Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Griffin Reinhart Jersey Card

Last April, I wanted to write about Griffin Reinhart but realized I either didn't have or couldn't find a card of his to feature, so I found this one on Ebay for $2.50:
That's the jersey insert version of card #113 from Upper Deck's 2014-15 SP Game-Used Edition set and Rookies sub-set (gold variant, numbered #34/499), showing him wearing the New York Islanders' white (now-away) uniform, with a matching jersey swatch from a rookie photo shoot.

Reinhart was the fourth overall pick in the 2012 draft, behind Nail Yakupov (1st, Edmonton Oilers), Ryan Murray (2nd, Columbus Blue Jackets) and Alex Galchenyuk (3rd, Montréal Canadiens), so it's safe to say the top talent from that year has yet to fully develop, although some picks have now become impact players, such as Morgan Rielly (5th, Toronto Maple Leafs), Hampus Lindholm (6th, Anaheim Ducks), Mathew Dumba (7th, Minnesota Wild), Jacob Trouba (9th, Winnipeg Jets), Slater Koekkoek (10th, Tampa Bay Lightning), Filip Forsberg (11th, Nashville Predators by way of the Washington Capitals), Cody Ceci (15th, Ottawa Senators), Tom Wilson (16th, Caps), Andrei Vasilevskiy (19th, Bolts), Olli Maatta (22nd, Pittsburgh Penguins), Brady Skjei (28th, New York Rangers), Tanner Pearson (30th, Los Angeles Kings), Colton Sissons (50th, Preds), Joonas Korpisalo (62nd, Blue Jackets), Shayne Gostisbehere (78th, Philadelphia Flyers), two-time Conn Smythe contender Matt Murray (83rd, Pens), and promising goalies Connor Hellebuyck (130th, Jets) and Linus Ullmark (163rd, Buffalo Sabres).

His slow development meant Isles GM Garth Snow was willing to let him go for the right price, so when Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli offered first- and second-round picks in the 2015 draft for his services, a deal was struck.

Unfortunately, Reinhart would only suit up for 29 games with the Oilers and 84 with the Bakersfield Condors over the following two seasons before getting chosen in the expansion draft by the Vegas Golden Knights, meaning Chiarelli essentially gave up too much for him and lost him for nothing.

On the other hand, that means the Oilers get to keep the likes of Benoit Pouliot, Iiro Pakarinen, Jujhar Khaira, Mark Fayne, Tyler Pitlick, Kris Russell and backup goalie Laurent Brossoit.

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