Ovie says no

How can you tell that it's been a long season for Washington's Alexander Ovechkin? When he flat-out refuses a child's request to sign a jersey.

Granted, had he signed, it only would've been a "AO8." Still, though, if you're hounding the Washington Capitals, you're really looking for only three players -- Olaf Kolzig, Alexander Semin and Ovechkin. The other players are good to get, but it's always nice to snag the stars, too.

Despite Ovechkin's snub, Colin did pretty good, getting 10 players, including Semin to sign. Others players signing included Chris Clark, Steve Eminger and Mike Green.

We never saw Kolzig. He tends to slip out the side door of the team's hotel in downtown Tampa. It's too bad, too, because I has an old red-white-and-blue Washington Capitals and Tri-City Americans (a Western Hockey League junior team that he once played for and now owns a stake in) pucks.

It was also fun to catch up with Capitals defenseman Milan Jurcina, a former Bruins player. He said he's enjoying himself "much more" with Washington than Boston. Getting a regular shift helps, I suppose.

Detours around a busy weekend

With the promise of 750,000 attending a free air show at MacDill Air Force Base tomorrow and Sunday, and the streets of downtown St. Petersburg turned into a waterfront IndyCar race course, there's plenty of entertainment choices in our little corner of the Sunshine State.

That being said, we're still looking forward to hounding the Capitals tomorrow morning. Colin's going to work on getting his Washington jersey signed by the team. I'm focusing on pucks from Donald Brashear, Tomas Fleischmann, Glenn Hanlon and Olaf Kolzig. Oh, yeah, if we're lucky, we might even get Alexander Ovechkin's autograph.

One drawback, though, is the route we'll have to take into downtown Tampa. Instead of our usual route, which takes us to the St. Pete Times Forum in 30 minutes, anticipated traffic jams mean a much longer ride, heading north to Clearwater before taking a right turn toward Tampa.

Sad thing, too, is that we'll take to make the trip twice. We have tickets to the Capitals-Lightning game.

Sunday morning homily XVI

If you're a frequent visitor to NHL.com, chances are you've checked out a few of the site's Frozen Moments. These pictures, often taken from a different perspective, capture the moments of a game beyond the normal shots, saves and checks.

The image from Saturday, however, went beyond a solitary slice of a game. It showed Carolina's Eric Staal and Washington's Boyd Gordon focusing intently on a puck before a faceoff. What I saw went beyond this photographic study of concentration.

What I saw was two athletes who are now playing on the brightest stage of the game. Not too long ago, namely the 2004-05 season, they were playing in the American Hockey League. Staal was with the Lowell (Mass.) Lock Monsters. Less than 90 minutes away to the northeast, Gordon was playing for the Portland (Maine) Pirates.

Mostly, what I remember a couple of Saturday nights, sitting in the Cumberland County Civic Center, watching Staal and Gordon competing against each other. And now, just a couple years later, they've followed different paths in creating identities for themselves in the NHL. Staal, a offensively gifted star, has carried Lord Stanley's hallowed Cup on the ice. Gordon, who doesn't get, in my estimation, enough credit for his defensive skills, skates in the shadow of Alex Ovechkin.

Excellent analogy

Like most goalies, Buffalo's Ryan Miller uses his mask as a means of expression. There's one specific element on the skullplate, though, that I find very telling. If you look close enough, you'll see the image of a lizard.

Up until a recent reading of an article in The Hockey News, I didn't know the significance. It seems Miller likes the image of the lizard because they're fast and have short memories.

Very fitting for a goalie, if you ask me.

When in Florida ...

... you do as the tourists do. With baseball's spring training in high gear these days, I'd be remiss if I didn't attend at least a couple games.

That's why Colin and I will be watching the Minnesota Twins play the Toronto Blue Jays this afternoon in Dunedin (pronounced Dun-eee-din, not Dune-din). We may even catch the Detroit Tigers' game tomorrow against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at downtown St. Petersburg's waterfront stadium.

All I have to do is remember to bring the sunscreen.

Do the math: 87 > 8

Is it absolutely no surprise that Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, in only his second NHL season, became the first player to hit 100 points this season with a goal in the Penguins' 3-2 overtime victory over the Rangers?

