Mark Parrish

Sent: 10/27/10
Received: 3/31/11
Time: 155 Days
Address: c/o Portland Pirates
Item Sent: 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro
Item Received: 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro, signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Bloomington native and former St. Cloud State star Mark Parrish was a perennial 20+ goal scorer for the New York Islanders for most of the 2000s.  In 2006, the Minnesota Wild brought him home with a five-year deal - the longest free agent contract in the club's history at the time.  He was okay.  He scored 19 goals in 2006-07 and 16 in 2007-08.  He never did fit in with coach Jacques Lemaire's stifling trap style and after just two years the Wild bought out the remainder of his contract.  Since then, he's been up and down between the NHL and AHL, with brief stints in Dallas, Tampa, and Buffalo.  He played just two games for the Sabres this season, spending most of the year as a veteran leader for their AHL affiliate in Portland, Maine, where he racked up 45 points in 50 games.  Mr. Parrish is obviously in the twilight of his career, but with 387 career points he has earned a place as one of the most productive Minnesotans in recent NHL history.

Kevin Dineen

Sent: 10/16/10
Received: 2/7/11
Time: 114 Days
Address: c/o Portland Pirates
Item Sent: 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Stadium Club, 1991-92 Upper Deck
Item Received: 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Stadium Club, 1991-92 Upper Deck.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Kevin Dineen is as synonymous with the Hartford Whalers as anybody.  He's a two-time 40 goal scorer and a two-time 200 penalty minute man.  He scored the final goal in Whalers history and was both the last captain for the Whalers and first captain for the Carolina Hurricanes.  He currently coaches the Portland Pirates, AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres.

Eric Weinrich

Sent: 11/4/10
Received: 11/15/10
Time: 11 Days
Address: c/o Portland Pirates
Item Sent: 1990-91 Pro Set, 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Score Canadian All-Rookie Team, 1999-00 Upper Deck
Item Received: 1990-91 Pro Set, 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Score Canadian All-Rookie Team, 1999-00 Upper Deck.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
I was a huge Eric Weinrich fan in the early '90s.  You're all probably asking the same question.  "Why?"  Well, something you might need to understand about me is that, even in my youth... hell, especially in my youth, I kind of had a thing for seeking out obscure favorite players.  Like all my friends, I loved the local stars.  But there was a whole group of random athletes from out-of-town teams that I professed as favorites.  In basketball, Danny Ainge was my guy.  In baseball, it was Matt Nokes and Greg Maddux (before Maddux was a superstar, mind you).  I could never settle on a favorite non-North Star in hockey.  Trevor Linden, Pat Verbeek, and anonymous young Quebec Nordiques center Joe Sakic were in the mix, along with Weinrich.  He wasn't a bad player by any means.  After all, he spent 17 seasons in the NHL.  Just an odd choice for a kid from suburban Minneapolis.