Nick Foligno

Sent: 3/16/12
Received: 4/28/12
Time: 43 Days
Address: c/o Ottawa Senators
Item Sent: 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro
Item Received: 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro, signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Nick Foligno just wrapped up his fourth full season for the surprising Ottawa Senators, and it was a bit of a breakthrough for the former first round pick.  He brought his game to a new level of physicality, more than doubling his previous career high with 124 penalty minutes.  The added intensity helped his offense, too, as he posted career highs of 32 assists and 47 points.

Luke Richardson

Sent: 2/8/12
Received: 2/29/12
Time: 21 Days
Address: c/o Ottawa Senators
Item Sent: 1990-91 Upper Deck, 1991-92 Score Canadian Series 1, 1991-92 Score Canadian Series 2, 1991-92 Score Rookie & Traded
Item Received: 1990-91 Upper Deck, 1991-92 Score Canadian Series 1, 1991-92 Score Canadian Series 2, 1991-92 Score Rookie & Traded.  All signed in blue Sharpie.

Notes:
Richardson was drafted seventh overall by the Maple leafs in 1987 and was expected to be an impact, all-around defenseman.  His offense never developed at the pro level.  Therefore, he's best remembered in hockey-mad Toronto for being a draft bust and for getting his ass kicked by Dino Ciccarelli's stick.  (Dino spent a night in jail after giving Richardson a few whacks upside the head.)  It's a shame that's the case.  Richardson lasted 21 years in the NHL and turned into a very solid stay-at-home defender.  He is currently an assistant coach for the upstart Ottawa Senators.

Jesse Winchester

Sent: 11/19/11
Received: 1/21/12
Time: 63 Days
Address: c/o Ottawa Senators
Item Sent: 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro, 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Update Retro
Item Received: 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro, 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Update Retro. Both signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Not to be confused with the 1970s folk-rocker of the same name, this Jesse Winchester is an under-the-radar grinder for the surprising Ottawa Senators. I am completely perplexed by his inclusion in both the regular and updated 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee sets. In every other case, players who were featured in both series were done so because they had changed teams. Best I can figure, the low-scoring Winchester is such an anonymous player that Upper Deck simply forgot they had already featured him in the set!

Brian Lee

Sent: 10/24/11
Received: 12/21/11
Time: 58 Days
Address: c/o Ottawa Senators
Item Sent: 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro, 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee
Item Received: 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro, 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee.  Both signed and personalized in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Lee was Minnesota's Mr. Hockey as a senior at Moorhead High School in 2005.  He crossed the Red River to play collegiately for North Dakota and was drafted with the ninth overall pick by the Ottawa Senators.  So far he has struggled to live up to his NHL draft status, but he's still just 24 and still has the size and potential to be a factor in the league for the next decade or so.

Lance Pitlick

Sent: 9/27/11
Received: 10/20/11
Time: 23 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1997-98 Be A Player, 2000-01 Upper Deck
Item Received: 1997-98 Be A Player, 2000-01 Upper Deck.  Both signed in red Sharpie.

Notes:
I've picked up a few signatures so far from athletes who attended my high school, Robbinsdale Armstrong, but I think Lance Pitlick may be the first from our arch-rival, Robbinsdale Cooper.  After his high school career, he spent four years playing for the Minnesota Gophers and was team captain during his senior season.  Following a few years in the Philadelphia Flyers organization, Pitlick finally caught his NHL break with the upstart Ottawa Senators in 1994-95.  He ended up playing eight seasons in the NHL for the Senators and Florida Panthers.  As for the autographs, I'm not usually a fan of red Sharpie signatures, but I think these look really great given the red in the uniforms of both the Senators and Panthers.  Very cool success!

Andrej Meszaros

Sent: 3/24/11
Received: 5/14/11
Time: 51 Days
Address: c/o Flyers SkateZone
Item Sent: 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro, 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Update Retro
Item Received: 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro, 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Update Retro.  Both signed in blue Sharpie.

Notes:
A big, skilled defensemen, Andrej Meszaros has not yet been able to equal the career highs of 10 goals and 29 assists he set as a rookie for the 2005-06 Ottawa Senators.  After two forgettable seasons in Tampa Bay, though, he did get back on track during his first year with the Flyers in 2010-11.  His eight goals were tops among Flyers blueliners.  He is still just 25 years old and should be a fixture in the Philly lineup for years to come.

Filip Kuba

Sent: 3/15/11
Received: 3/31/11
Time: 16 Days
Address: c/o Ottawa Senators
Item Sent: 2005-06 Parkhurst, 2005-06 Ultra, 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro, 2009-09 O-Pee-Chee Update Retro
Item Received: 2005-06 Parkhurst, 2005-06 Ultra, 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro, 2009-09 O-Pee-Chee Update Retro.  All signed in black Sharpie.
 
Notes:
Filip Kuba was a charter member of the Minnesota Wild, coming over in the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft.  He quickly established himself as the team's most offensively gifted defenseman, and because the first Wild defender to earn an appearance in an NHL All-Star Game (in 2004, when the Wild hosted the game at the Xcel Energy Center).  He signed a lucrative free-agent deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2006, and has had some nice years with Tampa and Ottawa.  Injuries and age seem to have caught up with him this season.  Still, he's had a fine career and will always be remembered by Wild fans as one of our first legitimate stars.