In this snapshot of their young careers, Crosby is so far ahead of Washington's Alex Ovechkin that any comparison is simply unfair.

They're both great players. Now, however, Crosby is no-brainer.

What do you think?

Sunday morning homily XIII

Looking back, I'm surprised at just how subdued I was when getting Wayne Gretzky to sign a Team Canada puck last week. Even with our autographed-puck collection nearing the 1,200 milestone, it did have some notable gaps, primarily one from The Great One.

Going in to Tuesday's hounding session, I was setting my sights elsewhere. I had heard the horror stories and rumors about Gretzky. He never stays with the team. He never signs for big crowds. Or, simply, he never signs. There was even a rumor floating that the Coyotes would fly in from Miami, where they had played the Panthers three nights earlier, just in time to make the game.

Because of that, I was viewing Grant Fuhr, the team's Hall of Fame goalie coach, as my key player, so to speak.

After arriving at the team's Harbour Island hotel, I nearly missed getting Fuhr as I was still setting up the 20-plus pucks and one game-used stick I brought to get signed. Thankfully, though, I was able to find the old Buffalo Sabres logo puck for Fuhr.

A few minutes later, there was sudden movement with the crowd of 30 to 35 collectors and dealers. At first, I thought it was Jeremy Roenick or Shane Doan, two of the most-willing signers in the NHL. It wasn't until I got a better look did I recognize that it was Gretzky.

"Holy s***," I said out loud, while snagging the Team Canada puck. "Gretzky's signing!"

I joined the fray, thinking that he'd sign only a few and I might have to use my bulk to even stand a chance. I soon realized, though, that Gretzky was well on his way toward signing for the house. I couldn't believe it.

Only now, when I look at that puck, tucked safely away in a display case, is it finally starting to sink in that, yes indeed, Wayne Gretzky, God's gift to hockey long before Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby became hockey household names, added to our collection.

Thanks, Wayne.

If it's Friday, it'll be Boston

A couple times during the season, NHL teams have to deal with a busy stretch of the season -- three games in five nights or four games in seven. And when it comes at this time of the year, when teams begin ramping up the playoff effort, you know the games are going to be intense.

As a hound down here in the Tampa Bay area, an upcoming seven-day stretch will be just as intense, with four teams and a ton of talent, presenting itself.

Beginning Tuesday, when the Panthers (Olli Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester) come to town, the Lightning will host the Boston Bruins (Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard), Pittsburgh Penguins (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury) and Dallas Stars (Mike Modano, Jere Lehtinen and Marty Turco).

Thankfully, I had the foresight to take off some time in the days ahead. Granted, we expected (Colin, especially) some Bay State company about now, but that, uh, fell through. Either way, I'll put the time to good use and add to the collection.

What were they thinking?

Can someone tell me, please, why in God's name would NBC schedule such a premiere matchup as the Capitals-Penguins, meaning Alexander Ovechkin vs. Crosby, at nearly the same time as America's greatest race, the Daytona 500?

Granted, NASCAR and the NHL are about as far apart as sticker tires and hockey sticks. But there are some people, namely me, who might want to watch both without having to flip channels every 30 seconds.

Besides, I want to see what unconscionable act that NHL on NBC analyst Brett "The Bully" Hull will pull this week. My money's on him planting a foot in a crease.

Alex who?

When is an Alexander not an Alex? That's easy. When the name that follows is Semin, and not Ovechkin.

As the dealers and hounds surrounded Alex Ovechkin and his increasingly illegible "AO" scribble Tuesday morning, I made my way to Alexander Semin. Granted, he's playing in the shadow of his Russian teammate, but the guy, in his first full regular season, is posting some pretty solid numbers.

And that's what makes him worthy of putting on a puck. Maybe another, too, when the Capitals come back to Tampa.

Addicted to Hockey? Round IV

With all of the pressures associated with holidays (heading to the, ugh, mall, wrapping unevenly shaped presents, stringing up outdoor lights and dealing with family you'd rather not see), it's no wonder that anxiety levels run high.

Couple that with the fact the holidays run dab smack in the middle of the NHL season and conditions exist for a 10-minute misconduct penalty in life. I'm not surprised, then, that certain symptoms of hockey addiction manifest themselves at this time of the year.

