I was adding some cards to the VHCR Virtual Hockey Card Collection today and noticed an error that may or may not have documented already. Number 219 in the 1973-74 O-Pee-Chee set is the Bryan McSheffrey rookie card. McSheffrey is referred to as Gerry in the cartoon blurb on the back. But first, a little about just who Bryan McSheffrey is.
Junior Career
Pro Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Bryan McSheffrey – Ottawa 67’s
McSheffrey played in the OHA (now the Ontario Hockey League) for parts of five years from 1967-68 to 1971-72. His first year consisted of just one game with the Oshawa Generals and the rest of his career was spent with the Ottawa 67’s in the early days of the franchise’s history.
Over his OHA career, McSheffrey played in 226 regular season games, scoring 135 and assisting on 125 for 260 points. Over 36 playoff games, he scored another 12 goals and assisted on 18 for 30 points.
Bryan led the 67’s in goals with 35 over 54 regular season games in 1969-70. The following year, he finished second on the team behind Blake Dunlop with 38 goals and 79 points over 57 regular season games. He finished one point ahead of teammate and Hockey Hall of Fame member Denis Potvin.
1971-72 was his final year in the OHA and a breakout season. McSheffrey scored 52 goals and totalled 96 points over 61 regular season games to lead the team in goals and points. He placed fifth in goals in the league behind Steve Shutt, Don Lever, Billy Harris and Dave Gardner.
The 67’s enjoyed great success that year, as well. The Bill Long coached team made their first ever appearance in the Robertson Cup finals. The Roger Neilson coached Peterborough Petes were their opponents and came out of the series with a sweep over Ottawa. It was just the fifth year in the league for the 67’s.
Bryan McSheffrey – Pro Hockey
The Vancouver Canucks selected Bryan in the second round of the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft, 19th overall. He had it all for the era with size and scoring ability. Yet, his National Hockey League career consisted of 90 games between 1972-73 and 1974-75 with the Canucks and Buffalo Sabres. He scored 13 goals and totalled 20 points over that time.
On October 14, 1974, McSheffrey was traded, along with Jocelyn Guevremont, from Vancouver to the Sabres, in exchange for Gerry Meehan and Mike Robitaille. Once in Buffalo, Bryan played just three more games in the NHL.
McSheffrey played pro hockey in North America from 1972-73 to 1977-78 in the NHL, WHL, AHL, NAHL and PHL. He also spent two years in the Netherlands with HYS The Hague in 1978-79 and 1979-80. He was a scoring leader in the Netherlands, producing at over a three points per game pace over the two years.
1974-75 was the closest he came to a pro championship in North America. Playing for the Hershey Bears in the American Hockey League, Bryan helped the Buffalo Sabres affiliate to the Calder Cup semi-finals. However, the New Haven Nighthawks came out on top in five games. The Nighthawks would then fall to the Springfield Kings in the finals.
Bryan McSheffrey – Rookie Card
The Bryan McSheffrey rookie card is his only hockey card, number 219 in the 1973-74 O-Pee-Chee set. He does not appear in that year’s Topps collection. He is shown as a member of the Vancouver Canucks and the card is valued as a common. This is a UER, or uncorrected error card. On the back, it claims that ‘Gerry’ tallied 96 points in his final season of junior play. The same mistake was made in French.
To add to it, on the front of the card, Bryan is wearing jersey number 26. However, he is wearing gloves that belong to number 17. During the 1972-73 season, McSheffrey wore number 24 and 26. In 1973-74, he was just number 26.
Bryan McSheffrey Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1968-69 | Ottawa 67’s | OHA | 53 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 12 |
| 1969-70 | Ottawa 67’s | OHA | 54 | 35 | 32 | 67 | 57 |
| 1970-71 | Ottawa 67’s | OHA | 57 | 38 | 41 | 79 | 86 |
| 1971-72 | Ottawa 67’s | OHA | 61 | 52 | 44 | 96 | 63 |
| 1972-73 | Seattle Totems | WHL | 39 | 27 | 22 | 49 | 24 |
| 1972-73 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 33 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| 1973-74 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 54 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 34 |
| 1974-75 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 47 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 20 |
| 1974-75 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975-76 | Buffalo Norsemen | NAHL | 46 | 27 | 31 | 58 | 26 |
| 1975-76 | Cape Codders | NAHL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1975-76 | Mohawk Valley Comets | NAHL | 12 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| 1976-77 | Mohawk Valley Comets | NAHL | 63 | 29 | 43 | 72 | 28 |
| 1977-78 | Long Beach Sharks/Rockets | PHL | 18 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 11 |
| NHL Totals | 90 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 44 |