1994-95 Pinnacle #288: Sylvain Turgeon
No NHL players can boast appearing on a hockey card 12 years before their career began — except Patrick Kane. On Sylvain Turgeon’s 1994-95 Pinnacle hockey card, you see the Senators winger trying not to fall flat on his face in a game against the Sabres from the previous year. This photo actually makes for a pretty good metaphor for the Senators’ 1993-94 season, when they went 14-61-9 in 84 games.
Now, take a closer look at the wide-eyed kid in the stands.
Yep, that’s Patrick Kane appearing on Turgeon’s card a good dozen years before he’d play professionally for the Chicago Blackhawks and get his own cards.
Little Kaner, a Buffalo native, is sitting in the front row at the old Memorial Auditorium, wearing a Pat Lafontaine jersey and looking up in awe at Dale Hawerchuk — who may or may not have tripped Turgeon.
This picture was taken when the Senators visited the Sabres on March 20, 1994, when Kane was just five-and-a-half years old.
Believe it or not, this card at one time sold for as high as $25. Today, it still sells for far more than what a common card of an average player should sell for. But look hard enough, and you can find it for a quarter a card show or at a card shop. This isn’t a “Patrick Kane Rookie Card” like many eBay sellers want you to believe. Still, it does show us a future NHL star before he’d win rookie of the year, hoist the Stanley Cup multiple times– and grow hockey’s best mullet.
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Very cool – I had no idea!
“This photo actually makes for a pretty good metaphor for the Senators’ 1993-94 season, when they went 14-61-9 in 84 games.”
I remember seeing several games that year at the Civic Centre – As awesome as it was as a child to be at a game in person, that is definitely the understatement of the year!
WOW, dude i have about 8 of those cards at home in a binder. Turgeon was a favorite of mine so i collected all of his cards and this one was a heavily common one in those big card packs you find all the time for 5 bucks at a store. Ebay here i come
Glad I could help. Maybe you’ll trade me one? 🙂
You should send me one! I’m a Hawks fan in the suburbs 🙂
Believe it or not, this might not be his first time appearing on an nhl card. I recall seeing a similar story a few years ago and it was definitely not this card. Kane must have went to a lot of games as a kid, probably because his dad was a well-known ticket scalper at the old Aud.
Wow. This is one of the neatest things I’ve ever seen. Do you know the story of how they identified this as Kane?
I believe his dad had season tickets in that spot. Could be wrong but swore I heard that somewhere.
That would make sense then