Buffalo Sabres History: Who Wore It, Number 33
We continue our series about Buffalo Sabres history, with each day’s post highlighting a player to have worn the subsequent jersey number with the Buffalo Sabres. This series is not designed to say that any player is the ‘best’ to have worn that jersey number, but rather to allow fans to get a taste of the team’s history and learn more about some of the players in it.
Today, we focus on #33. Eleven players in Sabres history have worn #33, though none in the past few years. One of the most recent players to wear that jersey number is former Sabres prospect defenseman Mike Card, who most recently played overseas in Germany.
Mike Card was drafted by the Sabres in 2004, 241st overall. After the draft, he played two more seasons with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets before joining the Sabres organization.
The 2006-07 season saw Card play for three teams in three different leagues. He played 50 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, notching nine points and 38 penalty minutes.
He also played in four games with the Sabres in the only NHL action of his career to date, failing to register a point.
Finally, he played in six games (and nine playoff games) with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades.
He spent the 2007-08 season with the Amerks, then the next season with the Portland Pirates when the Sabres affiliation moved. His last season with the Sabres organization, he notched one point and had 20 penalty minutes in 19 games with the Pirates that season.
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Since 2009, Card has been playing overseas in four different leagues.
He spent the 2009-10 season with the Kassel Huskies of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL), racking up 25 points in 53 games. The next season, he stayed in the DEL but played with the Cologne Sharks, notching four points in 48 games.
The 2011-12 season would see Card play for Alleghe HC in Italy’s top division hockey league. He had 22 points and 64 penalty minutes in 46 regular season games, then added two assists and eight penalty minutes in seven playoff games. Next season, it was off to Sweden to play for Tingsryds AIF, a team in Hockeyettan, the third tier of hockey in Sweden. He had 11 points and 48 points in 45 games.
Finally, this past season, the 28-year-old was playing for the Heilbronn Falcons of DEL2, the second league of ice hockey in Germany. He had nine points and 52 penalty minutes in 46 games. It’s unclear where he’ll be playing this coming season — he isn’t listed on the team’s roster for the 2014-2015 year.
Other Sabres to wear #33: TJ Brennan, Doug Janik, Scott Pearson, Mark Astley, Bob Sweeney, Benoit Hogue, Jody Gage, Lee Fogolin, Jim Hofford, Phil Myre