Hounding 2006-07: Season in review

Like any other sports season, my hounding efforts during the 2006-07 NHL season were full of peaks and valleys.

Sure, it was nice to add another 258 pucks to the collection, including a couple from some legends. It was educational, too, realizing that it's best to conduct the bulk of my hounding earlier in the season. And, at times, namely when the circus that's known as the Pittsburgh Penguins came to town, it was frustrating.

All in all, though, it was far from a disappointing season. Looking back, these are some of the more memorable moments, listed in reverse chronological order, of the 2006-07 season:

~ Ending the debate, for once and for all, that erasing is better than dusting.

~ Completing a set of goalie gloves (blocker and catching, for the uninitiated) signed by New Jersey's Martin Brodeur.

~ Pulling a pretty sweet auto jersey patch card of Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin.

~ Having more than 40 drivers sign a license plate the the St. Petersburg Grand Prix.

~ Reaching 1,250 pucks when Tampa Bay's Shane O'Brien signed this pair of pucks.

~ Being stunned that Florida's Eddie Belfour would refuse an autograph request from a child.

~ Realizing that there is art within collecting hockey autographs.

~ By snagging four pucks, witnessing Boston's Zdeno Chara live up to his reputation as a willing signer.

~ Having Florida's Olli Jokinen sign the 1,200th puck of the collection.

~ Simply put, getting one from the Great One.

~ Being thankful that Tampa Bay's Marty St. Louis made a day for a little boy and his daddy.

~ Logging some major brownie points with my wife, Lisa, for getting an autograph from one of her favorite players, Nelson Emerson, on a day when the Los Angeles Kings' young players, including Anze Kopitar, stepped up for hockey hounds.

~ Helping create a little buzz for the RBK Edge system.

~ Forgetting for a morning that, as a Buffalo Sabres fan, I can't stand the Toronto Maple Leafs.

~ Putting a Pacific Exhibit oversized card of Montreal's Saku Koivu to good use on the same day that Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau signed a hat trick of pucks.

~ Having Anaheim's Teemu Selanne sign four pucks in one day.

~ Loading up on 20 autographed pucks from the hard-to-find Buffalo Sabres

~ Erasing a pretty crappy autograph from Washington's Alexander Ovechkin.

~ Having Tampa Bay teammates Marty St. Louis and Eric Perrin sign University of Vermont pucks.

~ Scoring Ottawa's Wade Redden for the 1,072nd puck of the collection.

~ Watching Ottawa's Jason Spezza make a kid's day.

~ Suggesting that Ottawa's Dany Heatley should spring for a new shirt.

~ Putting another Pacific Exhibit oversized card of Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk to good use.

~ Getting a chuckle out of the driving abilities of Tampa Bay defenseman Doug Janik.

~ Not only holding Mark Bell, then a member of the San Jose Sharks, to his word, but also being surprised that Tampa-area hounds actually identified rookie defenseman and Hobey Baker Award winner Matt Carle.

~ Believing I made the correct call between Philadelphia's Bob Clarke and Peter Forsberg.

~ Having Carolina's Cam Ward make a little boy's day.

~ Capping a busy day of hounding by bumping into former Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk.

~ Renewing acquaintances, again, with Boston's Patrice Bergeron and some of his teammates.

~ Being the only people to catch the Dallas Stars and Mike Modano at the team's hotel before a preseason game.

~ Getting Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis to sign 2004 Stanley Cup champions pucks.

~ Future Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille taking time out of his retirement to sign a jersey.

What will the 2007-08 season hold? It's coming soon enough. And Hound Central 3.0 will chronicle even more additions to the collection.

Temporary quarters

Do you want to see, in terms of pucks, what four months of hounding looks like? Take a look at these pictures. It's not so much what's in the display cases, but what's sitting atop -- the 130-plus pucks since Dec. 31.

As a result, I'll be spending time in the weeks ahead archiving and cataloging these efforts. I'll rotate a couple into the displays that are temporarily showcasing items.

As for the cases, the top photo is home to Hall of Famers, the Lightning and, as you can see, goalies. I'll trade the Bruins mask, signed by Hannu Toivonen, for the Martin Brodeur gloves. I'd like to frame and display the jerseys, but the Florida sun is so brutal they'd fade in a couple years.

The case above holds mostly top-shelf items. Pucks from Sidney Crosby, Jason Spezza and Mike Modano sit atop jerseys signed by Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille and Modano. The Patrice Bergeron collection fills nearly half of the Bruins display.

In both cases, think of these as the "before" pictures. Once I've chronicled the pucks and updated the cases, I'll post the "after" pictures.

Looking ahead, when we finally find a house to our liking (as well as our checking account), we'll be able to put more on display. I'd like to build a wall of old locker stalls as the means to display jerseys, sticks and select groupings of pucks. A giant block of pucks, using the rest of the collection, would fill shelves on another wall.