Please, take my advice, and seek professional help, namely within the premium club seats, if you recognize yourself in any of the following:

~ Your Christmas wish list contains at least three hockey-related items. Mine are a new Buffalo Sabres jersey, a $100 gift certificate from my puck supplier and a better return from the Tampa Bay Lightning on our hockey investment.

~ You make sure that tag affixed to the wrapping of one specific Christmas present to your highly impressionable 5-year-old son says the item inside (It's a Sidney Crosby jersey, but, please, don't tell Colin) comes from the game's best player. Even better, is that he just might get it signed by that player before a game Jan. 9, 2007, in Tampa.

~ Your idea of exchanging pleasantries with neighbors includes pulling their shirts, or jerseys, over their heads and giving them a couple of haymakers. Just kidding. Violence seldom solves anything. Unless, of course, it takes place on a rink.

~ You leave out a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and a tall glass of ice-cold milk just in case one of these Santa's helpers stops by for a quick visit in the days ahead. Ho! Ho! Ho!

~ You can assign NHL identities to Santa's reindeer: Dasher = Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby; Dancer = Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk; Prancer = Washington's Alexander Ovechkin; Vixen = New Jersey's Martin Brodeur; Comet = Minnesota's Brian Rolston; Cupid = Dallas' Mike Modano; Donder = Calgary's Dion Phaneuf; and Blitzen = Los Angeles' Sean Avery. We'll also throw in ex-NHL coach Pat Quinn, and his big red nose, as Rudolph.

~ You keep telling the good people at the Lightning's souvenir stands that they should push team brass to come up with, at the least, a third jersey. Or, even better, would be a new jersey. I doubt I'm alone in believing the Lightning's yawn-inducing logo and jerseys are among the league's worst. I also wouldn't mind more of a selection of items, rather than overpriced $5 pucks, from the 29 other NHL teams.

~ You book a quick trip back to New England, under the guise of wanting to watch a certain NHL game involving the Bruins at the TD Banknorth Garden, so you can really pay a holiday visit to some old "friends" back there. Sorry, boys, but I won't share the particulars. I would, however, keep the lights on, your eyes open and your heads up.

~ You know that wearing a Lightning hat and, once again, losing your voice urging the hometown team to shoot will far outweigh the wearing of a Lowell Lock Monsters jersey, autographed by the Hurricanes' Eric Staal and Cam Ward, to a game between Carolina and Tampa Bay. Too bad, though, the buck-a-hump Lightning still lost.

~ You arrange an unauthorized Get Scotty Bowman's Autograph Night (see next-to-last item) at an upcoming Montreal-Tampa Bay game because the dinosaur, albeit legendary, can't find 30 seconds to sign a game program. Am I whining? Sure. Do I care? No, not really. It makes good copy, though, and it's all in good fun. Now, if I could just get a few others on board . . .

~ Unlike some other hockey blogs, especially one in the Tampa Bay area, you take great care to adequately credit the source of your quotes, even providing a link to the article, rather than lifting and using the comments as if you spoke to the GM or player yourself.

~ You stay awake until 3 a.m. some nights arranging cards for the rest of your hounding season, cataloguing your autographs or stockpiling much more challenging photos for next year's What's This? contest.

~ Despite your own fears, which are primarily financial in nature, you buy your son a goalie stick that's way taller than he is.

For other questions to check on your condition, feel free to click here, here and here.

Whatever your faith, and wherever you're from, Hound Central 2.0 wishes you a safe and happy holidays. Unless, of course, I'll be stopping by your house, with one of my helpers, to pay a personal visit.

Sunday morning homily V

All along, we’ve known that Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin played with en edge. From the tinted Robocop visor on his helmet to the leg kick included in every breakaway, it is easy to see that the Russian was different. Now, after last night’s nasty hit on Buffalo’s Daniel Briere, we know he has a bit of a dirty streak, too.

Ovechkin received a game misconduct after nailing from behind the Sabres' diminutive co-captain near the team’s bench. Though Ovechkin later called it an accident, the Sabres’ Paul Gaustad didn’t see it that way. In the immediate melee, he lit up the punchless Ovechkin like a cheap Christmas tree.

