Rummaging through my room this weekend, I rediscovered stacks upon stacks of hockey cards I have collected over the years. Literally thousands of cards, all arranged by the season they are from. The box that caught my eye the most: 2005-06 Upper Deck Series 2. I opened the box to find hundreds of cards of players, most now with different teams or even retired, wearing the now old and baggy-looking jerseys of yesteryear.
Looking at some of the players on these cards, it is amazing to think of what they have done, what they have been through, and what they have achieved since being printed on these cards six seasons ago.
What I want to do with these cards now, is look at these players and their stories since these cards were released. Some will be big names, others might barely evoke a “hey, I think I remember that guy,” but they all have their own story.
First up: Mark Bell.
On top of a six month jail sentence, which was later reduced from participation in a work program, Bell was assessed a 15-game suspension by the NHL, and was entered into the league’s Substance Abuse Program.
Bell played just 35 games for the Leafs in the season that followed, collecting four goals and six assists for ten points. The season saw some injury troubles for Bell on a non-playoff Leafs squad, but perhaps Bell’s most memorable moment as a Leaf was an injury that he dished out to Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson.
Bell played the entire 2008-09 season in the American Hockey League, 56 games with the Leafs’ AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies squad, and 18 with the Hartford Wolf Pack after being claimed off re-entry waivers by the New York Rangers.
Switzerland is where Bell has called home for the past two hockey seasons, playing for Kloten in the Swiss A-League. After this two-season absence from the NHL, the now 30-year-old centre appears to be attempting a comeback, recently signing a one-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks.
To recap, since this hockey card was released, Mark Bell has played for six different teams – and just signed with a seventh – in three different leagues in two different continents. He set his career high in points, got traded twice, got arrested, and served his sentence. Six seasons may not seem like a long time to some, but a lot can happen in that time
Just ask Mark Bell.
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