Soon. I promise.

With all of my newfound time, I imagine I should should keep this promise. Check back later, please.

Sunday morning homily XXII

There are times in life, such as this morning, where one is forced into making a decision. Do we drive over to Tampa and continue adding to the hockey collection. Or do we stay closer to home and get Trot Nixon, Colin's favorite baseball player, to sign his Red Sox jersey.

As you can see, there was no dilemma. Either decision would have left us happy. Somehow, though, watching Colin's eyes light up when he saw Trot, someone he had seen only on TV, showed we made the right call. For the record, Nixon also signed in the sweet spot of a MLB baseball.

The day of decisions will also take us to Tropicana Field this afternoon, rather than the St. Pete Times Forum, where the Lightning hopes to stave off elimination by beating New Jersey. Again, we're happy with our decision.

Rather than spend $60 a ticket for the same seats that were $25 during the Lightning's regular season, we'll be 12 rows behind Nixon at the Trop. Our tickets, which include a hot dog, pop and a snack, are just $15 a seat. And, if Colin's one of the first 7,500 kids through the door, he gets a free Devil Rays hat.

It's not that I've abandoned hockey. Nor am I suffering from burnout, thanks to a long season that started in early September. Nope, my motivation was to have Colin meet one of his Boston baseball heroes, even if that hero now plays for the Cleveland Indians. This temporary diversion, I'd dare say, was well worth the time.

A true keeper

Should the Lightning lose today, it'll also bring an end to my hockey hounding season. Do you know who signed the final puck of the season? None other than New Jersey's Martin Brodeur, providing puck no. 1,275 of the collection.

Even if I'm not exactly thrilled with the quality of the autograph, I certainly won't quibble about the fact that it came from the game's top goalie. Would you?

M-t. No B. No dot.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm beginning to wonder whether New Jersey's Martin Brodeur and I are on a first-name basis. At first glance, this autograph looks like it says "Marty."

There's no "B." Even his infamous dot is missing. Of the four I've gotten this season, this is the weakest one. What do you think?

You won't be disappointed

For a team that's known for its businesslike approach to hockey -- from the front office right down to the assistant equipment manager -- the New Jersey Devils are, in my opinion, one of the best-signing teams in the NHL.

Every player, even the often-elusive Scott Gomez, will stop to sign. Some players, like Martin Brodeur and Brian Rafalski, will sign just one item. Others, such as Patrik Elias, John Madden and Paul Martin, will sign multiples.

Given the star quality on this team, any hound worth his or her salt should make every effort whenever the Devils come to town. With a little luck, you could have a team-signed item in less than 90 minutes.

The junior team pucks, shown above, were signed by Gomez, left, Tri-City Americans; and Jamie Langenbrunner, Peterborough Petes.

A tell-tale sign

You know you're having a good day of hounding when a player -- past or present -- is willing to sign three pucks for you. In this case, it's John MacLean, an assistant coach with the Devils.

Rather than using a DecoColor paint pen, I tried a different brand. I didn't like it; the autograph is a bit thin and sketchy. For my money, the DecoColors are the best to use.

Did you figure it out?

If you knew that New Jersey's Richard Matvichuk was a former No. 1 draft pick of the Minnesota North Stars, give yourself a gold star. I didn't know until I checked out his bio.

He also showed a sense of humor as he signed these pucks.

"Hey, Rass, come here," he said to teammate Eric Rasmussen. "Look at this."

Rasmussen, playing along, dutifully walked back to us.

"You know you're getting old," Matvichuk told him, "when you get asked to sign pucks like this (pointing to the North Stars puck)."

Nearly a dozen

Can you figure out what former first-round pick of the Minnesota North Stars, now playing for the New Jersey Devils, signed two of the 11 pucks added to the collection this morning. You'll find the answer in The Vault.

Where's Gomer?

I wanted to show a Tri-City Americans puck signed by New Jersey’s Scott Gomez. Too bad, though, we never saw him this morning. From what we heard, and this comes second-hand, was that he slipped out the back door of the Embassy Suites. In its place, here are pucks from, left to right, Devils’ teammates Paul Martin (Devils and University of Minnesota) and Brian Rafalski.

It doesn't hurt to ask

One can never be sure when you ask a player to sign more than one item more than one time. Some days, you meet Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne. Other days, you meet Atlanta’s Brad Larsen.

After snagging four autographs, including these two pucks, from New Jersey’s Patrik Elias (two requests, made within 90 minutes), it’s pretty safe to say that he’ll do multiples.

Let's meet again

The book on Glenn "Chico" Resch , who does color TV commentary for the Devils, is that you’d never find him at the team hotel.

Given the geography of lodging within walking distance of the St. Pete Times Forum, today was the first time in six years that our paths crossed.