While the NHL determines whether the hit warrants a suspension, it’s my belief Ovechkin should be more worried about other repercussions. Not only did his actions create an impression that he's a cheap-shot artist who won’t defend himself, but he’ll also have a mile-wide target on his back when the Sabres and Capitals meet the day after Christmas in Buffalo.

Vermont’s looking good

Who, in their right mind, is going to pick up John Leclair? Let’s get real here. He’s 37 years old and makes $1.5 million a year. Even if he’s picked up on re-entry waivers, meaning the Penguins would still be on the hook for half of his remaining salary, what kind of return would any team get? In limited ice time this season, the two-time 50-goal scorer has just two goals and seven points.

The Penguins are a team loaded with young talent, so you’d think they would keep Johnny Vermont’s veteran presence to help guide the kids through a building year. Waiving him, though, showed he’s not part of the Pens’ plan.

All too often, we see veteran players stumble from team to team in their final years, reducing themselves to nothing more than a sideshow. Count me among those who hope Leclair has enough confidence in his body of work to know that it’s time to retire.

A big week ahead

With the Sabres and Ducks coming to town this week, conditions exist to add another 40 to 50 autographed pucks to the collection. Thanks to changes in each team’s logo, meaning a new item for every puck-worthy player, and time off from work on game days, I should have ample opportunity to chip away at my new goal of 1,200 pucks.

Better yet, though, is that the Sabres are one of the best road-signing teams in the league. Maxim Afinogenov may be a bit elusive, but most everyone else is a willing signer. The Ducks, with all of their stars, will draw a crowd. Thankfully, though, very few will know who is who.

Addendum: Another 46 pucks, including four from Anaheim's Teemu Selanne, were added to the collection.

Erasing an Ovechkin

Whenever the Washington Capitals come to town, uber-phenom Alexander Ovechkin is at the top of every hound’s must-get list. Yesterday, as we waited (The team’s arrival was delayed by three hours) outside the hotel, was no different. Hounds had pucks, pictures, a mini-helmet and a CCM Vector stick.

Ovechkin, to his credit, obliged a few hounds. Unfortunately, he used just one silver Sharpie, one apparently that was low on ink. Either way, I got the traditional "AO8" on a Capitals puck, but the scribble, and that’s really all it is, was very thin. So thin, in fact, that I nearly rubbed it off of the puck (see above) by hand.

I was tempted to try and fill it in, but I felt it would be cheating. Hopefully, I’ll have him sign it again, this time using one of my trusted paint pens. Sure, it pains me to do this, but I’d rather have a quality scribble, so to speak, than what I got yesterday.

Besides, it's not like it was the first puck I've had signed by Ovechkin.

And even despite getting a few cards signed by Ben Clymer, Jamie Heward and Brent Johnson, it was hard to walk away and not be disappointed.

Quick shifts

It's amazing how quick an intermission will fly by, isn't it? You barely have enough time to tend to nature, grab a snack and cobble together an intelligent posting.

Anyways, here it goes:

~ You might want to head out to your local Toys 'R' Us real soon. McFarlane's Series 13 has hit the shelves, at least down here in Florida. Though I picked up Washington's Alexander Ovechkin (shown above) and San Jose's Joey Thornton (an updated repaint of his second figure) you'll also find Ottawa's Dany Heatley, New York Henrik Lundqvist, Toronto's Bryan McCabe and Calgary's Alex Tanguay (whose body figure is the same at the Series 9 Brian Leetch). I've seen pricey variants of these, including the Sedin twins, at other online outlets, but I'm happy with what I have.

~ Is it just me, but don't you wish NHL Center Ice would include every pre- and post-game show, rather than just flashing "Good Night" and turning on that insipid music? And what about replays at other times of the day? Seeing that my job makes me miss most of the East Coast games, I'm glad there are Western Conference teams to follow.

~ As I was paying for our steakhouse dinners earlier tonight, I couldn't help but think for the amount of the tab that, provided we were back in New England, the three of us could have eaten at the Applebee's in Biddeford, headed on up to Portland to watch the Lowell Devils beat the Pirates, 5-3, and add to our autograph collection. That's life, eh?