Search for your favorite player or team
© The Hockey News. All rights reserved. Any and all material on this website cannot be used, reproduced, or distributed without prior written permission from Roustan Media Ltd. For more information, please see our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Collector's World 0102
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
LaFONTAlNE
Timing has never been Pat LaFontaine’s forte. While he appears to be a master of precision on the ice—always in the right place at the right time with his quickness and anticipation—his career has been dogged by a series of missed connections. First, LaFontaine joined the United States Olympic team in 1984 to play for the club which had the unenviable task of following the Miracle On Ice at Lake Placid in 1980. Then he turned pro in March 1984, just in time to see the end of the New York Islanders’ streak of four consecutive Stanley Cups. To top off his string of bad timing, he signed a four-year contract in 1987 which keeps his salary at a relatively low amount while lesser players are benefitting from the escalating pay structure. He can…
MARK RECCHI
Mark Recchi’s junior coach knew he’d make it big in the NHL, and not just because of his skill, or his speed, or his grit. It was because of his family. “There’s a competitive instinct there, a burning desire, and if you’ve ever met the Recchis you’ll know what I mean,” says Ken Hitchcock, now an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers. “His brothers, his dad, his mom…it’s the same with all of them. Recchi tradition is that you come to play. Mark’s father, Mel, confirms Hitchcock’s assessment of the Recchi clan. All four Recchi boys—Mike, 25; Mark, 22; Marty, 21; and Matt, 18—have a competitive fire that drives them to succeed. All have excelled in competitive sports ranging from softball to football. “I guess that’s what I’ve tried to in still in Mark…
‘HOT’ PLATES BECOME POPULAR WITH COLLECTORS
Make no mistake, you wouldn’t want to be serving spaghetti on these plates. Collector plates featuring images of Gordie Howe, Darryl Sittier, Vladislav Tretiak and others are the hottest dishes on the menu. Some are selling for up to $200 a serving. D.H. Ussher. Ltd., in North Vancouver, B.C., and Gartlan, USA, in Huntington Beach, Calif., are two companies producing and distributing the latest in hockey collectible items. The limited-edition plates are made from high-quality porcelain and are bordered with a 22-karat gold rim set in an NHL wood-stained frame. Action images of each subject are crafted on the face of the plate with a list of individual accomplishments on the back. The displays are meant to hang on walls. Three plate sizes—10¼-inch, 8½-inch and 4¼-inch are produced, but only the largest is personally…
MEET ANGELO SAVELLI, THE ULTIMATE COLLECTOR
Even if the phone rings. I’m just going to let it go,” Angelo Savelli says to his guest. ‘‘Because that means I’ll have to go upstairs to answer it and you’ll be left alone with my cards. I don’t trust anybody with my cards. I don’t trust you. I don’t trust anybody.” Nice to meet you, too. Savelli figures he has reason to be concerned. First, he values his collection at more than $1 million. Second, he was recently stung to the tune of $2,000 at a recent collectibles show when some of his cards were stolen. The investigative work Savelli did to catch up with the culprit would have made Dick Tracy look like a bumbling idiot. “I didn’t get the cards back but I know who did it,” he says. “When I saw…
Made possible with the support of
