart twice. And, as you can tell from the photo here, he and the rest of the Canadian team won the 1991 World Junior Championship. According to Wikipedia, Niedermayer is the only player in hockey history to win every major contemporary championship: The Memorial Cup in junior hockey, the World Junior Championship, the Stanley Cup, the World Championship and the Olympic gold medal (he won two of those, in 2002 and 2010). And to think the Toronto Maple Leafs could have had him -- if only they hadn't traded their first-round draft pick to the Devils for Tom Kurvers.
The captain of the '91 team was Steven Rice, who was then a member of the Ontario Hockey League's Kitchener Rangers and a 1990 first-round draft pick of the New York Rangers. He never became the elite power forward that scouts expected, though he did manage to play 329 games at the NHL, mostly as a bottom-six forward with the Rangers, Edmonton Oilers and Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes.
Everybody -- including me -- thought this guy was going to be a star. Trevor Kidd was picked 11th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 1990 draft and then started every game for Canada in the 1991 WJC. But while he would go on to play 12 seasons in the NHL (with the Flames, Carolina Panthers, Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs), he never did became an elite netminder. His best year was probably 1997-98, when he appeared in 47 games for the Hurricanes and had a .922 save percentage.
Canada's backup in 1991 ultimately turned out to be the better pro. A year after serving as Trevor Kidd's caddy in this tournament, "Felix the Cat" burst onto the NHL scene, winning 25 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs and leading the league with a 2.50 goals-against average as a rookie. Potvin lead the Maple Leafs to game seven of the Campbell Conference finals that year (where they lost to the Los Angeles Kings in Wayne Gretzky's famous hat trick game), possibly the last time Toronto had a championship-caliber hockey team. Potvin went on to play 13 seasons in the NHL with five teams (Toronto, Los Angeles, Vancouver, the Islanders and Boston) and appeared in two All-Star games. His rookie season turned out to be his peak, though.
This card have been my most prized acquisition in 1990, as it was, for a little while anyway, the second most-valuable card in the team set after "Canada's Captains." A few months after the tournament, Falloon was drafted second overall by the expansion San Jose Sharks, just after Lindros (and just before Niedermayer...whoops). But like Felix Potvin, Pat peaked in his rookie year, as the 25 goals he scored in 1991-92 turned out to be his career high. He did play nine seasons in the NHL (San Jose, Philadelphia, Ottawa, Edmonton and Pittsburgh). But he ended up not even being the best Spokane Chief drafted by the Sharks -- that honor goes to his former junior linemate, Ray Whitney, whom the Sharks grabbed in the second round in 1991.
The NHL's Kevin Bacon, Sillinger played for 12 teams during his 17-year career and was traded an astounding nine times, both of which are NHL records. The Regina, Sask., native was a Red Wing, Mighty Duck, Canuck, Flyer, Lightning, Panther, Senator, Blue Jacket, Coyote, Predator and Islander. And he was traded for Stu Grimson, Mikael Renberg, Darryl Sydor and Teppo Numminen, among many others. He finished with more than 1,000 games played and more than 600 points. Wikipedia tells me he's now director of player development for the Edmonton Oilers.
Picked ninth overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 1990 draft, Marshall played 12 seasons in the NHL, mostly as a bottom-pairing defenseman. In addition to the Blues, he played for the Mighty Ducks, the Washington Capitals, the Minnesota Wild and the San Jose Sharks. Triva: He was actually acquired by the Ducks three different times.
The third member of the 1,000 NHL games club and the second with a Stanley Cup ring, Brisebois surely had one of the more stable professional careers of anyone from the 1991 team. A second-round pick of Montreal's, he spent 16 of his 18 seasons with the Canadiens, including the 1993 Cup-winning team. Brisebois played two years near the end of his career with the Colorado Avalanche. Turns out, he also tried his hand at NASCAR, buying a NASCAR Canada car in 2009 and appearing in two races. He pulled out of the first one mid-race due to heat exhaustion and finished 12th in the other.
The tough guy of the 1991 team, Brad May is another one with more than 1,000 NHL games and his name on the Cup, which he won with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007. A Buffalo Sabres first-rounder, he played for seven teams in 18 years (Buffalo, Vancouver, Phoenix, Anaheim, Colorado, Toronto and Detroit). He may be most infamous for allegedly putting a bounty on the head of former Colorado Avalanche player Steve Moore, whose career was ultimately ended after he was mugged by May's Vancouver teammate, Todd Bertuzzi. He's now part of Buffalo's broadcast team.
Pierre played on the first line for Canada in 1991, but he didn't have much of a pro career when compared to his teammates. Drafted by the Canadiens in the third round of 1989, he only played in 75 NHL games over seven years with the organization. He appeared in three more with the New York Rangers but that was it. But he did spend a year with the Orlando Solar Bears, in 1998-99 when the team was in the now-defunct International Hockey League. This might be the only card in the set that depicts play during the gold-medal game, in which Canada defeated Russia.
And here we have the hero of that gold-medal game. John Slaney's third period goal, which I still hazily remember watching, broke a 2-2 tie and lifted Canada to the championship. Slaney was a Washington Capitals first round pick who ultimately spent parts of nine seasons in the NHL. In addition to the Caps, he played for the Flyers, Kings, Avalanche, Penguins, Predators and Coyotes.
