Follow the Cup

One of the many rewards that come with winning the Stanley Cup occurs when team members get to spend 24 hours with hockey's hallowed prize. This summer, the Anaheim Ducks are keeping the Cup company.

Summer break

Just when you think I've forgotten about Hound Central 2.0, I'm here to tell you that I haven't. Besides doing some work on my summer projects, I've also been getting my butt kicked by a case of diabetes gone wild.

I'll spare you the gory details, but now that I've apparently got my blood sugar under control, I'll have more time and energy to keep up with all the news that's happened over the past few weeks.

Rather than rehash old news, such as new logos and looks for a handful of NHL teams, I'll return with these observations:

~ The Philadelphia Flyers are going to be a scary team this upcoming season. Given their personnel moves since the 2006-07 trading deadline, the Flyers, at least in my humble opinion, should be a serious contender for Lord Stanley's Cup. Adding the likes of Daniel Briere, Jason Smith and Martin Biron, among others, will let this team erase last season's nightmares.

~ My beloved Buffalo Sabres have truly taken it on the chin over the past couple of days. To lose Briere and Chris Drury (to the Rangers), the heart and souls of last year's overachieving squad, will be hard to overcome. Granted, the Sabres free up some salary, but there's little left among the free agents to make up for two devastating losses.

~ What in God's name was Anaheim thinking when it signed Todd Bertuzzi? Let's see, the Ducks are his fourth team in little over a year. He played, what, 15 games last season, showing just how brittle the former prototypical power forward has become. It's my guess that this will be his last season in the NHL.

Hockey Word Association 1.17

Now that the 2006-07 NHL season is over, and Lord Stanley's cup is bound for the Left Coast, we'll bring a close to these word-association drills.

So, until September, feel free to keep your mind sharp with these offerings:

1.) Anaheim Ducks =
2.) Scott Niedermayer =
3.) Ottawa Senators =
4.) Teemu Selanne =
5.) Training camp =

And, as always, thanks for playing.

The mighty, mighty Ducks

Congratulations to the Anaheim Ducks for winning their first Stanley Cup last night with a decisive 6-2 victory over Ottawa. From the season's earliest days, the Ducks have been one of the elite teams. Now we know why. This team was too good and too deep not to win.

As much as I wanted to see the Buffalo Sabres win the Cup this year, I'll take some satisfaction from Anaheim's win. Having watched Anaheim's young stars Ryan Getzlaf, Dustin Penner and Corey Perry, as well as teammates Kent Huskins and Ryan Shannon, play for the Portland Pirates, the Ducks' farm club in the past, it was easy to make a connection.

It was also nice to see Teemu Selanne win his first Cup. Each year, it seems like one of the league's elder statesmen (isn't that a better phrase that grizzled veteran?) caps a career by taking a lap or two with Lord Stanley's cup.

Ducks in six

That's my pick for the Stanley Cup finals. Not only do I believe that Anaheim has better offensive depth, but the Ducks' defense, especially goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, is so much better than Ottawa's contingent. The series begins Monday, or Memorial Day, in Anaheim.

It's better in the morning

If there's one thing I'll take away from today's hounding of the Anaheim Ducks, it's the last bit of evidence I need to know that it's always better to hound a team at the morning skate than at any other time of the day.

Crowds are usually smaller. The players are less focused. And, for the most part, I'm more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

But, before you go off believing that I'm disappointed in today's effort, please know there's nothing further from the truth. Hounding the Ducks, at both the morning skate and at gametime, was, in a word, excellent.

Not only did another 26 pucks make their ways into the collection, including four from Teemu Selanne, but I also added Jean-Sebastien Giguere to my Team Canada goalie mask. And even better than Colin getting his first puck signed, I believe, was the second of his team sheets.

After filling the first sheet with autographs from 13 players, including Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, his second sheet is definitely a keeper. The only two signatures on the game-dated sheet (shown above) are Chris Pronger and Selanne. Not bad for a 5-year-old, if you ask me.

Burke was first

Going into this weekend's hounding, Colin has been asking if he could start getting some pucks signed. I figured that he's been out enough, building his collection of team sheets, that he's ready to try something different.

And while he was more interested in snagging a goalie for the milestone, it was Brian Burke, Anaheim's general manager, who filled the role. To be honest, it didn't matter to Colin. What did matter, though, was that it made Colin's day. And, really, isn't that what's it all about?

Two times, two

What's better than getting two autographed pucks from Teemu Selanne in a day? How about another pair (shown above), bringing the daily total to four. And, if I could get my hands on a Colorado Avalanche puck, I'd head back over tomorrow morning to complete the collection.

For the record, too, Chris Pronger signed an Anaheim Ducks puck, his second of the day, at gametime.

A pleasant surprise

When a team as good as the Anaheim Ducks comes to town, there’s usually two constants. One, the team will draw a crowd. Secondly, the team’s big stars will be tough to get.

In both cases, I'm wicked psyched to say, neither held true this morning.

Granted, there were about a dozen or so hounds and dealers, a pretty manageable crowd for everyone involved. And much to our collective surprise, Anaheim’s big guns, including Jean-Sebastien Giguere (above, left), notorious toughie Chris Pronger (above, right) and Teemu Selanne (see below) all stopped to sign.

It’s one thing to have the third- and fourth-liners stop, but to have these stars willing to put pen to puck was like an early present from Santa.

Other Ducks signing pucks for me this morning were coach Randy Caryle, Chris Kunitz, Andy McDonald, Shane O’Brien, Samuel Pahlsson, Dustin Penner, Corey Perry and Ryan Shannon. In all, I added another 20 pucks to the collection this morning.

We’ll be heading back for the game tonight, so I’m hoping to add even more from those I missed or let pass.

What do you think?

It should come as no surprise that Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne was mobbed, so to speak, as he made his way to the morning skate. Hounds and dealers alike rushed him as he made his way up the sidewalk. Getting only four hours of sleep and knowing that this would be a long day, I conserved my energy and let him walk up to me.

I offered two pucks (shown above) for him to sign. He took the Anaheim puck and signed it. As he was handing it back to me, he asked if I knew the location of the player’s entrance at the St. Pete Times Forum. Of course, I knew the answer.

After telling Selanne, he motioned to the Winnipeg puck.

"You want me to sign that puck, too?" he asked.

This time, he knew the answer.

Something doesn't add up

Now, I’m not usually one to complain about getting autographs. Even if I get just one, I reason that it’s one more than I had before.

After dealing with the Niedermayer siblings this morning, I can’t help but comment on the Ducks’ brothers.

Scott, the older of the two and a sure-fire Hall of Famer fives years after he retires, was more than happy to sign a pair of pucks. Rob, his younger brother, grudgingly signed just one of the two pucks I offered.

Go figure, huh? For some reason, I expected it the other way around.