1,000 Point NHL Player Autographs - #67 Bobby Smith

A favourite Montreal Canadien player of mine while growing up, Bobby Smith was a great all-around player who rarely got his due.

Bobby Smith spent his entire career with the Minnesota North Stars (twice) and the Montreal Canadiens between 1978 and 1993. During that span, he scored 1,036 points (357 goals, 679 assists) and had almost 1,000 PIMs. He also won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year and won a Stanley Cup in 1986.

An interesting note during Smith's career before the NHL is that in the 1977–78 OHL season, Smith set league records that still stand more than thirty years later for most assists (123) and most points (192) in a single season. The 20-year-old Smith beat out 17-year-old Wayne Gretzky for the OHL's scoring title. He was drafted first overall in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft by Minnesota.

From 2004-05 In The Game NHL Franchises Series come this hard-signed Bobby Smith autograph during his time with the Minnesota North Stars. I purchased this card at the Sports Card Expo in Toronto, Ontario for less than $5 from a bargain bin. A great price for this skilled forward who ranks 67th on the NHL points scoring list.

1,000 Point NHL Player Autographs - #68 Doug Weight

A projected star from his mid-teens, Doug Weight was one of the players that lived up to the hype.

Although most people expected him to be a New York Ranger for life... and not a man who played for six different NHL teams.

Weight won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005-06 and when he retired following the 2010-11 NHL season, he had 1,033 points (278 goals, 755 assists) in 1,238 games to rank 68th all-time in points.

From 2006-07 Upper Deck Trilogy, I had a sticker auto of Doug Weight but not the required hard-signed auto. For about $3, I was able to get my hands on a 1998-99 SP Authentic Sign of the Times hard-signed signature of Doug Weight.  His autograph has deteriorated somewhat over the years but he has probably signed a lot of cards in the past 15 years... or the Trilogy card just didn't offer enough space on the sticker.

Doug Weight is eligible for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014.

1,000 Point NHL Player Autographs - #69 Alexander Mogilny

Alexander the Great!

Well, that's what he was known as until the title was passed along to Alexander Ovechkin.

Surprisingly, not a 500-goal scorer and surprisingly not always involved in debate for induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame, Mogilny was one of the great Russians (along with Pavel Bure and Sergei Fedorov) who took the game by storm in the early 1990's.

Although Mogilny never came close to matching his 1992-93 total of 76 goals in a season (only once again did he pass 50 goals in a season), his amazing totals of 1,032 points (473 goals, 559 assists) in only 990 games attest to the type of player he was.

Mogilny also won many awards in addition to medals on the international stage. Due to his Stanley Cup Championship, Olympic Gold Medal, World Championship Gold Medal, World Junior Championship Gold Medal, Lady Byng Trophy, and many All-Star appearances, Mogilny should eventually find his way into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

From 1995-96 Upper Deck Be A Player comes these two versions of Alexander Mogilny's Global Training hard-signed autographed card. The regular version was pulled from a pack during the 95-96 collecting season while I picked up the die-cut version for only $5 at the 2012 Spring Sports Card Expo in Toronto, Ontario. It was too good of a deal to pass up for this phenomenal Russian sniper.

1,000 Point NHL Player Autographs - #70 Brian Leetch

Brian Leetch... as steady and consistent as a player could be.

With awards too numerous to mention, this New York Ranger defenseman was the epitome of what everyone wanted in a defenseman as he could skate, shoot, and make plays. With 1,028 points (247 goals, 781 assists), he is one of the few defensemen to score more than 1,000 points in his career and is one of only five NHL defensemen to score 100 points in a season.

Although he played for a few other teams after he left the NY Rangers late in his career, he will always be remembered as a member of the red, white, and blue. During a ceremony after his retirement, longtime teammate Mark Messier referred to Leetch as the single "Greatest Ranger of All Time." Leetch was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.

Brian Leetch has a very solid signature and has been a signer for numerous products over many years. I didn't realize I had pulled 4 of his autographs and already had a nice assortment in my collection until I went looking. With these autographs ranging from In The Game, Panini, and Upper Deck, it's not too difficult to acquire a top notch card of this great player.

1,000 Point NHL Player Autographs - #71 Alexei Kovalev

The enigma that is Alexei Kovalev.

Talented beyond words with his fantastic stick-handling, wrist shot, and playmaking skills, Kovalev is one of the most skilled players that the NHL has even seen. It's unfortunate that his desire has been questioned since his first season.

Regardless, Kovalev has won a Stanley Cup, Olympic medals, World Championship medals, and has played in many All-Star Games. He also ranks 71st all-time in NHL points with 1,024 points (428 goals, 596 assists) in 1,302 games.

From 1995-96 Upper Deck Be A Player comes this great hard-signed autograph card of Alexei Kovalev during his youth with Team Russia. In addition, from In The Game, I have this 2003-04 Ultimate Memorabilia 4th Edition autograph /135. There aren't a lot of options out for there Kovalev autographs but he has a great signature which obviously hasn't changed much over the years.

Kovalev spent last season in the KHL and is still considered an active player. Recently, he expressed his desire to return for another season with the Montreal Canadiens.

1,000 Point NHL Player Autographs - #72 Brian Bellows

Brian Bellows was good. Brian Bellows was not great though.

After a solid career with the Minnesota North Stars and Montreal Canadiens, Bellows had a few unremarkable stops before retiring in 1999. He retired with 1,022 points (485 goals, 537 assists) in 1,188 games as well as another 122 points in 143 playoff games including a Stanley Cup victory with Montreal in 1993.

Although remembered as a goal-scorer (he had 55 goals in 1989-90), Bellows had a great all-around game. However, he never received the recognition which many other players would have received for being the 72nd highest scorer in NHL history. Although popular during his career, he often played 2nd fiddle to others on his team.

From 1995-96 Upper Deck Be A Player comes this hard-signed autograph of Brian Bellows during his short time with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In addition, from 1998-99 In The Game Be A Player comes this hard-signed gold parallel auto of Bellows with the Washington Capitals. Although these fit nicely into my collection of the seventy-nine 1,000+ point scorers in NHL history, it would have been nice to have a copy with him in his North Stars or Habs jersey.

As an interesting note, part-way through the 1983–84 season, Bellows was named interim captain (due to a Craig Hartsburg injury) for the remainder of the season. At 19 years and 4 months, Bellows became the youngest captain in NHL history. However, because he was an interim captain, Sidney Crosby is still considered the youngest captain in history.

1,000 Point NHL Player Autographs - #73 Rod Gilbert

I don't know much about Rob Gilbert other than he played for the New York Rangers.

Gilbert retired before I started watching hockey religiously and although he was a great player, he never gained the notoriety of others from his era. It might be because he never won a Stanley Cup and he never scored 50 goals or 100 points in a season.

Regardless, Gilbert played for Team Canada at the 1972 Summit Series and collected 1,021 points (406 goals, 615 assists) in his NHL career to rank 73rd in points all-time. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.

I pulled a Rod Gilbert/Brad Park/Ed Giacomin In The Game Ultimate 11th Edition Triple Autograph /9 from a pack at the Sports Card Expo this year. Although a cool card, it's hard to tell sometimes if the ITG Ultimate autographs are stickers but I believe that this one contains stickers. Luckily, I also have a hard-signed Rod Gilbert autograph from 2010-11 Panini Dominion /50.

Gilbert autographs are not plentiful in the market place but hopefully these cards will lead to more collectors discovering his great career.