From Nick Tylwalk,
Your Guide to Sports Cards.
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Jeff Carter has already experienced victory at several levels of hockey. Now, the speedy forward is hoping some of that winning knack will rub off on the Philadelphia Flyers.

Going through some lean years allowed the Flyers to have some fairly high picks in the NHL Entry Draft, including the 11th overall pick in 2003 that landed then Carter. After completing his junior hockey career with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 2004-05, he really opened some eyes with what he did next.

Called up to the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, for the stretch run, Carter scored 23 points in 21 playoff games to help the team take the Calder Cup. Carter also played for Team Canada in the 2005 World Junior Championships, racking up 10 points in six games for the gold medal squad.

Carter joined the Flyers the next season, scoring 23 goals as a rookie and 14 more in an injury-plagued sophomore campaign. Healthy enough to play in every game in 2007-08, Carter tied for second on the team with 29 goals.

Though he's somewhat overshadowed by Mike Richards, a Flyers teammate who also came up in 2005-06 and led the team in scoring in 2007-08, Carter is starting to make his presence felt. His two goals in Game 4 of the Flyers' 2008 first-round playoff series with the Washington Capitals showed he has a knack for coming through in the clutch.

That's the kind of performance that will get hockey collectors to sit up and take notice. Carter's rookie cards are downright bargains compared to those of rookie classmates like Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, which means they have plenty of room to grow if he can lift his game to an even higher level in a great collecting market like Philadelphia.

Jeff Carter 2005-06 Rookie Cards

• Beehive # 103
• Black Diamond # 195
• Hot Prospects # 257 - autographed jersey card
• Parkhurst # 653
• SP Authentic # 177 - autographed, #'d to 999
• SP Game Used # 113 - #'d to 999
• SPx # 189 - autographed jersey card #'d to 499
• The Cup # 176 - autographed jersey card #'d to 249
• UD Artifacts # 222 - #'d to 750
• UD PowerPlay # 163
• Ultimate Collection # 95 - #'d to 299
• Ultra # 254
• Upper Deck # 444
• Upper Deck Ice # 104 - #'d to 99
• Upper Deck MVP # 407
• Upper Deck Rookie Update # 272 - #'d to 499
• Upper Deck Trilogy # 207 - #'d to 999
• Upper Deck Victory # 272