Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Ladislav Karabin Autographed Card

I guess the theme this week is players with 9 games of NHL experience...

Born in Czechoslovakia, Ladislav Karabin was a 9th-round pick (173rd overall) in the 1990 draft of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the same one they drafted Jaromir Jagr (5th overall), Chris Tamer (68th) and Ian Moran (107th) in, so it was a pretty good year for them in that respect.

Karabin has one of the coolest names in hockey - not just because it's got the rare combination of Ks with Rs and Bs, but also because in French, ''carabine'' (pronounced the same way) means ''shotgun'', which would make for an original nickname.

He mostly played in minor leagues in North America - more often than not in the defunct IHL - before moving to Germany, where he played from 1999 to 2006. He then moved to Florida with his wife and kids to, apparently, become a financial advisor.

I got him to sign this card for me after a pre-season game, probably in 1996, maybe in 1995:


It's from Classic's 1993-94 Pro (Hockey) Prospects set (card #108), signed in (fading) black sharpie, apparently last name first. It shows him wearing the Pens' then-IHL affiliate Cleveland Lumberjacks white (home) uniform.

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