thewantlist.ca

Taylor Hall has been recognized as the best teenage hockey prospect currently playing in Canada. The Windsor Spitfires forward was listed number one on the “50 Best Teens Prospects in Canada” ranking that can be found in magazine issue #4 of The Want List, the hockey card & memorabilia magazine.

Hall is currently taking part in his third major-junior season with the Ontario League’s Spitfires. He is expected to be drafted first overall in this summer’s 2010 NHL Entry Draft. The potential teams that could draft Hall are the Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins (via a selection they acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs), Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders, Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets.

There are 60 items currently listed on Hall’s Collector’s Index. That list includes 55 items from the 2009-10 season including cards in the new In The Game Heroes & Prospects brand.

Along with being recognized as the top prospect, Hall is featured on the magazine’s front cover. The Hall cover photo was captured by Aaron Bell of OHL Images; the photo was provided courtesy the Ontario Hockey League. The magazine is currently shipping across Canada and should be available on most newsstands in a week to 10 days. Rounding out the top-five on the “50 Best Teen Prospects” list behind Hall are Cody Hodgson, Jordan Eberle, Nazem Kadri, and Brandon Kozun.

The final Milwaukee Admirals bobble will be distributed on Friday Mar. 5 to the first 5,000 fans in attendance to the Admirals-Rivermen game. The bobble, which features goaltender Chris Mason, is available courtesy Kohl’s and Lee Jeans. Previous Milwaukee bobbles this season were Abe Lincoln (in an Admirals’ jersey) in February and Nolan Yonkman in January.

The first 10,000 fans in attendance to the Mar. 4 Hurricanes match at the RBC Center will receive a Eric Staal bobblehead figure. The Staal figure is the last of four Carolina bobbles to be distributed at home games this season. The full series features Erik Cole, Chad LaRose, Tuomo Ruutu and Eric Staal.

The first 10,000 fans in attendance to the Mar. 3 Blackhawks-Oilers match at the United Center will receive a Jonathan Toews bobblehead figure. The bobbles are distributed courtesy Chicagoland & NW Indiana Chevy. The Toews figure is the last of four Chicago bobbles to be distributed at home games this season. The full series features Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews.

The next collectible poster in the Colorado Avalanche’s alumni series will be available at the Avalanche’s home game on Monday Mar. 1. This poster features Valeri Kamensky. The 10-poster series features Joe Sakic, Alexei Gusarov, Shjon Podein, Uwe Krupp, Mike Keane, Adam Deadmarsh, Claude Lemieux, Curtis Leschyshyn, Mike Ricci and Valeri Kamensky. Each poster features artwork produced by Stephen Holland.

Kamensky was part of the Nordiques organization that moved to Colorado in 1995. He was also part of that first Stanley Cup championship in 1995-96.

The “Pocket Rocket” Henri Richard will sign autographs on Feb. 27 at A.J. Sports World in Vaughan, ON. The legendary Richard is scheduled to sign autograph starting at 1pm.

Richard won the Stanley Cup 11 times as a player, more than any other player in NHL history. He was part of five-straight Stanley Cup championships from 1956-1960, which were also the last five years of his older brother’s career (Maurice “Rocket” Richard). He then won four more championships in a five-year span from 1965-1969, losing on in the seventh game of the 1967 final to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Richard’s last two titles with the Canadiens came in 1971 and 1973, both times following a championship won by the Bobby Orr-led Bruins. He then retired after the 1975 playoffs at age 39. Incidentally, the Canadiens went on to win four more Stanley Cup titles in the next four years after Richard’s retirement.

Classic Collectibles launches its newest auction this week at www.classicauctions.net. The auction runs through Mar. 16 and features historical lots from Hockey Hall of Fame members Börje Salming, Norm Ullman and Sweeney Schriner. The new auction will also feature a 1927 Ottawa Senators Frank Nighbor jersey.

Classic Collectibles last auction concluded in December with more than $1-million in sales for 844 different lots. That auction included a 1930s New York Americans game-worn wool sweater, a 1966-67 Chicago Blackhawks Glenn Hall game-worn jersey, and a 2003 Winter Classic MegaStars Wayne Gretzky jersey.

The Edmonton Oilers annual autograph session at the West Edmonton Mall takes place Saturday Feb. 13. Fans can meet their favourite Oilers between 1:00-2:30 pm. The team will be at various locations throughout the mall. The Oilers 2009-10 autograph session is sponsored by ATB Financial.

Four Washington Capitals’ legends will be signings autographs on Sat. Feb. 13 at A.J. Sports World in Vaughan, ON. The quartet is scheduled to appear at 11am: Mike Gartner, Doug Jarvis, Olaf Kölzig and Dennis Maruk.

Gartner, Jarvis and Maruk were all part of the 1982-83 Washington Capitals, the first Capitals team to reach the NHL playoffs after a 29-point improvement in the team’s ninth season. Jarvis had just joined the Capitals that season as part of a blockbuster deal with the Canadiens. He and three other players brought eight Stanley Cup rings into the dressing room – four of which belonged to Jarvis. Maruk, meanwhile, was the team’s super scorer, coming off back-to-back 50-goal seasons. He scored “only” 31 goals in 1982-83, but still led the team with 81 points.

Gartner scored 35 goals in 1982-83, which was his fourth-consecutive 30-goal season. He went on to set an NHL record with 15 consecutive 30-goal seasons. He became an honoured member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.

As for Kölzig, he was the Capitals’ top goaltender in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He led the Capitals to a Prince of Wales Trophy championship in 1998 and then won the Vézina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender in 1999-2000.

The first of three new Los Angeles Kings bobbleheads will be distributed on Feb. 11 at the Kings home game. The three new bobbles are Simmonds on Feb. 11, Anze Kopitar on Mar. 14, and Ryan Smyth on Apr. 1. The new bobble series follows in the footsteps of the popular Luc Robitaille bobble that was distributed back on Dec. 5.

The 21-year old Simmonds is in his second season with the Kings. He was drafted 61st overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and then won a gold medal at the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championship in Pardubice, Czech Republic. His NHL rookie cards were issued in 2008-09.

The Feb. 11 Simmonds bobble is distributed in conjunction with the Kings Black History Night. The Kings opponent on Feb. 11 is the Edmonton Oilers.