That’s a pretty nice autograph, too, if you ask me.

No complaints here

Had a pretty productive day with the New Jersey Devils, coming home with another 44 autographs. Can you find the six pucks added to the collection? Check back later and I'll have a full report.

Left to ponder

I have this theory about hounding that the deeper you get into a regular season, the fewer autographs you'll receive. Teams in contention for the playoffs are focused on the tasks at hand. Those out of the running are mentally planning their vacations.

Adding to it, I suppose, are that players are simply tired of being hounded for autographs.

This morning's session with the Carolina Hurricanes, which added four pucks and four cards to the collection, only supports my theory.

Though they still have a chance of making the playoffs, most of the players who stopped to sign -- Rod Brind'Amour (on the puck shown above), Cory Stillman, Scott Walker and John Grahame, among a handful of others -- seemed aloof. Requests to Erik Cole, Andrew Ladd, Tim Gleason, Frantisek Kaberle and Anson Carter all fell on deaf ears as they boarded hotel vans.

The biggest mystery, however, was the whereabouts of Eric Staal and Cam Ward. Not one of the 20-plus people out this morning saw either of the recognizable Hurricanes stars. Perhaps a season's worth of hounding has led the pair to find alternative exits at the hotel.

Either way, I'm beginning to think that the best hounding comes early in a season. Hopefully, I'll remember that next season.

He's not so tough

Over the years, I've heard that Washington's Donald Brashear was a less-than-willing signer. This morning, after missing the team bus to the morning skate, Brashear willingly signed for a handful of hounds and fans.

I don't know how these impressions are made (someone else's blog, perhaps?), but the pucks shown above are proof that even while being late, he still took the time to sign.

Must've been in a hurry

Count me among the surprised today that none of Tampa Bay’s Big Three stopped to sign for a sizable group of fans, hounds and dealers. Vinny Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Marty St. Louis drive right on by.
Really, it’s no surprise that Tim Taylor, the Lightning’s captain, almost never stops. Given the pressure he must be feeling, goalie Marc Denis offered only a wave. Even Doug Janik drove by.

It’s a rarity when not a single one of the trio will stop. Most often, it’s St. Louis. Vinny is hit-or-miss. Planets must be aligned whenever Richards stops. All three in one day? I haven’t been here that long, but that’s seldom happened.

All things considered, today’s outing, following the morning skate at the St. Pete Times Forum, was pretty fun. Colin scored 14 players, including Dan Boyle, Ryan Craig, Andre Roy and Bobby "The Chief" Taylor, on his team sheet.

Among the 13 autographs I added to the collection was the 1,250th puck.

Counting down to 1,250

Going into this morning’s hounding sessions, I was pretty confident that I’d get the 1,250th puck of the collection and, rewardingly, the goal for this season. Having Florida’s Martin Gelinas sign four pucks cut the countdown by half. Olli Jokinen signed a 2003 NHL All Star Game puck. The magic number was now three.

About an hour later, outside the St. Pete Times Forum, the Lightning has completed its morning skate. Coaches and players straggle out.

Dan Boyle narrowed the gap to two, signing a Florida Panthers puck.
"What am I signing this for," he said.

"It’s part of your career," I told him.

A few minutes later, Shane O’Brien, a defenseman acquired from Anaheim before the trade deadline, rolled his truck to a stop. Having watched him play in Portland, with the AHL’s Pirates, it’s easy to see how he’s seen as a good fit with the Lightning. Here’s something funny, too. Watch him skate. He looks like Popeye.

He noticed, and signed, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks puck first, for No. 1249.

The Lightning puck? Yes, that is No. 1,250. I picked up a couple more later. It stands at 1,252.

With at least two more sessions (Washington and Carolina), it’s conceivable to add another 10 by the end of the regular season. Beyond that, that’s up to the Lightning.

Remember this?

He might not be enjoying the best year of his career, but Tampa Bay’s Ruslan Fedotenko should always be remembered for scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal in Game 7 against Calgary.

I'm thinking, too, that a different color ink might be better. The signature is hard to see. What do you think?

Just an opinion

Sometimes, specialty pucks, ones geared toward a specific event, are just begging to be used. Florida’s Olli Jokinen, whose goal forced overtime in the 2003 NHL All Star Game in Miami, is a pretty solid example, if you ask me.

Trivia? What gap-toothed star was named MVP?

This helped

Very seldom do I ask a player to sign more than two to three pucks. In some cases, like Florida’s Martin Gelinas, I’ll take a chance with more. As the end of the regular season nears, and with the Lightning’s grip on the playoffs a tenuous one at that, I’m trying to complete my player career collections.

In Gelinas’ case, I needed four pucks – Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques and the Vancouver Canucks. As you can see, he signed all four.

I started the day needing eight pucks to hit 1,250. These cut that in half.