One of the older players on the team, Scott Thornton taken third overall in the 1989 draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Though he never panned out with Toronto, he did carve out a 17-year career as a grinder while playing for six different teams (Toronto, Edmonton, Montreal, Dallas, San Jose and Los Angeles). His best season came with the Sharks in 2001-02 when he potted 26 goals -- the only time in his career he scored 20 or more. He just missed the 1,000-game mark, appearing in 941. He's first cousins with Joe Thornton.
Though he was picked in the second round of the 1989 draft by Philadelphia, Johnson was traded to Detroit before ever playing a game for the Flyers. He ended up playing 785 games in all, more than half of them with the Nashville Predators (he also played with Pittsburgh and Chicago). Fun fact 1: The Red Wings traded him in the middle of the 1997 season to Pittsburgh for Tomas Holmstrom, who would become a key contributor of the Wings' Cup teams in '97, '98 and '02. Fun fact 2: Johnson was just the second team captain in Nashville Predators history.
Another second-round pick, this time by New Jersey in 1990, David played 212 games over seven seasons, more than half of them with the Atlanta Thrashers. He also played for the Islanders, Maple Leafs and Capitals, but never the Devils.
Here's a guy I traded for a number of times when I was playing fantasy GM and trying to think up trades for different teams. Though he was a first-round pick of Chicago's, Dykhuis spent the bulk of his 12-year career with Philadelphia and then Montreal. He also spent a season-and-a-half with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Edging out Trevor Kidd and Pat Falloon for the best photo in the set is someone I remember watching in person in junior hockey. Dale Craigwell was one of three Oshawa Generals on the '91 Canadian team. One of the least heralded players on the team, Craigwell wasn't picked until the 10th round of the 1991 draft by the San Jose Sharks. A speedy, defensively-oriented forward in the pros, he appeared in 98 games with the Sharks over parts of three seasons before heading overseas to Germany and England.
The Calgary Flames drafted Manderville (what a great hockey name!) in the second-round of the 1989 draft and then traded him three years later to Toronto in that crazy, 10-player trade in which the Leafs somehow got the two best players (Doug Gilmour and Jamie Macoun) and the best prospect (Manderville). He wound up playing for five teams -- Toronto, Hartford/Carolina, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Edmonton -- over 11 seasons. Finished 43rd in voting for the Selke award for best defensive forward after the 2000-01 season. That's higher than you did.
Team Canada's defensive specialist, Kris Draper had either the second- or third-best NHL career of anyone from the '91 team (depending on how you stack his team accomplishments against Eric Lindros' individual ones). Drafted by Winnipeg in the third round of the 1989 draft, Draper played 20 games for the Jets before they dumped him to the Detroit Red Wings for "future considerations." In Detroit, he blossomed into one of the top defensive forwards in the NHL and was a key piece of Detroit's semi-dynasty of the late '90s and '00's, part of the popular "Grind Line" with Kirk Maltby and winning Cups in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008. He won the Selke award after the 2003-04 season (even earning a few Hart Trophy votes that year) and finished in the top 10 of Selke voting two other times. He was just the fifth player to play more than 1,000 games in a Red Wings uniform. He played 1,157 games over 20 seasons, all but the 20 with the Wings. He's now an executive with the Wings.
A Detroit first round pick in 1991, Lapointe was Draper's teammate on the Wings' Cup teams in 1997 and 1998. He just missed the 1,000-game mark, skating in 991 for his career. He also played with Boston, Ottawa and Chicago. He's now director of player development for the Montreal Canadiens.
One more contender for card of the set, Mike Craig teamed with his Oshawa Generals linemate Eric Lindros to make up two-thirds of Canada's top line in 1991 (Pierre Sevigny was the third). Lindros and Craig dominated the tournament much like they had the OHL, both making the all-tournament team. Alas, it may well be that Craig was simply a product of Lindros, as he was unable to replicate the same kind offensive success in the pros without his running mate. Though Craig, who was picked by the Minnesota North Stars in the second round of 1989, managed more than 400 games over nine seasons in the NHL, he never scored more than 15 goals in a season. Another bit of tid: Craig was the last former North Star active in the NHL. He was part of the team when it moved to Dallas and also played with Toronto and, very briefly, with San Jose.
Finally, we have the reason the team set existed at all. By pairing him with Steven Rice and Kris Draper in this "Canada's Captains" card, Upper Deck was able to sidestep the exclusive licensing deal Score had with Lindros at the time. Though it's technically a multi-player card, note that more than twice as much text is devoted to Lindros as to Draper and Rice combined.
It's funny looking back, given how intense the hype was around Lindros at the time, to realize that he ultimately didn't even become the best player from the 1991 team. That label has to go Scott Niedermayer, I think. That said, the debate probably would be a heckuva lot closer had it not been for the concussions that cost Lindros so much of his career. Because when he did play, especially early on before the injuries began to mount, he was dominant. He scored 372 goals and 865 points in just 760 games (mostly with the Philadelphia Flyers, but also with the Rangers, Maple Leafs and Stars). That puts him 19th all-time in points-per-game. And while he never won a Stanley Cup, he was the only member of the '91 Canadian team to go on to win a Hart trophy as league MVP, which he did (along with the Lester B. Pearson award, which goes to the best player as voted by the players themselves) after the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season. He also finished as the second-runner up for the Hart once and finished in the top 10 of voting three more times, as well as making one first All-Star team and one second All-Star team. Lindros deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.
And there you have it: The 1991 Canadian World Junior Championship team. I have to say, that was an absolute blast to relive those cards and to find out just how everyone turned out. If I manage to complete another one of these team sets, I'll definitely do this again.
