A new -- and really neat -- Guy hockey card

(photo source:  eBay)

In terms of Carbonneau collecting, I've never been a big hockey card person, though I have quite a few of cards featuring Guy.  With the boom in cards featuring NHL alumni, every once in a while something comes along that really catches my eye.  Like this card, for example.  It's a limited issue of only 500 cards from the Elite Rookie Anthology series.  The photo is of Guy in the Heritage Classic MegaStars alumni game, which was played on November 22, 2003 in Edmonton.  It's quite a nice card and I may very well pick one up to add to my own collection.  

Some memorabilia oddities, and Guy featured on Hockey Legends blog

Found this while surfing eBay:

Guy, of course, is at the top left -- it's a pretty good likeness!  I kind of miss the corny championship gear of the '90s.  They just don't make shirts like this anymore.

Also thinking of buying one of these for my own collection:

The reason for this is twofold -- of course, the Carbo connection; and I have a weakness for pop (I refuse to call it soda, I'm Canadian after all) ephemera.  I have a rather large pop bottle collection and not only is my computer room a shrine to Carbonneau, it also features some vintage pop advertising.  I don't know though, I think $6 might be a bit too much to pay for 13-year-old Coca-Cola.  ;)

Finally, the blog Greatest Hockey Legends has done a feature (after some encouragement by myself and some others on Twitter) on Guy and his hometown of Sept-Iles, Quebec.  You can read it here.

Beautiful Carbo Dallas jersey on the 'Bay

I've been collecting Carbo things for nearly five years, and I've only ever seen two of these come up on the auction site -- this is the second one.  It's a beautiful 1998 home Dallas authentic, defunct style (before the team moved to the popular "star" design), white with black trim.  Carbo Dallas jerseys are not easy to find in any case, and don't come up on eBay very often, so have at it!

The auction is here, and ends on Friday.

Hockey figurines

May I use my blog space for a moment to lament the lack of a Carbo McFarlane figurine?  This annoys me supremely because many of Guy's contemporaries from that era have had figurines made (the latest being Wendel Clark).  Carbo may not have been a superstar, but he was still one of the most recognizable players from that time!  The other option is to make a custom figurine which I may try my hand at someday (someone did make a Carbonneau custom once, but that has since disappeared online).

Unfortunately, figurines just didn't exist during Guy's playing career.  The closest were the Kenner Starting Lineups.  However, Provigo (a supermarket chain in Quebec) did a series of Canadiens figurines in 1989 and I own the Carbo figurine:

There he is on my shelf, along with a few other Carbo things.  The resemblance is striking -- they certainly got the nose right. 

Still, this doesn't excuse you, McFarlane Toys.  Get with the program!

Carbo speaks out against counterfeit jerseys

With the popularity of sports merchandise, the advent of counterfeit jerseys.  The Montreal Canadiens and Reebok have joined forces to educate consumers on the difference between real jerseys and fake.  Carbo is the face of the new program; to be seen online, in arenas, in print, and on the radio.

“Travel a little and you see fake purses, shoes and watches,” Carbonneau said at a Bell Centre news conference on Thursday. “It was just a matter of time before hockey jerseys became a big, illegal business.”

Carbonneau looked in game-shape Thursday wearing his captain’s C-branded, nameplated No. 21 as he recalled the days of his youth when a Canadiens sweater was almost the expected annual gift beneath the Christmas tree.

“I remember practising outdoors all those days in a Habs jersey and you’d pretend you were Maurice Richard or Jean Beliveau,” he said.

“With this campaign, I’d like Canadiens fans to avoid being victims. We’re not going to stop people from buying counterfeit jerseys, that’s their prerogative. But we’d like to inform those people that the $200 or more they spend isn’t buying the real thing.” (Montreal Gazette)

(photo credit:  Montreal Gazette)

Stairwells and sherseys

Two things, probably not of a whole lot of note except to me.

Diane Lau, webmaster of that most wonderful of Carbo sites, has given me permission to post this photo of the stairwell in her house.

That's her photomatched 1984-85 home Canadiens game-worn jersey, and an Artis game-used stick circa 1988, which happens to also be inscribed by Guy!  What a lovely display.  Thanks, Diane!

In merchandise news, player t-shirts (also known in the hockey world as "sherseys") have become quite popular.  Carbo has a Habs player t-shirt that has been widely available for quite some time.  But I have never seen a Dallas Stars one...until now.

if you're in the Dallas area, head on down to the Stars pro shop at the American Airlines Center for one of these babies.  Carbo's time with the Stars was important and special in his career, so it's nice that Dallas also gets its Carbo shersey due.  (photo credit:  Twitter/AshlyStar)